Thursday, May 26, 2011

Before I Go

I found this poem as I was searching my files for a school assignment. I wrote a couple years ago. I don't remember the inspiration, but I like what I wrote. I'd completely forgotten about it.

So this I know, before I go
A secret must I tell
As deadly as the drifting snow
Even if I’m damned to hell 
My throbbing heart was torn from me
My hands stained bloody red
I killed he that stole it from me
And left him there for dead

My life drains in gushing rivers
My eyes are weighted low
I took the life from the giver
My soul thrums, sad and slow

His ghost came back and sang to me
And I gave him a dirge
And so we parted happily
Entwined, our souls will merge

So he with me, and I with him
A double travesty
Pliant to each and every whim
Till blood should be set free

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Five (Not Serious) Skills Everyone Should Learn to Impress People

1. How to mix drinks - coffee drinks and alcoholic drinks. This is a skill to impress people with. And besides that, it's practical. It's much cheaper to make yourself a mocha or a daiquiri at home than it is to buy one, and you can always make sure it's made just the way you like it.

2. How to cut and dye hair. Who wants to pay $300 to get a cut and highlights at a salon? I know someone who actually paid that much once, and I don't see that it was worth it. Hair is often a much simpler entity that most people make it out to be. Cutting and dyeing it are skills that take a little bit of practice but are easy to learn and definitely worth it in the end. You don't even need that many tools. A comb, a pair of basic scissors, an old paintbrush for putting on the dye, and a few others things that you probably already have in your kitchen. You do have to buy your own hair dye, though. I got my own thinning shears, too, because I started cutting others people's hair and sometimes I need them. Now I'm starting to comtemplate buying a hair razor.

3. Card tricks. Everything from how to cut a deck with one hand, games, magic tricks, and how to do a reading for someone. This is just plain fun and good entertainment. Plus, a deck of cards is a cheap asset and easy to carry around with you. Hey, you there - care to know your future? The cards know it all. And what more fun activity could you find to do with your friends than a game of cards? Card games are great because they give you something to do while you're all chatting; in fact, they can be a source of conversation topics, and if you're betting, they provide for a little playful competition. Even in The Next Generation, many of the officers play cards (Data's learning to bluff).

4. Ambidexterity. Hey, why not? Then if you injure one hand, you've got the other one to use. Learning to do things with your non-dominant side exercises parts of your brain and strengthens neural pathways.

5. How to juggle. It's so impressive when you pick up a couple things lying around and just oh-so-casually start juggling them like you're bored. You look super talented. Learning also improves hand-eye coordination. It's a lot of fun, too, and if you're really good, you could use it to entertain as festivals and the like.