Category: Other

One of the most annoying things people can do is bash each other for messing up. Doing wrong, sure, yell away, but trying to do good and making an honest mistake? Come on, have some compassion. Honestly, this post is largely due to various fictional universes I’m involved in and my irritation towards how the characters are treating each other, but I think this is something we all need to hear.

“I think intent carries a lot of weight. I know some people dismiss it, but if you’re trying to do something good… We all make mistakes. I mean we all try to do something good, and something goes wrong and it turns out not being good… because we don’t have the foresight. We can’t necessarily see the future. Unexpected consequences come in, so we may end up doing harm when we were trying to do something good. But if we don’t try to do something good, nothing good will ever be accomplished, so I give a lot of credit to the people who are at least trying to make the world a better place, trying to improve things.” –A Talk with George R. R. Martin, presented by the College Historical Society, Trinity College August 2019.

It occurred to me that I’ve only been posting photos of the cats, and since I’m giving my other pets to my cousin, they needed at least one post first. So allow me to introduce Clove*, the rabbit (who we got during my fifth grade year), Sage*, the bearded dragon (who we got just after my fifth grade year), and Plum*, the nocturnal and therefore photographically elusive leopard gecko (who if I’m very, very lucky will make an appearance so I can add his picture to this post).

[Update] And, for the first time, I have pictures of Plum*!

*Names have been edited to match their new identities.

Yes, yes, I know, fourth cat post since Covid. (Links: 1, 2, 3.) But, honestly, this one has a lot less to do with how adorable my cats are (though they most definitely are) and more to do with how done I am right now with the world. Since I wasn’t sure I could say something nice, I won’t.

Yep, more cat photos. (Click here for installments 1 and 2.) Because the world is still chaotic and my cats are still adorable. And I swear I didn’t used to take this many cat pics. Whoops.

Yep, more cat photos. Because… cat photos! Also, why wouldn’t I show you a picture of Arwen sitting on June? Exactly. Hence, cat photos.

This story was an exercise in revealing character through dialogue. The lack of context is intentional, so I’m not going to add any; instead I’m just going to let you enjoy it as it is, and interpret it as you will.

“Look at the mountains! I wish we could work out here, instead of inside. Man, that overlook never gets old.”
“You’ll see it again soon, Sam.”
“I know. I just can’t believe management is giving us so much time off!”
“Enjoy it while it lasts, eh? Good night, and safe travels!”
“Good night, Jack. I’ll see you in a few weeks!”
“Jack! There you are!”
“Kristin.”
“This view really is brilliant, you know.”
“It’s been there for years.”
“I know. I suppose I’m just delaying the inevitable.”
“Don’t bother.”
“I guess this is goodbye, then?”
“Goodbye.”
“You know that I have to go, right?”
“I know you’ve convinced yourself of that.”
“What would I do if I were to stay here, Jack? Spend the rest of my days doing mindless, joyless work? And the world would be none the better for it. I would be none the better for it.”
“It could be, you could be! You’re one of the best of us and you’re throwing it away!”
“It doesn’t help anything to stay! I don’t even have to think when I’m working, I just act! How is that going to help me improve? I would be wasting so much time and potential to stay here! And … and I can’t do that Jack, you know I can’t. You said it yourself, I’m good at this. Imagine how much I could do out there! How many people I could help! This isn’t just my escape, it’s my moral obligation. I have to go.”
“You keep telling yourself that.”
“Jack…”
“You want to go live a glorious, adventure-filled life, you go and do that! We’ll be here going through the standard channels. We all know the only thing you ever liked about this place was the view anyways.”
“You know full well that’s not the case. The only reason I’ve stuck around this long is because I didn’t want to say goodbye.”
“Got over that, did you?”
“Not really. But I accepted that I had to. For the closure.”
“Good for you.”
“So much for that… well, I have to leave, closure or no. Maybe I’ll see you around sometime, Jack. I hope that by then we’ll be on better terms.”
“Goodbye, Kristin.”
“Goodbye, Jack.”

This is the last (for now) of my (fictional) prompted anecdotes. To read the other two, click here and here, respectively. They’re not connected; each story stands alone. Still, I hope you’ll give them a read!

Bette was one of those singers that could sing anything — or at least make you think she could, which was how her career got started. We were at a party during our senior year of college, messing around, as college seniors are wont to do. Most of the time, Bette had a good voice — that night, it varied whether she had a voice at all. Still, she joined in on karaoke, just like she did at every party. And it was… well, it was brilliant. The thing about Bette is it’s not her voice that makes her special, it’s her presence. She has this confidence that justs radiates, and you can’t help getting caught up in it.

That’s why, after her performance, one of the designated driver kids walked over and introduced himself as the son of a music agent. He complimented her performance, gave her his number, and offered to introduce her to his dad at some point when she was sober. He said, in effect, that anyone who could put on a drunk karaoke song and dance number, with a cold, at three in the morning, and still somehow enrapture the whole audience absolutely needed to consider a career in music.

This is another of my (fictional) prompted anecdotes. If you’d like to read the first one, click here. The two brothers “I” have in this story are completely made up, for plot convenience. Enjoy!

We had a great time at Niagara Falls last weekend. Riding in that little boat that goes under the Falls turned out to be quite an adventure — I nearly slipped on the wet deck at least three times, and my youngest brother, Peter, actually did! Luckily, our other brother, Tom, has great footing, so he was there to help Pete up.

Learning some of the history of the falls turned out to be an adventure as well. Did you know someone thought it would be a good idea to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel? Even more mindboggling, she somehow survived! A replica of the barrel she rode was in the museum, and, much to our parents’ dismay when they caught up, we three unsupervised children successfully found a way to fit all of us inside it. Getting back out… well, that was another adventure entirely.

For the next couple weeks, I’ll be posting prompted anecdotes (without the prompts — those were written into the stories, so repeating them felt redundant and I like to keep you guessing). Here’s the first! As a word of warning, I really don’t speak French, so if any of the French translations, applications, or grammar are incorrect, that’s because it’s probably from Google Translate or other internet equivalents. Also, this didn’t actually happen, at least not to me. Nor did either of the other anecdotes. Just in case there was question.

Jim is such a funny guy! Our whole trip to Europe was like a big comedy show. When we got to Paris, our first destination, we stopped at one of the produce markets. That, in and of itself, wasn’t exactly surprising — we both love fresh fruit — but what happened that afternoon was. We were chatting with a local who was showing us the Bois de Vincennes when Jim asked her, “Voudriez-vous une pomme?” (“Would you like an apple?”)

She gave him a curious look, replying, “D’accord,” in a questioning tone. (“Alright.”)

Jim grinned, pulling a potato out of his pocket and handing it to her. “Une pomme,” he pronounced proudly. (“An apple.”)

She smirked a bit, shaking her head. “Une pomme de terre,” she corrected. (“A potato.”) “‘Pomme’ est… ‘apple.'” (“‘Pomme’ is… ‘apple.'”)

Jim feigned surprise. “Oh! Tu veux une ‘apple!’ Accorde moi un instant.” (“You want an ‘apple!’ Give me a moment.”) He slipped off his backpack and pretended to rummage around inside for a moment. “Aha! Vous avez ici, madam,” he said with a bow and a flourish, pulling out a pineapple. (“Here you go, my lady.”)

Similarly, whenever we met someone in Germany, he showed them a cheap sausage plushie he had bought online and said, “Isn’t it just the Wurst?”

I was going to write a post, but after scrolling through a painful amount of coronavirus related material online, I thought it might be better to just post some cute cat photos. So, here you are!