Waiting

In life, we often find ourselves waiting for things. Sometimes it's things like waiting for dinner to cook (it smells so good, and you're so hungry, you just want to eat it NOW), waiting for the tap water to heat up, or waiting for that boring commercial break to finally end. Other times it's waiting for things you're looking forward to but seem so far away, like Christmas. Then there's the sort of waiting we absolutely hate. And if you're in a hurry, or so ill you could just expire right there in front of the vitamin aisle, it takes longer.

I remember when I was sick with bronchitis as a child. It was taking forever for the pharmacy to fill the prescription, and we had been waiting for a while. Feeling tired, sick, unhappy, and impatient, I started complaining about how long it was taking, and how ridiculous it was that we had to wait so long. One of the adults in line commented that I was saying what everyone else was thinking.

More recently, we went to get a tire replaced. The left front tire wasn't holding air very well, and we were tired of constantly having to pump air into it. So we waited while they changed and rotated the tires. And we waited. And we waited. I hadn't slept well, and was really tired that day. I eventually gave up on reading, as my mind would not focus. People came and went, and we were still there.
After a couple of hours, they finished, and we left. Later on, though, we discovered that we still had the bad tire; they replaced the wrong one. So we had to go back. Luckily, they still had the good tire they'd taken off previously. They put it back on and got rid of the bad one, no charge for their mistake. Even so, my mother isn't planning to return to that place.

Luckily, we generally aren't left waiting forever for something to happen. The wondrous-smelling dinner eventually is ready to eat, the tap water heats up, commercial breaks don't last forever, and Christmas Day finally comes. Although we'd love to get rid of the entire concept of having to wait for things, waiting is a part of life, and we must accept it despite the frustration that sometimes comes with it.

No One Can Please Everyone

You can't please everybody. No matter how hard you try, no matter how great you try to be, there will always be someone who isn't impressed. Even perfection doesn't please everyone. If you don't believe that statement, consider that an innocent man who had never done anything wrong was arrested for a crime he did not commit. He was beaten, flogged, spat on, insulted, mocked, and finally nailed to a wooden crucifix by his hands and feet.

If Characters Became Real, Vol. I

In books, plays, movies, TV shows, our imaginations, and many other places, there are fictional characters. These characters live out fascinating lives, sometimes in alternate realities, different time periods, or in fictional worlds.

But what if these fictional characters were to end up in the real world? How might they handle this sudden change, especially if the real world is entirely different from the reality they live in? It's a rather interesting thing to ponder, and could lead to all sorts of crazy things if it were to occur. In this series of posts, we will begin to explore the many 'what if' scenarios associated with fictional characters becoming real.

If anyone has suggestions for future disasters scenarios, please let me know in the comment section below.

The Snowball Fight

My parents and I went to visit my brother, who was working in Yosemite at the time. It was around winter-time, and there was snow, wondrous, glorious, beautiful snow.

My brother and I decided we would have a snowball fight. Of course, he automatically had an advantage over me, because I had little experience with snow, due to snow deprivation from living in places where it rarely snows. He, on the other hand, had lived in many places where it snowed frequently.

While I worked feverishly to form my misshapen snowballs, which weren't really balls at all, my brother was forming his superior snowballs. We soon began the battle. My terrible aim, which has made many a P.E. teacher pity me, or pity themselves for being stuck with an untalented, non-athletic person like me, prevented me from hitting him with many of my mutant snow lumps.

Meanwhile, my brother was making excellent progress. I was hit a few times, and finally one of the snowballs hit me right in the face. My brother stood before me, brushing the snow from my face, while I blindly punched him in the stomach and he said, "I'm trying to help you!"

Needless to say, my brother won the Great Snow War of Yosemite, and the Armed Forces declared me to be 4-F. Today, I prefer to sit in front of the heating vent, drinking Nesquik and reminiscing about my glory days. I then proudly show my guests the medal I was awarded before I was retired from the 76th Battalion of the Iced Forces, which is inscribed, 'In honor of Meowmocha, who survived despite her total incompetence'.