All Hallow's Eve

All Hallows Eve has arrived once more

A night of paranormal mystery is in store

A night to be someone completely different with cheer

Or be your true self without fear

Howl at the moon

Ride a broom

Then eat, eat, and eat

Until your stomach is sore

All Hallows Eve has arrived once more.

Happy Halloween!! I hope yours was an interesting as mine was!!

An Old Dog Can Learn New Tricks!!

Trying something new for the first time, whether it be an activity or an exotic food, is always nerve wracking yet exciting at the same time. Today was no different when I tried ice skating for the first time.
I went into it thinking since I can roller skate, ice skating shouldn't be much of a problem. I was wrong. Don't get me wrong, I didn't do horrible but I stuck close to the wall the whole time and my ankles started killing me after a while. Probably because I had a hard time keeping my ankles straight in the rented skates. Even having the wall as my guardian, I fell about five times in the hour I was on the ice. To make the experience even funnier, my friend an I ran into a couple of friends of the family. So I had three people watch me bruise up my knees!!
All in all, I had a great time. I definitly do not regret trying something I've wanted to do for a long time. It is safe to say I will never be the next Sasha Cohen, but I will ice skate again. Hopefully, away from the wall!!

Workshop of Wonderful Memories

About a year ago, I had the honor of taking a writing workshop with poet Mark Doty. Besides being a great writer, he is intelligent, funny, and an all around nice guy. As an exercise, he asked us to draw a floor plan of the first house we remember living in. Given that I hadn't lived in the Rhode Island house where I grew up in 11 years, I didn't expect to remember as much as I had. Once completed, we added at least one specific detail to each room. I could have been a unique design feature, or an item we had in the room. Step three was to choose one of those details and write a poem about it. Here is mine:

It takes up almost half the living room
With it's ugly, tan L-shape.
But to me, it's more than just a couch.
More than just an eyesore
Dying to be thrown away.
It's where I learned to read,
Where my family come together to catch up,
Where my brother and I find entertainment.
Bored on a rainy day,
We take the thick, square cushions off their frame
And build a fort.
Sorry Mom.
Can't come in with out the pass word.
Getting out of the fort, my brother knocks all the pillows on me.
I'm buried.
We both laugh as I crawl my way out of the darkness.
After I'm free, he takes a running jump
And lands on the comfy pile of pillows.
Not wanting to miss out,
I follow him.
Soon, the smell of chicken and stuffing starts to fill the air.
So we reluctantly put the cushions back in place
And start getting ready for dinner.
Leaving the couch as a couch.
For now!!

Keep in mind, this was off the top of my head and I haven't worked on it since. No, it's not a masterpiece. But it does bring back wonderful memories. Both of the workshop and of the ugly, tan couch.

A Great First Impression!!

To say that I get nervous before a job interview is an understatement. Sweaty palms, heavy breathing, the works. Add to that running a little bit late, and I am about to have a melt down. I rush into the building and fill out a formal application. After the meeting I am feeling pretty good. I mean, it could have gone better, but it definitely wasn't the worst interview I had gone through.
Rummaging through my purse in the parking lot, I cannot find my car keys. Alas, peeking into the car window, I see the key sitting in the cup holder, next to my cell phone. I was in such a rush, and not to mention nervous, I through them anywhere and didn't realise it until it was too late. After making sure all the doors were locked, I embarrassingly make my way back into the building, cursing my self the whole way, and call my Mom. Thankfully, she was home and willing to make the forty minute drive to come get me, God bless her. As if that wasn't bad enough, I realised I never told her where my extra key was, so a few minutes later, the receptionist comes out into the parking lot and tells me I have a phone call. Beat red, I run back in and tell Mom where the keys are. Needless to say, the next forty minutes waiting, were the longest of my life. What a great first impression I made!!!