3 Random Prompts - Sounds, Drunken Episode, Adventures in Space

For fun, I bought a book entitled, 642 Things to Write About. I asked my Facebook friends to choose 3 numbers, promising to write about whatever prompts followed their numbers. These are the results:

 

576 - Sitting in a single location for 20 minutes, take notes focusing exclusively on the sounds you can hear.

It sounds like a rustling leaf. Ticking dryly across the tile floor, edge over edge at sporadic intervals. Every now and then, it pauses, the sound replaced by tiny padded feet tapping lightly along the tile. When the soft pattering stops, the sound kicks up once again, beginning with the sound of the dry leaf hitting the tile from a fair height.

In the background, cicadas buzz their summery, evening hymn, rising and falling with the breeze. The only breeze audible near me is that produced by the ceiling fan. The light pull-chain clinks gently against the fan motor, which hums softly, in even, drawn out intervals.

The rustling has stopped, replaced by incessant licking, a rough brushing through soft fur, hitting the sticker the cat had been knocking around like a leaf. Moira desperately licks, her tongue scraping across the edge of the paper, slowly tearing off the sticker. With a slow suction noise, the sticker peels off her fur and hits the tile once again with a thin ticking. The padding of her steps grow quieter as she walks away.

 

289 - Another drunken episode.

"What? No. We are not doing that." Wearing leggings and boots to the bar had been the first bad decision of the evening. Responding to the arse at the bar who asked if I thought I was a super hero or something was likely the second. I was on my way to my third.

Ignoring the ever wise words of my friend Cate, I continued to make my way out of the bar. "It's okay, dude, I still have Halloween stuff in my trunk. I'm pretty sure I've got a mask and a cape. Trust me."

Cate sighed loudly, obviously not as inebriated as I, and stomped after me to the car. "Why do I have to be the bad guy?" She leaned against the green Honda Civic as I dug through the trunk.

"Duh, because both of us can't be superheroes. Someone needs to kidnap the girl and tie her to the railroad tracks." I grabbed the black Zorro mask my buddy Jack had returned and tied it on quickly as Cate stood staring, her mouth slightly agape in shock.

"We are not tying anyone to the railroad tracks." She crossed her arms, not bothering to catch either the orange Ninja Turtle eye mask or the black, floor length cape I'd tossed at her.

Frowning, I turned my attention from the trunk to her. Slowly, I grinned. "What if we tied Greg to the tracks?" It would take some convincing, but I was sure I could get Greg to play along. Cate has had a thing for Greg ever since her second year of college.

Cate barely considered before grabbing the cape and mask. "Now, you're talking," she grinned as she suited up.

"Great! Now help me find the cowboy lasso so we have some rope." What could possibly go wrong?

 

5 - You are an astronaut. Describe your perfect day.

Captain's log, 7/13/2178, 20:56. Won at Risk against the Martians again. It's really not fair. They don't quite understand the concept of divide and conquering. That and they just can't keep control of Europe. I'm worried they might start to take it personally and decide to take over Earth for real. Must figure out how to read Martian emotions.

I'm not entirely sure what it was that I had for lunch while gaming with the Martians. All I know is that it moved before, during and after being cooked. I keep trying to tell myself it tasted like chicken. Went back to the space station and promptly ate all of the freeze dried strawberries to get the "chicken" taste out of my mouth.

It's video night at the space station tonight and my turn to choose what to watch. I'm thinking something archaic, like Galaxy Quest. I'm sure the Martians would get a kick out of that. Maybe follow up with some Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes for good measure. I'm curious what their take on the Borg will be. I'm more curious about whether or not they'll like popcorn.

 

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Belated Two Things Tuesday

My evening was very busy yesterday, so I did not get around to posting this on the right day. But, seriously, who cares when I post these things anyhow?



Two Things:

1. I hate UTEP - I cannot overstate this. While, yes, I had a handful of fantastic professors during my time in college, the whole experience is severely soured by my dealings with the administration.

Without delving much into past events, let's just jump to today, rather, last night, when I received an email stating that there had been a grade change initiated by one of my instructors, changing it to a score which implies I never finished the course.

Ahem, I GRADUATED 3 YEARS AGO! I wasn't even aware they could change grades after a degree had been awarded, especially so long ago. Without a grade in the course, I would be lacking enough credits for my degree, possibly rendering my degree invalid. You can imagine my fury last night after reading the email. I was literally shaking. I thought I was done with UTEP.

It became my mission today to short things out. It's a good thing I don't live in the same city anymore. Instead I started calling this morning, trying to get ahold of anyone who knew anything or could do anything. That became a chore in of itself. It took me 9 phone calls to the operator and transfers to the Registration and Records office before I bypassed the operator and just called directly repeatedly. Each time, no answer, transfer to voicemail, voicemail was full. The operators had tried transferring me to two real people instead of the main number. The same thing happened, no answer, transfer to voicemail, voicemail full. After 6 more phone calls to the Records office, I finally got someone. She was kind enough to giggle at the situation and remark that I shouldn't have graduated. I reiterated how important it was to get things sorted today and she promised someone would call me back. I was less than hopeful. After some extra help from a few fantastic people, I did receive a call back. Everything would be sorted out ASAP. Apparently, no one signed some sort of paperwork and the system caught it in an audit. Whatever. It's done.

2. Getting Organized - I bought Dan a shelving unit for his pint glasses. They used to be stacked in groups of 2 or 3 on top of the game cabinet. Nightmares of a cat jumping up on top of the game cabinet out of curiosity drove me to my purchase. It looks much better and makes me feel better, too.