Daily Prompt: Drawing a Blank

Today’s Daily Prompt: When was the last time you walked away from a discussion, only to think of The Perfect Comeback hours later? Recreate the scene for us, and use your winning line.

Walk away before I’ve thought of the perfect comeback?? Not on your life!

I don’t care if we’re standing there for 10 minutes.

If we’re standing there for thirty minutes.

If I have to follow you to your car.

If I have to pick the kids up from school with you.

If I have to invite myself around for dinner.

If I have to sleep in your dog’s kennel.

If I have to drive you to work in the morning.

I am NOT leaving your side until that perfect comeback has entered my head.

So if you pick a war of words with me…

You better hope I am having a sharp day.

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The Versatile Blogger Award

Now, how the blazes did this go and happen?

Apparently, I have been generously gifted an award on here. ‘The Versatile Blogger Award’. This is my first award here, and completely unexpected I must add. I was aware of the existence of these blogging awards, but the last thing I expected was for someone to throw one at me. I don’t pretend that anything I write here is worthy of praise or any of that, and to be honest, I am supremely grateful any and every time someone takes the time to read, like, comment on or otherwise interact with my blog.  So I would like to thank all of you fantastic people who read this thing and make me feel far more special than I am. You are all terrific folk. I am very grateful to all of you. Sometimes people are just magnificent.

Which brings me to The mmmmm family blog. The kind, generous blogger that nominated my humble blog for this award. Thank you mmmmm family! Do yourselves a favor and head on over to that blog, because it is absolutely smashing. One of the sweetest blogs out there. I’m not just saying that out of gratitude, I have been reading every single post intently with a broad smile on my face since I found the blog. But now, out of gratitude… Thank you so very much, you kind, generous, sweet mmmmm family!

Okay, now I believe I am supposed to lay out the award rules. Here we go…

1. Display the Award Certificate on your website/blog. (When I work out how to, you can bet your ass I will!)

2. Announce your win with a post. Make sure to post a link back to me as a ‘thank you’ for the nomination.

3. Present 15 awards to deserving bloggers.

4. Drop them a comment to tip them off after you have linked them in the post.

5. Post 7 interesting things about yourself.

And now, for 7 ‘interesting’ things about me. (Not necessarily interesting, but most readers won’t know these things yet, so I suppose that qualifies them.)

1. I am currently studying towards my third University Degree. I firstly obtained a Bachelor of Science, double majors in Zoology and Conservation Ecology. A few years later I returned to a different University to get my Diploma of Secondary Education. I taught for a while and now, this year, at a third different institution, I have begun study towards an Associate Degree in Professional Writing and Editing. This better be the last one!

2. I have worked in almost every profession under the Sun. From working in cinemas, to retail, to basketball statistician, to swimming and life-safety instruction, to factory work, to Environment, to Education, to Personal Assistant, to Immigration Law, to Soccer Referee. I feel like I have been around forever and sampled just about the lot, but I’m still in my 20’s.

3. My favourite band? Dave Matthews Band. I could listen to them forever and ever. It just hits me in the right spot. I cannot explain it. Easily my favourite ever, and always will be.

4. I was voted ‘Nicest Guy’ at my High School Graduation. I wasn’t sure how to take that. I liked it, but it felt a little boring. Sums me up though. I think I’m a bit boring, but I tend to get along with almost everybody, and like being everybody’s mate.

5. I used to play the trumpet. I still have it, but I haven’t played in years. I miss it. I keep saying I should get back into it. I haven’t yet. I played when I was younger, during and just out of High School. I was in a couple little jazz outfits and played with a couple rock/ska and cover bands too. It was fun. Fantastic memories. I have a CD somewhere…

6. I’m single… ladies…

7. ‘6’ was a joke. I mean, I am single, but I’m not advertising. I just had a mental block on ‘me’ facts.

8. (You deserve a bonus. I went haywire on those last two.) My favourite movies are ‘Ronin’ and ‘Leon: The Professional’. I am a serious Jean Reno fan. And it’s his birthday today (30th)! What great timing. He is 65 today I believe. Happy Birthday Jean Reno!

And now on to the best part! I get to nominate 15 fantastic people for The Versatile Blogger Award. Here we go!

1. Barefoot Beginnings

2. Suzie81’s Blog

3. Love Mekanism

4. fibijeeves

5. Escaping Elegance

6. Purplerays

7. Je Suis Un Lapin

8. Busy Mind Thinking

9. Life And Photos By Andy

10. theempathyqueen

11. Lords of the Drinks

12. LauGraEva

13. Life Accordinglee

14. Alienorajt

15. Along Life’s Road

Thank you all again for reading and making me feel all warm and fuzzy.

Daily Prompt: State of Your Year

Daily Prompt: Write up a mid-year “State of My Year” post.

There have been many changes for me this year. In May, my two-year relationship ended. In July, I returned to University. Next month or thereabouts I shall be moving house.

Okay, so those are the main changes. But I think beyond that, there has been a shift in attitude and perception for myself. Moreso recently. And it is still a shift in progress. By the end of the year, i will most likely be in a different state again.

For now it is a happy state though. A state of hope. Of anticipation for what the future holds. For there were not enough changes occurring when they needed to be in recent years. But this year they have. And with them comes a renewed sense of purpose.

And now I enter the second half of the year with just that…

Purpose.

Fat Albert would be proud

I told the worst joke the other day. The kind of joke you tell and then expect Fat Albert to pop out of nowhere and laugh that ridiculous laugh. For those not familiar with Fat Albert, he says horribly corny, or just plain bad, jokes such as: ‘You like school in July – No class!’

Yeah, I had one of those moments.

I don’t even remember how we got there. There was a discussion between my brother and some friends. My brother said something about him being neutral. Then he must have said something not so smart. Somehow we got the the point where my joke made sense… to me.

“You must have a pH of 14… ’cause you BASIC!”

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Where was Fat Albert when I needed him?

I’m not proud of it. But it happened.

My New Pal

I have been dog-sitting the last few days. He’s a… something. I don’t even know what breed. A mix of some terrier and a Maltese, I think. His name is Riley. He is 12 years old. He is the quietest thing ever. We hit it off straight away.

After greeting him with a pat and a tummy scratch, I let him follow me into the house and I sat down in front of the television. Without a noise he wandered dutifully over to the sofa and curled up between my feet on the floor. He has not been interested in anybody else since. He has not wanted to leave my side. He is asleep under my chair as I write this now. We have an understanding.

I took him with me to the beach. I figured he would like that. He did. I said ‘walk’ and he picked up his leash in his mouth and sauntered towards the door. Neat trick.

He wasn’t so sure about the beach though. It was as if the poor guy had never seen the seaside before. At first he loved it. The sand didn’t bother him. He was enjoying the sea breeze. And then he ran into some seaweed.

Well, he did NOT know what to make of that stuff. But he knew he did not trust it. He gave every clump of seaweed after that an extremely wide berth. Anytime he got close to one, he would jump back, as if it was alive and ready to pounce at him. I have never seen anything like it. He is such a softy.

Then we reached the steps again. He was fine coming down them earlier. Not so sure about going up. He tried the first two and then stopped, giving me as worried an expression as you can get across a dog’s face. He looked up at me as if to say, ‘are you going to carry me or what?’

So I did. I carried the sook up the entire flight of steps.

We went back the next morning. He wasn’t so afraid now. As if overnight he had realized everything was okay here and he could trust me completely. He no longer paid the seaweed any mind, and he bolted up the steps, until wearing himself out. He crawled up the last few.

I only have a few more hours with him now. I’ll miss the guy. And I think he’ll miss his trips to the beach. Oh well, I may have to dog-nap him one day and take him for some more revenge on the seaweed monsters.

Daily Prompt: Life After Blogs

Your life without a computer: what does it look like?

It looks healthy. Haha. I would waste much less time. I would procrastinate far less. I think I would get a lot more accomplished. I may be more sociable, but also less. I would possibly put on weight, because instead of wasting patches of boredom on the computer, I would likely eat. I would probably exercise the same amount. I have always been good at that. If I did do any more it would likely be a return to regular swimming. Then I’d eat more again.

But then there would be no blogging. That may be a shame…

From the Daily Post… http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/07/28/daily-prompt-without/

Home is where ya feel it…

The feeling I get whenever I return to the coast is unmistakable. It’s a feeling of belonging. A feeling of home. Everything is clearer when I’m at the coast.

I stayed at the family beach house this weekend. It’s perfect when I feel like getting away. When I feel like thinking. When I feel like peace, quiet and clarity. I know it sounds crazy, but my back hurts less there. It really does.

I have been having some serious back issues lately. All the years of constant sport, in particular the indoor soccer goalkeeping, has caught up with me. My back is never free from pain. Though, I could not help but notice as I lay in the quiet house last night, that it was not sore. I mean, it was not perfect all day, but for at least half of it, I felt good. I felt more alive. Less pained. It was as if the sea has soothing powers. It was as if the sea thought if it took care of me I would stay a while. Maybe take care of it.

I also noticed, as I lay at ease on the surprisingly comfortable double bed in the guest room, that my head is so much clearer there. The thoughts flow freely. Processing thought is not a chore as it is in the city. Away from the sea I feel… almost heavy. As if I am not where I am meant to be. As if not being there is a burden. Somewhat suffocated. As if there is no space to think, or to comprehend.

And as my mind wandered freely, I gazed up at the picture that hung on the wall beside the bed. A picture I had admired so many times. This time though, I noticed something new about it. It had the feeling of home.

The picture depicts an oyster shed by a wharf. In the distance there are several boats floating on the ocean – yachts and rowboats. An orange Kombi is parked besides a jetty, where a couple sit, dangling their feet in the water and fishing. And I always stare at that simple picture with the same look. A Look I didn’t recognize in myself until last night. A look of longing. A look that feels like within that frame is home. That makes me feel like if I’m anywhere else, I’m lost.

And I realized… I have felt lost for a long time. Far too long.

Daily Prompt: A to Z

Today’s Daily Prompt challenge… http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/07/27/daily-prompt-orderly/

Create a short story, piece of memoir, or epic poem that is 26 sentences long, in which the first sentence begins with “A” and each sentence thereafter begins with the next letter of the alphabet.

Admittedly, Rachael could think of elsewhere she’d rather spend today. Birthdays had never felt like a special occasion to her. Celebrating seemed overly self-indulgent and she hated ever making a fuss. Despite her protests however, her boyfriend Xavier had dragged her along to the Zoo. Even though it was just the two of them, it still felt to Rachael like there was a fuss being made.

Friday, and there was almost nobody around. Giant crowds would be here the next two days, so she was thankful to at least avoid those. Hundreds of visitors to share the day with was much better than thousands. In Rachael’s mind, this day should not be like any other. Just because it was her Birthday didn’t mean she had to endure people. Kids were the worst too, so the Zoo seemed like one of the dumbest places to visit.

Lounging about would have suited her much better. Moreso than walking all day. Not that she wasn’t grateful. Only Xavier was truly worth spending time with. Problem was, he felt she should converse with others, too. ‘Quit expecting me to act like normal people’, she would tell him. Rarely did he really try to force it on her though. Special occasions mostly. Today, for example. Unrelenting, Xavier had invited others to join them. Vehemently, Rachael had persisted those people stay at home.

Walking all day must have taken the fight out of her now though. Xavier led her to one last enclosure and she smiled. ‘You saved the best for last on purpose’, she said as she gave him a knowing look. Zebras approached her and now she couldn’t stop grinning, finally glad that she gave in to Xavier’s plans.

Baby Lemur

I visited the Melbourne Zoo… months ago. Seriously, it may have been last year. I don’t remember. Point is, I just got to sorting through the photos I took. I know, I’m the worst. But hey, better late than never I guess.

So this short post is just me throwing two of the photos at you all. There are some others that came out okay, and I may find an excuse to post them later. But for now, just two. Both are of a baby ring-tailed lemur. I know… adorable. So without further ado, I give you baby lemur:

Yes, that’s camera-shy mum hiding behind the tree. She wasn’t in the mood for paparazzi that day.

Isn’t s/he a cutie? Anyone know where I can get one??

My friend the inside joke

The Daily Prompt today is rather clean-cut. http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/07/25/daily-prompt-friendship/

You must complete the sentence: My closest friend is…

Well, my closest friend is… a liability.

Okay, so that’s an inside joke. But in a way I suppose that simple gesture sums up a closest friend succinctly. I just informed my housemate, whom that is directed at, that I was writing that, and he lost his shit. He laughed that laugh that makes you think you could close up shop and become a comedian. Or at the very least run away and join the travelling circus.

I’m sure no-one else laughed, but to us, that little phrase means something. And there are numerous other phrases that could also be uttered to the same effect. We all share those little inside jokes with a few others. And it is those few that surely be considered our closest of friends. Because sharing is caring. And friendship, or any relationship, is built on caring. And with those people that you can, almost subliminally, share the subtlest of jokes and recognize the slightest of nuances, you cannot help but connect with and (sometimes beyond logic) care about.