Fifteen Minutes of Scrawl

Well as anyone who has watched the news knows, 2018 has been quite the year. Anyone who knows me also knows that this has been a big year of change for me. I left my job at the University of Chicago Press and packed up to go to grad school in Ireland. There are a lot of ups and downs that go with that, so I can't pick just one good memory from 2018 so I'm going to pick several and write about them in no particular order. At my cohort's holiday party there was a moment when I felt so at peace. I was sitting in a comfy chair in the corner of Dillon's living room, near the fireplace that only held a few lit candles and not a roaring fire fit for chestnuts. I was soaking up all of the talk and laughter of my cohort spread throughout the house and still enjoying the taste of our potluck dinner and mulled wine. Odile was playing ukulele in her chair and I just thought to myself, "Remember this moment." My high school friends and I do a secret gift exchange every...

Now it's a common fact that sheep have disturbing eyes. I mean, seriously, why would there be pupils that look like that? They just look like demon eyes in a living stuffed animal which is even worse than I thought as I type out the description. Despite the fact that everyone knows that all of the eyes are terrifying, very few know the even more interesting secret about their eyes. It turns out, that all sheep share the same pair of eyes. Now, I know that may be hard to believe, but I bet anyone reading this cannot tell me that they can remember two different sheep with different eyes. It turns out that despite the millions (I assume) of sheep in the world there are only two real eyes. The vast majority of sheep in the world use glass eyes to maintain a somewhat less terrifying appearance than just having empty eye sockets. Sheep are able to maintain their species with only set of eyes in several ways. There are the glass eyes that I previously mentioned, but there is also the ...

"My lady--" "That's 'your highness' to you," the queen interjected. The squire paused, it was his first day and he couldn't believe that he'd managed to already misstep. "Yes, of course, your highness." "So what work to you bring to me?" the queen said, examining some of her books beside her. The queen kept many books around her, it was necessary for her to maintain her reign as queen of the dictionary. She read constantly, even when the squires came to see her. "The council of euphemisms has met and has some additional definitions they would like added to the dictionary." "Will we humans never stop coming up with ways to refer to uncomfortable or sexual topics?" "I--I know not my l--your highness." The queen rolled her eyes, "Very well, proceed." "I have a list of words for drugs, a list for male anatomy, and a list for female anatomy...should...should I read them t...

"The furry one is at it again." "Must be a hard cold season." "It can't be, it's been so warm we haven't even gone south yet." "Then why does the furry one keep trying here? There have to be other sources of food." "Well our food is pretty good." "For us it is, but for a furry one? Don't they eat other things?" "I think they eat pretty much anything. I even saw one eating one of us once." "What?!" "What?" "Don't you think that's pertinent information to share if furry ones eat us feathered ones? Like shouldn't we be protecting our feeder from them?" "Nah, I think it's fine." "How?!" "I mean the feather one he was eating was already dead, I don't think furry ones are good hunters." "Some are! Or have you already forgotten Jay that was taken down by the neighbor's furry one?" "T...

Curly saw her chance and seized it. Her family had left the back door cracked just enough so that she could get out. More importantly, it was large enough for her to lure Moe out of the house. Curly used to be the family's only pet and she had enjoyed her reign. She was a beautiful cat, in her opinion, and she enjoyed having undivided attention that she could enjoy at her leisure. But then, one day, her family brought home an iguana named Moe. Curly didn't think it would change much, after all, she was still the family's queen, right? But she noticed that now her family's attention was sometimes directed at Moe. Moe even had his own little habitat and his own spotlight. Curly had never gotten a spotlight. It wasn't fair. So now, Curly had decided it was time for Moe to go. The cracked door provided the opportunity. It was very goofy of her family to leave the door cracked when Moe was out of his habitat, but maybe her family wanted him gone too. That would make ...

We seek an Official Fan for our show as well as any spin-offs that may be put under contract. The Official Fan will have a variety of duties. First and foremost, the Official Fan will help the show's team ensure continuity and consistency throughout the seasons and into any other media that may be licensed (e.g. graphic novels, movies, spin-offs). This will require extreme attention to detail and impeccable record keeping. The Official Fan will be responsible for monitoring the fandom wikipedia. It's important that all details available to fans are accurate. Should any inconsistency pass the Official Fan as well as the rest of the team, the Official Fan will join the writers in coming up with a plausible explanation within the show's universe. The Official Fan will need to keep track of all characters and actors, regardless of how small the part. Occasionally, the Official Fan will be called upon by the casting director. For example, some characters will be discussed by...

Oh man, do I love talking about what coffee shops I like in Galway. People even tease me about all the criteria I look at. But here we go, best coffee shops in Galway. Coffee Club: This is probably my favorite coffee shop. They have the best wifi of anywhere I've been in Galway like Tumblr mobile app doesn't have trouble loading kind of wifi. You also get a little chocolate cookie with any coffee drink you get, which is excellent. I love their mochas (although, admittedly, their americanos aren't great). I also love the amount of space that the place has. I've never had trouble finding a place to sit and I don't think I've even had a a problem finding a place for a writing group to sit. The noise level is also great. It's not so quiet that us talking feels like we're disturbing people, but it's never so loud that I have trouble hearing anybody. Oh and the food! The food is oh so tasty. They don't have a huge menu, but everything they have ...

Okay this is going to be a limited quiz but here goes my best shot. I hope you enjoy! What's your favorite food? Pizza Tamales Twinkies Ratatouille Which of these activities would you like to do? Play hockey Play guitar Garden Cook If you could impart one message to kids, what would it be? The importance of recognizing and feeling emotions The importance of family The importance of conservation The importance of following your dreams What's important to you in a partner? That they'd die for me That they help raise our family That they're dedicated to the same things I am That they're passionate and intense What's your favorite fantasy/sci-fi being? Vampires Alebrije  Sentient robots Talking animals Favorite year? 2015 2017 2008 2007 If the majority/plurality of your answers were 1s, you're: If the majority/plurality of your answers were 2s, you're: If the majority/plurality of your answers we...

Indoor intellectuals inject invaluable innovations into individual institutes. Inevitably indoor intellectuals investigate insufficient intangibles insofar as indoor intellectuals, in independent inquiries, interrogate indefinite intentions. Indoor intellectuals intensely inventory infections. Infection insurance inflates inquisitions into indoor intellectuals infant innovations. Information into infections intimates inklings regarding indoor intellectuals. Innocent? Insidious? Inhumane? Intriguing? Infinite intentions invade inklings regarding indoor intellectuals. Indoor intellectuals infuse integrity, insomnia, intensity, and inspiration into intellectual investigations. Indoor intellectuals interpret infrared inchworms indices. Indices include injuries, ingestions, and inner infestations. Indoor intellectuals invest infinite insights into their inhabitants. (Prompt by Kimisha Cassidy)

Hrm well I guess I always think of doing things in a numbered list, so here we go. If your grad program has an add/drop period, even if it's only a week, take advantage. If your program is like mine, you have such a limited number of classes, so only take the ones that you really want. The only way to do this is to try as many as you can. And yeah, I know, this may end up making your decisions harder, but that's for the best. Take what you want, that's what grad school is for. Spend time with your cohort. This has been especially great for me in moving to a place where I don't know anyone. It's a nice built in little network for me, but I also think that this would be important even if you have a strong support network already. Your cohort can be such a strong support system for you and I mean this both in terms of completing your academic work at the quality you want and in terms of emotionally supporting you through the course. Cause, here's the thing, unl...

Manejo mi carro cuando yo necesito tiempo pensar. La música en mi carro es mi música favorita. Nadie puede cambia la música. Mi carro esta la temperatura que yo quiero esta; mi carro no esta demasiado frio ni demasiado calor. Mis problemas estan fuera de mi carro. Puedo ver los partes de mi ciudad que yo los gusto en mi carro. Hoy, estoy en mi carro porque fui despedido. Entonces, quiero tiempo de paz. Primero, manejo mi carro a mi playa favorita y veo los olas. Segundo, manejo mi carro a mi panaderia favorita. Yo compro muchos pasteles. Tercero, manejo mi carro al museo de arte donde miro hermosas pinturas. Finalmente, manejo mi carro a mi casa donde esta mi familia. Mi familia me abraza y yo sé que todo estará bien. (Prompt by Kimisha Cassidy)

The more I spend time with my friends' pets, the more I want one. There is something so lovely about a little creature that you can cuddle. I guess there are three major pets that I'd consider getting. One is, of course, a dog. I'm definitely a dog person and not a cat person (but to be fair, I'm pretty allergic to cats). I think I'd like a medium sized dog so that the dog is small enough that I can cuddle him comfortably, but also makes me feel a bit safer having him around. I would definitely adopt a dog so I wouldn't be able to pick a specific breed. I do like wrinkly dogs though, I find them so cute, so maybe I'd like to get a wrinkly dog, whatever the species. I wouldn't want my first dog to be a puppy, as amazingly cute as they are, because I'd want one that is toilet trained. Overall, I think I'd like a dog that is a little bit lazy. I think a hyperactive dog would not be too happy with me. However, I'd still want one that likes t...

Professor Liam Olson was happy to spending his first Christmas at the University of Pennsylvania. He had wanted to work there for a long time and he was honestly proud of himself for finally making it. In a bout of excitement, he had signed up for the department's white elephant gift exchange only to later find out that most people in the department dreaded it or managed to dodge the department's administrator who came around to get a list of who wanted to do it. But Professor Olson wasn't deterred. He had his sister help him pick out a gift. At first he'd wanted to do it completely on his own, but he quickly became too overwhelmed. Should he just do a generic Starbucks gift card? That seemed lame, but his department did frequent Starbucks. He thought about a bottle of wine, but he honestly knew nothing about wine and feared picking something truly awful (these fears were confirmed when his sister told him his idea of apricot wine was horrific). He thought about a boo...

Mayor Paulsen was nervous to start the auction. She cleared her throat and nervously checked her watch again: 12:01pm, officially time to start. "Thank you all for gathering here at the Brighton House on the longest day of the year. We have decided it's time to put the Brighton House up for auction." The crowd shifted a bit nervously as Mayor Paulsen paused and looked back at her speech. "We know that this house has been haunted for some time, but now that the last owner has passed and didn't leave a will or any living relatives, something needs to be done with the house. So we decided that the city should put it up for auction and we were hoping--" A large creaking noise from the house behind her interrupted her. A few people ran form the crowd, but Mayor Paulsen continued on, "that since it's the summer solstice there would be enough light to prevent any malevolent spirits--" "Excuse me!" came a voice from right beside the may...

When Claire got engaged, a bunch of questions began. Where were she and Rebecca getting married? Had they picked the colors for their wedding yet? Claire's family was Catholic and Rebecca's was Lutheran, so who was going to marry them? Had they thought about how big of a wedding they wanted? What were they each going to wear? How big were the two bridal parties? Joint bachelorette parties or separate ones? But the one that had made Claire think the most was, who would walk her down the aisle? Rebecca didn't have any thoughts on it and just wanted Claire to pick someone that made her happy. Claire had smiled when Rebecca told her that and gave her a small peck on the lips. Rebecca was so lovely and supportive that the planning of the wedding went very smoothly. They decided to get married in the park where they'd met. They picked their favorite colors: lavender and silver as their wedding colors. They decided to have the person who'd set them up on their blind da...

Of course I start doing this one as soon as I come home, but I now have some tips/suggestions for those visiting Galway (*hint**hint* come visit)! If you ever need to charge your phone or need Wi-Fi or just a bathroom but don't wanna spend money at a cafe, I'd suggest the Galway City Museum. It's open every day of the week except Monday and it's free! To find the outlets, you gotta hunt a little, but they're there. Plus, if you just need the Wi-Fi you can browse some cool exhibits while you do all of your interneting. To be clear, it's also a great place to visit when you don't need these things. It's also right by the Spanish Arch so it's easy to find and you can check our the last bit of the town's medieval wall while you're there. My favorite cafe is 100% Coffee Club. You get a little chocolate cookie with every coffee, there is great Wi-Fi, there is tons of room, and all of the food is incredibly tasty. It closes at 4:30 though, but i...

Mark was immediately drawn to Francine from the first moment he saw her. Maybe these were just his moth instincts kicking in as, after all, Francine was a firefly and how could a moth not be drawn to the light? However, he liked to think it was more than that. After all, he had been drawn to Francine and not any of her firefly friends nearby. Neither could've told you what his grand opening line was, but they both knew that they fell in love that first night. They didn't think that their relationship could get even crazier from love at first sight, but it did. The next morning they took flight and found an undisturbed meadow. The meadow hadn't been tainted by humans or machines or even other animals. It was all theirs. As they flittered about the meadow though, this changed. A small bird began to circle them, from a distance at first but then slowly closer and closer. Before they realized, the bird was just a foot away from them. Mark and Francine exchanged looks and kn...

"Come on, Jenny, I know you'll love it," pleaded Jenny's mom, Nadine. "But I don't want to move," pouted Jenny. Her parents had sprung this move on her just a week ago and they had to get packed up right away because her mom's new job needed her right away. "The new house is going to be great. It even has a tree house," Jenny's dad Joe tried. "I don't like tree houses," whined Jenny, "I like our  house." Jenny's parents looked at each other. They knew Jenny was sad, but the move was too good of an opportunity for them all. Better job for Nadine, a better city for Joe to create his artwork in, and a better school for Jenny. They decided that for the moment they would let Jenny be. "Okay, sweetheart. I know we'll find something you like in the new town," Nadine said as she and Joe left. "Doubt it," Jenny huffed into her pillow. *** A few days after they had moved into t...

Sisters Helen and Linda had devised a devilish plan. Now, they knew that, as nuns, they really shouldn't be devising devilish plans, but they wanted just one weekend of craziness. They had both joined the order when they were eighteen and had never had one of those wild nights that you'd end up saying you regret but really just be very fondly proud of. They knew that they needed funding and so they found a way to slowly siphon off a lot of money from the school they were working at. Now, they made sure that it was never so much that the kids or teachers were going without, but there were a few budget talks that had the Sisters sweating. But the day had finally come. Sisters Helen and Linda were going to Vegas. They rented a hot red convertible and let the wind take their habits' cowls off into the wind. They screamed, "Vegas!" as they crossed into the city because it's what they felt like they should do. They got a few looks when they checked into the ho...

Rose stared at the little community center flyer. It was bright yellow, so it'd caught her eye. The flyer was for Spanish classes at the community center. Rose had been volunteering there since she'd retired a year ago, but hadn't actually thought about taking a class before. Sure she had helped with set up and take down of classes, had arranged supplies, and had even cleaned up after some. But there hadn't been any classes that had caught her eye. But this Spanish class really appealed to her. A few weeks ago Rose had decided to finally cross an item off of her bucket list: visit Machu Picchu. The planned trip also took her through Ecuador and Colombia, because Rose didn't see the point of going all the way to another continent without seeing more than one country. Of course, Rose would also be spending time in Peru outside of Machu Picchu. Now, while she had booked a tour guide for a good part of it, Rose was feeling nervous that she didn't know a bit of Spa...

"So the first thing you're gonna have to know about this school is the economy of it," Richard said conspiratorially as he led Mackenzie through the halls. Richard had somehow been roped into being the guide to new students. "What, like cigarettes or something?" scoffed Mackenzie. She thought Richard was just screwing with her--she was the new kid after all. "Pfft, no. This isn't prison." Mackenzie looked around at the small windows and stark walls and then gave Richard a look complete with a raised eyebrow. "Okay," he admitted, "it's a bit like prison, but really the economy runs on shirt pockets." "Shirt pockets?" "Yeah we use them like money here. You can save them up and trade them for other school supplies. The rarer the item, the more shirt pockets you need." "So do you all just make shirt pockets in home ec or something? Does this school even have home ec?" "No, I don...

Jack didn't mind that the town called him 'Frosty.' He'd gotten this nickname about a decade ago at the town's first annual Christmas tree lighting. It was a shame that the tradition only started 10 years ago as it was now the most beloved town even. Over the years, the simple countdown to lighting the large town tree had grown to include the elementary school choir performing Christmas songs, hot cocoa and snacks being sold to benefit the town's less fortunate, a toy drive for kids in the town who may otherwise go without presents, a snowman making contest, a town-wide snowball fight, a Santa lookalike contest, ice sculptures, and a large bonfire for the town to roast marshmallows on. That first year though, when it had just been lighting the tree, Jack had been assigned as the lighting operator. Wanting to be a bit festive, he had worn a snowman sweater. After turning on the lights, Jack realized he was standing a bit too close and everyone in town saw his d...

"What are you calling about, man?" grumbled Felix. He had wanted to sleep in now that it was the weekend, but Harry had woken him up with a series of phone calls. Normally, Felix would've ignored a call at this hour, but it was hard to ignore the fifth one in a row. "It's grebs!" shouted Harry. "Grebs?" asked Felix. It had been a bit hard to hear Harry--it sounded like there was a large crowd around him. "Yes! They've invaded Galway! Come quick, we have to fight them off!" Felix vaguely remembered the discussion of grebs with Lily a little while ago, but he'd been hoping that Harry would've dropped the topic by now. There were some things Harry wasn't meant to know. "What are you on about?" asked Felix, wiping some sleep from his eyes. "Check your WhatsApp messages, I sent you a video." "Okay, one sec." Felix took the phone away from his ear and opened up WhatsApp. There were a t...