Improv Writing: Pickles...

I was just given the topic Pickles because I thought I should write something, but didn't know what to write about. I'm writing about pickles.

I usually take the pickles off my hamburger, but I think that is mostly because it's what I've always done. A lot of people don't like pickles, and yet every restaurant in the country still puts them on every hamburger you order. What's that about??

I don't really like pickles, but I occasionally crave them. Any time that I see a great big pickle wrapped in some kind of pickle wrapping or wax paper or paper towel, I want it. Then when I get the pickle and take a bite it's not really as good as I thought it would be. That's always disappointing.

To end this randomness, let me talk about one way that you can never go wrong with a pickle. Fry it. This is true of most things, actually, but when you fry a pickle it turns into something amazing. Also, pickles are funny looking.

Shondell Out.

Encore

This is one of the things I rant about at every concert I go to. I hate encores, and I really don't get how I am the only one. I don't hate the idea behind the encore. In the rare instance that a truly spontaneous encore still occurs, I have no issue with that. I guess I should clarify then and say that I hate the planned encore, which has become the norm in popular music today. Here's why I hate it. I am usually tired by the end of a concert and have no patience for the BS of it. The screaming while we wait for the artist to come back out when everybody knows they're coming. Just keep playing! We know you're coming back out. It doesn't make me any more excited. It just makes me mad. It's an ego thing. Get over it. We all paid money to be here and watch you play, okay? You're good. There is no need to pretend to quit playing just so we'll all yell for more. Really, at this point, it doesn't even mean that people like you because it is expected of us just like it's expected of you. I cheer, but not because I need more music, but because there's nothing else to do for those 3-5 minutes, standing in the dark. The whole thing is false. Now I have been at shows where you feel like you've seen a full show and the fans still really do want more (and not just because the artist saved their most popular song for the encore so you'd stay) so I will go out on a limb here and say that I am OK with the second encore. People don't usually plan a second encore so if after the first encore, the fans are still screaming for more and the artist comes back and plays then that seems legit. I just want my live music experience to be authentic, and the encore ruins that for me.

The Outsiders

I have three things to say about this.

1. This is one of my favorite songs right now. It's a song by Needtobreathe (I don't know why they don't believe in spaces, but I'm sure they had their reasons). Here this is a good version:

Now, what's cool about this, aside from the fact that the music's good, is that Jes and I saw them at the Vogue like 6 months ago (OK, maybe it was more like 4 months ago) and had no idea who they were and now they're at least semi-famous. That's fun. On somewhat of a side-note although not really that off topic, I would like to state for the record that randomly going to that show when we knew none of the bands really - on a week night, no less - was one of the more fun things I've done this year and was something of a turning point in my life. The old Karli would never go out on a weeknight unless it had been planned for months, and even then, I'd probably have a miserable time and go home early. So thank you, Jessica, for that. You rock.

2. I'm feeling a little bit like an outsider right now in my life. I have a lot going on right now most of which has been really awesome, but I'm feeling a little lost socially. My need to date every nice guy in my life has made it difficult for me to hang on to a group of friends so I find myself drifting. I am grateful for my new ITF friends and of course my old, and semi-old friends who are still my friends, but I'm still drifting between you all, and I still sometimes wish I had a solid group of friends to hang out with all the time.....HIMYM-style. (HIMYM=How I Met Your Mother). I'd like to find that, and ideally marrying Ted isn't the only way to get this, but given my history and the way things are going now it looks like I might have to marry into such an arrangement. So wish me luck with that.

3. Finally, what you've all been waiting for, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (confession: I totally had to look up the author). I read this book in 8th grade English class and loved it of course. Who didn't love this coming of age tale? If you somehow managed to make it to this point in your life without reading this book, go ahead and rent the movie. It was good and featured something of a star-studded cast. I highly recommend it. OK, that's all I have to say about that.

Engaged

Reading that title aloud, I realize that it sounds like I mean it differently than I actually meant it. I was told last night that my recent posts are boring so I am trying to make this more engaging. Jeff felt that he would be more interested if I were talking about him so I have decided to randomly drop people's names just to see if you're paying attention. I can see the merit in that so keep your eyes out for your name!

I will also try to write about more interesting topics. Personally, I felt that lightening bugs were pretty interesting and am a little offended that anybody disagreed. I am still waiting on Rachel to comment on that one and share her Texas perspective on lightening bugs. I am actually usually pretty careful to not include names in here most of the time. I'm so worried about offending people all the time that I leave out all the good stories. That doesn't help the interest level so much. I am going to work on that. I will apologize now for offending anybody in the future.

Unfortunately (of fortunately, depending on how you want to look at it) nothing too scandalous has been going on in my life. I finished institute last week which was exciting. This has left me with more free time than I know what to do with. Tilly and I hung out in West Lafayette all weekend because that is her favorite place and I didn't have much to do here. I have just been applying for jobs and trying to get an interview. This is a part of the program. I'll briefly explain the hiring process for those of you who are confused by my "job searching" facebook status updates. The program helps us find openings and has walked us through the process, but we are not placed in jobs. I believe that at one point in time ITF did place teachers in jobs, but they do not do that anymore. My guess is that principals and schools wanted more of a say in who was working in their building or something. It makes sense that we interview like everybody else so that everybody is happy and it is a "good fit". So what I am doing right now is applying to jobs in Indianapolis. I am looking for a middle school math position. Our program tries to focus on IPS as much as possible, but we are now also looking at charter schools and townships. That being said, if anybody works in a school district with any openings or knows anybody who could help me, let me know because I could use all the help I can get.

OK, I know this is getting boring and that is not what I wanted so I'm going to wrap up with some shout outs. First props to the people who are still reading despite the fact that I'm not writing....Jessica, Leslie, Lindsay, Ashlee, Aaron, Robby, Jared, Jeff, Merindy, Grandma Pate.....and the opposite of props to the people who stopped reading (or never started) Rachel, Katherine, Tyler, Floyd, Anne, and my mom. If you feel you were left off of either of these lists and would like to be added - or would like to switch lists just let me know and I'll print a retraction. Or addition or something. EDITOR'S NOTE: I have added a few faithful readers that I originally left off the shout out list. My sincere apologies. I love you all and appreciate your dedication! OK, that's all I've got for now. How'd I do? Are you still engaged??

Shondell Out.

Lightening Bugs

You know the bugs that light up in the summer? As children, we caught them and put them in jars (or those of us with violent tendencies squashed them on the pavement to see the glowy residue). As an adult, I still find myself chasing one occasionally if it's not too challenging. What do you call them? Well, my point here is that we live in Indiana...They're lightening bugs. Nobody who grew up in Indiana calls them fireflies so I know if you mention fireflies in your facebook status, blog or tweet, you're just doing it to sound fancy. Yeah, Ash, I'm talking to you, but I'm afraid you're not alone. I'm starting to become concerned that we are going to push the down-home term lightening bug right out to make room for the Hollywood version. I would just like to ask that we all make a conscience effort to stick to our roots and teach our children the region appropriate term which in case you weren't reading is Lightening Bug.

Let me know if you disagree...I'm curious to know if anybody who grew up here was taught firefly, not lightening bug. My mom actually brought this debate to my attention when my sister used the word firefly in casual conversation - much to my mother's dismay. I had never really thought much about it until then. I'm not sure what parts of the country use which term, but according to my mother, Reese Witherspoon's character in Sweet Home Alabama talks about lightening bugs. I'm not sure if it's a midwestern thing, a southern thing, or just a small town or rural thing. That's all I have to say about it, but I felt that it was my duty to bring this very important issue to light.

Quantity Over Quality

So this happens every couple of months....the posts start to slow and then eventually stop altogether. This is obviously a problem for all of my devoted readers who check in occasionally looking for my wit and wisdom. Well, when I stop posting, they stop checking and the system breaks down. On top of all of my long-time readers, I have been really plugging the blog at school to all of my fellow fellows (we like to say that), but if they ever do get on they are going to be terribly disappointed to see that I have been doing a lot more marketing than writing. So the best remedy that I have found for this is to just write about nothing. The longer I wait to write, the more pressure builds and the task becomes too daunting so I just skip it. So it's quantity over quality for now. I'll just write whenever I think of anything to write about. It might just be a paragraph or a sentence and it might be stupid, but it takes the pressure off and eventually I'll get back in my groove. I've been busy, but things are starting to slow down (at least for a minute) so hopefully I will be able to get back on it.

Weekend Update: Tilly and I enjoyed a long holiday weekend, although I think she was a little over all the quality time we were spending together by this afternoon when she willingly, for the first time ever, went to her crate and shut the door behind her. She only stayed for about 15 minutes before coming back out...maybe that's all the time she needed. Anyway, I didn't do too much celebrating. We went to Lafayette Saturday and hung out with Lindsay then went to Uncle Mike and Aunt Kathy's on Sunday for the Fourth where Tilly learned to swim. It was very exciting for everyone. Currently, I am sitting here drinking sparkling wine out of a Stella Artois glass while Tilly barks at nothing outside. I'll write tomorrow about more nothingness.