I used my tech tip this week to learn about embedding twine stories rather than just linking to them! This choose your own adventure is a retelling of Ellen C. Babbit's The Foolish, Timid Rabbit. There are three different endings, so have fun and feel free to play more than once!
Tuesday, April 28, 2020
Biography: Dads Make Bad Babysitters
Write a story prompted by a personal photo. What words do you need to tell the whole story, beyond what we can see in the photo?
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| Left to Right: My brother, Andrew (Age 7) and Sean Danilko (Age 4) Summer 2009 (Personal Photo) |
The summer between 4th and 5th grade, my family went camping with the Danilko's. My brother and I were 7 and 10 respectively. Melanie and Derek had a son, Sean, who was 4 at the time. Melanie also had an older son, Tom, who was about 13. The moms decided to run into town to grab some food for that night (I think we were out of stuff for s'mores). While the ladies were gone, the dads decided it would be funny to "babysit" the kids by duct taping us all to the trees around our campsite while they drank beers by the fire. Tom, being a teenager, had a pocket knife and simply cut himself free. I was, and still am, always cold, so I just slipped out of the hoodie I had on. The two younger boys were, unfortunately, a little more stuck without adult assistance. We all had a good laugh and even got some chuckles from other campers who wandered by. The moms were less amused when they got back, but it was pretty fun!
This was also the same trip where Derek caught a HUGE fish at the campground lake... himself.
(Not graphic, I promise)
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| Whatcha got there, Derek? (Personal Photo) |
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| Showing off his newest piercing (Personal Photo) |
Author's Note:
I feel like I should say that all of us kiddos were 100% on board with the tree thing and weren't restrained against our will. Tom and I only made a run for it when it took the moms like 20 minutes longer than expected to return. The only one harmed during this trip was Derek, and it was his own fault with no permanent damage.
I've been doing my darndest to insert a little humor into this crazy world through these biographical writing assignments. I hope it's been working! I know these trips down memory lane have been a huge relief for me. There's just something about that happy nostalgic feeling. I hope everyone's doing okay! Hang in there! We're almost done!
Monday, April 27, 2020
Microfiction: Inspired by a Photo
Author's Note:
Twitterarature: Character Count 119/140
For these microfictions, I found a random picture generator online. It gave me the following photo:
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| via Pixabay |
Two-Sentence, Six-Word Story: Word Count 6
"Don't lie. Who's my real dad?"
Lionel Mouster @Fairly_Odd_Predator
So uh... I just found my birth certificate? Explains so much.
#Wild #ReallyMom #MixedKid #TruthCanBeStrangerThanFiction
Sunday, April 26, 2020
Famous Last Words: Alum Ceremony
As a member of my sorority's executive board, it has been my responsibility to help plan alternative options to our organization's functions during the Coronavirus lock down. While instructions from our national organization (read: overlords) helped to ease the burden by permitting us to wave virtually all requirements in our constitution, it still fell on us to try to keep some sense of normalcy and maintain the chapter's mental health.
We moved our weekly meetings to Zoom, and even pulled money from the budget to pay for a full subscription to avoid the forty minute time limit. One of the biggest impacts in all of this was our semesterly alum ceremony. Per national guidelines, our ceremonies are top secret and, therefore, can't be done over the internet. Supplies and documents for ceremonies aren't even allowed to be kept in our google drive. Hard copies are stored in a trunk (recently upgraded to a suitcase) that must remain locked and in the possession of the president at all times.
Luckily, the ceremony isn't technically required for a member to be granted alum status. The appropriate paperwork simply needs to be filed with the National Director of Records. So, in place of our traditional alum ceremony, we held a zoom meeting tonight to say good by to, tell stories about, and just generally honor our newest alum members. The only thing missing was our traditional post-ceremony cookie cake. To be fair, it's hard to do when we've all scattered across the country.
Among those leaving was my big, Elizabeth. Hence why I've spent the last 90 minutes fighting back tears. She's graduating in two weeks with her degree in Meteorology. Thankfully, she'll be staying in Norman with her boyfriend after graduation so I'll still get to see her. I'm just going to dump a bunch of personal photos in her honor (the one's I could find). I love you, E!
We moved our weekly meetings to Zoom, and even pulled money from the budget to pay for a full subscription to avoid the forty minute time limit. One of the biggest impacts in all of this was our semesterly alum ceremony. Per national guidelines, our ceremonies are top secret and, therefore, can't be done over the internet. Supplies and documents for ceremonies aren't even allowed to be kept in our google drive. Hard copies are stored in a trunk (recently upgraded to a suitcase) that must remain locked and in the possession of the president at all times.
Luckily, the ceremony isn't technically required for a member to be granted alum status. The appropriate paperwork simply needs to be filed with the National Director of Records. So, in place of our traditional alum ceremony, we held a zoom meeting tonight to say good by to, tell stories about, and just generally honor our newest alum members. The only thing missing was our traditional post-ceremony cookie cake. To be fair, it's hard to do when we've all scattered across the country.
Among those leaving was my big, Elizabeth. Hence why I've spent the last 90 minutes fighting back tears. She's graduating in two weeks with her degree in Meteorology. Thankfully, she'll be staying in Norman with her boyfriend after graduation so I'll still get to see her. I'm just going to dump a bunch of personal photos in her honor (the one's I could find). I love you, E!
Graduation Photos:
Meteorology (Swirl Girl!):
Joined ASK (Candidate Class):
She Gets a Little (Me):
She Gets Some G-Littles (Grandma Alert!):
She Turns 21:
Various Line Shenanigans:
Wikipedia Trail: From Goblin to the Western Apache People
If you haven't figured it out by now, I make it a personal goal to make the weirdest Wiki Trails possible.
This week I started at "Goblin" in reference to my Week 13 Story.
From there I linked to Welsh Language.
Third up was Inflection.
Last was the Western Apache People.
This week I started at "Goblin" in reference to my Week 13 Story.
From there I linked to Welsh Language.
Third up was Inflection.
Last was the Western Apache People.
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| via Pikist |
Biography: Pronunciation Matters
Share an event in your life when you later found out you had been wrong about something.
Author's Note: I received a comment on one of my previous Bio Writing posts to "Please write more biography-style stories! We need some good humor in times like these :')" (Thanks Christine! Glad you enjoyed it!). I agree that some humor is very much needed in these stressful times. So, without further ado, one of the most embarrassing moments of my life that my family still harasses me over nearly a decade later. Hopefully it will give at least a few of you a chuckle. If not, I just published this to the internet, so no takesies-backsies.
Setting: Cancun, Mexico. Circa 2011(ish). On a family vacation.
Age: 12 (I think?)
When I was in 7th grade, my family took a vacation to Cancun, Mexico. I can't remember the name of the resort we were at for the life of me, but I do know it was all-inclusive with a swim-up bar in the pool that did non-alcoholic mudslides and daiquiris for the kiddos. I was in heaven! One of the outings we went on was to an adventure park called Xplor. I went zip lining, despite being terrified of heights, and later floated on a lazy river style ride through beautiful caverns. One of the families in our "group" happened to have a daughter my age and was staying at the same hotel as us! We hung out for most of our time at the park and even had dinner with them the next night!
Now for the embarrassing part: While at the restaurant, my little brother (about nine years old at the time) decided to try ordering for himself.
Lil' Bro: "Daddy, I want this!"
Dad: "That's fine, just tell the waitress when she gets here."
Me: "What are you getting?" *has him point to what he's ordering*
My eyes get wide, and I, in my infinite 12-year-old wisdom, blurt out, "Wait, isn't that underwear? You're gonna let him order underwear???"
That, ladies and gentleman, was the day that four adults had to struggle through tear-inducing laughter to explain the difference between linguine and lingerie to me. In my defense, the words do look quite similar!
But wait! There's more! Flash forward a year or so to a vacation in Outer Banks, NC with another family that is now our neighbors. They have, of course, heard the linguine story by now. I believe it actually got brought up while we were eating that night, so it was fresh on everyone's mind. We're in the Dirty Dick's Crab Shack gift shop after dinner and my dad pulls some souvenir panties off the rack, holds them up, and goes, "Hey Jess, you want some linguine?"
Haha. Very funny. Mrs. Donna is losing it on the other side of the small store, so dad decides to launch them at her like a rubberband. What no one knew until after she caught them? On the front of this G-string was a cartoon shrimp with the words "Peel Me and Eat Me." On a pair of underwear. Yeah. Nice one, dad.
Author's Note: I received a comment on one of my previous Bio Writing posts to "Please write more biography-style stories! We need some good humor in times like these :')" (Thanks Christine! Glad you enjoyed it!). I agree that some humor is very much needed in these stressful times. So, without further ado, one of the most embarrassing moments of my life that my family still harasses me over nearly a decade later. Hopefully it will give at least a few of you a chuckle. If not, I just published this to the internet, so no takesies-backsies.
Setting: Cancun, Mexico. Circa 2011(ish). On a family vacation.
Age: 12 (I think?)
When I was in 7th grade, my family took a vacation to Cancun, Mexico. I can't remember the name of the resort we were at for the life of me, but I do know it was all-inclusive with a swim-up bar in the pool that did non-alcoholic mudslides and daiquiris for the kiddos. I was in heaven! One of the outings we went on was to an adventure park called Xplor. I went zip lining, despite being terrified of heights, and later floated on a lazy river style ride through beautiful caverns. One of the families in our "group" happened to have a daughter my age and was staying at the same hotel as us! We hung out for most of our time at the park and even had dinner with them the next night!
Now for the embarrassing part: While at the restaurant, my little brother (about nine years old at the time) decided to try ordering for himself.
Lil' Bro: "Daddy, I want this!"
Dad: "That's fine, just tell the waitress when she gets here."
Me: "What are you getting?" *has him point to what he's ordering*
My eyes get wide, and I, in my infinite 12-year-old wisdom, blurt out, "Wait, isn't that underwear? You're gonna let him order underwear???"
That, ladies and gentleman, was the day that four adults had to struggle through tear-inducing laughter to explain the difference between linguine and lingerie to me. In my defense, the words do look quite similar!
But wait! There's more! Flash forward a year or so to a vacation in Outer Banks, NC with another family that is now our neighbors. They have, of course, heard the linguine story by now. I believe it actually got brought up while we were eating that night, so it was fresh on everyone's mind. We're in the Dirty Dick's Crab Shack gift shop after dinner and my dad pulls some souvenir panties off the rack, holds them up, and goes, "Hey Jess, you want some linguine?"
Haha. Very funny. Mrs. Donna is losing it on the other side of the small store, so dad decides to launch them at her like a rubberband. What no one knew until after she caught them? On the front of this G-string was a cartoon shrimp with the words "Peel Me and Eat Me." On a pair of underwear. Yeah. Nice one, dad.
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| I remembered the name of the resort! Azul Sensatori! via Flickr |
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