Ever watched a documentary on National Geographic or on Discover Channel about animals in the wild and happen to come across penguins...well it happens a lot, in fact. They are sooooo interesting. One of the most interesting facts about them and about all birds is that they are always together. They form communities and most of the time they do support each other. Penguins form colonies of sometimes hundreds of them! Its amazing! They work together for food and protection mostly because large numbers = a bounty of food.
Tis the season to make a Harry Potter scarf! My roommate and I decided to make these scarves for ourselves, which turned into us needing to go to town and get supplies. We searched for a bit going to one store that had nothing and going to one store that was closed. Being frustrated, we both decided that what we needed was food. So we went to a little pizza place and it was there that....something happened to us. After ordering our food, we noticed a man walk in. He politely sat down and waited for the waitress to get there for his order. He just wanted water and I heard her say "You usually have to order something to stay." Right then I figured that he was homeless or at the least poor. He asked for a menu and sat there...waiting. Thinking. Wondering. We sat there....looking. Thinking. Wondering. We got our food and went on watching the TV and talking. He then again caught my eye as he asked the waitress "How much for a meatball?" All he could afford was a meatball. A meatball. We sat there...looking. Thinking. Wondering. This really is happening.
I just wonder couldn't the restaurant afford to give him a meatball? Why do people end up like this? How do they get the way they are? One part of me says help the man. The other part says he needs to help himself. One part says feed him. The other part says don't. Complicated. Are penguins that complicated? They are anatomically; however, they are instinctively born to be in a community which is simple. Are we? We should be. Community doesn't mean always giving. Community means helping. I just wonder if we have lost that. Penguins help each other in the wild, not by giving others food, but working as a team to use strategies to gain that food. Swimming techniques and camouflage are all used by these creative creatures to survive. Maybe we should be the same way? A community coming together to help develop a way for this man and other people here and around the world to survive. Putting it that way seems simple...penguin simple. Is it that simple? No. Should it be? Yes. How can it be? Who knows. Sitting at that table, eating our pizza, we thought and felt for this man. However, how can those thoughts and feelings be turned in to betterment and development for those like him. It is a question that needs to be answered and I don't know how to answer that question. Tis the season to give (as they all say during the Christmas season); however, tis the season to feel, think, wonder, and change.
I end with Happy Christmas to the Penguins without a home.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Cold Penguin Spy
Obvious parallelism! Penguins live in cold weather...not rocket science right?? Not all penguins live in the snow and ice, however. Some live in warmer climates, actually a lot do! The rule of thumb is with these flightless, lovable creatures is the smaller the bird the warmer the climate in which they inhabit. Fun right?
The account you are about to read is about a huge, fat penguin that woke up in Antarctica! The penguin...me! Antarctica...my house! I had just awaken from a dream that consisted of me and an ice skater that shall remain nameless (and a night in Paris). That isn't the point. I woke up and as soon as my lil feet hit the floor I immediately froze. The temperature had dropped to 19 degrees that night and the heat had dropped dead. Yes! The heater had stopped and I, along with my roommate, woke up to the land of Winterland. Literally it was below 50 in our house. So, I quickly tip toe to the water heater and turn it up because I'll be damned if I was going to take the normal luke warm shower. I turn the water on and hop in to a nice hot shower for the first time in weeks! So, I solved that problem. I then get dressed and head straight out the door to my roommates work so I could get warm (the blood was getting thick). However, this is where the story takes a turn...a weird turn.
I walk in the store and I am given a mission. Mission = spy on the competition (of the store). A "vendor" had set up beside a restaurant in town and decided to compete with my roommate's store. Big mistake! I then became a spy. Quite fun if I should say so myself. We followed, identified, stalked and even figured out how their business worked by trying to sell them things. HaHa! I felt mysterious and weird.
Why weird? Why am I telling you this? Cold, competition, and spying....what do they have in common? As I sit here putting up this post I realized that they do somehow connect together and connect to our black and white birds we love so much. When I walked up to the vendor's store to "spy", I noticed something. I noticed what these people looked like. I noticed that...these people need this....need this money. Cold and bundled up, they are out there trying to make it. Whats the connection? Survival is was it is...the connection. I was cold in my house so I went to the bookstore to get warm. These people need money so they came to a college town to get books (even if it is a little sketchy). Penguins swim and hunt in the cold everyday! Survival. I know I may be ranting but this kind of thinking always happens to me during the Christmas season. The world is a cold, snowy land and we are the cold penguin spies surviving to get by. Ponder it plz....
I end this post with....Stay warm.
The account you are about to read is about a huge, fat penguin that woke up in Antarctica! The penguin...me! Antarctica...my house! I had just awaken from a dream that consisted of me and an ice skater that shall remain nameless (and a night in Paris). That isn't the point. I woke up and as soon as my lil feet hit the floor I immediately froze. The temperature had dropped to 19 degrees that night and the heat had dropped dead. Yes! The heater had stopped and I, along with my roommate, woke up to the land of Winterland. Literally it was below 50 in our house. So, I quickly tip toe to the water heater and turn it up because I'll be damned if I was going to take the normal luke warm shower. I turn the water on and hop in to a nice hot shower for the first time in weeks! So, I solved that problem. I then get dressed and head straight out the door to my roommates work so I could get warm (the blood was getting thick). However, this is where the story takes a turn...a weird turn.
I walk in the store and I am given a mission. Mission = spy on the competition (of the store). A "vendor" had set up beside a restaurant in town and decided to compete with my roommate's store. Big mistake! I then became a spy. Quite fun if I should say so myself. We followed, identified, stalked and even figured out how their business worked by trying to sell them things. HaHa! I felt mysterious and weird.
Why weird? Why am I telling you this? Cold, competition, and spying....what do they have in common? As I sit here putting up this post I realized that they do somehow connect together and connect to our black and white birds we love so much. When I walked up to the vendor's store to "spy", I noticed something. I noticed what these people looked like. I noticed that...these people need this....need this money. Cold and bundled up, they are out there trying to make it. Whats the connection? Survival is was it is...the connection. I was cold in my house so I went to the bookstore to get warm. These people need money so they came to a college town to get books (even if it is a little sketchy). Penguins swim and hunt in the cold everyday! Survival. I know I may be ranting but this kind of thinking always happens to me during the Christmas season. The world is a cold, snowy land and we are the cold penguin spies surviving to get by. Ponder it plz....
I end this post with....Stay warm.
Monday, December 6, 2010
My Life in Penguins: Baby Penguin (chick)
My Life in Penguins: Baby Penguin (chick): "Where should I start? Penguins...a bird thats flightless, black and white, and pretty damn cute. Penguins...my favorite animal in the world..."
Clumsy Penguin
Well ever heard of the "Ugly Duckling"? Well that is exactly what I think about when I see a little baby penguin. So ugly and yet so cute ha! When penguins are born, just like any other creature they are a lil clumsy...I mean popping out of an egg, being scrunched in there...of course you are gonna take some tumbles.
Today! I was the clumsy lil penguin. I am currently seeking employment ( a whole other entry), meaning I have a lot of time on my hands. So today I decided to wash clothing and watch Harry Potter. Well I woke up kind of late and had a early lunch of soup and crackers then started my work. I began to wash clothes. After the first load , was the second then, the third and so on and so on til' the 7th was finally done. Oh that 7th load of laundry! I opened up the drier to find a huge pile of white bits...it was paper from my pockets and it was everywhere! I got so angry...I really don't know why I was so mad....but so angry that I stormed upstairs. I fell. Yep...fell. Down Down Down. It hurt. Thats not even the start of the day....me and my roommate, Olivia, decided that we were going to light some candles and watch some more Harry Potter. One of these wonderful scented candles did not have a long enough wick to light so having the great idea to light up a piece of paper towel, Olivia decided to try and attempt to light this candle. Well, of course, the paper towel took to flame quite easy and fast! Olivia, in a panic, throws the flaming paper towel into a wine glass and throws it in the sink...breaking the glass. Olivia then became the clumsy penguin of the day. That didn't last long.
Later in the evening, we were still watching Harry Potter, after being interrupted by a Skype date. We all of a sudden smell burning wood and plastic. Hmmm? It was a wicker basket sitting on the mantel. We had forgotten that one of the candles had burned down too much. Of course we went into a panic and put it out quickly. We both then became the dynamic penguin idiots! Just wasn't our day today. But I ended the day meeting a special person.....hmmmm lets ponder!
I actually was a lil clumsy penguin being born today! I had some stumbles and falls making my way through the day and at the end meeting someone special...like a lil penguin meeting his mom and dad! OH THE IRONY OF PARALLELISM!
Today! I was the clumsy lil penguin. I am currently seeking employment ( a whole other entry), meaning I have a lot of time on my hands. So today I decided to wash clothing and watch Harry Potter. Well I woke up kind of late and had a early lunch of soup and crackers then started my work. I began to wash clothes. After the first load , was the second then, the third and so on and so on til' the 7th was finally done. Oh that 7th load of laundry! I opened up the drier to find a huge pile of white bits...it was paper from my pockets and it was everywhere! I got so angry...I really don't know why I was so mad....but so angry that I stormed upstairs. I fell. Yep...fell. Down Down Down. It hurt. Thats not even the start of the day....me and my roommate, Olivia, decided that we were going to light some candles and watch some more Harry Potter. One of these wonderful scented candles did not have a long enough wick to light so having the great idea to light up a piece of paper towel, Olivia decided to try and attempt to light this candle. Well, of course, the paper towel took to flame quite easy and fast! Olivia, in a panic, throws the flaming paper towel into a wine glass and throws it in the sink...breaking the glass. Olivia then became the clumsy penguin of the day. That didn't last long.
Later in the evening, we were still watching Harry Potter, after being interrupted by a Skype date. We all of a sudden smell burning wood and plastic. Hmmm? It was a wicker basket sitting on the mantel. We had forgotten that one of the candles had burned down too much. Of course we went into a panic and put it out quickly. We both then became the dynamic penguin idiots! Just wasn't our day today. But I ended the day meeting a special person.....hmmmm lets ponder!
I actually was a lil clumsy penguin being born today! I had some stumbles and falls making my way through the day and at the end meeting someone special...like a lil penguin meeting his mom and dad! OH THE IRONY OF PARALLELISM!
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Weird Penguin
You ever wonder why penguins look so freakin weird?? Well, evolution is part of the reason. The reason why these cute little creatures have a white lil' belly is all due to camouflage. When a predator (aka a killer whale or even sea lions!) looks up to the surface of the water, the penguin just blends in! And their lil' flappy wings? Of course they can't fly! But those lil' bugers can swim. Through out time, their wings have evolved into swimming devices that penetrate the water like a knife to butter! Weird has its advantages or does it?
Although I may have a white belly, I don't consider myself weird looking. Yes there are some weird looking humans, but all in all most are pretty normal in physical appearance. Humans have a different characteristic that make them weird...their mind! This afternoon started my "weird penguin" day. I had just started to come off the high of finding a new apartment to live in and began another high when I began to watch the USC vs. Auburn game for the SEC championship. And my high school won the South Carolina AA State championship! Fun right? Nope! USC was losing and the room was filled with intensity. I all of a sudden I felt a wave of shear anxiety come across me and as I usually do when this happens...I just stare into space. My mind then begins to wonder and thats when everything comes at me at once. Why can't my white belly camouflage me from this?? I think about, mostly, one person. Sometimes My family. Sometimes My life. Sometimes My career. Sometimes MY FUTURE. However, mostly one person. I can't swim away from it like the lil penguin swims away from a big killer whale. This one person is my killer whale that lies at the bottom of the ocean waiting to emerge when I am vulnerable. I guess it is the mood I am in right now, but whats a blog for ? Penguins probably don't have emotional break downs or go into shock mode when they are intensely and overly stimulated by a football game; however, they do have enemies. The mind is mine...well the memories are mine. I don't usually go into emo mode, but today is an exception.
Why can't life be as simple as hunting for food and laying eggs? or sliding on ice and swimming? Why can't I be an emotionless penguin?
More to come....ending blog with a smiley face :)
Although I may have a white belly, I don't consider myself weird looking. Yes there are some weird looking humans, but all in all most are pretty normal in physical appearance. Humans have a different characteristic that make them weird...their mind! This afternoon started my "weird penguin" day. I had just started to come off the high of finding a new apartment to live in and began another high when I began to watch the USC vs. Auburn game for the SEC championship. And my high school won the South Carolina AA State championship! Fun right? Nope! USC was losing and the room was filled with intensity. I all of a sudden I felt a wave of shear anxiety come across me and as I usually do when this happens...I just stare into space. My mind then begins to wonder and thats when everything comes at me at once. Why can't my white belly camouflage me from this?? I think about, mostly, one person. Sometimes My family. Sometimes My life. Sometimes My career. Sometimes MY FUTURE. However, mostly one person. I can't swim away from it like the lil penguin swims away from a big killer whale. This one person is my killer whale that lies at the bottom of the ocean waiting to emerge when I am vulnerable. I guess it is the mood I am in right now, but whats a blog for ? Penguins probably don't have emotional break downs or go into shock mode when they are intensely and overly stimulated by a football game; however, they do have enemies. The mind is mine...well the memories are mine. I don't usually go into emo mode, but today is an exception.
Why can't life be as simple as hunting for food and laying eggs? or sliding on ice and swimming? Why can't I be an emotionless penguin?
More to come....ending blog with a smiley face :)
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Holy Penguin!
We all know that penguins probably aren't the most religious animal in the world; however, what is religion without ritual...and those penguins have!! Penguins, every year, flock to the same breeding grounds. Thousands upon thousands of penguins gather and just breed! Breeeeed!!! Its a ritual! They also lay their eggs in almost the same exact spot! Now thats some good aim!
I went to church today...yes I did! Today was different. This Sunday was the Hanging of the Greens service, which ushers in the season of Advent. It is finally Christmas time! The usual service went on with hanging up the wreaths, putting ornaments on the tree, and talking about the meanings of each type of "green". The service went on with a hit. Lunch followed and it was wonderful. I even saw a high school classmate that I haven't seen in years! However, things began to spiral down and down in terms of how the day was going. It all started at choir practice. It is the time for the Christmas Show at our church, which is kind of a big deal. Well, practice literally sucked the life out of me and really not much was accomplished. Tensions where high in the room because of a previous matter in deciding where to have our annual Christmas Eve service. And this is where my mind has taken me. The location was changed from an old, traditional, wonderful Gothic Presbyterian church to my country style church. I personally am outraged and so are many of the members of the church...but the few that want the church service to be at our home church don't care....so basically nothing will change. I know this means nothing to many people but it is quite depressing to me. Ritual and tradition during this time of the year means a lot not only to me, but to many people in the world. Christmas is tradition! It is ritual! Why change something? A moma penguin would not appreciate if someone decided to blow up the annual breeding grounds....a whole flock of penguins would be in an uproar! The problem with people today is....we lose the meaning of why we do things. Penguins go to the same place to breed because its familiar because its tradition because their parents passed on those instincts to them. We do tradition because of the same thing. To bring up memories of great Christmas eve services in a traditional and spiritual setting. Some traditions are pointless; however, some impact the feelings around the holidays. If penguins didn't go back to their "love shacks" every year...what would they do? NO BABY PENGUINS! I don't know...but this sucks!
On to watching Hallmark Christmas movies...leaving early in the morning to go back to Clinton. :)
I went to church today...yes I did! Today was different. This Sunday was the Hanging of the Greens service, which ushers in the season of Advent. It is finally Christmas time! The usual service went on with hanging up the wreaths, putting ornaments on the tree, and talking about the meanings of each type of "green". The service went on with a hit. Lunch followed and it was wonderful. I even saw a high school classmate that I haven't seen in years! However, things began to spiral down and down in terms of how the day was going. It all started at choir practice. It is the time for the Christmas Show at our church, which is kind of a big deal. Well, practice literally sucked the life out of me and really not much was accomplished. Tensions where high in the room because of a previous matter in deciding where to have our annual Christmas Eve service. And this is where my mind has taken me. The location was changed from an old, traditional, wonderful Gothic Presbyterian church to my country style church. I personally am outraged and so are many of the members of the church...but the few that want the church service to be at our home church don't care....so basically nothing will change. I know this means nothing to many people but it is quite depressing to me. Ritual and tradition during this time of the year means a lot not only to me, but to many people in the world. Christmas is tradition! It is ritual! Why change something? A moma penguin would not appreciate if someone decided to blow up the annual breeding grounds....a whole flock of penguins would be in an uproar! The problem with people today is....we lose the meaning of why we do things. Penguins go to the same place to breed because its familiar because its tradition because their parents passed on those instincts to them. We do tradition because of the same thing. To bring up memories of great Christmas eve services in a traditional and spiritual setting. Some traditions are pointless; however, some impact the feelings around the holidays. If penguins didn't go back to their "love shacks" every year...what would they do? NO BABY PENGUINS! I don't know...but this sucks!
On to watching Hallmark Christmas movies...leaving early in the morning to go back to Clinton. :)
Friday, November 26, 2010
Dr. Quinn Penguin
Penguins are among the world's most agile and graceful creatures when it comes to aquatic life. Diving at speeds that surpass 12km/h, penguins are quite energetic. Their speedy swim strokes allow for quick feeding rituals and effective preying.
Today I was not the graceful and energetic penguin as I should have been. No, today was the day I did nothing. I have been a little under the weather ever since I arrived at home for the Thanksgiving holiday and just haven't had the energy to do anything. I've been laying on my couch all day surfing through Facebook and yes...watching a marathon of Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman on the Gospel Music Channel. Now you may think that is a little strange and somewhat random, but you just don't know my family. WE ARE OBSESSED. Apparently there is a "lost" season of the show and it is currently being shown as a part of the marathon. At the end of the marathon, 2 movies are going to be shown. I am currently watching one of those movies appropriately called Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman: The Movie. I have literally been laying here for hours waiting for these movies to come on. Sad? Very. I've cried. I've laughed. I've been angry. I've binged on Thanksgiving leftovers and even Halloween candy (so sad). One good thing about today though, I got to see my lil nephew Eli. He spent the day with us and actually enjoyed Dr. Quinn just as much as I did. He did the usual baby stuff like eat, sleep, googoo and gahgah, with little crying. He was very good. But notice he also watched Dr. Quinn.
All in all, today was great in my eyes. However, if a penguin were here, he or she would say I was a lazy fat ass, which is probably true. I didn't even have to cook my dinner. I do feel guilty though, seems like this has been the pattern lately in my life...veggin out. So I have taken a step to live up to my flightless feathered friends lifestyle. I made my parents buy me some tennis shoes. I shall start back running :). I will be graceful and agile! No way on earth that I will dive as fast as my black and white birdy birds will...I hate the ocean; however, I shall run my face off! Goodbye lazy Dr. Quinn Penguin, say hello to RENEWED PENGUIN!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)