Friday, March 18, 2011

Stolen Baby Sea Lion

Love this essay and memory from Marina.

Marina Schofer


Sophomore English

March 17th 2011



I found my perfect washable pet at Zupans Market. As a second grader at the grocery store all I could focus on was the candy aisle and the miscellaneous toys scattered about – Bam! The white stuffed sea lion in the middle of a body scrubber caught my attention; it was hanging next to the natural body wash above the reach of any 7 year old.

I ran down the long deep wooden floors that held the heavy aisles of countless snacks. I spotted my parents among colorful piles of oranges and bell peppers. I skipped over to my parents and right as I tugged on my dads flannel the sprinklers poured over the bright green, red, yellow and orange bell peppers. I put my face and arms under the mist to feel the same freshness each crispy bell pepper felt. The mist distracted me from my goal for only a few seconds.

“I want to be cleaner daddy!” I said looking straight into his big brown eyes.

He looked at me with the humorous face that he makes where he turns his head to the side a little bit and widens his eyes.

This made me giggle. I pulled him down the aisle towards the baby sea lion. My mom slowly pushed the cart with my little brother in it down the aisle behind us; she was intrigued by all of the packaged goods.

I pointed at the baby seal body scrubber.

“Cute!” He said.

My dad picked the one that I wanted off of the clip and handed it to me.

At that second I knew for sure that I was lucky. Holding that seal gave me memories of warm summer days at the zoo and baths with my baby brother, the only things I knew in life was the family that loved me and my favorite coloring books. Life was amazing.

I brought my baby seal over to my best friend Isabelle’s house, we ate snacks and played with polly pockets until my mom came and picked me up. I always missed her at this point. We drove down the hills of western Portland and into the valley of Beaverton. The second that I realized my baby seal was missing I called Isabella’s moms. I was furious, nobody had ever stolen anything from me before, especially an item of such value.

“I just wanted to let you know… that Isabella stole my baby sea lion. I want it back. It is white and fluffy and is wrapped in a purple body scrubber.” I said with the slight attitude I still have today.

“Okay sweetheart!” she said with a full kind heart despite of my attitude. I hated her and Isabella because of my lost baby seal.

I sat on my bed with my mom’s cell phone in hand expecting a very important call. It didn’t come. I called back after an hour went by; I was furious about the ticking clock. Isabella and I were never friends again.

Monday, March 14, 2011

About Culture

This here is an absolute brilliant peace of journalism. It has me awestruck.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/edwest/100079703/why-is-there-no-looting-in-japan/

And solidarity seems especially strong in Japan itself. Perhaps even more impressive than Japan’s technological power is its social strength, with supermarkets cutting prices and vending machine owners giving out free drinks as people work together to survive. Most noticeably of all, there has been no looting, and I’m not the only one curious about this.


This is an absolute amazing human trait amongst a large group of people. I did not read the analysis as to why that is. I will save that for another day. For now I can only guess with reasonable accuracy as to why that actually is.

Japan as a culture has a 'we' mentality as opposed to a 'me' mentality. This is taught from school age on up all the way into the community and corporate culture. The demographics of the Japanese people is quite different. There is less a disparity in income as seen in the United States. The poor are generally taken care of better in the Japanese culture. This results in less need to loot for basic needs. There is also less hostility toward those with ample resources. This takes away the , for lack of a better word, urge to plunder. The need to take what is rightfully their own.

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Purging at 50


10:00 and All is well

  • Oh sheiss, no food for today. Drink only clear liquids and mix this crap together. One bottle of some crap mixed with Gatorade.
  • 40 minutes until I have to take the pills and evacuate the system. A friend said I should prepare for flu like symptoms. I already have that anticipating tomorrows jocularity.
  • At least I have the new REM CD to listen to. What associative memories I will have of that.
  • Of course I am hungry as hell.

Noon
  • Take the four pills every 15 minutes .
  • I actually followed the directions and these pills make me feel like crap.
  • Riley Is eating food which is driving me crazy. I showed her and took a bath. (She currently can't take baths)
  • All concentration now is gone.
Two
  • Okay the directions say to drink 8 ounce of this stuff every 15 minutes. The Gatorade -shatever (new word)mixtures tastes like day old oral sex.
  • The directions said that i would get chills. Check
  • I didn't realize I would have to go to the bathroom exactly 15 seconds after drinking that regurgitated cum. But I did and it was not a placebo bathroom break.
  • Shit , 30 minutes are up and I have to drink that stuff again.
  • All hands on board.
  • Taking a bath is not a wise decision. The bunny hop from tub to toilet is amusing.
  • The colon is 4 feet long so they tell me.
  • Who aspires to be a colonologist - my doctor evidently.
Directions from the Portland Clinic

Foods that are acceptable. Jello, pop sickles soda apple juice etc.
Foods that are not acceptable. milk, creams, dairy, soy nut dairy replacements, orange juice, foods with red or purple colour. I do not see Vegetarian Reuben from the Goose Hollow on the list. I am assuming I can have one.

I did not realize I had to drink a second batch of that crap at 700. The second batch was horrible as it was more concentrated and more crappy. I use that word here plenty.

I was afraid to go to bed because I was always going to the bathroom. I was getting more familiar as to how my colon worked. I also became a little more familiar with how woman feel monthly.

Colon OZ Comy day

My wife couldn't sleep either as I was up all night, but we arrived at 715 on the dot. Strip down naked into hospital garb, and on to a gurney. It was so surreal and calm. I listened to a lady being interviewed next to me. It was so predictable in my world.

Nurse - Are you wearing any hearing Aides
Patient -What
Nurse - Are you wearing any hearing Aides

Patient -Louder -What
Me (over the curtains) -Assume she isn't.

The procedure is such a non event. I was done and out out of there by 930. It went faster than advertised.

But it is peace of mind. The day off was nice. They warned me that people lose their short term memory after said procedure. I was hoping I would find mine.