Living on Borrowed Time

Day two and the outbreak is raging strong. Forty percent of our population was wiped out in the first day and I fear many more casualties are in store before this epidemic is quelled for good. More friends have fallen and I fear the virus has turned their minds toward evil intents. Lisa has marked me for death and now Libby too has fallen. I fear my time left with my humanity intact will be all too brief

Shut away from the world, hiding with provisions and amusements of simpler times*, I had planned to give tips to my fellow humans on how to survive the harsh days ahead. But some of the zombies retain their intelligence and literacy and I cannot be certain my helpful hints will not be turned to my downfall. So I can only offer the advice many veterans are familiar with.

1. Travel in a group, preferably a group with at least one skilled combat veteran. True, if there are eight humans in a group when zombies attack you may escape even if all in the group are novices who can't hit targets reliably, but not all of your group will live. At least one skilled to two unskilled is an ideal ratio

2. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT eat in the Commons. Yes, the lines themselves are safe to hide in. But once you enter, there is but one exit out. And who know who else knows this exit? Every single freakin' zombie on campus. And they will be waiting for you.

3. If you move around a lot, you are likely to attract the attention of the horde. This means if you have the ability to stay put do it. Yes, this may mean you end up spending hours sitting in Carver Gym (Yes I am speaking from experience but to all the zombies reading this, I will not be in this position again so you won't be able to wait and trap me). But it also means you may be alive at the end of the day.

4. If you can, avoid Red Square (or whatever your version of Red Square is). This is an open space with little cover and a lot of opportunity for the zombies to chase you down before you manage to reach anywhere safe. A fast runner may make it...but do you want to bet your humanity on it?

5. Practice nonchalance and stealth. If you are seen darting from building to building, guns blazing, zombies are going to spot you a little easier. It's just a product of you looking like you're fleeing for your life; it triggers some kill instinct in them. If you however walk calmly (quickly, but not frantically) between buildings, holding your gun at your side or even in a bag, you're harder to pick out as a human.

That's all I can safely give. I pray my few remaining friends travel safely and retain their humanity. I'll see you on the other side.

*Shut up, I know the computer is not old timey but I spent most of my day without it

Learn From My Mistakes

A short blog post today since I am gearing up for the zombie apocalypse tomorrow. Just ten hours until the virus hits campus. I am curling in a terrified bundle of stealth and ninja. I've survived before. I'm just hoping I make it through the coming days. Having been denied the full length of their brain eating time last fall, they are no doubt ravenous to descend upon the unsuspecting humans believing themselves to be survivors.

Since I am short on time (and quite possibly I forgot about this until just ten minutes ago (not saying I did, but it may be possible)) I have decided to give some advice. Not specifically advice for the zombie apocalypse, but just advice in general.

• Do not be so competitive (with other people, with yourself, etc.) that you take on more than you can handle. Such as, oh I don't know, doing NaNoWriMo on top of taking 19 credits. This will end up with a stress migraine, late nights, and panic.
• Always make sure the tap on the side of the sink is soap and not scalding hot water. Otherwise you will feel like you have taken a lighter to your hand anytime water touches it for the rest of the day.
• It is probably not a good idea when you already have bruises on your arm to go and do the same thing you did to get those bruises in the first place. Then you have bruises on your bruises and that just can't be a good thing.
• If you are short, you will always look a little younger than your age (unless you become like a chain smoker or something). Accept this fact and embrace it. Yes, you will get carded for most of the rest of your life, but hey, you look young enough to get carded. And later in life that'll make you feel good (or so I'm told).
• When you are young (especially if you have a nosy sibling) don't keep your private thoughts in a diary that screams "READ ME! I'LL GIVE YOU BLACKMAIL!" (although if you can find a real talking diary I give you kudos). Instead, keep a black school spiral or notebook as your journal. Your siblings don't want to know about algebra and cell division any more than you do.
• You don't have to only have one identity. And you don't have to keep the same identity you decide on in middle school for the rest of your life. Although the book Tender Morsels was slightly disturbing and very odd, they got that point right (and I may have learned this in London).
• You are not necessarily crazy if you hear voices in your head, but if they do anything other than tell you stories, you should probably just talk to a professional about it. It may be nothing but better safe than sorry.
• Hope is a burden and a gift. The ability to hope means that we keep waiting for something better, believing that if we are patient enough it will happen and we pursue dreams after they've died. However, with hope even in the darkest of times we can find the light that keeps us pushing forward, wending our way through the forest until we emerge in a better place.
• Have a spotter when you use a roll-y chair to reach high up places (trust me on this).
• You can only do somersaults from a standing position if a) you are a child and therefore close to the ground or b) have practiced how not to hurt your back when you go down. Similarly, never try a backbend without a spotter when you haven't done them before. you will hit your head and it will hurt.
• You always need to put water in the bottom of a rice steamer AND in with the rice.
• Never cook Easy Mac without water.
• Never put a paper cup with a wax coating on the outside in the microwave. It will smolder or catch on fire and then the whole school will have to leave lunch for the fire drill formation.

These are just some things I've learned. There's probably a lot more but I have to get up for school in the morning. Please, learn from my mistakes. It's easier than having to make the mistake yourself. That's why I don't think the temperatures on the oven correspond to how much of a hurry you're in ;)

Chapter 7.4: Saint Valentine and A Message of Hope

So it's that time of year again, the day filled with groans, cheers, and chocolate. No, not Halloween. It's Valentine's Day. Or Singles Awareness Day if you feel kind of bitter about Valentine's Day. A hopeless romantic at heart, I like Valentine's Day and do not feel the need to rename it. I may not have a significant other, but I still love giving and getting Valentines from my friends and family. Plus I love hearing stories of sweet Valentine's that others have had.

And of course, I love to research things and so I went to look up the history behind Valentine's Day. The origins of the day aren't actually very well-known and the accepted story may be completely fabricated. But the most popularly believed story is that Saint Valentine was a priest under the reign of Emperor Claudius II. Claudius declared that young men in the army were forbidden to marry. Of course, many of the men still had sweethearts they wished to wed so Saint Valentine continued to marry couples in secret. At least two Valentines were martyred by Claudius on February 14th in different years of the 3rd century.

In Rome, during the same time, there was a pagan festival celebrating Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage and fertility. This festival was called Lupercalia and was held for three days, between February 13 and 15. During this festival, men slaughtered goats, dipped the hides in the animal's blood and then slapped women with the hides for fertility. Oh those wacky pagans.

Of course, when Christianity took over Rome, they had to rework the pagan holidays to fit in with their religion (goodbye solstice, hello Christmas). So to honor Valentine (supposedly) they created Saint Valentine's Day, the name of which was shortened over time. But how was romance tied to the day? Well in Lupercalia, the men would choose the name of a woman to be paired with for the festival (and maybe longer if they hit it off) for...fertility.

Today of course, this is really a holiday for the flower companies and candy people, as well as Hallmark. But it's also a day to just show you care. You don't have to have a boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse/lover to show that you care. You can offer to walk your neighbor's dog, give your babysitting services to your aunt (or parents depending on how young your siblings are), or baking cupcakes for your classmates (or study group or co-workers (but only the ones you like ;) )).

So along those lines, I would like to recognize an organization that is showing the world it cares and does it every day. The It Gets Better Project is an organization working to show gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth that life will get better. People can be cruel, especially high schoolers and middle schoolers. Now, imagine you have something different about you that makes you stand out when all you want is to be treated like everyone else. Having a sexuality different than heterosexual is akin to being the most stereotypical geek. Basically, anyone feels the slightest inclination to make your life hell (maybe they're afraid because you're different, maybe they fear their own sexuality, maybe they're just homophobic) will probably do so.

The It Gets Better Project lets those youth know they are not alone. They give encouragement to let them know that this time of your life will not last forever. It was created in response to the suicides of so many gay teens in 2010. And many celebrities and even normal people have lent their stories as encouragement.

I fully support this project. I am straight and avoided most teasing in school since I simply didn't let potential bullies think I cared (even when I did). And I got out early through the Running Start program. But my heart goes out to every teen who has every been bullied. Every teen who dreaded school because of being tormented, who ever thought that suicide was the only way they could leave that pain behind. High school seems like it will last forever and that even after school, there's no guarantee that things will improve.

I can't guarantee things will improve, no one can promise that 100%. But once you leave the narrow slice of humanity that occupies your high school, you'll find there are more people who care, more good people in the world than bad. There'll always be people who suck, who try to bring you down. But remember that you have amazing gifts. You are an individual with so much to offer the world and we need you. The world needs you so hold your head high and remember that It Gets Better.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone.