Revisiting Mulberry Trails ... More to come later

The sun long had set on the neglected downtown area, and the street lights that still worked were turned on, emitting a burnt orange glow over the fractured sidewalks and mom-and-pop shops that lined both sides of Main. Along with the cracks, the footpaths in front of the stores had blackened gum scraps flattened against the sullied concrete slabs. And all that was left of Dusty’s Cleaners and Lou Ann’s Books were broken signs and dirty windows. Most of the second- and third-story apartment windows that once housed lively tenants had been painted over or boarded up. No occupancy. Condemned. The brick walls of the downtown structures were crumbling and the once architecturally ornate window trimmings were cracking. The only life left among the rotting buildings was a few bars, open mainly for the regulars.

From one of those hole-in-the-wall bars, Bunny’s, stumbled a scruffy-bearded, faintly attractive male of about 35 years old. He was grasping the shoulders of his friends, Hoss Rudebaker and Ralph Meyer.

“You guys,” the inebriated male said, slurring his speech, “Are the best friends I ever had. Ever.”

He said it with garbled poignancy.

With the stench of Jack lingering on his breath he planted an exaggerated kiss on each of his friends’ cheeks. He stumbled a bit in the process. But his friends steadied him before he fell completely.

“Why don’t we go back to my place, Ace?” Ralph suggested, hoping his friend would sober up a bit if they went to his home to relax. Ralph glanced at Hoss with his furry eyebrows raised as if to say “Back me up.”

“Yeah, we could play a round of Texas Hold ’Em,” Hoss encouraged, taking the hint.

Without much acknowledgement, Ace complied. He was too busy trying to walk a straight line on a crooked crack to really hear what they were saying.

As they weaved through the city streets in Hoss’s BMW, making their way to Ralph’s home, Ace looked out the window with his forehead leaning against the cool glass. His eyelids drew heavy as he saw the dark summer sky whiz by, and eventually, he closed his baby blues.

His moment of drunken rest ended seconds later, however, to the click-clack sound of the tires galloping over the joints in the road. It was the same sound he always heard when going to Hoss or Ralph’s neighborhood – a sound that was reminiscent to a horse treading. The ever-so-familiar cadence made the loosened muscles in Ace’s neck tighten.

Ralph’s home stood in the center of a well-off neighborhood; Hoss lived just down the way. The boys in the subdivision liked to show off their big-screen TVs, yacht-sized boats and expensive golf clubs. That existence seemed to be a distant memory for Ace who moved out of the area months ago. He had barely visited since. But despite his absence, in just a few yards, Ace knew exactly what he’d see. It was the same every time.

Speck homes were built close together, painted in different shades of blue, white, gray, yellow and peach. The homes were only a few years old; not one tree was mature. In the daytime, only shadows of houses created shade – silhouettes of rooftops crept onto the lawns of the homes next door. With each new home built, the neighborhood locked itself in a communal cluster, neatly finished with a welcome sign at the entrance. The sign was built out of stone with a rock garden surrounding it. And when dusk fell upon the neighborhood, two spotlights gleamed across italic gold lettering written on the entranceway: Mulberry Trails.

Sleep?

Sleep does not seem to be my friend as of late. But I am enjoying the added waking hours, wasting my time.
I seem to have constant ideas and imaginings and thoughts running through my head. Anyway, I thought I would write something in hopes that I might bore myself to sleep. Long day tomorrow. Interviews and lots of story writing. Then I plan to either read "New Moon" or watch Buffy Season 2. Or hang with friends.
I'm going to stick it out through the "Twilight" series, even though I was a bit disappointed by the first book. I'm told they get better, so we shall see.
I have a lot more words left for NaNoWriMo, but I am enjoying the process and have confidence it will get done. I am determined that the novel be something fresh and new and interesting. If not this one, I will definitely write that novel someday -- the sooner the better, of course.
I won Illini tickets at work today! I gave them away to actual football fans, though. I entered the contest with them in mind anyway.
Well, sleep did not seem to be hard thing to motivate after all. I think it hit when I started talking about football.

How 'bout them Bears?

Crystal

feeling i may be going senile prematurely

Reasons why:
- Yesterday, I was watching a sitcom where a woman was crying about being "late" ... it took me at least a minute or so before I understood. I was just sitting thinking that I never cry when I'm late to something. I just get on with my life. lol. geez.

- I walked in the house tonight and my mom scream "Yay, Crystal's home!" It was sort of late and I thought Dad might be sleeping so I asked if he was in the bedroom. And mom was like "Yes." And I walked into the living room, and thought well he couldn't be because she just screamed my name. I told her I didn't believe he was sleeping. And she asked "Why?" I was because you just screamed my name. Then she was like well darn I screwed up. I didn't believe her still because the TV was also sort of loud. So I ran into the bedroom only to find no one in the bed. Aha! I was right. So I turn to come back into the living room only to find that Dad had been sitting on the love seat in the living room the entire time. I never saw him. Only me. That would only happen to me.

Other things that should be noted of the day:
"What is that?" - Me looking at Dennis Quaid, who looks BOTOXED.
"I think it's supposed to be Dennis Quaid." - Mom

Went to a funeral today where I didn't know very many people. Distant family. Funny though, almost everyone thought I was my mom. And at least one person thought "Diana had a face lift!" Oh my gosh. To top it off Mom was 24 on the Wii. She's catching up to me! But seriously my Mom is gorgeous. I'd be lucky to grow up half as cute as her.

Anything else? I'm sure I'm forgetting something. Oh yeah, my grandmother and her brother, both in their 80s, were debating who was in one of the photos on display at the funeral. It was their sister who had passed. But they couldn't figure it out, so they concluded that it was a man. I could not convince them otherwise.

That pretty much sums up my day. Talk to you later gaters.

Crystal

oh my!

Thoughts (9/4/09)
- Sweet waters and light laughs until we meet again!
- position on health care: Soul-ache doesn't worry folks near as much as stomach-ache.
- ::flatus expelled through bottom:: "What do you say?" Mom said.
"You're welcome," said the smiling 4-year-old. Mom says, "Well, that's sort of nice."
- Word = Verb
- I'll go to the dr. eventually...

Ohhhh...Thoughts

Thoughts for Thursday, Aug. 27 (technically the 26th though):
- I'm way too old to bounce on my back on trampolines...
- I'm scared of adolescent, pre-teen boys.
- I'm scared of all boys!
- Happy dance for 1sts!
- New York Times? Or Washington Post? I'm on my way...
- Guys have a certain radar when it comes to girls running by. Even if they aren't looking, they know they're there.
- 40 for a 4x6??!
- Greeted by bugs today.
- I like my aspargus not mushy!
- F-A-T
- What are those white dust bunny-type things?
- Time?? Don't have any!
- I need to work out...

Untitled

Rough...very rough...

----


Sparkling bracelet –
Unadulterated, so pure –
I did not realize,
How blindly I was drawn to you.

You fooled me with your
Flashy, bogus exterior.
Cupidity that
I measured all of my self-worth.

In trusting fashion,
I wore, no, boasted, your luster.
You gave confidence;
You gave conviction, certainty.

Those expectations,
They burst so immediately.
Your twinkle faded.
Nothing, nothing was left to show.

Stripping away that –
That pretense, that lewd spectacle –
I discovered I
Needed, thirsted, wanted much more.

But now it’s calming
To know your egotism stands
Tip-toe at the cusp
Of where you’ll make your last descend.

And when that takes place,
You, you finite, vain object, you
Will find your way to
A vast, everlasting dark tomb.

Thought for the day (8/18/09)

• Ty Pennington! Ty Pennington! Ty Pennington!
• Happy Bday Liz!
• Delving into a world not my own
• so much to do, so much to do

Floating down the river

On Sunday, Aug. 9, 2009, a group of us headed out to Kickapoo State Park to go white-water rafting. Just kidding. We actually went tubing, which basically means we laid on doughnut-shaped inflatables while lazily drifting with the current of the river.
Nick, Liz and I were the first to arrive, so we lathered sunscreen all over our bodies. I apparently missed some spots judging by the pink, funny-shaped, sun-burn splotches that appeared on my chest and legs after our amazing adventure down the river.
After lathering up, becoming grease-balls, we paid for our trip. On the side of the Dockside Café we saw a dog who was trying to keep cool in the shade. I pet him and he seemed to enjoy it. We also saw a little, little baby with a miniature Cubs hat on. He was super adorable. Cute as a button.
After filling the time observing our surroundings and walking around in the sun, waiting for the rest of the gang (Kristin, Christine, Megan, Neilzen, Jeff, Mark, Jessica and David and all of Jeff’s friends), we picked out our tubes. Nick wanted one with a closed-off bottom, later called a “butt hole.” He got it. His was blue. Most of the tubes were yellow or orange, though.
When our friends arrived, I got super hungry. I was going to get something to eat from the café, but I waited too long and was too indecisive, so I didn’t have time. But I was still so hungry, and after saying that a bazillion times, Nick offered me his Clif energy bar, which at that moment in time tasted like something from heaven. Mmm…Walnut and raisin goodness. Nick walked all the way to the car to get it. What a nice boy.
After eating the bar, I tried to pawn the wrapper off on to Nick. He wouldn’t take it though. So when Kristin came over and said she was going to search for a water fountain, I pawned it off on to her! ;) Thank you and Sorry, Kristin. Nick yelled at me for pawning it away. I didn’t really mean it like that. I just thought since she was up, she might see a trash can to throw it in. We’re even anyway, Kris. After all, you got Beef House.
Once we got onto the bus, we all lost our tubes we worked so hard to select. All that bouncing was hard work! There seemed to be some confusion among the Kickapoo staff, who ordered some people off of our bus because they were not in the “Christine and Jakob” group, also know as the “Awesome” group. Nick thought that maybe we were going to get a special tour after that.
It was getting hot in the bus so feeling the cool rush of wind come through the open windows of the bus was refreshing. And getting to the river was even better. I just plopped right down and got to it. It was a beautiful day. Only a few white clouds speckled the blue sky and trees in all hues of green served as trimmings for the river.
The current had a nice flow. The warmth of the sun beating on my face felt good. Nick found some mud that he started “decorating” my tube with. I got a little mad. But he washed it off, so I was happy again. I put some mud on him though. He had a nice mud stain on his arm the rest of the day.
Once we reached the end of the river, Jessica and I managed to get up the horribly steep hill that led to the where I needed to go: the bathroom. Some people speaking a language I could not understand took forever, and I had to pee so bad. I should have taken Jessica’s advice and gone in the river.
After using the restroom and once everyone left to go to the Beef House, Nick and I and Liz stayed behind to eat at the Dockside Café, which made superbly happy. We could not go to the Beef House because we would not have had enough time to make it to our softball game we were playing in that evening.
But the Dockside did not fail us. The food was delicious. I had a grilled cheese, perfectly buttered and crisped with a bunch of fries. I had a $1 fudgesicle too afterwards. Nick had two ice cream sandwiches. I think he was a bit ashamed of the second one, because he got that one himself (I got his first one). But it was good all the same.
On our way back, I did not want the car ride to end, because I fell asleep in the reclined passenger seat of Nick’s Intrigue, under the warmth of the beating sun.

On arriving at home, I showered and got ready for the game. During the game, the crepuscular rays showed through the clouds as the sun set.
We won that game. It was our last. Then Megan and Stephanie – our super fans – and Liz and Nick and I went to El Toro to eat. Yummers. Nom Nom Nom.

Ninth-grader's musings

Oh to be this girl again! Apparently I have grown up to be stiff and awkward. Bummer! I found this entry I wrote for a class memoir in 1999. Amazing.

----------------

When I’m not busy with school, I’m busy having fun. I spend my time with friends, on American Online, talking on the phone, reading, relaxing! I always am doing something and try to never get bored.
I have a lot of different interests, but what I do the most when I am bored is call a friend. We talk, gossip, and plan on getting together to do something. When I’m with my friends we go to the park, go shopping, rollerblade, dance to music, go to movies, and just mess around having fun. One of the most memorable tomes with my friends is when we all were at the eighth grade dance. That night there was a thunderstorm with tornado warnings, many people weren’t sure whether the dance was going to be cancelled or not. The theme was “The Skies the Limit”, and that was so true. My friends and I were some of the first kids there. We walked into the gym and the not a soul, but the DJ was there. The music was blazing, and no one was dancing. Finally, we all started dancing right up by the speakers. We all didn’t stop dancing until it was time to go. At one point, all the guys jumped onto the stage and started jumping around like a bunch of monkeys wanting a banana. At the end of the dance, all my friends got their pictures taken, it was such a blast. After the dance, we all went over to my friend’s house bouncing off the walls. We turned up the radio and started dancing some more, at about 11:00pm we popped in a movie, sat back, and relaxed. We were we so exhausted and fell asleep in the middle of the movie, and slept in forever.

11
When I’m not with my I could be doing a great deal of things. I could be
jumping on my trampoline, playing basketball, watching movie, dancing/listening to music, be on the computer, or I might just be reading. On a sunny, bright day when I can feel the warmth of the sun beating on my face, I will most likely be outside playing a sport, running, or jumping on the trampoline. On a cool, drab day I will liven things up a bit by turning up the music and I will start dancing. On a rainy day when the wind is blowing hard against the house I am either draped over my day bed with its multicolored comforter engulfing the words of a good book or I am shopping at our mall or am in Tuscola. Days when I’m just bored I will pop some popcorn and watch movies all day, and some days when I want to try something new I will paint or cook. One time I decided I was going to make some jelly roll biscuits. I dug up the recipe, and found all of the ingredients. I measured everything, but then realized I put in too much baking powder and flour, I figured it wouldn’t matter all that much and mixed it all together. It was so supposed to come out nice and doughy. Mine was gooey and sticky. I kneaded it over and over, and it wouldn’t turn doughy. I decided that I screwed up, but I didn’t want to waste it all so I tried cutting them into the shapes of cookies, but that didn’t work so I just plopped the whole thing down on the pan and closed the oven door with a loud thud. I waited a while, and finally took it out. It had absolutely no resemblance to a biscuit and I ended up taking the pan of goo outside and fed it to the birds, and the birds liked it. The birds always like my food. I don’t do much else but have as much fun as I can before I grow up being stiff and awkward.

12
I don’t spend my free time wasting my life away. I spend it having fun. If everyone didn’t know how to have fun, life as we know it would be dull and boring and I wouldn’t know how to live. Everything would be confusing and worn out like dead leaves. Free time is the time when a person can do whatever they want to do and enjoy doing it. Free time is the fun time, and there isn’t another word that can describe it better for me.

Blooger #5

Thoughts for 8/8/09

- What's wrong with our balls? - Me
Nothing's wrong with our balls, but that's kind of a personal question, don't you think? - Dad

- I kissed your hair, and you liked it. - Mom

Blooger No. 4

Thoughts (07/26/09):

• I don't know why I get the strawberry, when all I really want is the raspberry.


• Gummy bears are the best.


• Karate chop that softball!


• Heads UP!


• Congratulations, Katie!


• Thank you, Megan!


• Pillows are so awesome!


• Children's novel? Maybe. Eventually. Only 59,000 words to go. :)


• I like dog snakes. If all snakes could be like dogs, that would be terrific.


• Clouds shaped as five-mile sized lobsters are awesome.


• Running is not easy on my knees. Knee brace...probably. Knee replacement...inevitable.


• My bike ride was super relaxing. But I kept thinking those kids were going to eat me. I shouldn't be scared of kids...but they weren't laughing or smiling or anything. They were glaring...

Blooger No. 3

I'm just going to continue with my thoughts for the day (07/23/09):

- Looks like we're in for froggy weather. Thanks WCIA.
- Paul was a Pharisee.
- Learned today there was a guy who fell asleep in worship service and fell out of a window and died, but through the power of the Holy Spirit, he came back to life (Check it out: Acts). That's pretty awesome.
- 1,900 pounds does not equal a ton. Get it right, Crystal!
- What do you think it means when someone comes up to you, after you just spoke in front of a crowd, to tell you that public speaking will get better with time?
- I really like having chocolate pudding pie. It's delicious.
- I also really like fruit and custard mixed in a bowl of deliciousness. I wish I had Ashley's cooking skills.
- I love Max the Cat. He's my favorite.
- Furlough. Burlough. Tomorrow!!
- I should really visit the printing press, so I understand it.
- The "E" is supposed to be there.
- My mom thinks I'm possessed because my Diet Pepsi made me burp. It's not MY fault. The Diet Pepsi possessed me.
- Let's debate about Obama's decision to talk about racial profiling in his press conference about health care.
- Do you really want to know my thoughts about the health care plan?
- It does seem like a good idea to focus on what we can do, rather than the things we cannot do. Good thoughts.

Have a vunderful day!

C

Blooger No. 2

Because I had oh so much fun writing down my thoughts from yesterday, here's some thoughts for today, (07/22/09):

• Attack of the llamas! NO!
• Give me a Hersey's anyday! I want me some processed chocolate! None of that pure cocoa bean, expensive crap.
• High fives make me happy.
• People do not understand the phrase free distribution.
• SEVEN = the number of days of vacation I have left. How should I spend them? Leave in comments if you want!
• I am not sleep deprived today, despite popular opinion.
• Press pass to County Fair = AMAZING.
• Dumm Dumm Suck Suck. Still Funny.

Blooger No. 1

I decided to try out blogging. I'm not sure how I will end up using this space, but here's to trying something new.

For my first blog, I will post a Thoughts for the Day (07/21/2009) entry:

• Maybe next week I will beat my deadline.
• Sleeeeeep needed. That need directly coincides with working a lot of hours in a row.
• I have a big mouth ... and a quick trigger finger when it comes to sending messages via the wonderful world of cyberspace. I ruins everything with this flaw.
• Greeting people with an enthusiastic cheer is not weird. It's love. Let's change what normal means.
• Old U2 is better than new U2.
• It's a small world. It is, Mr. Turkey-On Wheat-Sandwich-maker-Subway-employee.
• Chinese lady is kind-hearted. She gave me extra chicken in my takeout box. But that does not mean she was hitting on me.
• Eating Chinese directly after eating Subway is counterintuitive.
• Strawberry/Peach slushies are yummmmy!
• Dumm Dumm. Suck Suck. Dumm Dumm give me Gum Gum.
• Mystery flavor dum-dum (spelling?) suckers taste like purple medicine.
• Liz sings disco stick song well ... weird song, though.
• Golddigger song makes me laugh.
• I wish I could rap.