My Cardboard Balcony

Wow. It's already almost June. June this year means a lot of things to me. It means the end of my time as an AmeriCorps instructor at my elementary school site (though I'll still be working with AmeriCorps until July 13th). It means my girlfriend's graduation from university with a B.A. in Drama (I get to see some good friends when I go down for her ceremony, too, which is a plus). It means Father's Day (Thanks for everything, Dad). And it means my twenty-fourth birthday on the 21st. Twenty-four is kind of an interesting age to be at. Not an awkward one, mind you. Yes, twenty-four doesn't open up anything new for you like sixteen, eighteen, and twenty-one did, but then again, twenty-three isn't meant to be a society-approved landmark year, either. Twenty-four's not quite at twenty-five, which is a nice, solid age number to be at, and hey, you get to legally rent a car! But twenty-four is still an interesting age. It's at least the same number as the

NOTE: This is going to be a slightly different presentation of "Whims of the Time Traveler" than usual. The initial draft was written back in the fall of 2006, as a high school project for an English class literally called "Myth and Fantasy." The assignment was to create a completely original creation story, for the universe, Earth, and humanity. Many people wrote small origin myths. I, however, took it to the extreme. The last modified version of this was January 8th, 2008. This is Part Two. Earthe Maeliz by Belinda Roddie Part Two: The Balance Rejoice and blow the trumpets loud For Firrah, our glorious queen! And praise the ground we trod upon, For Tumen, our glorious king! For they at last are bound in love While breaking our nourishing bread; Rejoice and blow the trumpets loud For Tumen and Firrah are wed! The wedding was attended by all creations that

When people think "barren," they immediately draw their imaginations toward a wasteland. When we think "wasteland," we think of a vast, empty space where nothing lives and nothing has enough energy to actually die. We view it as a desert, or a tundra, with nothing but a faint, warm breeze blowing dust into our eyes as we pass the no man's zone. But I live in a Wasteland. And it is far different than you would ever predict.