Winter Poem

This is the last straw.
For years
children have infected my ear drums
yelling and asking questions and complaining
but this.
America,
you have gone too far.
Encouraging little devils to ring my doorbell
and yell to me what they've deemed songs.
Carolers assaulting my doorstep
waging warfare with off-key and
amelodic stories.
This is unconstitutional.
You say I have the right to pursue happiness
but how can I when 4 foot monsters
shake their mitten-ed paws at me
and demand me to listen.
This is it.
I'm staging a rebellion.
Children
Beware.
I am your Wicked Witch of the West side and this time
I have your red shoes.
Children
Be prepared.
Someone's coming to town
but it ain't Santa.

Amarit Thai

Amarit Thai is a nice sit-down Thai place. It was very neat, clean, and almost empty at 3 p.m. It was pretty quiet, except for the pop music (“All I Wanna Do” by Sheryl Crow was a high light) playing through the speakers. The table’s had vibrant green plants around them, which definitely brightened our dining experience. The service was great. The staff was very attentive, refilling our water glasses often. They cracked a few jokes with us, but did not go out of their way to do so, adding to the chill environment of the place.

I ordered the Fresh Spring Rolls. They were delicious. Maybe not the best Spring Rolls I’ve ever had, but they were quite good. They were a medley of fried tofu, carrots, and other delicious vegetables wrapped in rice paper, topped with a tangy sauce, carrots, bean sprouts and red peppers. The flavors all blended very well together, especially after I started distributing the toppings onto each bite. There was also a nice contrast of temperature in the rolls, the warm fried tofu complimenting the chilled vegetables. There was also a nice variety of texture in the dish, from the crisp rice paper, to the crunchy vegetables, to the softer tofu. I would have preferred it with less sauce, but it was still a great overall dish.

I’m not sure if I would go to Amarit Thai again. The environment and food were good, but not fabulous. I think if I was every in the neighborhood hungry for Thai, Amarit’s would be the place to go, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to return.

King = King?

I’m honestly still undecided about this issue. On the one hand, I’m glad we still acknowledge Dr. King every year. I think that the day doesn’t only symbolize a unity between blacks, but between all Americans. Even though many of us didn’t think about Dr. King last Monday, I still believe it’s important for us to take a day off. It’s unusual for students to get a random Monday off, and I think the extent of the holiday helps it make an impact.

However, I think that it’s about time for us to start learning about and paying tribute to other people who have contributed to human rights. All I ever knew about W. E. B. Dubois was a short description of him I needed to know for an APUSH quiz last year, which I have since forgotten. I would know nothing about Harvey Milk if Sean Penn hadn’t starred in a movie about him. And even with a Hollywood movie, how many still don’t know about him?

I think that it’s time for us to start learning about the people who sacrificed so much to help the world we live in. Of course this is necessary for Black History, but I think it is only fair for us to extend our knowledge to people who have fought for Womens’, Gay, Latino, Irish, Workers’, American Rights.

If I Only Were a Shoe

After a lot of discussion and back and forth between my friends this morning, we finally decided what shoes we would be, if we were to become shoes. My friend Kiera would be a suede work boot. My friend Tika would be an intricate, yet comfortable, hippie sandal. And me? It was obvious.

If I were a shoe, I would be a fuzzy slipper.

Besides the obvious reasons (my fluffy hair and the fact that my skin tends to feel like rabbit’s fur), I think I have many of the qualities of a fuzzy slipper. Sometimes I look really goofy, but the people who like me prefer that I look goofy. Have you ever met a true slipper lover who doesn’t prefer a luscious bunny to a plain red shoe? Of course not, it’s unheard of. Also, I really like to be comfortable. My favorite part of the day, especially in these winter months, is going home, taking my shoes off, and wrapping myself in a snuggly blanket. Maybe this isn’t the most exciting thing in the world, but I’m not claiming I’m a stiletto, am I? No. Although plain, this is purely fuzzy slipper behavior. And as my friend Kiera insists, I make the people I care about feel warm and comfortable too. “Fuzzy slippers make me feel cozy, and you make me feel loved”, says Kiera, ’10. How precious. My other friend, Tika, adds that although I would be quite soft and snuggly as a shoe, I would have a rubber sole. “ ‘Cause you have a backbone”, she says. Aw. I’ve never heard something that cute.

So, I think it’s pretty undeniable now that if I were ever reincarnated as a form of footwear, I would look a little something like the image attached to this post.