A small update, a mini movie review, and a poem

It was a weird week of testing at the school I work at. I think sitting quiet for two hours, for these kids, is like putting new batteries in a slow moving toy. All of a sudden that toy is moving with new purpose and can't wait to show you all the new tricks it has learned. What I am getting at is the rest of the day is filled with very excitable students who need to express themselves. Expecting them to focus after the test is over is simply insane. I tried to ask for their attention for brief periods and then allow them to work on their own at a reasonable noise volume. Of course my definition of reasonable noise volume is slightly higher then it was when I walked in as a brand new teacher. Either way it was relatively painless last week. This week we finish up the testing and I am trying to figure out how to be better prepared. I would like the week to be even smoother.



During the week I happened to fit in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. I was hesitant to see this movie because the previews turned me off for some reason. I am happy to report that I was completely wrong about this movie. It was a very fun and entertaining little flick. I recommend that you check it out. I have heard it is based off of a comic book, more specifically I believe it was a Japanese comic book. I have done no research so I might be completely off my rocker. I don't plan on doing research for that matter. The movie is set up kind of like a video game. Scott Pilgrim fights ex-boyfriends of a dame he has the hots for and when he defeats them he gets rewarded with coins. There is also cheesy old school game music in the beginning. The movie is based around a guy named Scott Pilgrim who had his heart broken by a now famous rock chick. He seems to have a pattern of being in relationships he is not invested in since his dumping. He is in a floundering rock band and lives with a friend, and it is a studio with one bed, for free. He starts the movie off dating a seventeen year old girl with a cool name, Knives Chau, who ends up being a little stalkery and definitely a little intense. He then meets Ramona Flowers and is instantly enchanted. Of course because he is kind of a jerk, though a likable jerk, he fails to end the relationship with the 17 year old until a little later. He doesn't like dealing with emotions or something. Anyway eventually he discovers by choosing to pursue Ramona that he must battle her 7 evil exes to win her. This is not her idea but something she has been putting up with because of her habit of dating evil guys. It is kind of fun to watch the silly battles and see this scrawny kid come up a winner. It is kind of a strange movie but after my skepticism faded (like 2 minutes in) I really fell in love with it's quirkiness. In fact, I think I even had a mini crush on Scott's special lady friend. It has since passed (or has it?) but I do believe you might develop a crush while watching the movie too. Like I said go grab this flick and watch it!

And now for my first poem in months (hope it doesn't suck):

Spring: The Haiku
Warm days lure me out
for fantastic walks, hikes, runs and hoops.
Hold off summer heat!!

The Advantage - a poem

I would follow you anywhere
Even when you pretend I am not there.
I wait everyday
For you to call my name
Days fly by
I am getting older
Yet you continue to stun,
With your unaltered beauty.
I get crabbier and
You get more desirable.
My life slips by
And yet I wait,
Simply hoping to be noticed.

Deep Sleep - a poem

I dream so deep when I sleep
Never as much as now
I see my failings,
and all my true fears,
brought to life

I have felt so dead,
so completely devoid,
for so long
That these dreams,
my inner thoughts,
are remembered while awake

With a profound sense of dread,
I continue along my chosen path
believing in a miraculous cure
One that can't possibly exist

Hoping that one more word,
one more look,
or perhaps one more drink
will be all I need.

As the saying goes,
life is for those that sieze it
Yet I dream so deep when I sleep
that sometimes I refuse to open my eyes

Steam - A poem

Steam released in the crisp morning
Sends signals to my brain
I look in shock
thinking the world is on fire

Cold Medicine Is Magic - a poem

My dayquil addled brain
is awash in pretty images
I react slowly to questions
I seem to almost ponder my words
And damn if I don't come off as a good listener
But it won't last
I can't have a cold forever
Does dayquil make me a better person?
Should I never stop taking it?

Leaf Blowers Blow - A Poem

Yellow leaves fall
I kick them as they brown
It's a flow of vibrant colors
Always amazing, the beauty,
And out of death.
The leave falls to the ground
Waiting for loud blowers to come by
Move them to where they belong...
But I am not done kicking them!
I missed the seasons as a kid
No yard of leaves to rake into a pile
That call for you to jump in
Stupid leaf blower man
Stop that!
How will I ever recapture my lost youth!
Evil, evil satan worshipping gardener!

- Rev. Michael James Williams
10/13/07

Mastermind - A Poem

He swore it wouldn't happen again
And yet there it was
Plain as day
What would be his excuse this time
"how did that get there?"
The old innocence technique, Good one!
Yet they don't buy it
"It followed me home, honest!"
Good show old chum,
That one will definately work
That's odd they seem to be rejecting it
"my dog ate it!"
Hmmm... a bit confusing
Good ploy throw them off their game!
And yet still no success...
I am at a loss for how will he explain it this time
I think he is caught this time...
"I love your new hairstyle! You look radiant!"
UH...... uh.....
IT WORKED!!!

- The Reverend Michael James Williams
July 19, 2004

Corporate Practices - A poem

The company stock has dropped.
A cry from above,
An evil CEO overlord calls out
"I need the blood of CHICKENS TO FLOW!
Fill the streets with their blood....
Your job depends on it!"
The company has failed to sacrifice enough chickens
And their doom has been spelled out
People no longer feel the need to be loyal
The spell is broken
The devil made a new deal
He has a new top corporation
They steal, they cheat, they lie
And worst of all they give more blood
Poor, poor chickens!


-Michael Williams 10/5/2007

Ode to the Apartment Laundry

Ode to the Apartment Laundry

Dearest Laundry Abandoner,
I was dismayed to find a load of stray clothes in the dryer.
It had sat there for at least 30 minutes as I washed my clothes
And with wet garments in hand I found the dryer full.
I was dismayed, upset even
However I had let my laundry sit for 30 minutes in the past as well
I decided to see this as a minor setback, a thing to be overcome.
I made due with one dryer
Absolutely sure that the laundry would be claimed
I set my timer for 30 minutes, half a dryer cycle
Thinking an hour is enough time to remember your wares...
When the half hour passed
I walked down in the dreary rain to find your clothes still retaining the dryer
My mind flashed devilish ideas like depositing your clothes on top of the dryer
But I didn't want to disturb them,
After all it is an easy mistake to make
Maybe amidst getting kids to bed you had temporarily forgotten
I was confident given a half hour longer you would correct this egregious error.
I shouldn't have been so generous.
I loaded my one dryer with my second load of clothes
Knowing that another load was still waiting
And a dryer was sitting filled but not used,
I retired to the Batcave.
An hour went by and I descended from my hovel
Into the dreary rain and down to our humble laundering facility,
Your things still clogged one of the dryers,
Like the edge of spittle on an old man's mouth.
It enraged me
I barely stopped myself from dashing your purloined cloth to the ground
And proceeding to stomp my muddy wet shoes into the fabric.
Instead I loaded my third load into the one remaining dryer
I went back to my perch and in an hours time was called back down to tend my laundry.
Only to find your vile threads festering in the dryer
Causing it to putresce and disintegrate before my eyes.
I finished hanging my clothes and I ascended back to my lair,
Still miffed by your evil inconsiderate ways.
I found myself sitting in front of a seldom used sticky note pad
I began to write all my wishes for your imminent demise upon it
When it occurred to me what I could do to strike a blow against this injustice
So I carefully crafted a note and snuck it back down.
I brazenly stuck the note to the front of the dryer
And it read:

Dear Inconceivably Inconsiderate Neighbor,
I am sorry to inform you of this but the dryer caught on fire while your clothes sat for hours. I was desperate to put the fire out and save the clothing you hold dear enough to have forgotten. So I did the only thing I could do I unzipped my pants and urinated on them. I am sure you will be very glad to know of the courageous and unflinching act I took on your behalf. I need not be thanked personally as I know your many prayers of thanks will include your anonymous benefactor. Anytime you feel like occupying a dryer for hours on end in the future just let me know and I will keep a very close watch on them. Always here for you.
Yours truly,
Urine Man

A Halloween Poem

"The Knock"

It was Halloween night and I was bored
There was nothing to do, no movies of gore

I sat there reclined in my trusty blue chair
As my eyes took on a vacant glare

Flipping the channels, with my old gnarled remote
Huddled down in my old house coat

No trickers and no treaters came by my door
Not even with half of all the candy at the damn store!

When out on the porch came a big racket
As if someone wanted in, knocked hard, enough to crack it

I rushed to the door to peep through the hole
I saw a man who stood there with a name badge: Hi my name is Joel

I threw open my door and shook his hand
“Damn glad to meet you my name is Stan!”

He seemed quite shocked, a might taken back
With a puzzled expression he asked “Do you know Jack?”

“I have never met him! But I am sure he is great!
Are you hungry? Or have you just ate?”

I offered him some candy, all he could take
He said “Sorry, I don’t know you. But everything’s jake!

I am ok, I just have to go
I got all mixed up and knocked on the wrong doe!”

So I slammed the door, shut hard in his face
Figured next time that door rang I would come out with mace!

-Mike Williams 10/31/06

Life, learning, living and poetry

It seems I have forgotten the blog. A new job and a new scholarly pursuit and the blog gets the back burner treatment. The new job is great, the people are nice and it seems like something I can do. I especially like that it is actually paying me a wee bit of money. I plan on working there for a while and trying out other departments. I know that it will be the usual call center environment where you have to strap in and hold on. The thing that works is that I am not selling people anything. I am just trying to help them out.

That brings me to the scholarly pursuit. I enrolled in the Art Institute for the Media Arts and Animation degree. It is online so everyday after work I come home and do my homework. That has been a lot of fun. There are a variety of people that populate the online learning environment and so far I have found them all pretty interesting. I think I will be able to learn something from the people I am taking the class with. Some of them have a lot of experience in the industry and some just seem to like to draw. Anyway I jumped in head first so I hope I made a good choice. We shall see where all the cards fall.

I have been writint a little bit every day. So even though I am not on here I am still writing. I wanted to share something with you:


The Slow Down

The soft rays of the setting sun cling desperately to the earth,
Things are left half in shadow, my balcony railing, my arms and my legs
The other half glows in the soft yellow sunlight of a day nearing its end
The weather betrays no trace of the changing seasons
Sunny, warm and bright: 3 words that completely describe this day
Wind rustles through the leaves of the still very green trees
Creating a soft shushing sound like a mother calming her baby
I watch and hear it all
As the Sun's rays turn a glowing orange
Before descending into the darker colors of night