Time Slip

It's really hard to find a job in the 21st century, and after getting laid off from my first job, I've been searching for any job I can get.  Still no luck, though. I decided to get away and went to my great uncle's house back in Ohio.  He's sort of like a mad scientist, super smart but he's uncomfortable to be around because he's so crazy. "I'm glad you decided to stay with me for the summer, Gibby!" he exclaimed, calling me by my nickname.

"I figured I'd give you a hand with your inventions and around the house," I replied. His house is a total mess because of all the work he does.

"You know, you could start off with my garage, it's not that bad, but it needs some work," he said.  I nodded and headed for his garage.  I went to push the door and I could barely get it open. There were metal parts in the way, and all kinds of trash.  I took a deep breath and began my work.  I picked up all sorts of things, some recognizable, others not so much. One machine in particular stood out to me, however.  It was a time box with a little blue light on it.  It looked like it was in perfect condition.  I picked it up and, all of a sudden, it began to shake and then there was a quick flash of blue light. All of a sudden I was greeted by the worst smell possible. It smelled like rotten meat, mixed with that metallic like smell of blood.  I immediately threw up.  Once I got myself together, I opened my eyes.  I was in a slaughter house, but it seemed like I wasn't in the 21st century anymore. It looked like I was in the early 1900s. "Hey! What are you doing standing there! Get to work!" A man said to me. 

"But I-", I managed to get out. 

"Get to work!" He yelled back while pushing me in a room. I don't know how I'm going to get out of this...

Island In The Clouds

She gasped with excitement and shouted over the noise of the propeller: "The islands in the clouds are real!!"  I glared at her wishing she would shut up. My little sister Iyania was not supposed to be coming with me to my favorite spot.  This is where I go to relax and unwind, make new discoveries, and draw and stuff like that, not to babysit. She always has to follow me around, well as soon as we land on the island, I'm ditching her. We finally reached the island and she started bombarding me with questions "What's that? Why are the trees so big? How many animals live here? Are there unicorns here? Can I climb a tree?" 

"I don't care what you do, please just leave me alone!" I yelled, interrupting her questions.

"Where should I go? What is there to do?", she asked me.

"Go find out yourself," I said while walking away.  I heard her say something in the distance, but I didn't bother to figure out what she said. I immediately headed for my tree house that i finished building not to long ago. It's kind of a ways away from where we landed.  I begin to take in the scenery and try to find something new on my route.  I always loved it here on this island. My dad showed it to me when I was 12.  He told me this is where he would go to get away from everything when he was my age.  I've been coming here ever since.  Suddenly my thoughts are interrupted by the snapping of a twig. I quickly turn around, reaching for the knife in my book bag.  I turn around to see my startled little sister. "I thought I told you to do your own thing," I said.

"Well I don't want to get lost, and I'm scared," she said quietly.

"Fine come with me", I said reluctantly, "but you better not say one word to me." She suddenly was grinning from ear to ear, and I just rolled my eyes at her and continued my walk. For once in her life she did stay quiet, and I was actually enjoying this moment with her. She looked so amazed at the trees, wild plants, and how it always looked like the sun was setting.

"Hey, Bailey, there's a cave right there!" she yelled before covering her mouth.  I turned and sure enough there it was.  I never noticed it, even after all of the years I came to this island.  It appeared almost like magic.

"Let's go in! Come on! Please!?" she begged.

"No, Iyania, we don't have time today," I said sternly.

She rolled her eyes and continued walking to the tree house with me.  We were finally there in a matter of minutes.  Once we got there we began eating lunch, quietly, just like I like it. After lunch I took out my sketchpad and began drawing the sunset. Iyania began to huff and puff for attention, but I wasn't going to give it to her.

"I'm going to go explore!" she said indignantly.

"Whatever," I replied, "just don't go too far." She squealed with glee and quickly ran out of the tree-house.  I was glad she was out of my hair. I returned to my drawing, but I felt myself becoming tired. I decided to rest my eyes for a second. I opened my eyes and checked my watch.  I WAS ASLEEP FOR THREE HOURS. I look around the tree-house to see if Iyania came back, but she was no where in sight.  I immediately realize that she might have gone to that cave we saw earlier. Rolling my eyes, I grab my book-bag and leave the tree-house. I remember that the cave was next to a tree with leaves of different colors, and I see Iyania's footprints in the dirt going towards where the cave was.  I saw the tree from a distance, but once I got closer something wasn't quite right.  I got to the destination of the cave, but it was gone. And Iyania's footprints had disappeared into the rock wall, where the opening of the cave should have been.

Review: 13 Reasons Why (Spoiler alert I guess)

Plot summary from goodreads:  "Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers thirteen cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate and crush who committed suicide two weeks earlier.

On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.

Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers."

I've heard many good reviews about this book from peers, so I decided to give it a try.  I found this book to be very unique and I liked it, however, I did not love it. What I found unique about the book was how Jay Asher was able to swap back and forth between Clay's narration and Hannah's cassette tapes, without making the story confusing.  I also liked that, unlike most books, the reader got a chance to find out what was going through the victim's mind, Hannah Baker, during her path to suicide, rather than hearing about her life through another person's point of view.  Jay Asher also kept the book very engrossing and suspenseful for readers.

I did not love this book simply because it made me very upset in some parts of the book.  What upset me the most was how Hannah pretty much blamed all the people included in the tapes for why she killed herself.  Her suicide was her decision, and just because these people did her wrong does not mean that she had to do what she did because of them.  I'm not trying to come off as insensitive because this is just my opinion about the book, and I understand that people handle stress and situations in their own way.  Some people she had the cassette tapes sent to never did anything to her at all.  But the tapes were sent to them anyways because their names were brought up.  For example, the narrator, Clay Jensen, was very nice to her but she made him feel terrible for not talking to her as much as he should have.  She left the world making these people feel guilty, and it seemed like her prerogative was to get back at them than to simply explain why she did what she did.  Hannah had several occasions to stand up and tell somebody what she was going through, but she never took the initiative to do it.  She had subtle cries for help, but it almost seemed like she didn't really want help.

 I give this book 3.5 stars because, while it was suspenseful and dramatic, it just wasn't really all that great to me.  

Cyanide and Happiness

Lucid Dreaming

Things are getting crazy.

Things are getting weird.

Nothing normal is happening, it seems.

At this moment you realize you're in a dream.

But just as soon as you realize.

You open your eyes.