London Chimneys by Aidan Zieres (A Dark Comedy/Horror)

  I was welcomed to the evening with the chilling smoky air provided by the chimneys of London combined with the savory fragrances that rose from downstairs. I poked my nose from underneath the covers only to have Jack Frost nibble at it reminding me that he was coming early this fall. The pink clouds were beginning to dimmer which then prompted me to light a candle or two to provide ample lighting so I could change out of my sleeping gown and into my work cloths.

  I didn't usually sleep in this long before heading out into the labyrinth of London's streets to do my work. I slipped on my dress and a jacket, and then proceeded to lace my boots. I made my way down the creaking steps into the kitchen where I was greeted with the brightest and warmest of smiles from my husband. In the 10 years of our marriage, his smiling eyes have never failed to bring a healthy flow of blood to my cheeks. It's as though we were young lovers again, still trying to sputter out the awkward, yet charming confessions of each others love for the first time. "Good evening Abby! I made you some tea to keep you warm while you gather some ingredients for tomorrow's specials." he said as he pushed a steaming mug of Earl Grey towards me. "Thank you Jack!" said I in a flirtatious manner, "What will the customers be licking their lips over tomorrow?" He began to dice some carrots and glanced up at me. "I will be making only two specials: A mincemeat pie, and I am creating a new concoction for a different type of Irish stew. I think we will only be needing one ingredient tonight"

 My Husband always truly knew how to create the most astounding culinary creations, and it is thanks to his gifts that we are able to own a very successful restaurant. To newcomers it would appear as a hole in the wall. Very discreet and modest, but we have a very constant flow of customers who we've established wonderful relationships with. We are not wanting for anything, and we live very well within our means. Sometimes we can request help from our regular customers for free ingredients.

 Some of our customers are very close and they reveal all their secrets to us. It's quite charming in it's own way, for them to trust us so wholly. In a city like this, there are many secrets that flutter through the air like embers from the London's chimneys. One customer in particular had spectacular relationship with many of  the people in our area. She new many of their wants, desires, and deceits.  Her name was Mrs. Merryweather. She was an older portly woman who had the kindest demeanor, and the thickest accent. It is only understandable that people would trust her with their private matters. She had the kindest eyes and the rosiest cheeks. Her only flaw was that she would reveal certain secrets that should never be revealed to anyone.

  Jack broke my chain of thought by humming the melody of a song we heard in a concert we had the pleasure of going to two months ago. His deep voice combined with the steaming tea began to warm my nose and cheeks that the brisk air had kissed when I woke this evening. "So dearest, what shall we do with Mrs. Merryweather now that she has discovered your secret ingredient?" I asked mischievously. "Well, knowing Mrs. Merryweather, she will reveal my ingredient to the whole block!" said he, with a small twitch of concern in his strong, dark eyes.

  I began to slip on my bonnet and apron. "Well my dear, I must unfortunately take my leave. I have to go gather our secret ingredient." I grabbed the butchers knife. "It's unfortunate that Mrs. Merryweather has to go. She did always did have the most delicious dirt on all of our other ingredients. How will be know who deserves to live, and who to die?" said I with a slight frown on my face while I tied my bonnet. "I expect we will manage," replied Jack, as he walked over to me and gave me a reassuring kiss on the forehead. He grabbed my shoulders, looked deep onto my eyes and said, "Stay safe my dearest. There are many dangerous people out there. Not one as dangerous as you though. For too long people have feasted on the secrets Mrs. Merryweather has provided. Now, everyone will have the pleasure of feasting on ours."

                                                                         The End

Twitterpatedness

  George White was covering a shift for a coworker at this restaurant called Dough Boy's: Bakery and Cafe. George liked working there just fine… aside from the itchy cap the he had to wear that had Dough Boy's silly motto. "Let's get Bready to Cruumblllle!" When George had first received the hat he chuckled, but after a while... he almost developed a resentment for it. As he entered the kitchen he found himself distressed by what had looked like the aftermath of a an atomic bomb… or a really hectic lunch hour… or just the labors of the sloppy breakfast crew.

  "This is gonna be a long shift." he muttered to himself as he grabbed a broom to help contribute to the damage control. He didn't really understand how he, a sandwich maker, could cover the shift of someone who worked in expo seeing as it clearly wasn't his field of work, but he figured his manager had handled the details. As George swept he noticed Jimmy, the sandwich maker before is shift, was doing a thorough job of cleaning and restocking the food compartments. "Thank you so much Jimmy! I can always count on you to at least do your job." This comment was not only meant to compliment Jimmy but also passive aggressively express his disappointment in everyone else for leaving him with an explosion of mustard and mayonnaise that literally cover the floors and walls.

  After he had gotten settled George was ready to make sandwiches. The happy hour/dinner rush was about to begin, and he knew that, since it was a Saturday evening, it would be exceptionally chaotic. The first order rang in, and with feverish fluidity he had built a sandwich in just under 45 seconds! "Hah!" he exclaimed as he slapped the sandwich  down into the expo window. "43 seconds! That's a new recored!" The orders came steaming in, and boy did George fly through them. Then, a name on one of the orders caught George's eye. The name was Lauren. There was nothing truly extraordinary about the name, but for some reason George paused, and then continued to read the order. The order called for the Dough Boy's Quadruple-Tripple. It was basically a grilled cheese sandwich for adults. Next on the order there were two smoothies. George never bothered with the smoothies, not really because it was beyond his abilities to make them, but mostly because expo usually handled it.

  After he sent the order out, George continued his work. Soon, the work became so fast paced and crazy George thought to himself how funny it might be if everything that was going on was filmed in slow motion, and that Ave Maria would play in the background. "It would be so melodramatic!" Grorge chuckled quietly to himself. After a while of zooming about, he noticed he had cleared all of his orders except for a smoothie order. Out of what was either good will, or just an insane boost of adrenaline that was motivating him the work harder, he decided to give expo a break and make the smoothie for them. He never understood how difficult working in expo could possibly be. All you do is grab pre made pastries, drinks, and smoothies and then run them out to people.

While George was blending the smoothie he noticed a pattern in the sound the blender made and it made a very catchy dance beat, so, to lighten up the stressful mood, George did a little jig to the sound of the blender. Has he was doing his silly little dance he turned and saw one of the costumers watching him. She was a young lady, perhaps 18 or 19, and she was smiling the sweetest smile. George then realized that she was, in fact, smiling at him so he smiled nervously back. Though, on the off chance that a disgruntled costumer might see him and complain about his "irresponsible" and "unprofessional" behavior he decided to stop dancing. If it's one thing that George came to realize, it's that people love to complain about the most inane things.

As he was pouring the smoothie, Rurik, one of the most laziest expo/cashiers George had ever met walked up to him and gasped. "George, do you think you could make these two smoothies for Lauren?!" He recognized it was the same order He had finished 30 minutes ago. The one with the Quadruple-Triple. "DUDE! Rurik! Are you kidding me? How are you just now getting to this order?!" George scolded. He hastily made the smoothies and rushed them to the expo window where one of the expo workers asked him if he  would deliver the smoothies to the costumer. He rushed out and called for Lauren. As he scanned the restaurant for perhaps a frustrated costumer he glanced down at the young girl who had enjoyed his little jig. "I think those are mine" she said in a sweet soft voice. George apologized profusely and gave her the drinks. "I am really sorry we are just now giving you your food! I am so sorry!" he exclaimed! She let out a soft sinker and then asked George if she could have a cup holder. "Yes! Uh… I don't know where to find them see. I'm just the sandwich maker. Let me find someone who does know were they are. George scanned the restaurant again for an employee who would be able to help. It was as if this simple task was his calling… his mission. Rurik zoomed past, George called for him and asked where he might be able to find the cup holders. Rurik bent under the counter and grabbed them from one of the shelfs located right next to George's legs. With his cheeks red with embarrassment, he wished her to enjoy her meal. She smiled a wide smile, and thanked him… then left

"What is happening to me?" George wondered to himself. He had never felt this rush of, for lack of a better word, twitterpatedness before in his entire life. He caught himself daydreaming qute a lot that night. Just thinking about her deep blue eyes, wavy dirty blond hair, and her cute button nose hat reminded him of the actress Emma Stone's nose. He was head over heals for this mysterious beauty that he never knew, nor shall he ever know.

Work proceeded much like it always had. George worked late into the night. However, instead of driving home and heading strait to bed. He wrote about his entire shift leading up to that oddly sweet moment. With a few changed names and an ending that... wasn't really an ending, he had written, what he thought to be,  the sweetest fairytale story.

The End

Feeding the Void with Kneaders Sauce

    I work at this wonderful Cafe and Bakery called Kneaders as a sandwich maker, and I see God using my work to serve other people,  and not just to receive my biweekly paycheck. I have formed a bit of nostalgia whenever I'm at Subway. It sounds weird I'm sure. I remember back when I was 8 years old, and my mom (who is a nanny) would take me, and her charge at the time, to Subway. It would usually be after tee-ball practices (believe it or not I was athletic) and we would order our favorite subs. Why is this relevant? Well, it wasn't so much the food that I remember fondly as it is the memories surrounding it. Plus, it was something special. A treat, after a hard workout and a job well done. It was a treat. Whenever I make a kid's PB&J, or grilled cheese sandwich, I hope they look back at their time at Kneaders and think, "Wow, that was such a fun time in my life." Besides that, I am also thinking of how much food might help people unwind. After a stressful day at work, or a long day where that time of meeting up with your significant other couldn't come fast enough, it's nice to treat yourself to a yummy pastry.
 
There are times when it is easy to make sandwiches and then release them off into the void where they  shall never return. To tell you the truth, it makes my job so much more enjoyable,] when I make food specially for someone. That I might be helping some stranger find their own adventure in simplicity. Just a sliver of happiness to take their minds off of whatever problems they are facing in the real world.

Anyway, it makes the job easier when you know why you are serving. It's sort of a form of love.

Putting the "Extra" in Extraordinary

It's been a while since I last posted. I am very excited about where my life is right now. Nothing totally extraordinary has happened, but maybe that's a good thing. I've just been enjoying what I have. I have a job, a few video projects, and a wonderful mother. Life is pretty slow pace. Up until now, my life has been very hectic and unpredictable. Not in a good way. I love an ordinary lifestyle. I feel like I'm living the way God told us to live. Not worrying about the future, or what it may or may not bring. Matthew 6:34 is the verse that describes this chapter of my life. It has different meanings for me each time I read it. It really used to stress me out at first. I used to think to myself, "How can I not worry about my future? Aren't I in control? " Of course not. The answer is never. God's got it covered. Of course, now I understand this… Well, with that being said, I just know that something will rock the boat and I will return to that same passage of scripture and it will revert into a mystery again. For now, I will enjoy the lull in my existence. I want to try to blog more. I think I may do that. Hopefully they will become longer and more in-depth. 

Getting with the Jives

  It's been a while since I've actually written in this blog. I've had a somewhat bitter outlook on my life lately. It's silly, because this blog was meant to help me look positively and be grateful for the life I've been given. I think I need to return to it. So today... I had the pleasure of enjoying my mothers company. I hadn't eaten a burger n a while and we went to McD's to remedy the problem. My mom is so kind and wise. Looking into the future, when she's the grandmother of my kids, I am 100% positive that they will adore her. I never had a relationship with my Granny, but I've grown to love her through the stories my mom has told me. Thank God for my mom. She is always so helpful to me, and she has such a heart to serve in the best interests of others. This a trait that I am hoping I can adopt. I wish I had her patience. That's something I am working on right now.
   God's walking me through it though. He is giving me strong relationships with my friends. I've been getting out more with my friends lately. There is this place called Jives, and I  just started hanging out there. I have been trying to find people to build community with lately. God has given me a chance to join a bible study, and that is something that I think will really help me in my walk with him. I've been trying to keep my chin up, wear my smile from ear to ear. Sometimes live doesn't offer you that luxury, but no one ever said life was easy.
   So for now, I will enjoy the comforts of food, a warm bed, a soft fur baby, and a steady roof over my head. I need to get rest to help me tackle another day and get to the next step in life.

Love Like a 1940's Movie

    I was just watching and old classic from the early 1940's titled, "Miss Annie Rooney" starring Shirley Temple and Dickie Moore. The story is about two young teenagers who find love. Even through the trials of their division in social class. The story itself is a matter that I may uncover as we dive further into the discussion. For now, I would like to focus on the differences in our culture, and how love is expressed in movies then, and how it presents itself now. I suppose it is impossible to feel a sense of nostalgia when I have never had the opportunity to live in in the 40's, but oh, how I do have such a strong longing to love in that decade. Heh... Before I get ahead of myself, I would like you (the reader/listener) to understand that I do not think people were more romantic in back then then they are now. No, they may have been just as horrid at love as we are... But Hollywood had it right back then. In the first interaction with Temple's and Moore's romantic scene, they cited poetry and Shakespeare to each other.  The most he wanted from her was to get to know her more, and the most she wanted from him was to know him more. For goodness sakes! He took her for a drive and they cited Shakespeare! This right here, is my first point. Now what is the contrast of this in today's movies? Well,  nowaday's when a teen goes on a date in a movie, they expect to sleep with each other. Heck, they even show them doing it.... Classy right? The characters in this movie showed nothing but the utmost respect towards one another. the thing I also admire about this movie, is that this movie encourages men to show courtesy, respect, education, and delicacy with his interactions. In movies of the 21st century, men are portrayed  as stupid, predictable, and simple minded dogs, "who are only after one thing." The second thing I notice about this move, is that parties back then, were kids dancing and having a grand old time of it. Good music, swing dancing, laughs. Today? Beer, drugs, grinding (if you call that dancing), and sex. It grieves me to see that guys in our society have so little respect. For themselves and girls. And that girls think they need to use their bodies to attract these drooling buffoons into "loving" them. Neither side shows much class or sophistication. There are very few times I witness men show patience, subtlety, courtesy, and respect for women theses days. Their are hardly any men. Just boys. My generation is filled with a bunch of selfish, feeling driven idiots who think sex is something to be won. They are too lazy to love. They are too lazy to wait. They are too lazy to spend time to get to know each other. It's just easier to get in bed, do your thing, and then never see each other again, until an "unexpected" surprise comes in 9 months. I feel that I sound too harsh, but it needs to be heard. Now, I am not going to pull the splinter out of your eye, and ignore the plank in mine. I am sure my notions of love are scattered in their own ways. All I want is to find someone who I can respect, and love, and in return show respect ans love for me.

   It is impossible for me to find a love that is as pure as the kind found in, "Miss Annie Rooney," and I will certainly not hold out for the PERFECT women, when I just might up and miss the RIGHT woman. Even an imperfect woman would deserve more than me... and imperfect man. An added note that may help you understand love better, is to recognize that love is not a feeling. Love is sacrifice and devotion.

Last, Something that God made known is that love is an important trait necessary for man to live. Romantic love in particular. I was talking to my friend about "The right person." About how love is a lot like a box of chocolates. You need to read the ingredients before you eat a chocolate, because within that chocolate… you may find something that could harm you. That’s pretty much what dating is. Looking at what makes that person tick before you make any life choices! You might end up getting hurt and then that chocolate is soiled for someone else. Not only are you scarred, but that other person is too. God has created a box of chocolates that is meant just for you, so wait, be patient! When you find the right person, you’ll find that they are as sweet as God created them to be!

Looks like I didn't dive into the movie, but I got my point across I hope. 

Guilt & Shame

Shame... What is shame? What is guilt? Most importantly, how do they contrast? By definition, shame is "a painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behavior." Guilt is "the fact of having committed a specified or implied offense or crime." They both are similar, but the difference is extremely important to remember. To put it simply, shame is admitting to yourself that there is something wrong with you, while guilt is admitting to yourself that you have done something wrong. So, where does that put you? Which one of those states is deadly? With guilt, you recognize you are in a cycle, and that you have invested your passion in something that will not fulfill you, and that "something" is ungodly.  With this knowledge, you can try to break out of this circle. Well, really what you are doing is humbling yourself and relying on God to pull you out. Your dignity and pride are broken and you recognize that, "I can't do this on my own."  With shame, your dignity is broken, but you cling to your pride. Even if you don't realize it. You see, what you are doing is putting yourself in that cycle and staying in that cycle. You are saying, "I am already a bad person, I might as well  keep on this path." Don't get me wrong this is an easy mentality to slip into. However, you must realize that if you think that there is no hope of getting out of this cycle you are saying that God cannot help you out. That there is no hope. But there is hope. If you are already with God, you cannot fall from him... It's called Perseverance of the Saints.