Xeries

I sat in my office, feet propped up on desk, lights off, “doing paper work,” when there was a light rap on my door. I sit up and grab the pen out of my ear to make it look like I was actually doing something. “Come in,” I call out. The door opens, and my secretary walks in. “It’s just your mail, Mr. Tigah,” she tells me. “You can go back to napping.”

“I’ll have you know I was working hard…on that nap. Anything good?”

“Just bills. Junk mail. And a letter from the mayor’s office. Looks important.”

I take the mail from her and skim through, looking for the mayor’s letter. I find the envelope and open it. It’s what I was expecting. He spared no cost on the invitations. It was white, with golden letters informing me I was formally invited to the celebration of his birthday. You know in high school, how there’s that major party you can’t miss, and you don’t get the invite until the last minute? That’s what this felt like. But here it was; my ticket in to the celebration of the year. Anybody who’s anybody will be there. Most businesses will be closed that day. And it’s less than a week away. 

Will you be attending?

What the heck are you talking about?

 

 

This is a story.

About a guy.

He was a good guy.

Fun to be around.

And really funny.

Everyone thought he was hilarious.

But that was actually a problem.

You see, since he was funny, people liked him. They wanted to be around him when they were sad. But they kind of took him for granted. They kinda used him. They only cared about what he had to say if it was funny. They didn’t care to hear his thoughts or opinions; didn’t bother to dig deeper; get to know him better. 

But he was used to it

He understood. They didn’t do it on purpose. They just didn’t think about it.

And so he made them laugh. He let them sit by him when they needed to be cheered up. He watched as they turned to each other for help, for comfort, for an actual relationship; brushing him off as the funny guy. He experienced pain, but only every now and then, when a wave of loneliness would wash over him.

But most of all, he waited.

Waited for someone to come along that cared enough to dig deeper. To learn about the man beneath the jester’s costume. To be the one he could confide in; share thoughts with; to show the rest of him to.

To care. To be a friend.

But he waited.

This is a story. 

About a guy.

Who is still waiting.

But for now, he’ll be content with Xanga. 

 

 

I was 8. I was on my way back to our classroom when I heard a member of the staff make an announcement in a room I was passing. Something about a plane crashing. I wondered why it was a big deal. Planes crash all the time, right? They never announce it in school. I don’t give it a second thought and return to my class. Not long later, that same staff member passes our room again. It’s quite enough to hear the second announcement of a second plane. Apparently someone in the office had a radio, and that’s where they were getting the information. A few minutes later, a third announcement: a building had collapsed. Then a fourth: a second building fell. I still wasn’t sure what the big deal was. It wasn’t til I got home and saw the videos playing, and replaying, and replaying, that I knew what happened. But I still didn’t understand. Until that day, I had never even heard of the World Trade Center. Then I watched it collapse. I still wasn’t sure what it meant. I thought since the building was on fire, all the people had been evacuated. Normally, I would’ve thought watching this huge building tumble would’ve been neat. But I could tell this was different. Something wasn’t right. The news people kept saying things like “attack on our nation,” and “terrorist attack.” I knew that wasn’t good. Then I heard about the Pentagon. I knew that building was important. That’s when I started figuring out something very bad had happened. But it still took a few days for me to fully gather what had happened that day.

When I finally understood, I cried.

I was 8 when course of our country, our world, was changed.

Though I was sad, I couldn’t comprehend what the families of those involved must have felt. The pain of loss; the long for revenge; the sorrow of a hole left in their life because a loved one was ripped from their lives forever.

Then I heard the story of United 93. The amazing bravery of the people on the plane. I wonder how many lives they saved; how many families that didn’t have to feel that sense of loss because that plane never made it to its intended destination.

Today our church did a huge memorial service entitled “Fallen, but not Forgotten.” They invited and honored all the first responders in our area of Michigan. They composed a video of all the tragic events of that day. It’s been 10 years, and I still cried after that video.

To all those who died in that attack, I’m sorry. I hope you lived in a way that left a good legacy for your families, and that you left this world with no regrets, ready to meet God Almighty.

To those who risked and lost their lives going into that building, thank you, for showing us what true, pure heroism is. I hope you, too, left ready for eternity. May you be rewarded in Heaven for your bravery on earth.

To the families who lost someone, may God give you comfort in dealing with the loss, and strength to live a life that would make that loved one proud.

To those of you like me, who didn’t know someone involved, but witnessed the event unfold, may you and I learn from these, and let not their lives go to waste, but always remember the bravery, heroism, and patriotism shown on that day. May we always thank God for this country and never lose sight of the morals it was founded on.

And most of all, may God bless America.

 

 

Surprisingly, the greatest animal ever is not the Tigah. Though it is a close second.

But by far, the greatest animal is the penguin.

Besides their obvious aura of awesomeness, penguins are easily the best dressed creature of the Animal Kingdom.

Never does the penguin have to wake up early and rush around to get ready for the day. He just wakes up, hops out of bed, and is already the sharpest of the bunch.

(Unless, of course, the bunch are a bunch of penguins. Then they are all equally sharp.)

Yet, despite their formal attire, they are no strangers to fun.

In their wintry abode, one can find them slipping and sliding up and down the snowy hills.

And to top it all off, they are very family oriented.

These are just a few reasons as to why the penguin is the greatest animal.

Oh yeah, plus they’re all ninjas.

 

 

                                                                    

 

                                                                      

Oh to be a cloud!

To simply float so high above.

Not to have to feel the pain

Of life; of loss; of love.

Oh to be a cloud!

To just drift across the sky.

To look down and watch

And wait as time slips by.

Oh the sights that they must see.

The things they are witness to

As they continue their gentle glide

Floating across the open blue.

Sometimes looking so majestic,

Like mountains in the sky, they soar.

Other times, just a narrow wisp,

Vanishing, to be seen no more.

In silence they trek on

Nothing escaping their watchful eye

Without feelings, they look down

Simply observing you and I.

Impartial, with no emotion

Having no feelings at all

Only doing what is required:

Collecting water, then letting it fall.

They never have to shed a tear

Or release a disappointed sigh

Over what they see on earth

As they glide on by.

But maybe my perspective’s wrong

As life has lately helped me see

And if a cloud could talk to us

Perhaps his thoughts would really be:

“Oh to be a human!

Not to have to float so high above

Just to be able to feel the joy

Of life; of laughter; of love!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So in my English Grammar class, we gotta turn in 3 journal entries a week. Not journal as in a diary, but more like creative writing. Like a poem, random thoughts written down, a short story, something like that. They have to be at least a paragraph, and can be up to a page in length. So I figured I’d use so stuff I’ve posted on here, but the question is, which ones?

Any suggestion?

 

 

You know, you could’ve just told me straight that you didn’t like me. You didn’t have to say you didn’t know me well enough (though we’ve known each other 3 years) and that you didn’t want a relationship during your first year of college, since you are now in one.

Tch, girls suck.

Now that I got that out of my system.

College.

Also something that sucks.

Sorta. I need a job. And money. And friends.

Luckily, I have a car. Which has done me a world of good. First, it’s convenient. And occasionally I get paid for a ride, if not with money, then with respect, which can be almost as valuable. I am actually picking up my dorm supervisor from work each night for $12 a week. Which is pretty cool. Plus, it gives recognition. People see your car, and it’s easier to put a name to a car than to a face. They don’t see my beautiful mug and think “Aaron,” they see my maroon 2000 Lincoln Continental Town Car Executive Edition, and think “Aaron.” Which is just as good.

It’s still odd being the new guy. I see the guys who have been around awhile sit at a table and it’s immediately filled with friends. For the longest time, I was that guy. I’m okay not being him anymore, I mean I know popularity has more downsides than ups, but I must admit I miss it. But I was curious about what it would be like being a different type of person, and here I am. And so far, it hasn’t been a mistake.

Once I get into a actual schedule, I should be able to get back into writing. So hopefully by next week I should be back to blogging, not just updating.

Anyway, I should go back to filling online applications out. Have a great weekend!

 

 

So the first day was incredibly boring. As was the second, third, and fourth, which was today. There was a first payment I was not expecting so I was scrambling for a while, but I got it paid. Now the main thing is finding a job. I think I’m getting a part time job working midnights at Micky D’s, but it’s a coveted job, so it’ll be cutthroat for a while. I can handle it though…I think.

So in order to be online, we have to use this accountability software, which I’m totally cool with. Keeps the guys and gals out of trouble. I just hope it isn’t against Xanga, or I will be in trouble and very upset. It should be fine though.

It’s hard being the new guy. And I have an odd personality: I’m a cool person, so I belong with the cool people, but I look like I belong with the not-so-cool people, since I’m a tad overweight and a bit nerdy looking. But I’m laying low anyway.

Anywho, today was registration, which took FOREVER, but I am now officially a student at Grace Baptist College. Classes start Thursday.

Another not so cool thing I found out is books are gonna cost me nearly $300 dollars. Not excited about that.

This post is a bit scatterbrained, but that’s how I’m feeling right now anyway. I’m gonna work on the next Xeries in my free time and see if I can post it within the next month. That’s my goal anyway.

Just thought I’d check in and let you guys know how things are going. Catch ya later!

I leave for college tomorrow. I have no idea how often I’ll be able to get on. For now, Xeries is postponed. I am NOT leaving. This is NOT a goodbye post. But as I said, I’m not sure how often, or even if I’ll have the chance to get on and post while I’m away. I will miss all of you. If your craving for Tigah interaction becomes too unbearable, my email is funnyguy_285@yahoo.com. Thank you so much, all of you, for putting up with me so long, and encouraging me throughout my time on Xanga. 

You’ve all been amazing. My faithful few followers, you know who you are, thanks for all your support. You guys are the best. 

This is not goodbye. 

I’ll see ya later. 

Aaron “Tigah”

 

 

I had a terrible day today. Beach trip that did not at all work the way it was supposed to. It’s way too long of a story for me to post, but it involves a girl that didn’t like me when I was told she did, an annoying couple that fights all the time, a girl that liked the guy of that couple, a crappy GPS, bad weather, cold water, being locked out of my car, paying to get into my car to find it was dead, and a bunch of other things. I had a really really bad day. Sometimes I feel like Life enjoys beating me up.

Today, looking out at Lake Michigan, it looked eternal, and I really wished it was, so I could just splash into the water and start swimming and never have to stop; never have to go back to shore; never have to deal with the people; the problems; life in general. Just keep swimming and never stop.