Christa Allan

DAY 4.5 DAYTONA UPDATE: SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
Saturday I read 300 essays; Sunday I read 350.

Remember that first blog I wrote expecting a reference about Indiana Jones? Got it today. Several times.
Saturday night, David Rakoff, author and essayist, read excerpts from his books, and then answered questions. Someone asked him about his writing routine. He said [...]

We’re not actually in Italy; we’re in Las Vegas’ version of a sidewalk cafe in Italy. We coordinated Ken’s shirt to match the cafe logo. Sure. If you know my husband, you know how so not believable that would be for Ken. My daughters threaten to report him to the fashion police. Fortunately, the man [...]

VIEWZI
YOU HAVE TO SEE IT TO BELIEVE IT! Thanks to Angela Maiers for the heads up on this.

DAY 3.5: REPORT FROM DAYTONA

No beach walking this morning. Rain. Tracey and I walked across the street for breakfast, but we had umbrellas. I forgot my sweater and my sunglasses, but super nerd had her ‘brella. In fact, it was an AP umbrella; one of the end of scoring gifts from my first reading.
Yesterday at [...]

DAY 2.5: DAYTONA AP REPORT
So far, I’ve read around 275 essays since yesterday afternoon.
Here’s what I learned from essays today:
1. Syntax can be: impressive, captivating
2. Diction can be: heavy, audacious, demanding, aggressive
3. Hyperboles are available in small amounts, but rhetorical questions are available in a handful.
4. Repetition is repeating itself throughout the passage; in fact, [...]

HANNAH GRACE IS ONE YEAR OLD TODAY!

DAY 1.5: REPORT FROM FLORIDA AP READING
Daytona Hilton

My roommate Tracey and I walked along the beach this morning before breakfast; therefore, I felt fully justified eating carrot cake as my lunch today.
Follow up on the coffee maker: Coffee’s actually not bad for pod coffee. Last night we had only DeCaff pods. We drank it anyway. [...]

Solutions - BRAINTEASERS 05
1. A=5, E=2, F=1, G=9, L=0, O=7, R=8, S=6. W=3
2. The third letter of each name is the same as the third letter of the method of transport, so Lucy travels by bicycle.
3. The second and fifth letters of each word in the top list are consecutive,so OBJECT.
4. The numerical value (A-Z=1-26) [...]

Reading over yesterday’s post I learned I’m not so coherent when I’m attempting to write in an airport before my plane boards.
I’m actually writing this Tuesday afternoon because Wednesday breakfast is served beginning at 6:45, and since my body will think it’s 5:45, I’ll need to focus on moving myself across the street in time.
One [...]

Not sure what happened here. . . I’d saved this before I left for Florida and set it to post on WGW. I didn’t set it to NOT post the letters for #1. If you were able to solve this without the letters, call MENSA immediately.
1. In this puzzle, each letter represents a different number. [...]

I’m at the airport, specifically in the Delta terminal, waiting for my flight.
Can I tell you that the person who named the waiting areas “terminals” needs undergo psychiatric evaluation? What kind of sicko makes you think about the end when you’re sitting around waiting for the beginning?
Too many rhetorical questions, I know.
Where am I going [...]

I’m HERE today!

Police hunt for robbers who wore women’s thongs as masks
One man wore a green thong; the other wore blue. And according to the story, “Each thong barely covered the man’s nose, mouth and chin, and left the rest of his face exposed.”
One also wore a pink backpack in which he stuffed the stolen items.
There’s just [...]

I’ve featured a few of Jessica Hagy’s sketches from INDEXED before. Her blog is one of my favorites. She has the ability to envision relationships among people, places, and things with startling insight and wry humor. The epitome of clever. Her blog makes me want to buy index cards for no particular reason.
Here are a [...]

Something about being out of school makes me feel less compelled to keep up with days of the week, my hair, Louisiana politics, and my diet. So, I sat here (here being the kitchen table, aka the cat’s lounging area) for fifteen minutes, maybe it was more like four minutes, contemplating if I could sell [...]

Yesterday, I tripped across the word Christianese. (EXAMPLES: I Don’t Feel Called: get someone else. If it be God’s Will: don’t think God is gonna answer this one. I’ll Save You a Seat: if I have to go to church, you do, too).
I discovered, in the tripping, that due to what could only be an [...]

Famous Failures

Thanks to Ivy Madison, CEO and founder of Red Room

Tales Of Mere Existence