E.A.A. (Enhanced Abilities Anonymous) - Chapter 1

Fiction Friday is finally a real thing!!!

So, remember in that post a LONG time ago, I asked you for useless super abilities, and then said I'd write a story and update it on Fridays, and call it Fiction Friday?

Yeah, so I finally got around to that. First, thank you for the superhero suggestions. Second, I don't know how long this story will be, but I'll be updating it in about 1000 word chapters "every" Friday. I'm going to try really hard to do this. Third, feel free to add suggestions, edits if you want, whatever. I'm pretty much just uploading this as I write it, so there will be typos and whatnot.

I hope you enjoy.

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E.A.A. (Enhanced Abilities Anonymous) - Chapter 1

Kent was sprawled out on his couch, the windows open and the radio on to cover most of the sound of the city below. He was bored, but worse than that, it was the middle of summer and the hottest on record. He honestly didn’t mind the heat, it was the clothing that went with it.

Given a choice, he would wear only black pants. Thick, black pants, but that was nearly impossible when it was sunny and 100 degrees. He couldn’t go out like this, not in just a tee shirt and shorts and especially not at night. It was best to stay in and be bored.

The song on the radio changed and the lyrics caught Kent’s attention. …yoooouuu light up my liiiifeeee. With a frustrated growl, he threw a throw pillow at the radio and knocked it to the floor where it was silenced.

His cell phone rang from his pocket and he was tempted to just let it ring, but he was bored and hot and had no plans. “Hello?”

“Kent, what are you doing tonight?” Imogene sounded way too excited.

He had known Imogene since middle school, they bonded by a similar “talent”, but she had found a use for hers and Kent, well, he hadn’t. She was successful, well liked (though she could make anyone like her) and had a great boyfriend who was also successful. She had her life together at age 25, Kent was either at work in a greenhouse for a floral arrangement company or at home, alone.

“Dex knows of-” She gushed on.

Kent ran a hand over his sweaty face. “I don’t care what Dex knows.”

“I know you two don’t get along, but he’s just trying to help. I care about you, Kent.”

“None of your mind tricks.” He sat up and sighed. “What does he know?”

He could practically hear her smiling over the phone. “There’s a group. They meet tonight, well every Tuesday, and today is Tuesday. People like you, Kent.”

“Like me?”

She paused, shifted the phone. “You know, with talents that, well, are unused…”

“Worthless. Talents that are worthless.”

“Kent.”

He slumped back into the couch. “No. Thanks, but no.”

“I’ll come over there and make you.” She wasn’t kidding.

He was beat and he knew it. “Fine. What time?”

“Eight. The basement of the community center.” She paused. “I’ll know if you do show up.”

“Tell Dex to stay out of my business.”

She sighed. “He can’t help it, Kent. You should know that. Talk to you later, yeah?”

“Yeah, talk to you later.” He hung up and took a deep breath.

Kent wavered back and forth between the pros and cons of not going. This wasn’t Imogene’s first attempt to prove his usefulness to himself, but he wasn’t easily convinced. In the age where people can read minds, lift cars like feathers, fly without planes, enjoy the benefits of laser vision and all of the other things that the X-Men predicted ahead of their time…he was one of the unlucky ones that got stuck with something nobody needed. It made sense, not every enhanced ability could be considered super. Some people had to be stuck with the useless talents, like that kid in elementary school who could lick his elbow. Fascinating, but after a while nobody cared and he became the punch-line to jokes and fists. Most often, when asked if he had an enhanced ability, he denied it. Most people didn’t do things out of comic books; it was more like people who were brilliant musicians or athletes or artists. Some people had it and they were special and some people were just people.

Then there were the few people like Kent, special, but desperately wishing they weren’t anything at all.

He might as well go, he had nothing to lose at this point. He found the darkest pair of jeans in his closet, tucked his black shirt in and put on a button shirt. He had to roll the sleeves up because it was still hellishly hot. He glanced in the mirror, he didn’t look too out of place now that it was evening. He was thankful that it was socially acceptable for guys to wear tight fitting jeans again, that JNCO jeans fad in the early 2000s was his worst fashion nightmare.

His last minute wardrobe check involved him stepping into his closet and shutting the door. In the complete darkness he looked to where he knew the mirror to be and waited to see if he saw anything of himself. If he didn’t, he was good to go out.

Kent grabbed his keys, his metro pass and his wallet from the counter as he left. It was two subway stops to the community center, a total of ten agonizing minutes.

The community center had been built forty years ago in an effort to give kids a non-violent outlet after school. It offered basketball courts, an assorted collection of athletic equipment, rooms available for classes or meetings and an auditorium. The hallways were dim and echoed footsteps, the ceiling tiles were water stained, but at least it was air conditioned to the point of being reminiscent of a walk-in freezer.

Anxiety tightened in Kent’s stomach as he kept walking. The sign on the bulletin board said room 217, right after the Weight Watchers meeting. The door opened just as he arrived and a handful of women left. They glared at the man holding a bakery box of cookies who stood a few feet away from Kent. The man looked normal, nothing that would identify why he was waiting for the same meeting Kent was. He was tall, skinny and wore a baseball hat.

Kent had heard about some people who were permanently lime green, or had gills and had to live near the ocean…but he was fairly sure that a lot of those stories were from tabloids and gossip. He hoped anyway, he didn’t want anyone to be cursed with anything worse that a useless ability.

“Here for E.A.A.?” The man smiled.

Kent nodded slightly.

“Everyone’s nervous at their first meeting.” He waited for the last Weight Watching woman to leave the room. “Come on in.”

The man set the box of cookies on a table next to an industrial coffee maker.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Kent surprised himself by asking.

He turned. “Set the chairs up in a circle? I’m going to get this coffee going.” He extended his hand. “Everyone calls me DJ.”

“Kent.” He returned the handshake.

DJ left to fill the coffee maker with fresh water and Kent set up the chairs in a circlesque shape. He didn’t notice the two other people enter until he had turned around. All the sudden he had the feeling that it was a bad idea to leave his apartment at all.

“I’m, I’ll be right back. Get a drink of water.” He mumbled and left the room.

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To be continued next week...

A Very Merry Un-Birthday!!

This past weekend The Boyfriend, Cupcake Friend, and I went to the Natural History Museum in L.A. This is one of my favorite places ever. I mean, dinosaur fossils, animal dioramas from just about every continent, a polar bear that you can actually hug, and stuff about archeology. Nerdy dreams do come true! Anyway, we all went because Cupcake Friend will be out of town for my birthday party at LACMA, so we did an un-birthday museum party.

Here are some pictures. Sometimes I take a lot of pictures of EVERYTHING, but this time I just wanted to be there with my friends.

Yes, my shirt does say "all my friends are dead". It seemed appropriate and one of the museum workers said my shirt was awesome.

There was an AMAZING puppet show that we saw...we were thinking lame puppet show, but then this came out. Mind. Blown.

And I don't know why, but this was the funniest thing to me. It was a closed gift shop/merch storage room in the basement. It was like a sad/hilarious pet shop. I was the only one who found it funny. I don't know.

Then we hit the gift shop and I got socks that look like sharks eating my feet, astronaut ice cream (delicious), and the most amazing Tea-Rex mug from The Boyfriend. Just because I said in my last post that I wanted nothing for my birthday, doesn't mean that little things won't completely make my day.

I'm gonna go make some Tea(-Rex).

Next weekend is the Stanley Kubrick exhibit and then the space shuttle Endeavour! Turning (2)7 is pretty darn good. Give me dinosaurs, astronauts, museums, and people I love and I am on cloud nine.

A very merry un-birthday to you (or birthday if today is your day). I hope yours is as happy as mine is/will be.

April!?!?!?!

When did that happen?

I know, yesterday, on the 1st...but still. I keep half wondering when St. Patrick's day is.

The Boyfriend and I had a quiet and relaxing Easter weekend, it was really nice. We found easter baskets and hid/found eggs and dyed other eggs and watched 80s horror movies and CSI: Miami. You know, typical Easter things. I hope you all had good holidays, whatever holiday you celebrated.

It's 12 days until my birthday, and that seems unreal. People (like my parents and The Boyfriend) keep asking what I want by way of presents, and I can't really think of anything. Books, always, but other than that, nothing. I have lots of things and I'm really happy right now. People tend not to believe me when I reply "nothing" when asked the "what do you want?" question.

The first instance was when I was about six, I sat on Santa's lap and he said, "What do you want for Christmas?" and I sweetly replied, "Nothing." And I meant it. There weren't any toys that I couldn't live without, there wasn't anything I didn't have that my little six year old self desperately wanted. Santa tried to convince me to want a doll or a bike....but I had those. So, he said he'd have to think hard about it and find me something special. Then I got a candy cane and was on my way.

Christmas morning, there were presents for me and I'm sure I loved them, I'm sure I was happy. I'm sure I was convinced that Santa got me something special. But I think I would have been happy with anything, because I was happy to begin with.

That's how this birthday is. Sure, there are things I would like...some new jeans and chuck taylors, but there's nothing "birthday big" that I want. And I'm okay with that. All I need from my parents or The Boyfriend is that they thought about me and loved me on my birthday. However that is shown, I'll be happy. Because I already am.

I don't mean this to be some sappy, hearts and flowers post...even though that's what it ended up as. I just wanted to explain why I don't want anything special for my birthday. I want to go to the science center with The Boyfriend and see the space shuttle, I want to see my friends and go to the Stanley Kubrick exhibit at LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art), I want to see dinosaur bones at the Natural History Museum with friends...and I'm getting all of those things. I'm excited for my birthday. I don't want anything else. Honestly.

So, when asked what I want for my birthday, I will say nothing and I will mean it. I'm not trying to be selfless or above material possessions; it's just that I'm happy where I am.

I hope you all want nothing for your birthday, in all the best ways.

Childhood Television Social Psychology 101

If I had an inclination to be a college professor, give a college lecture, or even talk to more than five people at a time; I would like to discuss this topic.

My friend and work and I sort of stumbled upon this topic the other day and I would like to explore it with you.

The Social Psychology of my Favorite Childhood Television Shows (is what the title of my dissertation would be)

For the sake of length and time and my attention span, we'll only cover three shows. The Weekenders (not as pwell known), Recess, and The Magic School Bus.

Article One - The Weekenders.

A group of four (7th graders) friends live for the adventures of the weekend, when they are free to skateboard and hang out at the arcade. Tino, the main character, lives at home with his single mother. Always sums up the show Doogie Howser style with a moral centered lesson and the phrase "Later days!". Carver, the token african american kid, into skateboarding. Tish, the nerdy girl with glasses. Lor, the tomboy with 12 older brothers.

Let's look at a hypothesis of their further social standings and their predicted social climb in life.

Carver's ambition is to be one of the cool kids, implying that this foursome is not "cool". Tish definitely not, I mean, she plays the dulcimer. Lor is too athletic to care and Tino just sort of is himself; sarcastic and witty and kind of a nerd anyway. (No wonder I liked these characters so much).

Projected social climb.

Tino: In high school he will most likely steer clear of the popular bubble, but definitely be on the fringes. His wit and sarcasm will at least get him on the radar. Generally he will not strive for popularity, though it may just come to him. After high school: he'll be reasonably popular and social among his friends and peers, that funny/smart guy at the party. His social time is definitely after high school.

Tish: Nerd forever! Yes! She is perfectly content with that and fully embraces it. Done and done, a girl after my own heart. Probably end up at an ivy league school and study something obscure and sciency...music theory or psychology. Definitly will end up with a doctorate.

Carver: Desperately trying for popularity and/or fame. I see him going one of two ways: he either becoems popular in high school (through his current love of fashion) and leaves his current friends for the popular crowd OR he tries and fails, staying with his friends. Then once out of high school he tries again for fame, quite possibly as a fashion designer, we'll probably see him later on Project Runway.

Lor: She'll blend seamlessly into the girl jock vein of popularity once in high school. Perhaps she'll still accociate with her current friends on the weekends, but there will be a lot of games and practices she'll have to go to. I'm sure her friends will be there to cheer her on. After school, she'll either become a personal trainer or a stay at home mom.

High School Assessment: This group will have to fight to stay together as their different passions try to pull them in other directions. I forsee some new group members joining as others drift away.

Article Two - Recess.

This cast of characters is well known to many. TJ, Gretchen, Mikey, Spinelli, Gus, and Vince. I loved this show, an exact opposite of my 4th grade experience (but that's another blog for another time). Let's break it down.

Projected Social Climb:

T.J.: The ringleader, the loyal friend, the trouble-maker. Charasmatic and a mind for plans and schemes, but a heart of gold. Again, not the most popular kid in school (The Ashleys take that position), but definitely well known and over all liked. In high school he'll probably rise in popularity, as the class clown and the go-to guy for pranks. After school will be much of the same, the loyalty to his friends will remain his strongest aspect.

Gretchen: The brainy nerd. Also, she is wicked with a yo-yo. High school will see her thrive in academics, and obviously some top rate college. Another girl that will end up with a doctorate. Smart girls rock! But yeah, never gonna be cool in the main stream society.

Mikey: This kid is going to struggle unless his high school has a wicked awesome musical theatre program. He'd do best in an arts high school, where his poetry, dramatic flair and singing prowess can really shine. Look out drama department in college, this kid is gonna rock that stage and slam poetry events. Life after school is whatever artist path Mikey follows, or he'll end up working in an office and secretly writing poetry for readings in dim coffee shops.

Spinelli: The tough-guy, tomboy. Clearly not caring for popularity, she'll do her own thing. She'll spend most of her high school days in the auto shop, but secretly take art classes (she's awesome, but only creates art to let off steam) After school I envision her doing something involving art and motors...some sort of car engine art that will be super chic. Or working as an auto mechanic, where her tough-guy routine can be appreciated by the guys.

Gus: A scrawny, army brat. Once he hits a growth spurt and spends some time in the gym, he'll totally rock the muscular jock vibe. A good heart, he'll stay true to his friends, but his passion is clearly in the military like his father. Never really popular, but never really caring. He'll go into the armed forces after high school and be determined to set his own name apart from the shadow of his father's.

Vince: Jock in high school. Most definitely. He'll slip right into the popular jock crowd. The Ashleys will most likely blend into that group as well. I'm sure the rest of the gang will go to his games and he'll try and keep ties with them. His teammates will become closer though. After school he'll probably get a scholarship somewhere and end up state level athletic something, if not professional.

High School Assessment: The group will most likely stay pretty much intact, each exploring their own interests more, but having the core friendships to come back too.

Article Three - The Magic School Bus

Going back to about 3rd grade, I'd guess. This is apparently a special class, as there are only seven to nine kids in the class. We'll cover the eight main students; Ralphie, Wanda, Carlos, Phoebe, Dorthy Ann, Keesha, Tim, and Arnold. "Popularity" is difficult to determin in this small class and at this age, but I'll do my best. Also, this isn't so much a close group of friends, as it is a group of close classmates.

Projected Social Climb:

Ralphie: The class clown and athlete. Somewhat reluctant on adventures, "Is it just me or..." In high school he'll most likely focus on sports, not a super athlete, but not terrible. May become a little more popular with the jock and class clown routine down. After school, I see kid's coach.

Wanda: A bit of a tomboy, a bit bossy. She's famous for "What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do?!" If she doesn't tone it down in high school, she's going to abuse her type A personality. She may get into the popular kids by force and by taking leadership, but otherwise she'll just be the group project leader. After school will be her time, I see bank manager or some sort of manager.

Carlos: I always had a soft spot for Carlos, must have been the bad puns that got me. He definitely just wants to get in there and experience whatever is happening. High School will be good for him, easy going and perhaps a little better appreciation of his wit. Famous for "insert bad pun here. Get it?" After school he'll do something where he can interact with a lot of people and situations.

Phoebe: She probably has the best chance for popularity outside the classroom. Famous for the "At my old school..." sentence. If she can get over her old school, she'll easily slip into that smart, popular girl role. Definitely class president, leader of the feed the homeless food drive, and honor student material. As an adult she'll probably found a school for underprivliged kids or something, or principal at her old school.

Dorthy Ann: Classic nerd girl know-it-all. Think Hermione before Harry and Ron's influence. Famous for saying "According to my research..." She'll probably focus too much on school for popularity, but I could see her being brought in. Every popular group needs the kid that has their homework for the week finished on Monday. Darn useful, that kid is. College professior is in her future.

Keesha: Definitely material for popularity here. Levelheaded, but also strong in her opinions. Famous for "Oh, bad, oh, bad, oh, bad bad bad." She's well liked and fairly easy going, but will totally take you out if you cross her path. She'll fit right in with the popular kids. She'll end up manager of an office somewhere.

Tim: Easily overlooked, quiet, observant, and artistic. He is usually drawing something. Famous for saying "We've been Frizzled." He'll rock the high school and college art programs. Not in for popularity, but definitely in for the art scene. He'll probably be a comic book artist as an adult.

Arnold: Nerd. Red hair and glasses does not do any favors for popularity. Sorry, kid. Famous for always saying,"I should have stayed home today." in light of any field trip. A little reluctant, but loyal when the going gets tough. High school will be a little test of character, but he'll survive. College he can surround himself with geology students. His aunt is an archeologist, so he'll most likely follow in her footsteps. Not too much adventure and a lot of time dusting rocks.

BONUS - Mrs. Frizzle as a kid: Eccentric. Obviously. She was that weird kid daydreaming and wondering off at strange times, only to come back with fantastic and unbelieveable stories of her whereabouts. DIdn't need a lot of people growing up when she had adventure. Possibly home-schooled or boarding school.

High School Assessment: The class will ultimately be broken up as they grow, but in the halls they'll still catch each other's eye and know what they had been through in elementary school.

Finally Summary:

These shows mostly made me want a group of close friends to get into pranks and adventures with. I don't think many of them were the most popular in school because more kids could identify with that average every-kid sort of thing.

Besides, what is popularity anyway? I know in high school it's infinitely important, but in real life, not so much. All these average any-kids will probably turn into good adults. Their quirks and interests will only make them more awesome later.

With a few good friends at your side, anything is possible and happiness is assured.

This is completely amazing, and I wish it was real.

Memes Save My Sanity

Well what's left of it anyway.

(Obligitory acknowledgement of not posting in a month; in part of my defense, February was a short month)

What has been going on...February was a chaotic mix of the One Year anniversary of The Boyfriend and I on the 8th, Valentine's day on the 14th (I gave The Boyfriend a Valentine made out of a paper doily and the 10th Doctor's sonic screwdriver), Gallifrey One (The LA Doctor Who Convention) from the 14th through the 17th which is just essentially 4 days of drinking while wearing Doctor Who themed costumes in a hotel full of nerds (bliss), the Harry Potter Pub Crawl on the night of the 17th (more drinking in costume with nerds) and then recovering from all of that.

Here we are in March.

The past few weeks have sort of been a field day for the anxiety for some reason, so I've been turning to other things to help ease my troubled mind. One of them is joining a gym.

Joining a what?

Gym, I joined a gym. The thing is, a bit ago, I realized that I didn't quite hate running with that deep burning passion that I thought I did. So I started jogging at night (in my home town of 4000 people, in the summer, it was totally safe). Then I moved to California, and it became harder to find places to run, because I didn't want people watching me. (I use the term Running loosely, mostly it's walking with some spurts of jogging and a lot of feeling like I'm dying)

I used to bike to and from work, then I moved in with The Boyfriend, and now I can take public transportaion with ease, so I do. Oddly enough, running sort of helps shut the crazy up a little bit, or at least tires me out.

After months of being soul mates friends with this girl at work, who goes to a gym near work every day, it dawned on me that I too, could go to that gym instaead of trying to work up the courage to join a sketchy gym in Hollywood where I live. Seriously, this realization took me months.

So I joined last week, have gone "running" there 3 times and like it.

The other thing that I have gained immense pleasure from are memes. I know the pronunciation is different for each person, but I go by "meem". I digress.

Personal favorites are:

The Boyfriend and I have been using this one for EVERYTHING lately.

I read this one in the voice of Christian Bale's version of Batman.

And now you will, too.

Robin is my favorite superhero.

I like the cleverness of these.

Babies!

This is my current desktop image, makes me smile. (ironically)

What are some of your favorites?

P.S. I tried to get this one to catch on, but it never did. :(

Hilarious T-Rex (because what if T-Rexs weren't violent, just liked good jokes?)

Music Speaks To Me, Man

My name is Elayna, and I am a music addict.

All together now, "Hello, Elayna"

It has been...okay, so I'm currently listening to music. Thing is, I really don't think what little left of my sanity would survive without it. But one thing better is live music. (Often, I read homographs as the other one just for my own amusement. So that live that I just used...in my head it was live as in "the plant will live if you water it") Moving on.

Tuesday I had the pleasure of partaking in just such. I went to Amoeba music in Hollywood, which for those of you unfamiliar, it is this amazing warehouse sized building full of every type of music and movie one should desire. New and used; records, cassets, cd, dvd, vhs. It's amazing and so very dangerous to my bank account.

I went and saw Robert DeLong, and up and coming musical genious. He specializes in dance and electronic music and before you knock it as not your type of music, this kid's got rhythm and an amazing ear for sound. And by kid, I mean we're the same age.

He does everything. Every sound and note in his set was created by him. He uses video game controllers and a wii remote, he drums like it's in his blood and he does it simply because he loves it. He's super nice, very genuine and creates music for the sake of creation not fame.

It was a great show.

The type of show where the bass (in my head that was bass like the type of fish) beats in your chest with your heart and you find yourself dancing without meaning to, just because it's how your body is responding.

I got my cd signed, we talked for a bit and I went home completely high on the euphoria of live music.

I need to do that more, I need to hit up more concerts. Even if it isn't "my" type of music. Maybe I'll find something new, and if not, at least I'll have that moment of freedom and joy.

So, go look up Robert DeLong and find yourself a live concert. If there aren't any in your area...crank your favorite album, close your eyes, and dance.

Just A Quickie...

I know, I know, I KNOW!

It's been ages since I've written anything here. And I have excuses and reasons for that. The main ones being that holidays stress me out. (thanks OCD and anxiety and lupus) I hate blaming my "medical labels" for the things I didn't get done, but sometimes it just happens to apply, but I still don't like it.

So, there were a lot of things I wanted to get done for Christmas, like hand-made presents for my friends, Christmas cards to people, and decorations. I ended up getting presents for my parents and The Boyfriend and then I was done. I packed and went home to Minnesota. There was snow, it was beautiful. (I'll do a full post on that with pictures, soon.)

Then it was the recovery after I got back to L.A., which was also New Year's. The Boyfriend and I got to have New Year's Eve together, and he was my first midnight kiss. Then it was trying to get back into the swing of things from the craziness of the holidays.

A week later, I got that cold/flu that everyone was raving about. I didn't want to be left out, you know. So after a weekend of coughing my lungs out and low fevers...I was finally well enough to trudge through the days of work...but it left me exhausted by the time I got home.

So that brings us to pretty much now.

I came to the realization last week (with the help of OCD) that I don't write much any more, and I love writing. It's like breathing, but also having surprise ice cream. Anyway, The Boyfriend, my therapist and I came to the conclusion that I was not "any less of my self" because I don't write as much currently and that a solution to this was to simply set aside a time to write each evening. If it doesn't happen, I'm not allowed to let OCD tell me I'm a bad person, but to at least try.

So, hopefully that will help me get back into the swing of writing, because I do love it and I realize how much I miss it when I finally get back to it.

So, dear readers, all is well with me. I've just been trying to get my life together, or at least back to a place where I feel balanced between the things that need to get done (like work and dishes) and the things I want to do (like writing and hanging out with The Boyfriend and adventures with friends).

I hope we all are able to find balance. I guess that's my New Year's Resolution. Balance...and forgiveness for myself.

Also, this is super exciting and wonderful...The Boyfriend and I will have been together for one year on Friday, Feburary 8. One year! It feels like we have always been together and that we have just met all at the same time. It makes me overwhelmingly happy.

More to come soon.

<3