The Art of Poetic Cooking

     During the summer, when I am left to my own devices for lunch, I am not one of those people who is content to eat the same peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day for lunch. No, I like to try new meals, and I find ideas for dishes everywhere. For example, the other day, I was watching one of my favorite movies, Napoleon Dynamite, and the scene above inspired me to create a new sort of lunch for myself. After days of variations, added ingredients, and experimenting, I have finally perfected my recipe:     

The Dang Quesadilla* 

Ingredients**: 

 canned corn

 canned black beans

 tomato sauce

 shredded cheddar cheese

 one regulation-sized tortilla

 sour cream

 chicken (already cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces)

 oregano

 salt 

 pepper

Instructions:

1. Put your regulation-sized tortilla on a plate
2. Sprinkle grated cheddar cheese on the regulation-sized tortilla
3. Put the chicken pieces on the bed of cheese 
4. Cover the chicken with beans and corn
5. Pour tomato sauce over everything
6. Sprinkle healthy amounts of salt, pepper, and oregano on the sauce
7. Heat in the microwave for approximately one minute
8. Remove from microwave (caution, may be hot) and put a spoonful of sour cream on top
9. Blend it all together, and eat the toppings until there is a small enough amount left that you can close the regulation-sized tortilla over it. Then roll the regulation-sized tortilla up and enjoy like a burrito with your favorite beverage on the side. 

And that, folks, is the art of poetic cooking. Enjoy!

Thanks for listening,

Maggs

*Life as a Starving Poet cannot guarantee that the Dang Quesadilla bears any resemblance to an actual quesadilla. If it does not meet your expectations, we are sorry. Also, we will not be held accountable for any accidents that occur because of eating, enjoying, or creating a Dang Quesadilla in your own home, the home of another, or some other random location. Lastly, feel free to experiment with the recipe, but know that as soon as you change it, it is no longer a Dang Quesadilla that you are creating, and therefore, Life as a Starving Poet won't be held responsible if the thing suddenly mutates on you and destroys Manhattan. Thanks again, and eat wisely, my friends!

** Because we prefer for our readers to experience the danger and adrenaline rush that comes with making decisions on their own, we have not specified the amounts of the ingredients to be used in this unusual dish.

Happy Memorial Day

     Up until today, Memorial Day had seemed like just another holiday to me-- I didn't really know the purpose, where or why it was started, or even what it was all about. Of course, I had guessed the holiday had something to do with remembering loved ones or some such thing, but it never really registered. Up until this year, Memorial Day had just been an excuse to miss school and a trip to my uncle's house for swimming, a picnic, and the celebration of summer birthdays.
     This Memorial Day, however, everything changed. Instead of heading off for a day of relaxation and family time, I stayed in town and participated in a parade with the STH (Small Town High) marching band. Now let me just take a moment to point out the fact that all this weekend, it was cool and rainy here in the Midwest. But today, the day when I had to march in an all black wool uniform, it was 90 degrees and very sunny, and extremely miserable. But the heat is incredibly beside the point.
     After the parade, everyone headed over to the town cemetery where the war memorial is located. The band played the national anthem, and then several veterans were invited to speak. They all said good things about today's holiday, but what struck me the most was the speech a veteran from Vietnam gave. She talked about how Memorial Day was in danger of becoming just another payed holiday or an excuse for a get-together with friends, when really, it had been started so that those who died fighting for America would never be forgotten. The speaker encouraged us all to never forget those who protected us and "stood in the gap between our people and evil".  
     In turn, I want to make sure everyone realizes what this holiday's all about-- not hamburgers on the grill or fireworks in the evening, but the men and women who gave everything they had so that we could enjoy our lives as we live them today. It's the sort of sacrifice that you can't, and shouldn't, forget. And hopefully, we never will.


God bless all soldiers and thanks for listening,
Maggs   

Farewell to April

Approaching Storm

Up from the pavement comes an acrid smell

While moisture rides in ev’ry drop of air

And the approaching, monstrous clouds do tell

About the torrent that will soon be there.

Now all is silent ’ere the coming rain

And absent winds have stilled the waiting land

The grasses in the meadow and the plain

Lie still under the storm’s gigantic hand.

Ev’ry creature lies waiting for the storm

While sunlight fades as clouds block sky away

Then raindrops fall in ev’ry shape and form

And lightning tangles with the trees in play.

Then all at once the rain stops suddenly

And left is a world fresh as sparkling sea.

Copyright MPK 2011, all rights reserved, unauthorized use is prohibited.

Happy May!

Thanks for listening,

Maggs

Happy Birthday, Little Blog!

     Happy Birthday, Life as a Starving Poet! You are now officially one year old, and I congratulate you (and myself) for surviving this long. So how did I do it? Well, here's the answer:
     Finding things to write about isn't always easy, and trying to write too often can have terribly chaotic results. Some of my worst posts come from when I was trying to write every day and was simply rambling to take up space and produce something. I have learned, however, that quality is better than quantity, which is why I rarely write two days in a row, unless I have something terribly amazing to talk about. 
     Most of my topics come from random bits of life that I notice. For example, I'll be sitting in class and a teacher will say something that sparks an idea and suddenly I have something to talk about. Or I'll be reading and a few sentences will catch my eye and remind me of a post I was planning to write and I'll take note of this idea and come home later to share it with the amazing readers of the internet (that's you, people. Smile for gosh's sakes!) And then sometimes, when I haven't written in two weeks and am feeling terribly guilty, I'll pull up a chair and sit at my computer with a blank page in front of me until I get and idea. It all depends, really, on the things I see and hear everyday. Of one thing I can be sure, though: as a starving poet, life really does get pretty interesting (sometimes) and I will always have plenty to write about. 


Well folks, that's all I have time for tonight!
Thanks for listening and may Life as a Starving Poet have many more successful years.
Maggs :)

Being Thankful

     Some people might look at the day I had today and call it quits, dive under the covers, and wait for Tuesday. I woke up at five a.m. (one hour earlier than usual) to make a before-school doctor's appointment and proceeded to be groggy for the next hour as I got ready for school. When it was time to leave, I stepped outside expecting a nice, if a little chilly, April morning. Instead I found snow and freezing temperatures. Then, as I was looking through my locker at school, I realized I had forgotten to take my biology worksheet home, meaning I would have to attempt to do it during my other classes before 9th hour bio rolled around. May I also mention that it was a Monday? After a crazy day at school, I came home with a worksheet full of nasty algebra, two tests to study for, a short paper to write for gym class, and the thought of yet another big project due at the end of the quarter hanging over my head. What a day. However, I'm not headed for bed just yet. Instead, I'm taking this opportunity to be just a bit preachy and hopefully send a message to some of you out there.
     Yeah, my life can be a little difficult sometimes-- piles of homework, overloaded schedule, and I don't always get along with everyone-- but compared to a lot of people, I have it extremely good. My immediate family are all healthy, I have plenty to eat, I have a good house and a warm place to sleep, and I live in a small town where it's safe to walk places and everyone knows each other. There are more things I'm thankful for (good books, Kit-Kats, comfy sweatshirts), but those are the big ones. 
     So today, instead of complaining and wishing things were different, I'm taking the opportunity to look at the best parts of my life. And that's when I realize things aren't so bad after all.


Thanks for listening,
and remember-- it 
could always be worse!


Maggs :)    

A Fairy Tale Piece of Reality

     As I have discovered by now, fairy tales aren't true. Not everyone can be a princess, fairy godmothers aren't always there when you need them, and not everything has a happy ending. However, fairy tales are rooted in truths. After all, there are some people who live in castles, men and women do occasionally fall in love, and once in a while, things turn out happily ever after. And if you can find one of these themes in our everyday world, take a chance, chase after it, and seize the moment because you might not see anything like it for a long time. Fairy tale settings are also based on elements of truth, and if you find one such place, take notice of it because hey-- it's cool.

One of the cleaner, less chaotic aisles in the bookstore. 

     That's what happened to me this weekend when my family and I drove into a nearby big city and discovered an amazing bookstore. After we had eaten lunch in a local restaurant, my parents took us down the street to a bookshop they had frequented in their college days. We stepped in side, and Oh. My. Goodness. The store was truly something out of a story book, although it wasn't exactly picture-perfect.
     You know the cluttered apothecary or the crowded shop in your favorite fantasy story? This bookstore has all of those elements, and more. The shelves are close together and filled to the brim with books. Boxes containing magazines, children's stories and historical fiction line the aisles. Scraps of paper litter the floors, and around each corner there's a footstool, originally meant to help patrons reach books, but now covered in stacks of dusty old tomes. The shelves lean in, providing an almost a claustrophobic feel to those who wander in search of a good read. The store rises for three stories, each one more chaotic than the last, and sells almost any book you can think of (and the ones you can't), if you can find it. All in all, the bookstore is a place that seems to have leapt right out of the pages of a novel. Or maybe, it's leapt right in. 
Thanks for listening,
Maggs       

Thoughts on High School

     High school is a crazy place. Everywhere you turn, there are bullies demanding lunch money, blonde cheerleaders with pompoms, and angry wrestlers duking it out in the hallways. Nerds run every which way, avoiding the scathing glares of the "in crowd" and druggies stand in corners, waiting for the teachers to leave so they can start smoking. Large football players argue loudly about last night's game while skater boys tromp around in their clunky shoes and baggy sweatshirts. 
     But really. How much of this is true? How much of this is just urban legend, made up by the classes before us and publicized by the media? Honestly, quite a bit:

Top 7 Biggest Lies of High School

• You'll use this when you get older: Every kid who has ever attended high/middle school in the United States has heard this one. And truthfully, they're lying. Unless you want to become a mathematician, you probably aren't ever going to factor trinomials again.
• Being in the band is extremely uncool: Biggest. Lie. Ever. I mean, yes, we band geeks are very geeky, but we're geeky in a fun, lovable way. If you seriously doubt this, I suggest spending some time with us-- maybe sitting in on a practice or attending a marching show? 
• Everyone goes to parties on the weekends and gets drunk: Well, yes, some kids do go and get drunk. But most of us? Yeah right. On Saturday nights, you can find me at home with a good book or having a mini-movie-party with a couple of friends. 
• Cheerleaders rule the school: Big, definite no on this one. They may be considered the coolest in their own social circles, but they don't usually take charge of the entire school and terrify the underclassmen.
• Lunch money= bully magnet: For the record, I have never witnessed anyone being shoved up against some lockers by a thug and having their lunch money stolen.
• Homework rules you life: In middle school, the teachers were constantly telling us that the homework level in high school would be insane, and we'd have to start forming gook working habits so that we would be ready to fulfill all of the learning requirements we were presented with in high school. In reality, going from middle school to high school is only slightly harder than going from 7th to 8th grade.
• You'll never fit in: For the most part, this isn't true. Yes, there are some kids who really don't fit in anywhere. However, almost everyone finds a group to hang out with-- the band geeks make friends with the choir kids and the theatre people, the math nerds and computer dorks chill together, and even the weird kids form their own cliques. 

Remember-- many of the things they say about high school aren't true, and for the most part, it's a pretty great place.

Thanks for listening,

Maggs