What An Opportunity

Posts Tagged ‘Akanimo Akpan’

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Spero

In Life on May 17, 2013 at 1:35 am

Oh she knew. She knew why she couldn’t sleep. She knew what that sound meant. The slow braking of an all-too-familiar vehicle. Slurred gratitude as steps proceeded up the drive. Fumbling keys as the caricature of him stumbled through the door frame.

 

His steps greeted the stairs much like his lips eventually met her cheek: heavy and over-stated to feign restraint. She lay with her eyes closed but sleep had not visited her bed.

 

The smell of his addiction filled the room as he undressed. His shirt landed on the table and his pants found the floor as he barely avoided the bed post.

 

He climbed into bed and rolled over to kiss her properly this time. He stopped abruptly. He always seem to forget that he shouldn’t lie down too quickly.

 

A hastened rush to the bathroom and the expulsion of all that he consumed followed. She knew it would happen. She knew him too well. Hope is beautiful. if only in that it shows us the beauty in things we might otherwise let be.

 

That belief drove her to stay. His disregarded abstinence was but a faint whisper when he was her love. He brought a feverish passion to all that he pursued and the most magnificent of his talents was his ability to adore her. That light would gleam in his green eyes as his lips revealed each deliciously wicked notion.

 

God, how long ago was that? She tried to keep herself busy. She took on more projects at work and her friends kept her company. She knew where he would be. She also knew that the ghost of who they were would catch up with her if she stopped moving.

 

Ambition? Disregarded. She didn’t know when he lost it but he did. The light flickered, and like the innocence of youth, was gone.

 

They had tried. She had tried. He had continued through the motions. His affliction was the bottle. Her affliction was the unwavering desire to glimpse again, just for one moment, that spectacular vision of their lives together. Unbridled hope  may be the most profound, and utterly devastating, condition known to the human heart.

 

She knew the destructive power of fleeting hope. She also knew he was not her husband. Not anymore. She moved slowly as the sounds from the bathroom subsided and only mumbling could be heard. She avoided the mirror as she dressed. She knew one glance towards the light would fill her with that unspeakable feeling of pride in being his recovery.

 

But life is beautiful. It provides infinitesimal occasions wherein the purpose of our existence is firmly within our grasp to proceed as we wish.

 

You could say she stopped loving him. Some would argue that she never loved him more.

 

He lay under the toilet as she closed the front door behind her. His murmurs fell on deaf ears:

 

Will you still love me?

Will you still love me?

I know you will.

I know you will.

 

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Enter title here

In Life on May 8, 2013 at 1:42 am

It’s the morning raindrops dancing on the balcony that drew worn eyes to the window

Mother Nature tearing up real quiet like under a clearing sky as the man knelt in the dirt

Rumor has it that he asked for this; Said something about hanging being the coward’s way, the strange fool.

3 rounds and a sound.

 

They say he stole something, something important

Nobody really knows what but if he’s guilty, he’s guilty.

He was just someplace that he wasn’t supposed to be

3 rounds and a sound

 

He fought it tooth and nail

Said something about his missus. What do these fools know about loving someone?

They put him in prison till they could figure out what to do with him.

3 rounds and a sound

 

They asked him if he wanted his “missus” to visit him (Everyone got a good laugh out of that. They had sold her by that time.)

He declined. Said, “These memories keep me company.”

Guess we all want somebody sweet to talk to but momma and pappa say these fools don’t have human needs like we do

3 rounds and a sound

 

There have been some rumblings though; real low rumblings, like a train on the track, but it’s way off, you know.

Something about how the owner preferred the bottle

Something about how he found the owner in bed with her

Something about how the owner’s intoxicated discourse stoked the deepest fury inside of him

3 rounds and…that sound

 

Come to find out that life is not so much black and white, as it is differing shades of grey

 

 

 

 

 

 

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You say I’m picky like it’s a bad thing.

In Culture on April 21, 2013 at 2:18 am

SOUND OF MUSIC.jpg

Oh Fraulein Maria, why can’t every movie I watch be nominated for 10 Academy Awards, be one of the highest-grossing film of all-time, and also a classic? An actress I love, a genre I love, and a plot that I…love. Sigh…

I’m a picky movie watcher. I have had others tell me and I have noticed it myself. I am a picky movie watcher. I don’t know if there is an incredibly deep reason behind it but I am a picky movie watcher.

It’s weird being a picky movie watcher. People will rave about movies that I think are ok. On the other hand, there are movies I love that people don’t care for in the slightest. I feel like some species of a hipster.

*Animal Planet voice-over guy*: Look what we have here, folks. It’s the Picky Movie Watcher, Hipster Cinema Disdainious as biologists call him, in its natural habitat: sitting at its laptop on Rotten Tomatoes. The Picky Movie Watcher is easily distracted by films with rave reviews from critics. Careful though, while the Picky Movie Watcher seems unassuming, most people who stay around it enough come away with the stink of condescension.

And here’s the kicker, I actually like movies people have heard of before. Action movies, comedies, romantic comedies, musicals, sports movies, cartoons, etc. Love love love. I also have actors/actresses/directors that I’ll watch almost anything that they make, including but not limited to (and in no particular order mind you): the Dame Julie Andrews, Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Carey Mulligan, Emily Blunt, the Dame Judi Dench, Leonardo Dicaprio, Edward Norton, Hugh Laurie, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Bruce Willis, Christopher Walken, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Connelly, Bryan Cranston, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Julianne Moore, Anne Hathaway, Natalie Portman, Anna Kendrick, Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, Quentin Tarantino, James McAvoy, and Emma Stone. I think that’s as random as that could possibly be. Good.

Moving on…I like stuff that people have heard of. I love the Toy Story franchise, Argo, the Bond franchise, The Artist, The Harry Potter franchise, any movie based on comic books or any book for that matter, any cartoon for the most part, the Star Wars franchise, etc.

I like stuff. And after seeing that list, you might wonder how I am so picky. Well here’s the rub: it has to be right combination of any number of factors such as cast, trailer, writing, characters, setting, etc. If I’m not feeling it, I won’t watch it. And I am typically not feeling a lot of things.

Moreover, I like movies that ask awkward questions. Some can be awkward funny but mostly, they’re awkward serious. Like,

What would happen if you wanted to date someone who is a professional matchmaker?

What would happen if a man who served our country returned home to a family that doesn’t recognize him anymore?

What would happen if you were a guy, with no guy friends, who was trying to make guy friends?

What would happen if we delved into the history of racism in the United States?

What would happen if you were pregnant in high school?

What would happen if you could erase your memory of past relationships?

What would happen if a pilot saved hundreds of lives while he flew a plane drunk and high?

What would happen if two kids decided to run off together because they didn’t like their lives?

What would happen if your life was just a dream and you’ve been refusing to wake up?

What if you could talk to Death and convince him to give you more time?

What if you had been raised by a surrogate father, who turned out to be a psychotic mobster, and you grew up to be a cop?

Those are some awkward questions. And if we’re perfectly honest, no one really knows the answer. Some of these questions are things we have dealt with in our own lives or seen how someone else dealt with them; most are not but some are. We may not know the answers but we know that these questions are real. We agree to sit and view how the director, writers, actors/actresses etc. choose to answer these question.

Now, I’m not saying that I don’t watch popular movies that are just fun to watch and enjoy. I am also not saying that popular movies do not ask awkward questions that leave you with something when you leave the theater. I’m just saying that I typically trend towards movies that try to answer awkward questions because my mind asks awkward questions. I really don’t know any other way to be.

How do you solve a picky person like me? I really don’t know.

An easier question might be, how do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?

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Tennyson.

In Life on April 11, 2013 at 11:49 pm

tennyson.

The day will rise

When we can truly say,

“The days past are more than the days ahead.

Yet, there is nothing behind that can take the breath from my lips.”

 

The soul cries the song of the caged bird

Limitless in potential

Embodied in mortality

There is no greatness we cannot find

If willing to find that which carefully considers

The truest of desires

 

It is not sufficient to exclaim our existence

The breath of life within the airways

The beating of affections, passionate and incapable of concision

Is the truest favor of the gods

 

In the greatness and the fall,

the forgotten and the forgiven,

the beginning and the end,

the last and the first,

forever and a day,

love and selfishness,

faith and scorn,

hope and bitterness,

humanity and eternity,

 

May our frailties find peace within

The things that change and the things that change us.

 

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Drive.

In Life on March 30, 2013 at 8:51 pm

finding norman.

Norman Smith is an understated man; not necessarily underwhelming but understated. A simple man. He likes what he likes and ignores what he doesn’t want to see. Yet, he couldn’t tell you what he actually likes. While we’re here, Norman couldn’t really tell you what he believes in either. Norman is an understated man…who does what he does whenever he does it.

So on an understated Sunday afternoon, our understated protagonist took a drive down a back country road. Norman couldn’t really tell you where he was going but he could tell you it felt right to leave for awhile. The most vibrant reds and yellows blurred as Norman’s vehicle sped down the open road. As the miles from home grew in number, Norman couldn’t help considering whether the distance between who he was and the person he wanted to be was quite simply much too far. As if the odometer would halt rolling numbers and spell out “failure”. When the GPS asked for a destination, could he answer “Self”?

Norman wondered where love went wrong. He had good intentions. Isn’t trying what separates love from divorce? That’s not how his ex-wife put it in court but Norman liked to think so. He didn’t always say it (he said it everyday) but he made sure to remind himself of what he was not. “Do I deserve any of the good things that happen to me?” That lasted for a bit. Then to counter this conscious medication, Norman would recount his triumphs and delve into fantasies around his ability. Manual bipolarism, if you will. He had good intentions.

Norman drove till the sun began to set. He pulled over to side of the road when he found a knoll to admire the sun take its rest. Sometimes it’s the simplest things that remind us of how delicate this life is. Norman just enjoyed the sunset in his own way. He didn’t want to be anywhere else.

The nature of humanity is a drive to find what fulfills our spirit

and a hunger for an atmosphere where that fulfillment is consistent.

We are that which makes us whole. And nothing more.

Under the weight of the ideals we set for ourselves,

Let us be that which we wish to see.

That which makes us smile, brings out the best in us,

That which sets an example.

In our ambition, let us leave room for what is most important.

In our belief, may we be the better people.

In our love, may actions be words.

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Places.

In Life on March 10, 2013 at 8:06 pm

places.

Disclosures of an intimate format

Discoveries beyond the struggle

to define the self’s

Will, selfish or humble?

 

What is life but mere moments

that taken together

form the basis of personality

for worse or for better

 

These moments are almost never

of our own preference or choice

and yet, the strength of humanity

is in our reaction and poise

 

So let us find the best

in the moments that try

our belief in trust and self

that by His grace, we may vie

 

to love and be loved.

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Reserved.

In Life on February 19, 2013 at 12:20 am

maybe it’s that fear of being still

maybe it’s that fear of heights again,

I can’t  look down.

but for the life of me,

guess we’re all trying to find home.

I’ll tell you when I get there.

“what do you want to be when you grow up?”

start asking questions we don’t want the answer to

not sure if this is the person we always thought we would be

are not so far off

we’re getting to that age where the dreams we had as kids

reserved.

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Dance with the girl who brung ya.

In Sports on February 9, 2013 at 10:41 pm

 

What does our favorite football team say about the person we’re into?

Absolutely nothing. Why would you ask such a stupid question? But in the world between my ears, there’s some kind of half-baked correlation. And darn it all, we’re going to find it. So without further ado, what each team says about what we like in potential partners:

“They were not the first person you noticed. But once you got to know them, you saw how cool they were.”

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

Oakland Raiders

Saint Louis Rams

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Upside: They are so cool. You guys interact in the best ways. You can’t wait to hang out. They’re cool with your friends and you’re cool with their friends. For the most part. But you how hard they try. It’s great being with them.

Downside: Not everyone sees what you see. Worse, sometimes people wonder what you see in them. You know how cool they are. Yet, not a lot of other people do. Is there something wrong with you? Or are other people blind? Are you a terrible person for questioning? But you do sometimes. Would it hurt to one day have something to brag about? It’s shallow. But sometimes shallow is nice. Now you just feel guilty…

Verdict: It’s all good. As much as we appreciate them,  we are human. We get self-centered. We want them to do something that we can rub other people’s faces in. Really show off. But, there’s something to be said for someone who is continuously working to be better. Plus, sometimes those public displays go awry. But you like them. It’s all good.

“They had a history of being really cool. The whole package. Now everyone kinda resents you behind your back because you won’t shut up about it.”

Baltimore Ravens

Green Bay Packers

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Upside: They’re so awesome. You couldn’t imagine someone more awesome. Yea they have issues but come on, their awesomeness is blinding. Sigh…

Downside: Sometimes they’re too awesome. And they don’t seem to care about what’s going on with you. Would be nice to be heard once in a while.

Verdict: Sometimes they don’t listen or seem to care. But they are pretty awesome. And they make an effort to show they’re listening. But seriously, from all of us who care about you deeply, SHUT UP ABOUT IT! Sheesh.

“They can be so cool…when they want to be…”

Atlanta Falcons

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts 

Minnesota Vikings

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles 

San Diego Chargers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Redskins

Upside: When it’s on, it’s on like Donkey Kong. You guys go together like peanut butter and jelly. Winter and a sweater. Lemonade and sweet tea. Everything is great.

Downside: When it’s off, it’s bad. All talking ceases. Except for “uh-huh’ and other barely visible acknowledgements.  Everybody can tell somethings wrong but don’t want to say anything out loud.

Verdict: You’re gonna have to suck it up. As bad as it can be, you chose em.

And unfortunately, and maybe sometimes fortunately, when it comes to football allegiances and life in general, you just gotta dance with the girl who brung ya.

Because you just never know, do you?

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31.

In Life on January 29, 2013 at 8:05 pm

Let’s walk back in time

back to when she was less of a rhyme

and more or less the reason

that this apparatus would stop beating

just for a second

 

Back to the conversations on pillows

as the wind bent the willows

outside that window

and she let you see clear

through the pain and fear

to the eternity inside

 

Back to the perfect in imperfection

the school punishments without the lesson

the  ”you know i’m just messin”

and that smile

or the times it went away

with the words you didn’t say

and the thoughts that brought the fray

and to this day,

can’t say that it mattered

 

Back to the double-take

and the crushes real and fake

and the things we give but can’t take

and the reasons why

and the “hi, my name is shy”

and this is not goodbye

and i promise you that

 

but we only go forward with time

yet, these choices are still mine

 

guess with age comes tries,

but im feeling old, and not very wise.

 

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The NCAA and you.

In Sports on January 24, 2013 at 12:15 am

 

 

Are you worried about making sure your school is doing the right thing? Are you worried about making sure you can do the best you can for your student-athletes? Then you are at the right seminar! We are the NCAA…and we are here to help. Now we’re sorry if we can’t get to all the questions that you have but we will cover what we can.

So let’s get started. First, we can all agree that these student-athletes are amateurs. They are, after all, students first. So…they should not be paid for their sporting endeavors. If, as a school, you happen to make money off a player’s name, number, talent, etc., it is your right as the school to pocket that money. After all, you are providing an education. Moreover, we will sanction video games such as NCAA Football and NCAA Basketball, and partner with media partners like ESPN, but we will leave the players’ actual names off the game so no one can will know. For example, it is impossible for someone to confuse the cover boy of NCAA Football 11, #15 from Florida, as Tim Tebow. We’ll keep that between us.

Now, about that education. Like we said, you will provide athletic scholarships so these individuals can go to school. Also, there will be mandatory study time so the athletes don’t feel overwhelmed. If practice times are too stressful and impede with academics, you can be sure that the athletes would pick an education over sports. There is nothing in our college sports culture that would cause a student-athlete to prioritize sports over an education. Furthermore, no coach would ever intimate to a player that college is just all about the sport. Coaches have to balance the rigors of sports with the realities of gaining a quality education.

In addition, no coach is to help an athlete get a grade he/she did not earn or herd them into courses that are less rigorous with an understanding about the situation; those situations would be unethical. Therefore, we are establishing an Academic Progress Rate. If your athletes fall below a specific number we deem as unacceptable, you will be banned from postseason participation.

Brief aside: Except you, football.  Don’t worry guys. You make us the most money so just keep doing what you’re doing.

Anyway, as I was saying…banned!

Now, let’s talk about criminal proceedings. Most of the time, we don’t really care; we’re not that type of organization. Still, if it makes big enough of a public stir, we’ll poke our heads into it. So, if it’s a crime that involves athletes, we will prosecute to the full extent of the law that we made up for that day; you can’t adjust for everything, you know. And because we made it up that day, we are not accountable for telling you why you received such a punishment. We punish as we see fit.

You see, it’s not our fault…oh, wait. I almost forgot. If we have turned a blind eye to your school’s misgivings because you were winning influential games, do not take that for granted. If you slip up when you are not relevant, we will lay down the law. Furthermore, there is no one we will not talk to in order to get our point across to your institution. That includes the defense attorney of the person that is in prison for providing impermissible benefits to your athletes. We have no reason to doubt the statements of that defense attorney towards said institution and will use them in our court of law as judge, jury, and executioner.

Now, as I was saying before, it is not our fault that you universities are utterly helpless. As beacons of academia, your lightbulb is beginning to dim; and some may argue, have been dimming for some time. It is tough to make money, apart from tuition hikes, so you force faculty to publish as much as possible to get the most money into your school. Yet, sometimes that isn’t enough. So you began to rely on donations.

That method makes alot of sense until the boosters decide that instead of a building named after them, they want to see a winning football team. Coupled with the media contracts and sponsorships associated with popular sports like football and men’s basketball, and the fact that we say you can’t pay your players, you have a wonderful revenue stream. Well, kind of. The actual math is kind of tedious but pretty much only some schools make a profit on sports through ticket sales and sponsors but that’s neither here nor there.

All that you need to know is that we are here and we are here to help you. We are the NCAA. Any questions?

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