December 19, 2013

"Ho Ho Home"

Dear Reader,

Abu Dhabi is a great place to live. My family's got a comfortable apartment here, the winter weather is FANTASTIC, and we're finally settled. I get to frequently see Rolls Royces, Ferraris, and Maseratis, UAE National Day was unbelievable, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is absolutely beautiful, and I've been able to learn things that I couldn't possibly have learned before.

It's great here, but I think that Dorothy really said it best......."There's no place like home!", and my heart still belongs to Tomball, Texas.

As Christmas day draws closer, my thoughts have turned to ho ho home. I feel that I need to let everyone back home know that I love y'all.  I hope that you all appreciate what a blessing it is to be where you are. I would advise you this holiday season to stop for a moment, look around, and appreciate what you have, because "ya don't know whatcha got 'til it's gone".

I would also like to take a moment and thank all of the folks here in the Emirates for being so kind and for helping my family adjust. But more specifically, I'd like to thank my swaggin' peers at ACS. Y'all have made life here so much easier.

I honestly ho ho hope you have a happy holiday season, my dear Reader. And remember.....the best way to spread Christmas cheer is by singing loud for all to hear.

Rock on. NM

December 3, 2013

"From the Wild, to the Wild"

Dear Reader,

On Saturday, the Sullivan family kindly invited me to go out dune bashing and camping with them in the desert outside of Abu Dhabi. I'll tell the story from the top: We drove about 30 minutes away from the city on the highway and then we pulled off onto a side "road" (...which was actually just packed sand). When we had driven a little further, we discovered that the road was blocked by a herd of camels. Glenn pulled slowly up to them and tapped the car horn. Slowly, the camels moved aside and allowed us through.

The road ended and the real dunes began. We let out some air from the tires and took off into the desert. We took a slipped and carved on the sand all the way to "Two Trees", a camping spot familiar to the Sullivans. At camp, we cleared out camel crap from an area, set up some lawn chairs, and made a fire pit. After setting up the tents, we climbed up the tall dunes and sledded down. The sun went down, the fire was started, and Glenn brought out his guitar. He played for us as we sat around the campfire and conversed. Other families that were invited showed up and brought food and good company. Later in the evening, I borrowed the guitar and played the songs that I know. After a long night of laughter and music, we all went to bed at about 12 a.m.

Because I decided to be all macho and sleep under the stars, I borrowed a sleeping bag and laid it out on a thin mat. At night, the desert gets really, really cold. And even though I was wearing jeans, pajama pants, two pairs of socks, and three shirts, I still shivered. I think that I got about 5 hours of sleep. During the night, I would often wake up and try to cover my head, which stuck out of the sleeping bag like.......like....like a head that sticks out of a sleeping bag. (Simile swagg.) At about 3 a.m., I took off my pajama pants and wrapped them around my head. That definitely helped.

At 5 a.m., I was just too darn cold to sleep any more, so I got out of my bag and attempted to relight the fire from the previous night. It took me a while because dew had dampened everything...but once that wood was a-cracklin', I happily warmed my bare feet.

Everyone else woke up eventually and we made some eggs and bacon for breakfast. After chowing down, we climbed in the 4x4s and started dune bashing. For my first ride, I was sitting in the back seat...and I will admit that all the speeding up and down, sliding, and shifting is really, really nauseating. Glenn has experience on the dunes, and he decided to jump over the top of the tallest one around. When we went over the crest, it felt as if we were going to roll over. Thankfully, we slammed into the sand on all four wheels and sped down the dune.

After a while, Glenn let me go behind the wheel and spray up some sand. Driving in the sand was as fun as it was stressful. Actually....It was a little more stressful than fun, and by the end of my turn, I was more than happy to give the wheel back to Glenn.

The sun began to beat down on Two Trees, so we packed up our gear and hit the "road" once again.

All told, I had a BLAST in the desert. Honestly, reader, if you ever get the opportunity to go camping in the desert, do yourself a favor and seize that opportunity. You will have an adventure.

When we started home, I thought that I was leaving the wild....

....but as I neared the city of Abu Dhabi, I was actually entering the wild.

National Day is a holiday in the United Arab Emirates that celebrates the creation of the nation. (Diggin' those rhymes, reader?) This year marks the 42nd year of nationhood for the UAE. (American readers....National Day is to the UAE as Independence Day is to the USA.) Here in the UAE, the government has a lot of money from their oil exports, and they go ALL OUT on their "Fourth of July". Seriously. It's insane.

The celebrations were held on December 1st and 2nd. I went out both evenings and witnessed the unbelievable. I feel like I don't have enough skill as a writer to effectively paint a picture of the National Day craze, and so I present to you, reader, video shot by me during it all. It was loud. It was ridiculous. It was National Day. (I also included at the end of the video some footage from the desert trip and from wakeboarding. Enjoy. :)







Livin' la vida loca. NM

November 24, 2013

"Nicky and the Jets"

Dear Reader,

Late this afternoon, just before the final bell rang at school, I heard a loud rumble from outside the classroom window. A classmate asked what the noise was and someone else explained that "Those were just the jets."

"The jets?" I thought. "Why the gypsy are there jets flying above our school? Is this normal?"

Incredibly curious, I turned around and looked out the windows behind me, trying to catch a glimpse of the planes. Unable to see anything from within the room, I waited in anticipation until the bell rang. I quickly went outside to see what I could see. As I walked across our school's grass field, I heard the roaring engines of the jets overhead once again. Shielding my eyes from the sun, I scanned the skies, hoping to catch a glimpse of them.

Out of the blue.......literally........Two jets tore through the airspace overhead. I then did what any teenager in their right mind would've done.......

With my cellphone's video camera now in hand, I searched the skies again, looking to capture the jets on video. Here's the edited version of the footage I shot, placed in chronological order. For full effect, you ought to play the clip fullscreen. 


(I do apologize for talking during the video.......It's always annoying when people are like "Whoah broski!!! That was so dope!!!" But don't judge......If there were an unexpected airshow going on above your school or workplace, you'd probably react similarly.) 

After watching that video, my dear reader, you might've asked yourself, "Jets? Why the gypsy were jets flying above Nick's school? Was that normal?" To be frank, I don't know. I guess that's just how it goes here in the UAE.

Never a dull moment. NM


November 21, 2013

"Rain"

Dear Reader,

I realize that writing an entire blog post about rain seems a bit ridiculous. "Holy crud, Nick....It was just some rain." Well.....yeah. It was just rain. But consider this: It only rains about 3 times a year here in Abu Dhabi. I believe that my experiences today are worth sharing.

As soon as I woke up this morning, I knew something was funky. I could feel it. When I sat up and rubbed my eyes, I heard my mom talking to Sam. "I barely got ANY sleep last night. The wind was howling in my room all night long!" She said wearily. I stood up, walked out of my room, and looked out our balcony window. The sky was ominously dark and the distant clouds were moving ever closer.

As a family, we wondered if it was really going to rain. Google said it wasn't going to....at least not until the afternoon, so Sam and I started eating our breakfast. Halfway through the most important meal of the day, my mom called out from her bedroom. "It's raining!" In a rush, Sam and I dropped our forks and bolted for the balcony. When I slid the door open, I felt the powerful force of the wind that was driving the storm against our building. Sam and I stepped through the threshold and onto the tile of the balcony. The wet tile of the balcony. It was actually raining.

After appreciating the gales and light rain for a little bit, I returned to the kitchen and scarfed down the last pieces of French toast. I felt that I was going to need a solid breakfast if I was going to survive the day. Be prepared, right? Actually, I took "Be prepared" very seriously. I packed multiple grocery bags, a towel, and a clean pair of socks.

"You really packed a clean pair of socks, Nick?" Yes. I packed a dry, clean pair of socks. There's nothing worse than walking around with damp, cold feet all day long.

After grabbing our things, Sam, mom, and I went downstairs to the car. The wind was still howling.....and the rain started to come down harder. We piled into the vehicle and hit the streets. The partially flooded streets. (My dear reader, in case you didn't already know, the city of Abu Dhabi was built on the assumption that there would be many more sunny days than rainy ones. Hence, the ineffective drainage system and the partially flooded streets.) We drove to Ella Sullivan's apartment to give her and her little sister a ride to school. After a relatively uneventful drive to ACS, we got out of the car and half jogged into the school. (I didn't really have to worry too much, because I used my grocery bags to cover up the important stuff. :)

Once I was inside the school, I saw that a few of my friends had not been able to avoid the downpour. I walked over to Danielle, a new girl whose hair was soaked, and asked her how she was. She said that she was cold, but fine. The only thing she lamented was the fact that her socks were wet. When I heard this, a smile slowly appeared on my face. "What if I told you that I had packed a dry, clean pair of socks?" She told me that she would be very, very happy. When I gave them to her, she was. Be prepared, right?

The rest of the morning ran smoothly. The rain stopped. It seemed like the weather was behind us...

In 2nd period English class, we were analyzing a novel when the hallway outside of our classroom got really noisy. We ignored the noise and continued working until the assistant principal quickly opened the door. "Ms. Wiley. I have to talk to you right now." He said earnestly. Wiley stood up and walked out of the room. As soon as the door clicked, conversation began, and everyone seemed to be wondering the same thing. "What the crud was that all about?" We weren't kept in suspense for long...

Wiley stepped back into the classroom and delivered the news. The good news. "Go home." She said. "School's out. There's a huge storm coming and they want y'all to get back home before it begins." After a moment of disbelief, our class cheered. Two students that had to do a presentation later in that class turned and hugged each other. It was a beautiful moment.

When I left the room, I found that our school had descended into anarchy. Not the bad kind of anarchy, though. It was the "I'm-so-excited-that-I've-forgotten-how-to-act-appropriately" kind of anarchy. In spite of the chaos, my Economics teacher still managed to find me and give me some work to do over the weekend. "Test on Monday!" He said cheerfully. (....Way to rain on my parade...) I met up with Sam, Ella, and her little sister and my mom picked us up. In the car we talked about what was going to happen when the rumored storm hit.


But the storm never came.



That doesn't really matter though, because we got out of SCHOOL!

I really love it when it rains. Thanks for reading. NM

November 1, 2013

"Scaring Kids and Parents"

Dear Reader,

Over the course of the last 24 hours, I have succeeded in making both small children and grown adults cry. I most definitely intended to make the children cry. But making my parents cry?


That wasn't on the agenda.


For me, it all began with a rainbow poncho, a large sombrero, and a fake mustache. It was Halloween night, and my school's fall festival was about to begin. After the Junior class put the final grotesque details on our Haunted House, we opened for business. As the very first children entered the house, I decided to stay and watch. I could see all the action perfectly, even if the window was a little.....

 dirty....


It was through this window that I saw the horrified expressions of many children. I know that I probably sound like a psychotic sadist, but scaring kids is real good fun. I signed up for setup and cleanup duty, so I never really did any of the hardcore scaring. I left that to the kids who weren't dressed up as a stereotypical Mexican. 

Initially, all of the kids that went through the house seemed to have come out the other end with at least one reason to have recurring nightmares, but as the evening dragged on, the repeat-scarees became increasingly numbed to the screeches of my zombie peers. Some even started fighting back. I heard that one belligerent child, brandishing a hard wooden sword, attacked every jump-scarer. (Maybe his parents should have bought him a pair of red horns instead of that weapon...) At any rate, I was content to just scream occasionally from the comfortable couch inside my room. 

At long last, the 2013 Fall Festival Haunted House sent off its last victims. Quickly, we changed the music from Halloween stock sounds to happy, dance-while-you-clean tracks. Compared to set-up, taking down our deathly decorations was definitely a different story. We ripped the black fabric off the walls, wiped the ketchup off the windows, and disassembled Alex Mueller's "Gorilla Spider". In only few short minutes, we transformed the middle-school hallway back to its original (and more frightening) form. 

Amira Subaey, our Junior Class president, came up to me and asked me how I thought the night went. "Was is interesting enough to make it onto the blog?" She asked. I kind of laughed, because even though I had fun bringing tears to the eyes of the young, I didn't think I was going to blog about my night. Little did I know that the Haunted House was just the appetizer for the evening.....and that the main course was going to be almost more than I could handle. 

At about 7 pm, I went to my locker, gathered my school things, and looked for a taxi that would take me to Nation Towers. Long before Halloween night, I planned to go check out a free event on the Corniche (a huge  beachfront walkway...) called "Beats on the Beach" with a friend from church named Megan Springer. I walked a short distance and found a spot where I thought I could catch a cab. Unfortunately, the only thing I got was a lot of weird looks. ("What? You've never seen an American in a flamboyant poncho frantically wave his arms looking for a ride?") Eventually, I clambered into an empty cab and started towards Nation Towers. At the end of the ride, the taxi driver told me that I had been waiting in an odd spot, and that in the future, I should wait at a nearby grocery store called Spinney's if I ever wanted to find a taxi. I took his advice, and he took my money. 

Tired, sweaty, and poncho'd, I rode the elevator up to the Megan's floor and rang her doorbell. She let me in and I set down my things. Her dad offered me some lukuwarm pizza, and I graciously accepted, because at that point, the only things I had eaten since lunch were a few ruffles and a fun-size snickers bar. After scarfing that cheesy goodness down, Megan and I went downstairs and walked to the Corniche. Once we were there, the fun began. First, we unexpectedly encountered some sort of U-17 World Soccer shindig. As we walked through, I spotted a man walking around with a falcon on his arm. I made eye contact with falcon-man and non-verbally expressed my approval of his avian friend. In return, he motioned us over with his free hand and let us pet the falcon. I really really really wanted to take a picture, but when I took out my phone, I discovered that my battery had, unfortunately, "passed". 

After walking further along the Corniche, Megan and I arrived at "Beats on the Beach". As we walked across the sand and towards the stage, I looked around at the members of the audience. They were almost all Filipino. Once we had arrived safely in the middle of the crowd, the DJ clarified things by loudly announcing "THIS IS THE FIRST EVER FILIPINO NIGHT IN THE HISTORY OF BEATS ON THE BEACH!!!" The crowd cheered in response, and I wondered why we had come to listen to Filipino pop music that I wouldn't even understand. Fortunately, I was not disappointed. At all.


Over the course of the evening, a variety of artists and DJs went up on the stage and did their thing. I had so much fun that I completely lost track of time.

After we got tired, we grabbed some ice cream at a Baskin Robbins stand and casually ambled back along the Corniche to Nation Towers. Wearily, we stumbled into the elevators, pressed "45" and started our journey upwards. While we were in the elevator, I decided to look down at my watch. When I did so, my heart sank. "Holy crap, Megan." I said in shock. "It's flipping 12:27 a.m." She hadn't thought to check the time either and she was equally shocked. My thoughts immediately turned to my firm, 12 a.m. curfew, and to my mother, who would most likely be up waiting anxiously for me to come home. I thought to call, but then I remembered that my phone was dead. I realized then that if I didn't get home soon, that I might meet the same fate as my phone's battery. Quickly, I gathered my things and Megan and I rode the elevator back down to the lobby. 

We walked out to the main road that runs along the Corniche and we began to look for an empty taxi. There were 8 other people right there, looking for the same. After about 12 minutes of waiting at that taxi stand, I remembered the advice that the taxi driver had given me earlier that evening. "You should wait at Spinney's if you ever want to find a taxi. That's a popular place." Megan and I walked to Spinney's, hoping that I would be able to find a ride. We waited in the Spinney's taxi stand for about 20 minutes before an open taxi pulled up....But a man had been waiting there before me, and out of courtesy, I let him take it. Another 20 minutes passed before I saw another empty taxi coming down the road towards me. My heart took flight!! At LAST!!! THIS CA-Suddenly, about halfway down the street, a man ran out of nowhere, flagged the cab down, and climbed in. 

I was mad, and rightfully so. Megan suggested that I call a cab using her phone. I called her a genius, and then called the cab company. After holding for a few minutes, a man answered and asked me where I was, where I needed to go, and what my name was. I told him, and he told me that he'd send a text when he was there. With renewed hope, we waited for the cab to text. 10 minutes later, Megan's phone chimed and I read the message. Basically, it said this. "Sucks to suck, there aren't any cabs coming to get you." I was mad, and rightfully so. 

With literally no more options, we did as we had done. We watched and waited. After another excruciating half-hour of watching full cabs roll by, I decided to try a new spot. Megan and I walked over to a gas station and waited there for a taxi. Eventually, an occupied taxi pulled into the gas station, but I was determined to get into that cab. I ran alongside the moving vehicle until it stopped at a pump. The previous passenger paid and departed. As soon as he cleared out, and threw my stuff onto the front seat of that taxi like a conquistador claiming territory for his country. I turned around, waved goodbye to Megan, and sat in the cab. 

Never before had I been happier in a smelly taxi. As the attendants at the gas station filled the tank, I told the driver how ecstatic I was to be in his cab. After telling him, I realized that I was almost awkwardly enthusiastic, but he understood and explained that because of "Beats on the Beach", all taxis were taken. After paying for gas, he started driving me home to Abu Dhabi mall. Because I had already conversed with him, there were no barriers between us, and he started to ask me about America and about how I like the UAE. I told him that so far, I loved the Emirates almost as much as Texas. He told me about his country, Bangladesh, and how he felt about being in the Emirates as a Taxi driver. After telling me all of the rules and regulations he has to comply with, he said something interesting. "I have a big heart." He explained. "But here, my heart is small. Too much rules make it small." 

There was a reflective pause in our conversation, and for a moment, my heart truly went out to this man that was taking me home at 2 a.m. But then he ran a red light, cut somebody off, and proceeded to profanely express his feelings about the driver he had just cut off...............He pulled into the Abu Dhabi mall stand, and I gave him the fare.

After I shouldered my heavy pack, I started up a parking garage ramp that led to our apartment building's lobby. Exhausted and weary, I stumbled through the glass doors and gave a weak salute to the guard at the counter. He laughed and I laughed as well. I slapped the "up" button on the elevator. In the elevator, I once again thought of my family. "I wonder if they're awake?" I thought. I exited the lift and went up to the door to apartment 2401. For a moment there, I paused and listened. Inside the apartment, I heard my mother crying, and my heart broke. 

I rang the doorbell, and as soon as Sam opened the door, I went to my mom and hugged her tightly. I didn't care if I was grounded forever, I just wanted to comfort her. After we had embraced, I told her as quickly as I could what had happened and why I was so late. At the end of my explanation, She understood that while I had made mistakes in judgement, there were factors out of my control that prevented me from getting home earlier. Worst of all, I think, is that I didn't know any of my family members' phone numbers, so I was unable to let them know that I was alive. Sam called my Dad who had been out driving around the city, looking for me. After my mom and I discussed what we would do to prevent another ordeal like this one, she told me that it would be best for us all to go to bed. Wearily, I agreed, but I decided that I needed to wait for my dad to come home. 

Seeing my mom so upset had literally torn my heart apart, and I didn't know what I was going to do when my dad came home. When he walked in the door, all that he did was come over and give me a long, warm hug. With tears in my eyes, I told him how sorry I was. He just held me, and I held him. After we let go, he told me to get some rest. Wearily, and with a broken, but warmed heart, I crawled into bed and went to sleep. 

Such is life. NM



October 30, 2013

"Body-Odor and Perspective"

Dear Reader,

These first 7 weeks in Abu Dhabi have been wild...and even though I still don't have a mattress, we're finally starting to get settled.

Here's how life is going for me in Abu Dhabi:

I wake up in the morning (feeling like P-diddy) and roll off of my little mat. I'll grab a towel and head towards the "maid's shower" because it's got hot water and my bathroom's shower can barely reach lukewarm. (For those in the States, I'll explain why it's called the maid's shower. In almost every apartment and villa in Abu Dhabi, there is an unbelievably small bedroom and bathroom that is used by the maid, if you have one. We don't have a maid, so we use the room for storage and the bathroom for it's beautiful shower.) After cleaning up, I'll get dressed, and by then, my mom will usually have some sort of awesome breakfast ready for Sam and I. After breaking our fast, Sam and I have to figure out how to get to school.

We have two options: Take the city bus, or share a cab with some friends of ours. For the past week or so, Sam and I have had to take the bus. I don't know about you, reader, but I don't find it very pleasant to be caught between a glass window and 15 funky-smelling men. Sometimes, Sam and I can find a seat.....or, in other words....Sometimes, we don't have a terrible experience on the city bus. But unfortunately, there aren't many seats, and we've have had to stand and endure that 40-minute ordeal one too many times. I guess that you get what you pay for..............I just didn't know that I was paying to be uncomfortably close to sketchy looking men.

Fortunately, my brother and I figured out that we could share a cab with Ella Sullivan and her little sister. Trust me on this one: riding in a cab with two Aussies is awesome, especially compared to our experiences with Abu Dhabi's public transportation system.

One way or another, we make it to school alive and....well..........alive.

As I walk up to the main gate of the school, I always wave to the guard, and he never fails to wave back. Once Sam and I are inside of ACS, it's essentially just like being in a high school back in the US. Except, there are only 90-ish kids in my entire class, and no one is "normal". (What is normal, anyways?) Almost everyone has some insane cultural identity and proficiency in some foreign tongue. After learning a little bit about the countries and cultures that everyone else comes from, I've begun to look at my time spent in the US and my American identity differently. Having to introduce myself as an American really helps me to recognize that the country I've come from has (in a significant way) shaped my ideals, my personality, and my cultural identity.

Our school is fantastic. My classes are academically grueling, but I'm learning, and that is what matt-......Oh my gosh. I just realized that I have a BUNCH OF HOMEWORK.

Well....in a nutshell, I'd just like to say that no matter how crazy things get........Life goes on.
Even if you move to the other side of the world in the middle of high school......Life goes on.

Keep rockin' it, have a slammin' Halloween, and thank you for reading. NM

(Sorry to be abrupt. I really do have homework.)

October 12, 2013

"Mall, Sweet Mall"

Dear Reader,

The Merrill family has finally moved into a “permanent” residence. That’s right, y’all. After kickin’ it for a month in a hotel, we’re now occupying an apartment on the 24th floor of Bayview Tower.

In case you don’t already know, staying for one month in a hotel is like eating an extra-large pizza by yourself. Sure, the first slice is delicious……..But by the end of that thing, you never want to see a piece of pizza again.  You get the idea.

(Truth is, I don’t really have any room to complain. There are people I’ve talked to here that lived in a hotel room for more than 4 months. I don’t know how they did it…)

What’s really important is that we HAVE AN APARTMENT. It’s wonderful to have a place that is “yours”. I honestly don’t care that my bedroom has zero furniture and that the only thing between the cold tile floor and me is a rock-hard mat. I’m just flipping happy that I even have my own bedroom. There’s a lot to love about our new home, and some of it is almost unbelievable.

Bayview tower is literally on top of a mall and a supermarket. I’ll repeat that. Just so that it sinks in.

Bayview tower is literally on top of a mall AND a supermarket.

So, whenever we need to go to the supermarket, we take an elevator and BOOM. We’re there.  To illustrate just how little time it takes, I decided to use my watch’s stopwatch function to time a one-way trip. From the front door of 2401 to the automatic door of the supermarket took me a full 2 minutes and 3 seconds. I kid you not, reader. 2 minutes, 3 seconds.

Get this….After you get your groceries at the store, you can roll your shopping cart into the elevator, up to your floor, and into your apartment. Once you’re done unloading, all you have to do is take the cart back to the supermarket. Do you remember the time I said before? Yeah….I got that time when I was returning two shopping carts.

I wasn’t joking when I said that this stuff is almost unbelievable.

And now, I’ll talk about the mall. The mall that we live above is called “Abu Dhabi Mall” (…I’m not sure where they got that name, but that’s beside the point.) In my opinion, Abu Dhabi Mall is really nice. It’s a 3-story mall with a variety of stores. Now, I’m not really into malls and shopping, but I’m pretty sure that I’ll be down in that mall more than a few times getting an ice cream cone at Baskin Robbins. Or maybe I’ll go down there to get an ice cream cone at Baskin Robbins. Who knows! I might even go to the mall to get ice cre- NO.

It’s going to be very difficult for me to practice temperance here. And I hope that the convenience of living 2 minutes and 3 seconds from the supermarket doesn’t spoil me.

The apartment itself is VERY nice, and it has a great view of the bay. Hence, “Bayview Tower”. The entire floor of the apartment is tile, and only my parents’ bedroom has furniture, so the whole place echoes a lot. A lot. A lot. A lot. A lot.  If you're interested in looking at a few photos of our place, sorry, but I'll upload them later. 

The sun went down long ago, so I guess that it’s time for me to wrap this blog post up and go to bed. I mean rock-hard mat. Thank you for reading, reader.


Rock on. NM

September 26, 2013

"Fried Chicken, People-Watching, and Professional Clappers"

Dear Reader,

Earlier this evening, my dad and I decided to go to KFC for dinner. So, we grabbed some dirhams (money) and left the hotel. The weather outside was wonderful and consequently, our walk to Colonel Sanders' joint was really pleasant. We strolled inside and waited in line with a bunch of people from all over the world who had one thing in common.......a love for fried pollo.

Pops and I ordered our finger-lickin' chicken and sat down on bar stools that faced towards the street. As we ate our food, we stared out the window at all of the folks that were enjoying the cool night-time breeze. You've never people-watched until you've people-watched in Abu Dhabi. We saw pretty much every ethnicity that exists on the planet. In like....15 minutes.

We finished up our artery-cloggers and headed out the door. While taking the long way back to the hotel, we saw a Baskin-Robbins.....and two ice cream cones later, we hit the streets again. Eventually, we reached the front of the hotel. But something was different. I heard a bagpipe.

My dad and I walked through the front doors and encountered a cr-......well...........

This.


........Apparently, there was a wedding going on at our hotel tonight. At any rate, the people they hired to clap really loud for them were hardcore. We skirted the crowd and got into the elevator. After dropping off some stuff in the hotel room, I decided to go back downstairs to check out the party, but this time, I went to the mezzanine just above the lobby. While I waited for the elevator, I could hear the party, nine stories below me. Eventually, one freed up and I made it to the mezzanine. I walked around to get a good view of the happy couple and I shot this video. 



As you can see at the end of the clip, the professional chanters finished their party-tune and all of the wedding guests headed for the elevators........and so did I. Even though I power-walked, I almost missed the only open elevator on the floor. Luckily, two women in burqas held the elevator for me. I pressed "9", but the elevator lurched downwards and I quickly found myself on the ground floor........

A minute later, I was riding in an elevator  FULL of the wedding guests. (...and somebody was wearing too much cologne.) All of them got off on the banquet level and I was left alone to ride up to "9".  I grinned like an idiot all the way up. 

Just another Thursday evening in Abu Dhabi. :) NM



September 19, 2013

"Really Hot Water"

Dear Reader,

Abu Dhabi is an awe-inspiring place. Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world are here, working, living, and playing together. It's absolutely remarkable. I didn't even know that a place like this could exist. One thing that I've realized is that I know SO LITTLE. Seriously. Every day I encounter something new and strange.

For instance, last night, I was being driven home by a man named Ashif who works as a temporary driver for our family. We were at a red light and were checking out the car in front of us. It was the second Rolls Royce I'd seen this week. Ashif pointed out the license plate. "5".....He turned to me. "Do you know how much that plate cost?" He said with his Indian accent. "No," I replied. "How much?"
"One million dirham. (appx. $300,000) It's for the Royal Family. Very expensive." He said. The light turned and so did we. But I turned my head to watch the royal Rolls Royce roll away into the city. (I forgot to mention....Just before we stopped behind the Royce, we had been driving next to a Maserati.)

Another example. I was sitting in math class the other day trying as hard as I could to pay attention. Suddenly, the call to prayer blasted from an enormous mosque across the road. Everybody in the class kept working like it was nothing. All I could think was "Sweet gypsies! Do y'all not hear the loudspeakers?" But they've lived here long enough to ignore the call to prayer. I'm fresh meat, so I still hear it loud and clear. Which is a good thing, because it's a consistent reminder that I'm "not in Kansas anymore." As the math class dragged on, I just smiled to myself and thought "That would've NEVER happened to me in the States." There are so many little moments like these everyday...I can't write them all. :)

It's getting so much better. Things that freaked me out and shocked me before have now become almost normal. It's been like jumping into really hot water. While initially extremely uncomfortable, you eventually adjust. I'm feeling more comfortable. I think that, given more time, I just might fall in love with this place.

It's my birthday today (09/19/1996) and I'd like to thank everybody for wishing me a happy day. It's been great. :) (Especially everyone in choir that sent me handwritten notes. That meant a lot. :)

Well.....Ashif is here to pick me up from school. Guess it's time to get off the internet and back into the fray.

Rock on,

NM

P.S. I love shade and A/C. It's hot.

P.P.S. Arabic is totally coming along!!! It finally clicked today!!!!! :D



September 12, 2013

"You say Ma'a Salama, and I say Salaam."

Dear Reader,

It's my......fifth?....day in the city of Abu Dhabi, and there's way too much to write. So, I'll give you a general rundown from the top.

 We drove to the Houston airport and went through security without too much hassle. Because we were flying "Business Class" we got to wait in the swanky "Executive Club Lounge". It was full of comfortable chairs and food. After a while, Woody Williams from church showed up in his full airport security uniform. Gun and all, baby. It was great to see somebody from our ward at the last minute. After Woody left, our flight was called and we boarded the airplane

It's hard to describe our seats without sounding ridiculous. The seats were a bed, a massage chair, a table, and a media center all rolled into one. We were pampered like crazy. They gave us pillows, blankets, hot towels, noise cancelling headphones, delicious meals, free movies, free music, and even little plates of assorted nuts. After watching "Back To The Future" and "Monster's University" I decided to try to sleep. I pressed a button and VOILA...My seat was a bed. When I looked up at the ceiling, little LED lights were aglow in the shapes of constellations. I did fall asleep for a long time, and eventually, we landed in Dubai.

Despite the luxury of the experience, the plane was still a plane, and I was very happy to get off of itasdl;laksjd The Dubai airport is beautifully modern. Almost too modern. Anyways, we went through immigration and an Emirati in his dishdash stamped our passports. Here's a picture of what the dishdash looks like. I promise that I'm not making that name up.


We obtained our suitcases and made the necessary arrangements to get to the city of Abu Dhabi. A while later, we climbed into two black Volvos, and our drivers sped down the freeway at a steady 90 mph. (Even at this high speed, people in their sport cars regularly passed us.) An hour later, we arrived in Abu Dhabi. We checked into our hotel, which was called the Millennium Hotel. Exhausted, we collapsed on our beds and fell asleep. 

The next morning, the Islamic call to prayer sounded very loudly from the Mosque next to our hotel. It was the best thing at 4:45 a.m. to kick off my first full day in the city. I say that in all seriousness. I thought to myself "Wow. This is going to be very different."..........and different it was. 

The first thing we did was a tour of Sam and I's new high school, ACS (American Community School).  Our counselor gave us all of the things we needed like our locker combinations and our schedules. We said goodbye and left the school to go on a tour of the city with a South African lady. She was very nice and she helped us to get a feel for the city. 

After the tour we went back to the hotel and did something. I forget. 

Anyways, the next day, Sam and I had our first day of school. It's a really small school.....there are only 90 kids that make up my junior class. Luckily, they're super cool. They were very helpful and vey understanding because they have been in my shoes for their entire lives. Best of all, I got really talented teachers. I love our school. :)

We found an apartment to live in with a BEAUTIFUL view of the Arabian Gulf, but we have to wait for a few things to happen before we can move in. Inshallah it will be soon. 

I often think of Tomball, Texas, and how much I miss everyone there. It's hard to move to a foreign country. Much harder than I thought it was going to be. But the good news is that it gets easier.

(For your information, it's impossible to describe in detail what I'm experiencing here. If I were to describe it in two words, I would say that it's overwhelming and educational.) 

In closing, I would like to thank you for your support. It means a lot to me, and it helps me to keeping enduring and persevering. 

With all of my love, 

Nicholas Merrill

P.S. When we were driving through Dubai, we saw the Burj Khalifa, which is the world's tallest building. Here's a picture of it. 

P.P.S. There are a lot of Texans in our school. YEE HAW!!!!!!

P.P.P.S. I'm learning Arabic, and it's crazy hard. Who knew that you could make so many different guttural sounds? I didn't. 

September 4, 2013

"Friends and Lacerations"

Dear Reader,

On the night of September 3rd, I was a fugitive on the run, and they were after me.

I crouched in the darkness behind a trash can as the car rolled slowly past. Fortunately, I wasn't spotted. Once they had moved far enough away, I broke out of my hiding spot and moved quickly behind some bushes. As the vehicle rolled past once again, I strategized. "Slow, low, and steady wins the race."

In a minute or two, I was on the move again. After I had made my way down the street about 4 houses, I met up with my best friend Evan Nicholas. In the bushes, we discussed our predicament in hushed whispers. "Hey, where are they?" Evan asked me quietly. "I don't know," I replied as I looked through the leaves that concealed us, "But I think that they're gone for now." Tentatively, I stood up and scanned the dimly-lit street. I thought I heard a vehicle, so I ducked back behind the bushes, but it was all in my head. Cautiously, I moved ahead and Evan stayed back. Once he saw that the coast was clear, we made a mad dash to another street. We hid behind a large white truck and I looked over the hood to see what was happening in "the hood."  I stepped out a little into the street to get a better view and I felt that the coast was clear......Until a car turned and its headlights swept towards me.

As fast as I possibly could, I turned to hide behind the car. Unfortunately, Evan was right there. My head slammed into his at a high speed, and in a moment, we were both prone on the lawn of a stranger.  Immediately, I looked over to see how Evan was doing. He was clutching his face with both hands and I could tell he was in pain. "Evan. Are you okay?"......No answer. "Evan...Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah." He mumbled. I reached up and touched my head. It was wet. I looked at my hand and there was blood on it. "Okay," I thought. "This can't be good." I touched my forehead again and that was when I felt the split in my skin. More blood. "Hey Evan, I'm bleeding." I said. He turned and looked at me. "Whoah. You really are." He said. He reached up and felt his own head. He was bleeding too. "Look," He said, "You're pretty bad. I'm going to go get help. You wait here."

As Evan ran off and I walked over to the curb, a drop of blood hit the pavement. I sat down and applied pressure to the wound. Because I couldn't remove my hand from the wound, I couldn't swipe away the mosquitos. (Maybe I lost more blood to them than to the laceration....) My sweat mixed with the blood and it began to run down my arm. It felt like I was sitting on that dimly lit street curb for a very long time. Eventually, I thought to myself "Well. I better go get some help." So I started to walk down the street with my hand pressed firmly on my bloody forehead. That's when they showed up.

Sam and our friend Dylan had been scanning the streets, looking for about 12 guys, as part of a game called "Fugitive." The object of the game is to get from point A to point B without being seen by the people in the car. Well....they found me. And I was glad they did. They let me into the car and we drove back to Dylan's house, where the game had begun.

Pictures were snapped, phone calls were made, and blood was wiped away. Eventually, we all decided to go to the Emergency Room next to McDonald's on Northpointe. The bleeding had long since stopped, so I just strolled in with a big smile and a big cut on my face. They patched me up with some glue and some tape-like stuff. Nothing was painful. After telling the doctor my story, he smiled at me and said...."Well, at least you had your head in the game." It was hilarious. Before I left, I got my sticker and lollipop for being such a good little boy.

If you didn't already know, our family is leaving the country. But who doesn't love a trip to the ER? (As if we didn't have enough excitement already. :)

I'll add more pictures later. Thanks for reading. :)
NM

September 2, 2013

"Abu Dhabi"

Dear Reader,

My family is moving from Tomball, Texas to the city of Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates.

I'm not going to sugar-coat anything, y'all. Moving to the Middle East is not going to be physically or emotionally easy for me. As I write this, I feel like my heart is breaking. I truly love Texas and all of my friends here. I thought that it would be much easier than this to just leave, but I'm surprised at how difficult it really is. When I first found out that we were moving, I was very excited. VERY EXCITED. And don't get me wrong....I still am very excited. But these past few days have really hit me hard. I guess that it really never dawned on me that I was actually moving. Actually leaving all of my friends. Actually getting on a plane to a foreign country.

But I really am moving.

I'm very grateful for all of my friends here in Texas. I cannot express how much I appreciate all of your kindness over the years. You've made me feel loved, and I hope that I have been able to return the favor. I will miss you with all of my heart.

You shouldn't feel bad for me, though. The fact is...this is an opportunity of a lifetime. I will learn and grow and change in ways that would not have been possible if I had remained in the U.S. It's my dream to work as a Foreign Service Officer (Diplomat) for the U.S. Department of State, and living in the Middle East will help me prepare for my dream.

If you want to say anything to me before I go, just find me in the hallway, send me a message on Facebook, or email me. I would like to be able to personally say goodbye to each one of y'all, but because I'll be leaving really soon, I don't know if that will be possible. Just try to understand that I am moving across the ocean and that means that I have to do a lot of things before that plane leaves the tarmac. If I don't get to see you before I go, don't take it personally. Time is short. We're leaving on either this Friday or Saturday. And Sam and I aren't going to school after Tuesday.

In closing, I would just like to challenge all of you to treat everyone with kindness and love, because for all you know, they might move somewhere far away on short notice.

With all of my love,
Nicholas David Merrill

P.S. Do not worry about my safety in the UAE. It's a completely stable country. I promise you...I'm safe. (As long as I look both ways when I cross the street.)

P.P.S. Abu Dhabi is not Dubai, and Dubai is not Abu Dhabi. They're two separate cities in the same country.

P.P.P.S. When I move overseas, it will be increasingly difficult for you to understand what's happening in my life. For instance, if I wrote, "Had a great time exploring Khalifa City A!" you probably won't understand what I'm referring to. Don't worry. I'm still Nick Merrill, I just live on the other side of the world.

P.P.P.P.S. The UAE is not Saudi Arabia. Nor is it Oman. Nor is it Egypt. Nor is it India. Google it.

P.P.P.P.P.S. The city of Abu Dhabi is where that red circle is flashing.







September 1, 2013

"Little Toy Rifle"

Dear Reader,

Today was the second and final day of our family's enormous weekend garage sale. I'd just like to share my highlight of the day. Unfortunately, it may be one of those "You just had to be there" stories, but whatever. Here goes:

It was early in the morning, and already extremely caliente outside, when a Hispanic family of 5 pulled up. There was a padre, madre, and three little ninos. While the parents checked out the rest of the random junk at the garage sale, the kids sorted through the best of it all. The toys. Their smallest kid quickly found a toy plastic rifle. He picked it up (or at least tried to) and made shooting noises. Padre looked over and noticed that his son was having a hard time holding the gun, so he knelt down beside the little boy and helped him shoulder the rifle. Together, they took aim and "shot". They were so freaking adorable. Seriously. It was just perfect.

Overcome, I called out to the dad to tell him "Es gratis." (It's free.) The man didn't hear me so he gently took the toy gun from his kid and put it back. My mom had heard me and she agreed that it should be free. She got the padre's attention told him that it was free. We could tell that he was glad to give it to his son. Smiling, he asked his son to please thank the lady that had given him the toy rifle. The little boy didn't know what was going on, but we all watched and waited in anticipation. After a long silence, the little boy slowly and innocently pointed the gun towards my mom. You should've seen that kid's face. He was just blankly staring, doing what he thought his dad had asked him to do.  Everyone watching just busted out laughing. The dad was like "You're supposed to thank her! Not shoot her!". (But of course, he was speaking really fast Spanish.) While we were cracking up, the little boy just stood there and looked at his new toy gun. It was great. :)

Life is good.
NM

August 21, 2013

"Pride and Blood-work"

Dear Reader,

I consider myself to be a pretty tough guy when it comes to needles. They don't bother me! I'm like..."It's just a flipping shot! In and out, and you're done!"... Sam and I were at the doctors office about a month ago, getting shots for who knows what. I quickly chose the "parent chair" forcing Sam to sit up on the crackly paper patient bench. The nurse brought in the needles and Sam had to go first. She got a swab and started to wipe Sam's forearm. They stuck a needle in and I was thinking to myself...."Holy crap. What the heck? His forearm?" Sam saw my face, and it freaked him out too. I don't blame him.

They took care of the shot, and Sam got really pale. The nurse made him lie down and drink some juice. My mom and I laughed at his inability to handle just one small shot. It took a long time for him to get his color back, and after that happened, it was time for my shot. I handled it like a boss. I even looked down as the shot it into my forearm. It was a skin test or something, so it made a bubble on my arm. "Dude...this is legit!" I said, fascinated.

After that whole ordeal, my mom and I totally badgered Sam. "Oh! You're afraid of a little needle?"
It was pretty bad. I became a little prideful. I'm like..."Needles don't bother me at all!"

Today, Sam and I went downtown to another doctor's office to get blood drawn for some tests. Mom and I bothered him a lot more about his fear of needles. "If you feel dizzy, Sam, tell the nurse!" "It's gonna be okay." "Don't cry..." He made us go out of the room while he had his blood drawn, and we obliged. When we came back, he was completely fine, and the nurse told us that he did great. It was my turn, now.

I sat down in the chair, and confidently waited for the nurse to get her stuff ready. She swabbed my arm, and I looked away. The needle went in (ouch.) and she started to draw blood. She filled a vial. Then another vial. And another. And another. And another. Every time she switched a vial out, she moved the needle around and it hurt. She filled another vial, and it felt like she had taken the needle out. I looked over, and she hadn't taken the needle out. Sam walked into the room as I watched her take the needle out. It seemed like that needle was never going to end. Next to me, on a little plastic tray, was all of the blood they had just drawn. I looked at it, and I thought..."Holy crap. That's a lot of blood. That's a lot of my blood. Doesn't my body need that?"...I felt all of the blood leave my face, but it didn't seem like a big deal. My vision got blurry for a second, but then it cleared up. I thought, "Well, that was the worst of it." I grabbed some apple juice that they put next to me, and I drank some of it. The nurse was moving around the room, doing whatever it is that nurses do. I started to think about something normal, and then all of my thoughts became extremely bizarre, like I was in some weird, abstract dream world. Then everything was black..........



Waking up was freaky. It was just like being in the movies. It was very sudden. Very sudden. I regained consciousness and there were two nurses right in front of me. I had no idea what was happening. I didn't know I had blacked out, and I asked "Where am I?"....Because, to be completely honest, I didn't know. After a few seconds, I remembered that I was at the doctor's office. The nurse was calling out to other nurses. "I need blank blank blankity blank!!" I felt very relaxed, like I had just woken up from a great night's sleep. The nurses leaned my chair back and put ice packs on my forehead and neck. Those things were flipping cold. I just laid there, wondering what all the commotion was.

Apparently, as soon as I blacked out, I started seizing/shaking, and my eyes rolled back in my head. All in a day's work, I guess.

I would just like to formally apologize to Sweetcheeks for making fun of his fear of needles, because I totally passed out.

Like a boss. NM

August 19, 2013

"Wool"

Dear Reader,

I cannot recommend the following books to you highly enough. They gave me goosebumps almost every chapter. At times, I was literally on the edge of my seat reading them. Some chapters left me in shock, with adrenaline pumping through my veins. All told, it's an intensely emotional series that leaves you with a smile on your face and deep thoughts in your mind long after you finish it.

A WSJ graphic that kind of represents the setting of the books
  1. "Wool"
  2. "Shift" 
  3. "Dust"
But don't take my word for it. 

On Amazon.com, 5,990 people have reviewed the first book of this series. Their average rating was about 4.7 out of 5 stars. Here's an article that the Wall Street Journal published, asking "Is 'Wool' the next 'Hunger Games'?" On Good Reads, 98% of readers liked it.

I personally give it a 10/10. I have never read a series as good as this. I know that "never" is a weighty word to throw around, but I'm totally serious. It's wonderful.

If you are a literate person, I recommend that you read these books. If you do, you won't regret it.

As for what they're actually about.....I won't tell you. It's actually best if you don't read anything online. Just go into it blind. Trust me. You'll love it.

With enthusiastic fandom, NM






June 24, 2013

"Wake-Boarding and the Final Words of a Dying Friend"

Dear Reader,

I spent the past week on Bridgeport Lake in Northern Texas with some of my most bestest friends. We were there to wake-board, and wake-board we did.

Wake up at 5:30 am, Arrive at the lake at 6 am, wake-board until breakfast at 8 am, then wake-board until 12 pm. From 12 pm until 5 pm we did nothing. After eating "dinner" at 5:30 pm we would wake-board from 7 pm until 9 pm. Then we would go to sleep. In a nutshell, we wake-boarded A LOT. Every day.

For me, it got a little bit old by day 4. So, we convinced the staff at the camp to take us tubing.

If you've never held onto an inflated piece of rubber for dear life, you've never been tubing. Imagine being flung out to the side of a boat, going so fast that it becomes literally impossible for you to hang on any longer. After you get thrown off, you slide on your back at a high speed across the surface of the lake. 50 feet later, you finally sink into the water. That, my friends, is tubing.

I'll never forget the time when Eli Larsen, Evan Nicholas, and I were all tubing together. I was in the middle, Evan was to my left, and Eli was to my right. After getting air a couple of times, we started going really fast out to the left. Unable to keep his body on the tube, Evan yelled as he started to slide off. I turned to him and saw that he was still holding onto the handle even though his entire body was in the water. "EVAN!" I shouted as he held on for dear life. "WHERE'S THE TREASURE?!" His body was tiring quickly. With the last of his energy, he yelled back at me, "IT'S IN THE.......IT'S IN TH-"

In a short moment, Evan disappeared into the lake.

Summer is awesome. NM







June 8, 2013

"Nick Merrill vs. DPS"

Dear Reader,

This morning I woke up with the knowledge that I had a Driver's license test. THE Driver's license test.  I'll be honest.... I was freaked. I did all my Drivers Ed and what-not, but I was like..."Oh my gosh.......




When my dad and I pulled into the parking lot of the DPS office, we were sure that the nightmare was about to begin. We had heard the horror stories. Things like, "There was a 9-hour line, and then they closed once I got to the counter!" or  "I accidentally used BLUE ink instead of BLACK ink on Form DL-47a and I had to reschedule, and the next available appointment was 2 months later, and then there was a 9-hour line, and then they closed once I got to the counter!"

Unlike Pip, we had no great expectations. 

But when we got in, we were blown away. We waited in line for 30 seconds, and then they sent us to a waiting room. We had literally JUST parked our rear ends on the seats when they called us. What was this? Quality service? From the DPS?!?!!! 

A nice lady patiently helped us go through all of the paper work, and before I knew it, I was waiting outside for my Driver's test administrator to come out. This was the freakiest part. I was nervous, so I put in a Taylor Swift CD and jammed to "22" and "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together".....It helped me loosen up. The lady came out, and I took my test. I did a good job, and she passed me. 

I couldn't help but wonder...Was that really all I had to do? Where was the mean, unhelpful employee? 

Before my instructor got out of the car, she told me to sit tight, and that someone was going to bring out my temporary license. So, I waited. Where I had parked, I had a great view of everyone else doing the parallel parking portion of their test. Watching everybody trying to parallel park basically made my day. It was hilarious. 

I had a wonderful experience at the DPS, y'all. Which is weird. In a good way. 

Anyways,  I LOVE HAVING MY LICENSE!!!!! 
It's great. Now I can scream Mumford and Sons as loud as I want, and I can adjust the A/C so that the car is comfortable. And I can drive places. It's great. 

Oh, and one last thing...




It's great. NM




June 6, 2013

"Buffalo Wild Wings"

Dear Reader,

All we wanted was to get some Buffalo Wild Wings.  On our way to sate our appetite for messy chicken, Larissa and I were cruising down a back road behind a



...(for lack of better words.)

We made a normal stop at a normal stop sign at a normal distance from the normal truck in front of us.
Then the crap hit the fan. The truck in front of us went into reverse, and Larissa and I were like...."What the gypsy is this guy doing?" But we failed to move, and the front of the Mercedes got all crunchified and what-not. The guy in the truck drove off, because apparently, he didn't realize he had just backed into us.

All we wanted was to get some Buffalo Wild Wings, man.

But instead of wings, we had to speed after this guy, take pictures of his plates, and go to the police station. We waited for 15 minutes there as the lady in front of us described her problem. Well, at least Larissa and I didn't get ripped off by a Nigerian "car salesman" that uses phony identification cards and shady sales techniques. Eventually, a policeman helped us file a report, and now it's all good in the hood. Except for the fact that our hood was crushed.

Larissa and I ended up getting Caesar salads at McDonald's. Never a dull moment. NM




May 20, 2013

"Lasagna and Firemen"

Dear Reader,

It all began with frozen lasagna.

After church, my sister decided to put a lasagna from the freezer into the oven.  So, she preheated the oven to Fahrenheit 451, and did just that.

About an hour into cooking a delicious oven lasagna, you can usually start to smell it cooking . But that wasn't the case this time around. Well, the oven was on. And it was warm. And so we assumed the food was cooking. But when we took out the lasagna after 2 hours of cooking, and the cheese in the middle hadn't even melted, we knew something was wrong.

The house didn't smell like delicious oven lasagna. The house smelled a lot like rotten eggs. Like natural gas.

Naturally, if your house smells like unlit natural gas, you can be worried for your safety. We turned off the oven, but the smell didn't go away. Did we have a gas leak? Was our house going to blow up? Were we about to die? What was the best thing to do?

My mom called my dad. He told my mom to call 911. She told me that she was calling 911. I told her that calling 911 was ridiculous.  She told the whole family to get into the car. We drove to the volunteer fire station, and a guy there told us to call 911. We called, and they told us to get home and wait outside. The fire department was on its way.

The fire department showed up at our house.

Like....seriously.



The fire department showed up at our house.

The sirens, the huge fire-truck, the firemen, the mechanical hound, the helmets, the gear. It was just like the movies. Except there was no baby trapped inside a burning building.......and the only problem was that the Merrill home smelled kinda funky.

So we all went inside, and they solved the problem by pulling out the oven and turning off the gas connection. They pretty much saved the day.

Afterwards, my mom asked the firemen if she had done the right thing. She wasn't sure if it was okay that she had called 911 just for that small little issue. One of the firemen (Montag.) turned to my mom and spoke words of assurance. "You did the right thing, ma'am. When you have any doubt, call us. That's why we're here. Any time of the day, if you need help, call us."

He was dead serious. The other firemen nodded in agreement. You could hear it in the fireman's voice. You could see it in their actions. They were there to serve because they cared.

It was comforting to have those firemen standing in our living room. Comforting to know that if we needed help, they would be there. There was something special about them. They weren't just firemen. They were so much more than that. They were glorious.

We ended up microwaving the lukewarm lasagna. And it was delicious. NM


May 10, 2013

"Time Zones, Cats, and The Cyrillic Alphabet"


Dear Reader,

Near the top of Nick Merrill's "Sweet Gypsies! This is awesome!!!" list, there are three things that I just absolutely love.

1.) Conversing with people
2.) Learning Languages
3.) Cats

Keep those in mind as you continue to read.

So, there's a website on the internet called Polyglot Club.....It's basically a huge website that connects people  from all over the world that have a passion for languages. ("Polyglot" means "Multilingual") Once connected, people can then converse and share their culture and language. I get messages all the time from people that are wanting to learn English.

"I'll teach you Serbian if you help me with English!" or "hi im ****** im mexican i want to talk more fluency english but i cant haha i want some help because i love speak english but when i try i cant start a good conversation"

........I honestly want to help as many people as I can, but you can only do so much!

Anyways, I got a message from a Russian girl, named Kate Miranova. She's like "I know English, but I want to get better." and I'm like "I can say hello in Russian...." and so, because video chatting with strangers you meet on the internet ISN'T an extremely sketchy idea, we decided to Skype.


There are two major problems with trying to coordinate a video chat with a person that lives in Russia.
1.) There's a 9-hour time difference between Russia and Houston
2.) Your body needs sleep.

But whatever.

So, at 11:30 pm, I began to talk to somebody on the other side of the planet. It was literally mind-blowingly freaky. The sun was streaming into her room, and it was almost midnight here!

This girl, of course, was Russian. Like...RUSSIAN! She spoke RUSSIAN. Because she lives in RUSSIA. And even though she's been studying English since kindergarten, she still has a RUSSIAN accent. I spoke what little Russian I knew to her, and she understood what I was saying!!!

In English, we talked about what Russians think of Americans and vice versa, and I learned a few things. Not all Russians walk around with flapped fur hats on all the time. Remarkable! But the stereotype about them drinking a bunch of vodka? Well, she confirmed that. They actually do drink A LOT.

Oh, and she has a cat.

And I love cats.




A lot.



And it makes me happy that people all over the world have cats....

That is all. NM