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 20, 2013
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
"On Eagle Projects and Perfect Timing"
Dear Reader,
Last night, I completed my Eagle Scout Service Project. For my project, I led multiple crews in the construction of 330' of chain-link fencing, 100' of wooden fencing, and the installation of two gates for Noah's Ark Animal Sanctuary in Cypress, Texas. In total the crews and I spent 466 hours on the project.
Crazy, huh?
I (literally) could not have done this project without the help of some very special people. But specifically, I'd like to thank Brian Sabin. For those of you who don't know Brian Sabin, that's unfortunate. He's a man. Like, a real, hardcore, calloused man. But at the same time he's also very kind and helpful. He knows how to build almost anything, and if he doesn't know, he learns how to build it. He suggested that I do this project has helped me along from the beginning, through the thick of it, all the way til the end. Thank you Brian Sabin. You're a great example.
My Eagle Project was actually the most difficult thing I think I've ever had to do. There were MANY times in the early planning phases of the project when I literally thought (and said) "Holy pumpernickel. I'm so tired of this. I just don't even want to do this. Why do I even have to do an Eagle Project?".....
In retrospect, that was a pretty stupid attitude. But luckily, I dropped that attitude real quick.
Once we actually began the construction of the fence, I realized that it's not about just doing a the award. It's really about serving the community and making a difference. And there's another bonus: You learn tons of valuable life lessons. And there's ANOTHER bonus: You learn how to build things, like chain-link fences.
If you tapped me on the shoulder, pointed at a chain-link fence, and said "Name every part of that fence.", I could do it. I could also tell you how it was built.
Now, every time I see a chain-link fence, it reminds me of my efforts on my project, and it makes me feel good. Real good.
Last night, when we finished, everyone else left except for my brother Sam, Nathan Edwards, and I. We pulled out just past the gate, and I got out of the car and to close it. As soon as I clicked the gate shut, "We Are The Champions" came on the radio, and Sammy Sweet-cheeks blasted it. It was perfect timing. Perfect. Timing.
I don't know about you, (but I'm feeling 22!) but I often feel like my life is a movie. I'm serious. The perfect song and the right moment, the conversation in the perfect setting, the crazy special effects. Okay.......maybe not the special effects, but other than that, it's insane.
And if I were a movie critic, and I were rating the movie of my life so far, I'd give it a two-thumbs up......then I would high-five it.
And then I would buy it an ice-cream cone.
In closing, I'd like to offer encouragement to all scouts who want to achieve the highest rank possible. Don't give up! Yeah, it's friggin' hard. But it's worth it. You may not see how it will be worth it now, but trust me. It's worth it.
And that goes for everybody out there. Don't give up. It may be friggin' hard, but keep moving.
Hahahaha.....that sounded really cheesy. Oh well. :)
Rock on. NM
Last night, I completed my Eagle Scout Service Project. For my project, I led multiple crews in the construction of 330' of chain-link fencing, 100' of wooden fencing, and the installation of two gates for Noah's Ark Animal Sanctuary in Cypress, Texas. In total the crews and I spent 466 hours on the project.
Crazy, huh?
I (literally) could not have done this project without the help of some very special people. But specifically, I'd like to thank Brian Sabin. For those of you who don't know Brian Sabin, that's unfortunate. He's a man. Like, a real, hardcore, calloused man. But at the same time he's also very kind and helpful. He knows how to build almost anything, and if he doesn't know, he learns how to build it. He suggested that I do this project has helped me along from the beginning, through the thick of it, all the way til the end. Thank you Brian Sabin. You're a great example.
My Eagle Project was actually the most difficult thing I think I've ever had to do. There were MANY times in the early planning phases of the project when I literally thought (and said) "Holy pumpernickel. I'm so tired of this. I just don't even want to do this. Why do I even have to do an Eagle Project?".....
In retrospect, that was a pretty stupid attitude. But luckily, I dropped that attitude real quick.
Once we actually began the construction of the fence, I realized that it's not about just doing a the award. It's really about serving the community and making a difference. And there's another bonus: You learn tons of valuable life lessons. And there's ANOTHER bonus: You learn how to build things, like chain-link fences.
If you tapped me on the shoulder, pointed at a chain-link fence, and said "Name every part of that fence.", I could do it. I could also tell you how it was built.
Now, every time I see a chain-link fence, it reminds me of my efforts on my project, and it makes me feel good. Real good.
Last night, when we finished, everyone else left except for my brother Sam, Nathan Edwards, and I. We pulled out just past the gate, and I got out of the car and to close it. As soon as I clicked the gate shut, "We Are The Champions" came on the radio, and Sammy Sweet-cheeks blasted it. It was perfect timing. Perfect. Timing.
I don't know about you, (but I'm feeling 22!) but I often feel like my life is a movie. I'm serious. The perfect song and the right moment, the conversation in the perfect setting, the crazy special effects. Okay.......maybe not the special effects, but other than that, it's insane.
And if I were a movie critic, and I were rating the movie of my life so far, I'd give it a two-thumbs up......then I would high-five it.
And then I would buy it an ice-cream cone.
In closing, I'd like to offer encouragement to all scouts who want to achieve the highest rank possible. Don't give up! Yeah, it's friggin' hard. But it's worth it. You may not see how it will be worth it now, but trust me. It's worth it.
And that goes for everybody out there. Don't give up. It may be friggin' hard, but keep moving.
Hahahaha.....that sounded really cheesy. Oh well. :)
Rock on. NM
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)