before i leave for college, my family decided that we should take out the carpet from the guest room and replace it with planks of laminated wood. it seems to be the latest rage in households these days, especially among the asian community. we also decided that we should paint the walls a different color. my mom wanted it to be cream cake. my dad insisted on croissant. i said that they should both compromise and pick apricot mousse. other nominations were sky blue, guava green, sunny delight, egg shell white, and heavy metal black. my dad ended up getting croissant, and so my mom and i started painting the room. it ended up looking like cheese.

  you see, the thing about wall paint is that when you go to a place like home depot or lowes, those little cards with a sample of the paint they give you are quite misleading. croissant turned out to be more orange than it was supposed to be, so it ended up looking like a giant room made of cheese. i wonder if little mice would come in the middle of the day and wonder the same thing.

mouse 1: hey look at this! it seems that we have stumbled into a giant room made of cheese!
mouse 2: fascinating! take a bite of it and see if it's edible.
mouse 1: *starts munching on the wall*
mouse 2: well? what does it taste like?
mouse 1: exuberant!
mouse 2: jolly good! i would like some too then!
*both mice start eating the walls*

  now that the paint job is finished, i tried to read the instruction booklet on how to install wood flooring. and i must say...it's complicated! the diagrams and the instructions are particularly confusing, especially if you have never done it before, or heard of the tools they told you to use. after much debate, we finally figured out how to install it. anyways, we're almost finished, and it actually looks pretty good. i'm leaving for austin tommorow, so i won't get to see the finished product for a while.

  my summer back at home has been quite pleasant. hanging out with old friends was pretty cool, and being with my family is always fun. after eating college food for so long, nothing beats home cooked food. this fall seems to be interesting. hopefully i can figure out what i want to major in, and what i want to do with my life. now if you will excuse, i need to get rid of those annoying little squeaks coming from the guestroom.

  *loads shotgun*

  dark clouds filled the night sky, and loud, rumbling noises could be heard. it was just as i feared; a storm was coming. the rain came in torrents, and strong winds threatened to tear the ship's sails apart. i desperately tried to hold on to the railing, but to no avail. the boat rocked violently, and i fell into the ocean. the waves crashed around me as i struggled to stay on the surface. slowly, my energy was depleting, my will to fight decreasing. the noise around me suddenly grew quiet as i sank into the depths.
 
  there was a bright light, and i heard hushed whispers. i tried to open my eyes, wondering what was going on. was i dead? a splash of cold water on my face confirmed i was not. the voices grew louder and there was another splash of water. then a hard slap across my face instantly woke me up, with a large headache. apparently i had been lying on the beach for quite some time, because it was very difficult for me to sit up. i suddenly became exhausted again, and since there wasn't much i could do, i went into a deep slumber.

  when i awoke, the first thing i heard was incredibly loud music, followed by terrible singing. i was no longer lying on the sand, but instead on a rather comfortable bed. the room i was in was dimly lit, and consisted of various maps and paintings of incredible ships. i crawled out of bed and exited the room, where i was instantly greeted by a tall man.

  "ahoy there!" he yelled above the noise, "you finally woke up! and just in the time for the party i might add!"
  the man gave a loud laugh, which frightened me a bit, and punched my arm, which nearly broke it. i noticed that many people were scattered around the ship eating, drinking, singing, cursing, fighting, and throwing random objects at each other. it seemed like a rather rowdy party to me.
  "now," he continued, "tell me how you ended up on the beach. oh, and have some food. you must be starvin,"
  as i accepted the plate of food he gave me and dodged a chicken flying around, i told him that i was a merchant traveling with some friends, when a large storm blew us off course and casted me away. i took a bite of the meat that was on the plate, and discovered that it was quite delicious. the tall man happily smiled as i continued to eat and handed me some more, which i gladly accepted.
  he then asked where i was headed, and i told him the location i was going to. upon hearing this his face brightened, and told me that he was also going in the same direction.

  "arg, forgive me manners," he suddenly said, "i've been talking to you for so long yet i haven't even introduced myself. ahem, i am hawk! captain of the sea monkey pirates!"
  i stopped eating when i heard this. it did not seem like a good idea to be traveling with pirates these days. a small watermelon flew over my head as i contemplated what he just said. hawk must have sensed my uneasiness, because he quickly continued.
  "oh don't worry. beside the occasional plundering and looting, we do other stuff too,"
  "such as?" i asked, a bit afraid of the answer.
  "hmm...washing dishes, kidnapping the queen, plundering, oh i wait i said that, drawing maps, exploring, killing bunnies, anything really,"
  i gulped when he finished. did he just say "killing bunnies"? i thought about this as a screaming man soared over my head and landed in the ocean with a large splash.
  "hey nothing to worry about!" he exclaimed, "us sea monkey pirates are probably the most friendliest group of pirates! err...except for the man over there. he's called 'hitman' and a dangerous fellow he is. try to avoid him,"
  i looked in the direction he was pointing. a man with dark, red hair stood by himself away from the festivities, quietly gazing out into the sea. his appearance was quite menacing, and i couldn't help but shiver.
  "well enjoy the party!" hawk said, "like i said, don't worry about anything. and have some more rabbit meat. made it myself,"
  i stared in shock as he walked away to join the outrageous singing in the middle of the boat. my appetite vanished when i realized i had been consuming fluffy, little animals. i noticed that hitman was glaring at me, but he quickly looked away and stared at the ocean again.
  the party ended when everyone became incredibly drunk and threw a piano off the boat. as i returned to my room, i found it difficult to sleep. i thought of my friends and wondered what had happened to them.

  i wonder what will happen to me.