Change the World One Question at a Time

What if studying for your Art History, English, Chemistry, or Geography tests helped the world? Would you participate? Now there are no excuses.I just found out about this awesome site that donates a certain amount of rice grains for every question you get right.

It’s easy. You log on to their site, choose a subject, answer multiple choice questions in order to get rice donated.The subjects include:

• Famous paintings
• Chemical Symbols (Basic and Full)
• English Grammar
• English Vocabulary
• Identify Countries on a Map
• World Capitals
• French
• German
• Italian
• Spanish
• Multiplication Tables

Ok, yes the last one is a little too basic, but hey, that means you’ll get more right and therefore donate more rice. However, most of these subjects are part of the core curriculum in  most high schools. I’m going tot guess that the most popular one is English Vocabulary. Why? The answer is SAT tests.

For every question you get right, the site donates 20 grains of rise to the UN World Food Program directly. I know it sounds like an insignificant amount, but it’s better than nothing. In less than ten minutes playing the English Vocabulary game, I donated 2900 grains (*applause*). There’s nothing to lose. I learned over twenty words, (Guessing is ok, when you get one question wrong, they tell you the answer and ask it again) and I made it to level 20 out of 60.

So, if you are one of the following (check all that apply)

a) a person longing to help people, but tied down by lack of resources, time, or restraint of society

b) a nerd (it’s ok, you can admit it.)

c) a geek (I know it’s the same as nerd, but some argue there is a difference)

d) a philanthropist

e) someone who does not know the definition of “philanthropist”

f) someone who loves helping people

g) someone who is addicted to computer games

h) a procrastinator who looks for and uses any excuse not to do schoolwork

i) anyone with at least five minutes of free time during which they can open their heart and click on the right answer

If you qualify for one or more of the items listed above, congratulations! You may log on to FREERICE.COM and help the world one question at a time (*fanfare, cheering, confetti*) However if you did not qualify for anything on the list, please do not feel left out and log on the FREERICE.COM!

Thank you all. And remember, “about 25,000 people die each day from hunger or hunger-related causes, most of them children” (Free Rice: FAQ)

Starting Over Again…

As my previosu post says, I lost my flash drive that contained the manuscript from NaNoWriMo ‘07. It is now on its way to the island where everything eventualy turns up, even Count Olaf. I just hope that somewhere along that path, the flash drive will be intercepted, and returned to me.

65,000 words lost. I must start over again. Oh well. It’s not as bad as it seems. The tory was undergoing some major reconstruction of plot and characters before I had to abandon it to study for AP exams (*shudder*). I might as well start over. I’ve changed mymind over so many details of the story, I think it’s better that I turn over a new leaf…

It Led to the Ocean

Walking down the bike trail, I hear steps ringing behind mine. I turn around but see no one. The trail is made of asphalt, it runs like a curved snke through a patch of yellow woods that surround a small creek. Today, the trees have undergone a transforamtion. It rained about three daysa go, the trees were finally awaken into the atmosphere of spring.

I am walikng down the trail because there is nothing better to do. I can either stay inside the house or go out. I wish I had my bike. I wish I could ride it. Someone once told me that if you follow the trail into the sunset, it leads to the ocean. I’ve always wanted to try that, but no one wants to come with me.

Again, I hear the faint sound of steps. I look back quickly, but the only thing to see are tress and a running squirrel. I continue to make my way on the trail. The sky is cloudless today, I have never seen it so blue. I drop my eyes to the ground underneath my feet. There is a small rock. I almost stepped on it.

The rock is round. There are small squiggly symbols on it. I pick it up and hold it between my index and my thunb. It’s so small.

“Give it to me” a voice says behind me. Startled, I lutch the small rock and draw it towards my body. I turn around and see an old haggy man. His dirty face looks familiar. He repeats his command. I look at his hands, He is clutching something shiny. I can’t see what it is because it is concealed in the folds of his grey coat. I assume it’s a knife. His face shows no fear of using it.

I turn away from him and face the trees. Through the tangle of branches and leaves, the stream can be seen. It leads to teh ocean. I trowh the rock. It lands softly with a splash. The man runs towards the stream and at the same time he curses at me. Then, he falls. A splash of water. Birds leave their trees hurriedly and fly into the sky.I forgot to mention the stream is on the bottom of a cliff.

I remember his face now. He was on the news, they were asking for help to catch him. He was a murderer.

I turn towards the trail. It’s getting late now. I better get back home. I turn around facing the way i had come and start to walk.