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Post by NELL DOE DALE on May 14, 2012 17:28:04 GMT -5
 I'M PINS, you're needles, ( LET'S PLAY ) Nell sat in her desk, doodling in her notebook as she waited for class to end. The Monopoly man waved from behind the top margin of her paper, and her cat Pablo slept peacefully on top of the blue line. Below, Spiderman was scaling the paper to reach the top. Nell stopped for a moment, wondering if she should sketch out bricks to make it look more like a wall, but she enjoyed leaving it just as a piece of notebook paper. She started drawing some graffiti on her paper wall when the professor made one last announcement. "Remember, interviews are due in two weeks. It's not the kind of project you can do last minute." A friend sitting next to her snorted and muttered, "Watch me." Nell had other plans. She couldn't leave a coloring page unfinished for long, let alone waiting to get done a project. The teacher was right, this wasn't something that could be held off on till last minute. She already had a plan for it. Well, part of it. She wasn't much one for planning, so she'd rather just roll along wit her ideas until she got somewhere.
The bell rang soon after, and Nell lagged behind putting all her pencils and papers back in her messenger bag. "Everything good, Ms. Shepherd?" the professor questioned when she noticed and Nell hopped up with a nod. "Yep yep." Her first destination was a certain classroom that she knew would be unlocked. Her sneakers made no sound against the floor as she walked down the hallway, footsteps light and easy. The windows let sin break in, but thankfully it was a weak autumn sun. She entered the classroom when she found it, still silent. Nell opened the fridge and took out the pie she'd baked. Making the deal with Mr. Seok had been her best idea ever. Her enjoyment of giving people gifts of food could be fully realized now that she had a place to refrigerate things. She didn't have a dorm room, so she usually brought non-perishable items.
Her next destination was one that had been familiar to her last year, and she certainly hoped that Ms. Thomas was still in the same classroom. She'd chosen the history teacher because she was one of the people that Nell had never really gotten to know, and she had quite a bit of admiration for her last year. Before entering the classroom, she adjusted her shirt to try and look proper, but that was hard when wearing an Iron Maiden tee. She definitely dressed-down at school compared to work where she'd wear a blouse and blazer. She knocked lightly on the door before pushing it open. "I apologize for disturbing you, Ms. Thomas." Her voice didn't sound stiff, rather bright and chiming like a bird had arrived to chirp your eat off. "I was wondering if you could help me out with something..." She wore a bright smile as she stepped in, trying to keep the pie hidden behind her back.
you're a star, you blaze, OUT LIKE A SHARP MACHINE LIKE A WHALE'S MOAN |
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Post by nala on Jun 8, 2012 8:34:09 GMT -5
There was a snail on the top of the window.
Nala had spent her lunch out with Logan, choosing to grab a quick bite to eat in town rather than deal with the rest of the staff room, who were too busy gossiping about the two of them to get any real work done, she noted. She was sure the snail hadn't been there then, but then again, she usually checked her classroom for things like her keys or stray pieces of paper that have fallen from students' notes, and certainly not snails. Actually, she wasn't sure why she even noticed it now, but she was walking by to get something from the bookshelf when she noticed the small black shell. It was in the middle of winter, so Nala had no idea how it even got inside, and how it wound up on the top of her classroom window, but nevertheless, there it was. Nala had spent the past ten minutes just staring at it, unsure of what to do. She didn't particularly like things that exuded slime as a way of life, if she could be honest for a moment. She appreciated them on the whole 'circle of life' basis but that was about it.
Finally, she decided that it would be sad to kill it -- not like she knew how to do that, anyway, and she didn't have salt to throw at it, either -- and decided to put it on the outside wall. Could snails survive in this weather, even? It'd be awful if she thought she was saving it and stuck it outside only to freeze to death. But it definitely couldn't just slime its way around the classroom. Seriously, how did it even get inside?! Dragging a desk over to the window, she began to climb up onto it, trying to get high enough to reach the thing. She shuddered a little -- she really hated touching things like that.
Once she got hold of the snail -- oh god she could feel it moving inside, gross -- she lightly tugged it off the wall, right when a bright, cheery voice came from the classroom door. She turned to get a look, snail temporarily forgotten, and saw one of her students from last year. Nell, she was pretty sure. An Earth student. "Oh, Nell, hi! Uh, just give me a second and I'll be right there..."
[/color] She looked at her surroundings -- still on top of a desk, snail in hand, no real way to open a window by herself -- uh, that posed a bit of a problem. "Actually, do you think you can do me a favor and slide one of these windows open? I'm trying to remove a snail from the room."[/color] It was only after she actually said those words that she felt a little ridiculous. ...very ridiculous, in fact. She definitely hadn't planned on anyone walking in and finding her like this, but at least she could be glad it wasn't Elliot. She'd never hear the end of it then.[/justify][/font][/blockquote][/blockquote] |
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Jun 9, 2012 16:15:42 GMT -5
I'M PINS, you're needles, ( LET'S PLAY ) Nell blinked as she watched Ms. Thomas by the window, identifying the thing in her hands as a...snail. She tilted her head. Now this was not something very normal, and it seemed that Nala was aware of this fact as she looked around her room and then asked a favor of the girl. "Oh yeah, sure!" she said as she went to put her bag on a desk, going over to wear the teacher was an cracking open a window. The winter chill instantly seeped in, and Nell shuddered slightly as she pulled away. She wore a sweatshirt as she usually did this time of year, but it did little to protect her from the drop in temperature. As an Earth she was particularly susceptible to the foul weather. "It's freezing," she said between her teeth. But that did not mean she would not have done such a thing for Ms. Thomas. After all, she had a snail... Nell still did not have an explanation for that in her mind, even as she sifted through every file cataloged as 'cray shit'. She simply drew a blank over and over again, every time she tried.
So instead of standing in wonder at how Ms. Thomas obtained a snail, she decided to ask. Shifting on her feet to keep warm, she said, "So uh...why do you have a snail?" Nell asked slowly, wearing a quizzical expression on her face. It was pretty amusing, after all, and not something you happened upon every day. It had successfully distracted her from her mission in coming here, at least for the moment. "Not that it's particularly wrong to have a snail, I'm just..." The gesture she made with her hand finished the sentence for her. Did Ms. Thomas like snails? No, that wouldn't be it, she wanted to get rid of it. Then how in the hell did a snail get in the Academy? Nell didn't mind them, didn't even mind spiders or snakes, but it was still a curious thing. "And sorry, for disturbing you and your snail." She was never one to hesitate with an apology. In fact, she apologized quite a lot, even when something was not her fault. She couldn't help it, such a thing was natural for her.
you're a star, you blaze, OUT LIKE A SHARP MACHINE LIKE A WHALE'S MOAN |
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Post by nala on Jun 15, 2012 22:31:52 GMT -5
Nala could only imagine just what the hell she looked like at that point in time. Here was this girl, Nell, this nice, lovely girl she had a few years ago that sent her a pleasantly worded email requesting her help in a student-faculty interview type project thing, and Nala had readily agreed. And now, here she was, trying to be some sort of paragon of higher education, as that was what the interview was probably about, she figured, but no, the girl walks in and sees Nala standing on a friggin' chair, begging for help opening a window, with a snail in her hand. A snail. Nala wasn't really one to suffer from embarrassment, much, but this was kind of toeing that line and she really kind of hoped that Nell wouldn't notice the sheepishness that splayed itself on her face. As the wind blew in from outside, she merely reached over and, sticking her hand out the window, and stuck the snail to a shrub growing outside. Did snails live in bushes? Was it nature-y enough for them?
She hopped off the chair then, sighing a little now that the ordeal was finally over. "It just...got into my classroom somehow. On top of the window," she pointed at the window in question. "And it's not like I really have anything against them, we all have our parts to play in the natural order of the world and its ecosystems and everything, but I don't know, I just didn't like the thought of having a snail leaving slime on everything."
[/color] Nala lined the desk she stood on back in its place and shut the window again with a firm bang. Turning to face Nell, she reached out a hand, ready to introduce herself, but thought better of it for now -- she hadn't sanitized and like. Snail slime. Gross. She quickly walked over to her work bag and reached into it with her clean hand, searching through the pockets for her pocket antibacterial gel, squeezing a dollop onto her palm and then working its magic on her skin. Sure, there was no actual proof that these things worked, but hey, she at least enjoyed the tingling on her skin when cool air blew against them for those few moments they were still wet. This time, she held out her hand to Nell proper, leaning in for a brief hug. "It's good to see you, Nell. How's college been treating you?"[/color] she said, gesturing for her to sit, hopping up to sit on the top of her desk in the meantime.[/justify][/color][/font][/blockquote][/blockquote] |
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Jun 20, 2012 13:46:53 GMT -5
I'M PINS, you're needles, ( LET'S PLAY ) Amusement danced across her face, since Nala was just as astounded as her. She may have begun devising ideas in her head that Nala was some kind of snail harvester, and who would she have been to judge? Snails were cool, though she liked to keep them out of her garden for the plants' sakes. She watched as the woman dropped healer new little pet out of the window, before stepping down with what looked like timidness, Nell didn't know. The girl blinked up as Nala pointed to the window, before saying, "I'm pretty sure snails don't belong in classes, so I get ya. I don't like them myself because they make a buffet out of my garden." She figured this was normal discussion for an Earth student, fretting over snails making a meal out of her plants. It hardly even mattered right now, considering the weather. She'd planted quite a few seasonal flowers, but other than that her maze was in remission.
As Nala cleaned her hands with the sanitizer, Nell placed the pie down on a desk, careful to make sure it didn't tip or any harm came to it. She made it with her two own hands, refusing to cop out and buy one. That would just be pointless. She smiled when she hugged Nala, before sitting at the desk and folding her hands like a good student. "Wonderful, actually. I don't miss being a high school one bit. ...Though I do miss my amazing teachers." She playfully tacked on the last part while holding a hand to her chest to show just how much she cared for the woman. She did miss a few things about high school, actually, but college was even better for her. "Actually, one of my classes is why I'm here. It's a sociology course I'm taking, and we have to interview inspirational people as a part of a big paper we have." Nell smiled and winked when she spoke of inspirational people, sure that Nala was catching on now that she chose her to be the interviewee. "And uh...I made you a pie." She held her hands up and shrugged. "You know, if you want to help one of your dear ol' students out." She was actually pretty excited for this. Interviewing was right up her alley, she loved asking people questions. Now she had a reason to without being overbearing.
you're a star, you blaze, OUT LIKE A SHARP MACHINE LIKE A WHALE'S MOAN |
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Post by nala on Jun 20, 2012 19:16:53 GMT -5
Not only was Nala totally impressed with the pie that Nell had apparently baked for her -- Nala really loved pie -- as she listened to Nell talk about why she had requested a meeting, Nala couldn't help but feel a sort of flush of pride and flattery. Of all the people Nell could have chosen, she chose her, even though Nala hadn't had nearly the same amount of life experience as many other of the staff at the school. Actually, she wasn't really sure what made her so inspirational -- most of Nala's life and choices were guided just by her intuition, and she never thought she was doing much of anything that important except fulfilling a lot of her own desires, selfish or otherwise, but still, it was hella flattering to hear that someone had her in mind for this assignment for a class. "Oh, you,"
[/color] Nala said, trying to find other words but language was sort of failing her. "You know, you would have gotten me to agree with the pie alone, but the flattery is a wonderful complement."[/color] Nala joked. For all the things she had going for her, she still didn't really know how to accept compliments -- was this a compliment? She sort of saw it as one. Hopping off the desk, she went around her desk and dug through one of the drawers, one of the deeper ones, making a small aha! noise once she found what she was looking for -- paper towels and a butter knife. Yes, her desk was like a hidden treasure trove of wonders, if by wonders someone meant 'eating utensils', because seeing as Logan was her best friend and he always had an abundance of food from his home ec classes, having forks and knives and whatever else to help her eat food was always in her drawer. She was sure it would probably get messy cutting pie with a butter knife,but it was better than nothing, and she hadn't thought about bringing in a proper knife, just in case one of her students went crazy and found it and decided to stab the place up. She wasn't really going to take that chance. What damage could be done with a butter knife, right? She carefully cut a piece for both her and Nell, placing each slice on a paper towel, and handed Nell a piece with a fork -- she made it, she should at least get a piece. "Seriously, though, I'm really honored that you chose me to do this interview,"[/color] Nala said as she settled in her seat proper. "So...ask away! Or is there a special procedure you need to go through?"[/color] Nala had never been interviewed for anything before, and so was pretty lost on what the protocol was, but she was totally willing to learn![/justify][/font][/blockquote][/blockquote] |
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Jun 21, 2012 15:29:28 GMT -5
I'M PINS, you're needles, ( LET'S PLAY ) Nell's smile was bright when Nala's first words were ones of modesty, glad that she was responsible for that kind of reaction. The woman deserved to be the interviewee. She could have gone with one of her teachers this year, sure, but there was more of a disconnect between professors and college students. They lectured, assigned papers, and had limited interaction. And Nala, she had to deal with high schoolers. They were close to being adults, but the way they behaved in class it was obvious that they had a long way to go. She had to admire teachers for that, the patience they had. "The flattery was for free. The pie is the bribe. Though any time you want food, hit me up." Of course, she didn't keep the numbers of her old teachers or anything like that. She had a few of her professors', since it was one way to get in contact with them about assignments.
Nell took off the aluminum foil over the pie when the woman got off her desk and went around to pull something out her drawer, which turned out to be utensils for eating. She hadn't had any of the pie, so she didn't know how it was, but she had faith in her baking. Well, her cooking mostly. Baking was not her forte unless it was under the influence of alcohol. She slid the paper towel closer to her, taking the fork from Nala. "Thank you," she said pleasantly, biting into a piece of the pie. It was apple with cinnamon, a recipe she came up with herself. She usually didn't go off of others. She swallowed before speaking. "You really were the first person I thought of, but I'll stop with the flattery. Don't want to make you blush. Hopefully it'll be fun for you." Nell didn't like questions about herself, but that was for her own reasons. She understood other people were not like that. She put down the fork and went into the messenger bag beside the desk, pulling out a slim recording device. "I just have to record it, for now. I'll transcribe it later, since it's easier to type than write. I mean, they used to do it with pen and paper." That most have been annoying. "We can get to it after the pie, though," she said, waving her hand. Food was very important.
you're a star, you blaze, OUT LIKE A SHARP MACHINE LIKE A WHALE'S MOAN |
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Post by nala on Jun 25, 2012 14:07:13 GMT -5
Ha, if only Nala had thought to be as considerate as Nell was when she was growing up, facing off with teachers of her own throughout college and high school. She supposed the person who influenced her the most towards her current path in life was a teacher from high school, too. Funny -- she never appreciated them for what they did back then, thinking of high school as just another day of the same exact thing and the same exact people for four years straight, but she supposed in retrospect, that they are far more important than anyone gave them credit for. Not to toot her own horn or anything -- Nala fell into the teaching position as a means to support herself while she figured out the rest of her life, and so her intent wasn't as noble as those who treated teaching as their calling in life, but it felt good to know that she was, at least, not failing left and right. If she was, she highly doubted that Nell would think of her for this assignment of hers. She took a bite of the apple pie, enjoying the cinnamon and apple combination -- she normally wasn't that big of a pie fan, but Nell's was really good, and she had her fair share of apple pie, having it forced upon her during family holidays, when her American relatives would come over. She never understood the appeal of cooked fruit, but this pie was good. "Truthfully, I've never done an interview before, but I imagine they're all the same?" Be asked a question, answer in return, repeat? Something like that. And she figured since she wasn't some abnormally famous person, she could just be honest and hope there would be no negative reports filed on her to the public.
"That's fair. I don't think it'd be possible to keep up nowadays."
[/color] Nala knew (from history, even!) that a lot of nobles in the old days spoke slowly when dictating to a scribe because of the amount of time it would take them to write down exactly what was being said, especially since it was the only form of communication back then, cell phones and the Internet a mere pipe dream. But with the times changing and getting in contact with people much easier than before, the general public's speaking speed had also increased, making it quite a feat to be able to keep up with, say, taking notes while a teacher or professor was talking at you at length. "And oh, by all means, we can start whenever. I figure if you capture me talking with my mouth full, it wouldn't be too far from the truth,"[/color] Nala joked. True, she tried to keep some sense of class about her when in public, especially at the Academy, but she wasn't always that way. It'd be awfully tiring.[/justify][/color][/font][/blockquote][/blockquote] |
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Jun 27, 2012 17:54:56 GMT -5
I'M PINS, you're needles, ( LET'S PLAY ) Secretly, there was a small reason why Nell had to choose Nala. She didn't have many teachers to choose from, actually. The woman was one of the honorable...eight, maybe? Including her father, who was the reason she hadn't come into the world completely ignorant. She didn't often let herself wish for things she did not have growing up. Though, it was only natural for her to yearn for an elementary, middle, and high school education that she just did not get. After her dad left, it was just her and the library in her neighborhood. Even if she had been allowed an education, it would have been a poor one. She didn't live in the best place, but the reason she didn't think about all that was because she was in a good place now. Not counting all the drama in her life, she was living with her fiance in a mansion, working as a high-paid employee, and going to a 'gifted' school as a college sophomore. "Yeah, just imagine you're teaching a class. Except I'm not raising my hand to ask questions. Unless that'll make you more comfortable." She couldn't help the smile as she spoke the last part of that, imagining herself as Oprah interviewing a celebrity with her arm shooting up for each question. It would be quite professional.
Nell brushed her fingers off on each other as Nala spoke, laughing and covering her mouth because she did have manners, despite the upbringing that had prevented an education. She wiped her lips and said, "Since this is all about getting to know the real...what's your first name again?" It wasn't often that students called their teachers by their first names. She was almost certain it was considered rude to do so, actually. Her lack of experience in the world and any lessons taught by her parents also helped in keeping her ignorance strong. These thoughts and concerns were kept to herself. The only person she would admit not knowing about certain things to was Josh, and he already knew the extent. He was the one person who had all the keys to her past. She ate another piece of pie before taking out her list of some prompt questions. She fussed with the tape recorder for a moment. "I have never actually used one of these before--ah." Nell set it on the desk before saying, "This is the interview of the millennium with Ms. Thomas." It was for her ears only, so she could introduce it however she liked. She looked down at the yellow paper of her notepad and the first question. "So, Ms. Thomas, what made you want to be a History teacher? Why not another subject?" It seemed like a good kicking off question to her, though she was sure that with Nala's answers she'd come up with more off the top of her head.
you're a star, you blaze, OUT LIKE A SHARP MACHINE LIKE A WHALE'S MOAN |
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Post by nala on Jul 11, 2012 10:28:11 GMT -5
Nala laughed at the mental image of Nell constantly raising her hand to ask her questions, classroom style -- it was rather amusing to her, though completely ridiculous -- depending on how many questions Nell had, her arm would probably just stay in the air as they talked, and that was just preposterous. "No, no, that won't be necessary. Discussion is key, remember?" Nala replied. She tried to get her students to debate and discuss rather than her ask questions and constantly pick on people, especially when someone was confused about something -- it was nice to see her students directly and indirectly help each other out through discussions, and it was easier to get them to talk, too, when they felt like they could. Or something. She was sure she read that somewhere and it just felt right in practice. She hoped she wasn't doing them a disservice. "The topic just happens to be my life, I guess,"
[/color] Nala added as an afterthought. It was sort of just hitting her that Nell would probably be asking questions that she normally wouldn't discuss with students, and Nala would have to answer. It wasn't the fact that she was embarrassed about something in her past -- not in the slightest! She was just a little concerned at how much she'd be able to reveal to a student. Not a student of hers anymore, and a student in college, so she supposed the rules were more lenient on that sort of thing. Nala finished her pie and set her paper towel aside, placing her fork on top of it -- she'd take care of all that later. Plus, she hadn't decided on whether she wanted another piece of pie or not -- the pie was pretty darn good. Then again, she had a feeling that it was homemade and made from scratch, which was pretty much the best combination when it came down to baked goods. "Ah, for the record and everything, right? My name is Nala."[/color] She paused. "Like 'The Lion King'. My dad's not the most clever guy around."[/color] Well, her dad wasn't really around much in general nowadays, but that had nothing to do with the question at hand. At least there was no chance of anyone misspelling it ever...how could one possibly mess up spelling Simba's betrothed? As Nell got her tape recorder and notes ready, Nala decided to go for that extra piece of pie -- it was just there, she couldn't even help it! As she served herself another piece of pie, Nell began the interview, officially and all that -- it felt a little bizarre to be doing something like this while eating pie, but Nala really did mean it when she said that it would be a pretty accurate likeness of what her life is like. "Why history, huh? that's like the million dollar question."[/color] Nala thought back to her life, and how her interest in history actually started -- most people had no definitive answer, but Nala could remember it clearly. "I guess...back in high school? I never really had a subject that I actively cared for in high school -- I was a good student, but I just didn't really care? But then history class my junior year, right in this high school, in fact, I was assigned a paper and it just blossomed from there."[/color] Nala was sure she still had that specific paper, actually, somewhere in her boxes of history notes and reports from college. It was the only thing from high school that she saved.[/justify][/color][/font][/blockquote][/blockquote] |
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Jul 13, 2012 3:57:28 GMT -5
I'M PINS, you're needles, ( LET'S PLAY ) Discussion with teachers, something Nell had actually grown used to. She tended to talk quite a bit, and if that meant speaking with her teachers, then she was willing to stay behind a few minutes to discuss something with her professors. Friends may have questioned it and wondered why she did not simply forget school when she left it, but she had the underpriveleged home schooled girl role who had been pushed into Canada with nothing under her belt except a bunch of forged papers to get her by. Nell smiled, bobbed her head. ”Yep, anything about your life. Of course, if there's anything you feel uncomfortable with answering...” She gestured with her hand and let that finish her sentence for her. This was mostly all about getting the woman comfortable, even though Nell had always known her to be a steel cage. She didn't think any of her innocent and curious questions would be able to penetrate those forces, though one may never know. Even the simplest questions asked to Nell may not have the simplest answers thanks to her circumstances. That was why the 'it's complicated' answer had always been the most convenient for her.
It may have been a cheesy thing to say out loud, but anticipation wound through her veins when they were getting ready to prepare for the interview. A simple assignment, it should have been approached as such, but Nell came with great vigor and wonder to the classroom. The potential of what she could learn made her wish for it. Admittedly, Nell had not recognized the name's genesis at first. Then the teacher explained, and she smiled once more. ”It's pretty,” she chirped, because she couldn't say much about the Lion King. Unlike a lot of people, it had not been a part of her childhood. She didn't watch Disney movies, unless recently had she delved into them, along with other movies that had not been offered to her. It had actually been a lot of black and white cinema, it was Blue Angel and The Seventh Seal. She had an old soul, had lived many lives in the span of nineteen—closing in on twenty—years.
Nell tried to keep quiet as the teacher spoke, because she feared if she chuckled it would carry over to the recorder and she wouldn't be able to hear Nala's reply on the playback. She could always adlib, but she did not want to paraphrase the woman. Her love had apparently stemmed from a paper that had been assigned to her, and that amused Nell because who would ever think that? It was from this question that she decided to take the reigns, not relying on the notes she had jotted down to work off of. ”What was the paper about?” she questioned. It inspired the woman's entire career, had there been something special about it? Or had she simply just found her calling with the one subject? Interviews may have been the perfect thing for Nell, she considered a journalist may have been her calling. But she had many callings, and right now it was Nala calling her to finish this assignment.
you're a star, you blaze, OUT LIKE A SHARP MACHINE LIKE A WHALE'S MOAN |
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Post by nala on Jul 19, 2012 9:12:08 GMT -5
Ha! Nala almost giggled at the thought that there would be something she was uncomfortable with sharing. That wasn't the case at all -- in fact, Nala was pretty open about her life, but it was just another matter altogether to try and gauge just how much she could tell those technically in her care. After all, there was nothing that happened in Nala's life that she was embarrassed or ashamed of, and it wouldn't do any good to dwell and beat herself up for it -- she often chose to just make peace with her mistakes and move on with her life. Far more productive that way. It didn't stop people from judging her, but Nala was okay with that, too. After all, if you have to be so petty to judge someone else for something they've already reconciled within themselves, then that's pretty sad and pathetic, and probably projection of some sort. Lord, she could have totally become a psychologist or something. "Oh, I'm fine, really. I'll just leave it up to you to deem what's appropriate or not for your assignment," Nala smiled, taking this entire thing in stride. She trusted Nell in that regard, and it helped that she always felt like Nell was a dependable person, or at least someone trustworthy. If it had been someone else, someone who constantly skimmed the line between good and bad, Nala probably would have hesitated. A lot.
"Thank you,"
[/color] Nala replied. That was a different reaction from what she usually got. Most people began chanting The Lion King at her, singing 'Hakuna Matata' or something. Some people still sung it at her, even knowing how it irritated her a little. (Friggin' Logan, seriously.) She wasn't even named after the movie, so she couldn't really fault her dad for that. But honestly, what were the odds that Disney would use the name in a movie? Maybe she should just change her name, or go by 'Christine'. ...'Christine' was too boring, though. At Nell's next question, Nala thought back to that day in high school. It had seemed like any other day when she walked into her history classroom at the time. They were about to start their unit on World War II and, as a preliminary learning act, the teacher assigned them all a generic topic regarding the war. Nala told Nell so, tapping a finger against her chin in thought. "So I got assigned Poland and its generic involvement, why they got involved, things that like sort, and it all started there."[/color] Now that she was actively talking about it, she supposed it seemed kind of silly. A paper dictated her calling in life. How... uninspired. "I guess that sounds really geeky, doesn't it?"[/color] Nala laughed. "But it just fascinated me. Most of our unit was spent on Germany, France, Russia, England, Canada, the United States -- and with good reason, of course. But learning about everything else -- those affected, trampled over, fought over for territorial gain -- was a whole new angle to it."[/color] Since then, Nala thought it was a shame that there was no half-year course designed for the war in its entirety -- it was massive enough, multi-faceted enough to warrant one, but she supposed people would have to have an active interest in it first. While there were exceptions, most students these days just wanted to pass and get by. She couldn't fault them for that, though, not really.[/justify][/color][/font][/blockquote][/blockquote] |
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Jul 20, 2012 19:20:39 GMT -5
I'M PINS, you're needles, ( LET'S PLAY ) She enjoyed it when her compliments were taken well by people, even though Nala didn't actually show if it affected her. Then again, not many people turned their noses up at a well-earned compliment, especially when it was for a name, something they did not have any control over. In the Earth's mind, Nala lucked out with a pretty name. She didn't think about how much teasing she might have endured because of its connection to a Disney movie. Some people were cursed by the name Agatha, and shame on any parent in the twenty-first century that believed it was an acceptable name for a child. Nell wondered about life-changing things. Thinking about how a lot of people didn't know when they decided what they wanted to be made her wonder if she'd already come to that point and crossed it. Was there a moment that she thought nothing of that would turn out to determine the future? It made her chest tighten in what might have been worry, but she couldn't identify exactly what was pulling at her.
Nell listened to the woman with interest that couldn't be carried over to the tape recorder. It wouldn't be able to transfer over to paper after she typed it, either, as clinical and bland as it would be. But as long as Nala was talking about something she felt for, then that passion would speak more than anything. "I guess you really like Poland, huh," she said with a grin. And it was obvious there was a passion behind Nala's words, and Nell could understand the yearning to find out more than what is usually covered in general high school courses. And it was even more interesting to hear it from the point of view of someone who taught the subject. "Why do you think that is?" the Earth asked, her chin now propped up with her hand. "That we learn more about the superpowers in WWII than say, Greece's occupation or any of the other victims?" If Nell hadn't had an interest in history outside of class, than she might not have known about Greece or Belgium or the other countries taken over by the Nazis. For a pacifist, she knew quite a bit about wars.
you're a star, you blaze, OUT LIKE A SHARP MACHINE LIKE A WHALE'S MOAN |
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Post by nala on Aug 10, 2012 22:38:27 GMT -5
There are several times in someone's life where you think you have everything figured out, something comes so naturally to you that you forget there was a period of time where things weren't always like they are now, and when Nell commented about her strength of like for Poland, a country that she doesn't even have any ancestral ties with at all, whatsoever, Nala had to pause and think about that for a second. Maybe it could be considered a kindn of understatement that she just 'liked' Poland, like it had a Facebook page and she just clicked the little thumbs up sign on it. It was far more than that, she realized -- she was invested in Poland. Spent years of her life learning about the country, its people, studied its history inside and out, and can confidently say that she probably knows more about the country than anyone else in Canada at this point. "It's...you know, and this goes for everyone who has settled into their current lifestyle and surroundings, but the world is filled with all different cultures and moral codes and lifestyles and it just seems like a shame not to encounter some of them. Learning history isn't about you copying down notes and firing back important dates that you're just going to forget once the exam is over. History dictates why nations behave the way they do, operate on the foreign policy they do, whether or not you have a country of fighters, neutrals, or cowards. Poland," Nala breathed, settling into her chair a little more, letting the words spill forth from her lips as they came to mind -- she should have warned the poor girl that once you get Nala started on history, she has a very hard time stopping. "Poland fought to the very end. They've always fought, and it didn't matter whether they had allies or were alone or had to face their prior allies, even, and it never mattered how futile it all would be. It's hard not to like a country that has that much fight in them, even though they've always been beaten down through time."
[/color] Nala sighed a little bit -- she always hated answering this question because she genuinely could understand the necessity to condense the world wars as much as possible, but with World War II especially, the immediate aftermath and the foreign diplomacy that followed were so important but never covered as well as they should be, especially when a lot of those treatises and treaties were still in effect today. "I suppose it has to do with which countries made the most important contribution to the war, overall. Considering the time period we have to cover in a semester, dedicating more than two weeks to World War II just isn't possible, so we have to stick to the main 'plot points', if you will -- what started the war, Kristallnacht, blitzkrieg warfare, the Holocaust, France and Vichy France, D-Day, Pearl Harbor -- to get it all in and so, if you're ever caught in some random conversation about it, you know the main details. Really, though, if the school would let me, I would absolutely love to draw up a proposal to teach history classes with a much narrower focus -- I mean, you can do an entire six months of material just from the ancient civilizations alone."[/color] Nala babbled on, and it seemed like just now she realized that she was talking far, far too much, and if there was any defense she had against her being a complete geek, well, that was completely gone by now. She just gushed about writing proposals for narrow-focused history courses. Not only did that not have any way of happening, but she was just getting way too invested now. [ omg i'm sorry this is so long. D8 nala has a lot of history feelings, apparently idek how this happened. ][/justify][/color][/font][/blockquote][/blockquote] |
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Aug 12, 2012 14:50:40 GMT -5
I'M PINS, you're needles, ( LET'S PLAY ) The way Nala spoke about her passion, her career, made her wish that more students could be listening to this. Maybe her interview would be good for that. Nell liked school in general, and history was a subject she wasn't just good at, it was one she enjoyed. Coming from the home of a scientist, she enjoyed all subjects anyway. But history was the study of the world communicating with each other, the building blocks of the present, and Nala was right as she ever would be--not just something you learn once for a test and forget about afterward. Poland was a country often overlooked in history classes--Nell didn't know much about that herself, however--because it wasn't one of the superpowers. She was sure if she had gone to school back in America, that would be the number one subject in history. "How does it feel to study a culture and history from the perspective of someone who doesn't have...any ties to it whatsoever? Is it harder to accept some customs and beliefs?" She was pretty sure that Nala was not from Poland, but she'd be corrected if she was wrong. Usually Nell could identify descent from last name, but with her, it'd be very difficult because she changed it from the proper Spanish nomenclature to a pie.
Fitting so many years into a class was definitely a task. Taking it all into consideration, every bit of history a person learns as a human being is condensed. If one were to learn every piece of information provided to them from a world long dead, it would take a lifetime of devotion. Not even historians could know everything about their subject, but she supposed that may have been what drove them. As for specific classes, that was a really good idea. Nell paid really close attention, not even realizing how much she'd have to be transcribing from this interview with Nala talking so much. Because it was something that the woman loved, and while incessant talk of matters that seem unimportant to the people speaking seemed grueling, this was far more interesting. "There are a few classes like that I've taken. And I suppose they are better suited toward people who have an interest in the subject, because they're electives." There are classes you are forced to take and the ones you want to take. She took history out of interest, and truthfully, it tied in a lot with the sociology courses she took.
It was almost like an adventure, choosing a next question for Nala, wondering if she'd get another long-winded spiel. Which was perfect and exactly what she wanted from this. She guessed she should appeal to her fellow classmates, though. "Since you obviously love history, what would you say to one of the students here to inspire interest in the subject?" You can't force someone to like a subject, but you could try and appeal to them.
[don't worry! nala's babbling is adorbs. :3]
you're a star, you blaze, OUT LIKE A SHARP MACHINE LIKE A WHALE'S MOAN |
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