Bird Paintings

Snow Valley

Skiing is one of many interesting sports to play during winter. For my family, this year was our first time and it would be at Snow Valley. We have no proper equipment of our own so we were renting it from there. Since it is our first time, how does skiing work? How do I stop? What happens after I fall? Are goggles really necessary? These questions bounced through my mind, throwing it into chaos. Luckily, Arissa's family, an experienced group, was accompanying us and I bombed them with my questions. How do I turn? Do I need poles? How do I ski? Apparently, it would “come naturally” and it would be “simple”.

The next day, we left and headed for Snow Valley. When we pulled to a stop, a skier glided down a steep hill and skidded to a stop while spraying a cloud of snow everywhere. He laughed as another skier zoomed down right after. Just beside that hill, or mountain, was a bigger, steeper … drop. Skiers flew down one after the other and made it look simple.

After a big hustle, our equipment was ready. The ski boots seemed exceptionally heavy as we hobbled our way to the bunny hill. Snapping on the skis, I gazed up at the hill, but it was more of a slant. It was almost flat and just had the slightest tilt possible. That was how it looked from the bottom. Looking down, from the top, it seemed to turn much steeper, dipping down into a big line of amateur skiers. So how do I stop again? What are the poles for? As my brain turned into a whirlwind, my skis began sliding on their own accord. Not long after, they completely lost control and the world started to whoosh by. There was suddenly a fallen boy in my path who didn’t seem to be getting up. I tried leaning towards one side but it was too much. The trees around me began shaking and my skis gave way. The trees flipped and I heard my sister zoom by, out of control too. My back thumped the snow and everything paused. I fell but how do I get up? Managing to sit up, my feet were stuck in an awkward position. The too long skis crossed each other and jutted out disproportionally. After a few minutes of tumbling I was somehow back on my feet. The rest of the way down was slower and calmer; no one was in my way and the slope was ending.

After a few more tries, the same hill became boring. I learned how to stop and it was getting constant. The same ridges and creases, the same distance. Just a few meters to the right, was yet another hill, slightly taller and steeper, but at beginner level. Just as I started descending, my skis found a bump and sent me flailing. Then came a crease and then a slant. A bit further down, the snow was hardened with the excessive use and felt like ice. One way or another I survived without falling. By just the second try, this hill was also mastered.

An hour passed, and it felt like the time to move on beyond the bunny hills and to a real hill. The ones that require a ski lift. The lift took forever, slowly pulling everyone higher and higher until trees became people and people became ants. After we got off, up front was a map of the different hills showing the level of difficulty. There was one green route that seemed okay and we headed towards it.

Dipping down, the wind whipped in my face, blowing and blowing until tears sprung out. I wished I had grabbed a goggle. The trees alongside the trail blurred and threatened to get in the way. Everything seemed to be yelling: slow down, slow down! but my feet were stuck in a pathetic pizza form. The poles extended on either side of my body and were used as a balancing device. After what seemed like eternity, the ground became flat once more.

I went on again once, then twice, then 3 times, but never seemed to be able to control my speed. Other skiers were able to glide down slowly like a feather instead of a boulder. Their feet were agile and they twisted their body to form Z shapes. On the 5th try, blundering down without a care was not an option. One must start slow from the beginning to avoid gathering so much speed that stopping would be impossible. I tried mimicking the other skiers’ movements and was able to form S’s. It wasn’t as useful as Z’s but it still slowed down the speed.

As I came to a stop at the bottom of a blue level hill, Arissa slid up to me and asked if I wanted to try a black diamond. It couldn’t be that hard, but when I stared up at the top, it was almost impossible. No way would I survive so I went back to my blue.

Arissa came again after a couple more minutes passed. Again, I turned down the black diamond. When I finished another round of the blue square hill, I stopped for a drink. A skier was easily drifting down the black diamond hill, and to my surprise, it was as 6-year-old girl! Now this hill couldn’t be so hard.

Wrong. At the top of the hill, the bottom was under my nose, but far, far, away. Skier after skier zipped down into the bottom and I glanced over at Arissa with uncertainty. At a speed like this, one tiny bump can send anyone out of control. Yes, it is steep, but on the plus side, it is shorter than the other hills. Arissa was gone. She was already twisting her way down the hill. Starting to turn back, I realized I couldn’t. My skis were sliding inch by inch. There was no turning back. The Swahili saying raced through my mind. Polepole, polepole, polepole. At first, it wasn’t so bad. Then, my skis met a bump and were stuck in a forward motion, gaining speed. I was sliding in a green corridor with a white ground. The wind was forcing tears out and blurred my vision. A drop materialized out of nowhere and I jerked out of the way. My eyes strained to see my path, too scared to blink away the tears. Hair was whipping around in a frenzy and it threatened to stick to my face. When it appeared that I was going to fall, the ground straightened and Arissa was standing there smiling. I wiped away the wetness in my eyes and brushed away my hair. There was no way I’d be going back there until I was truly ready.

When we were heading home, I just couldn’t help going back to the time I went down the black diamond hill. Maybe someday, I would be able to master those too.

Le Feu Brillant (concours d’oratoire)

Est-ce qu’il y a un temps quand vous avez pensé que vous êtes capables de faire des grandes choses ? Mais cette pensé passe en toute vitesse parce que vous ne croisez pas que vous êtes vraiment capable ? Tout le monde va ressentir ce sentiment au moins une fois pendant leur vie, mais qu’est-ce que c’est ? Une drôle d’imagination ? Non. C’est quelque chose que j’appelle «le Feu».

C’est quoi, le Feu ? vous me demandez. Ce n’est pas une chose qu’on peut toucher, ou voir. Comme j’ai dit, c’est un sentiment, comme le bonheur ou le malheur. Il est notre passion, notre objective dans la vie, notre rêve, un but. Ce Feu est la force la plus forte dans la vie. Il nous aide à faire des décisions critiques, il nous aide à ouvrir les portes de la vie. Ça contrôle notre choix d’école ; les cours que nous prenons. Le Feu est comme notre gardien, notre dévouement. Tout qu’on fait est à partir de lui. Ou, plus simplement, c’est comme notre talent spécial.

Tout le monde a un Feu. Des fois, c’est un grand Feu qui brille comme le soleil ou une supernova. D’autres fois, ça peut être une tout petite flamme, mais quand même, il est là. Beaucoup des personnes pensent qu’ils n’ont pas un talent spécial, ils pensent qu’ils ne sont pas capables d’être une personne intelligente, mais tout le monde ne doit pas être comme ça. S’ils ne peuvent pas trouver leur Feu, ils ne peuvent pas travailler ou suivre leurs passions. Dans notre monde, il y a trop d’étudiants qui choisissent d’apprendre comment être un médecin, quand en réalité, ils veulent être un enseignant. Ils pensent qu’ils ont besoin d’être un premier ministre, et pas une bibliothécaire. Mais, notre monde a besoin de bibliothécaires, ce n’est pas gênant ! Si tout le monde est un première ministre, c’est quoi l’importance ? On n’exprime pas notre passion parce qu’un parent ou un ami ne l’aiment pas. Quand une personne est née … pourquoi est-il nés ? Il est né pour faire une contribution au monde, bien que ce soit grand ou petite.

J’avais une amie qui pensait qu’elle n’a pas un Feu. Elle disait qu’elle n’a pas assez de muscles d’être un Sidney Crosby, et qu’elle n’a pas assez d’imagination d’être un Leonardo da Vinci. Toutefois, comme Judy Garland (une chanteuse et une actrice) a dit :
«Soyez une première version de vous-mêmes au lieu d’une deuxième version des autres» Vous savez quoi ? Mon amie est fantastique à chanter !

De tout façon, comment on peut trouver notre Feu ? Êtes-vous une des personnes très convaincues que vous êtes normaux ? Voici une petite question. Non, deux. Je vais vous demander, quoi aimez-vous ? Pensez y pour une minute. Aimez-vous les sports ? Les livres ? Ou même, manger ? Maintenant, êtes-vous bon à ça ? Mieux que vos amis ? Si c’est «Non» pensez y encore. Si vous n’êtes pas le meilleur à votre passion favorite, êtes-vous bon à d’autres choses ? Donc, vous n’aimez pas les mathématiques, ni drame, ni le français. Mais êtes-vous bon à dessiner? À l’écriture ?

Si votre réponse est toujours «non», ne vous inquiétez pas. C’est très normal pour les enfants, et même des adultes qui ne peuvent pas trouver leur Feu immédiatement. En tout cas, ça va arriver. Quand votre Feu commence à briller, vous allez le savoir, mais quand même, il a besoin d’aide. Essayez des activités différentes et pensez à vos émotions. Gardez à l’esprit que votre but peut être petit aussi, alors ne soyez pas embarrassé … enfin, c’est votre Feu.

Après tout ce discours, avez-vous deviné ? Le Feu, mesdames et messieurs, c’est notre cœur. Merci.

Le Commencement de la Langue (concours d'oratoire)

Aujourd’hui il y a des centaines des langages; le français, l’anglais, l’espagnol, le chinois etc. Le monde est très divers et c’est très intéressant d’apprendre les nouvelles langues. Comme moi maintenant. Je parle français et vous pouvez me comprendre. Mais, comment pouvez-vous me comprendre. Est-ce que les sons que je fais sont si diffèrent qu’un chien ou un oiseau ? Beaucoup entre nous pensons que la seule chose qui distinguer entre les humains et les animaux est l’abilité de parler et exprimer nos idées. Nous sommes si dépendent de nous langues que la société ne peuvent pas fonctionner si il n’avait pas de la langue. Avec les sons diffèrent, nous pouvons exprimer les idées complexe et hors de la niveau de « J’ai faim » ou « J’ai mal », comme les animaux. Donc, comment est que nous avons développé la langue ?

Beaucoup d’animaux, comme les gorilles, peuvent comprendre des milers de mots. Mais c’est quoi un langue ? Un langue n’est pas simple les mots. C’est une façon de donner les idées aux autres personnes dans une phrase ; c’est comment nous organisons les mots avec la grammaire et la structure d’une phrase. Il y a des théories que les humains ont un plus gros cerveau que animaux. Nos cerveaux peuvent entreposer environs quatre téraoctets d’information. Les animaux n’ont pas la capacité pour comprendre les choses complexes ou abstracts.

Il y a beaucoup des théories d’évolution de la langue. Trois de ces théories sont la théorie « bow-wow», la théorie « pooh-pooh » et la théorie « ta-ta ». La théorie « bow-wow » dit que les primaires humains imitaient les sons d’animaux et petit a petit, ces sons ont devenu les mots. Pourtant, beaucoup des personnes pensent que cette théorie et fausse car les onomatopées de différentes langues sont différentes. La théorie « ta-ta » dit qu’avant qu’on pouvait parler, nous utilisons nos mains et corps pour communiquer. Les bruits sont faire pour mieux efforcer leur pensées. Ses bruits aussi représentent les guets de main. La dernière théorie est la théorie « pooh-pooh ». Cette théorie dit que les humaines, comme tous les animaux font des bruits involontaires quand ils ont mal, quand ils rient, quand ils sont surpris, ou ont peur, ou sont fâchés. Ces sons, petit à petit, sont devenus des mots qu’on utilise aujourd’hui. Pourtant, les animaux aussi faire les bruits involontaires, alors, pourquoi n’ont-il pas une langue aussi ?

La langue est probablement formée car les humains ont commencé d’avoir une conscience. Ils ont commencé d’avoir les idées comme crier des utiles. Avec ces nouvelles idées, les humains sont forcés de communiquer avec une d’autre, la première forme d’une langue. Nous sommes développé plusieurs et plusieurs technologies et avoir développer les villages. Nous devons protéger nous villes, enseigner nos enfants et fait des traites avec les autres villes. Nous devons crier une plus complexe forme de la langue.

Mais dans l’autre côté, dans la bible, Dieu créer Adam et Eve, les premiers peuples, qui peuvent parler. Alors est qu’on peut dire que les humains avait déjà la langue ?

Aujourd’hui, le commencement de la lange et même encore une mystère. Une langue est une chose étrange et bizarre. Une langue n’est pas juste un façon parler. Elle est un parti de nous ; c’est quelque chose qui vous fait spécial. C’est une partie de nos identité et c’est le première chose qu’on apprendre. J’espoir que nous pouvons trouver l’origine et peut-être, ca va dévoiler beaucoup autres mystères.

Torus: Chapter 5

George was fixing his tie, getting ready for work and he was quite confident. After his long explanation of the Big Bang Theory, he was in his office when he thought of an escape plan from the asteroid.

He was halfway out the door when he noticed a tiny stain, just above his breast pocket. He sighed and wondered if he has to wear a bib every time he drinks coffee. The stain was small and faint, the size of a nickel, so he decided to leave it. As long as he slouched, no one would see it.

George walked towards his Chevy and breathed in the sweet scent of morning air and pine. Then, he kicked up his engine and began to hum “Three Little Birds”


A few weeks ago, Susan had discovered an asteroid coming straight at them. Steve had informed the people around him, but it was Susan who called George.

"George? Is that you? I'm so glad to have reached you. Bad news, we are in an asteroid's path. It's barreling towards us. And it's very, very big. Can you think of anything about it?"

Comets and asteroids constantly come and go, but never was a problem.

"Why do you need me? What should do?"

"For starters, we need you to give ideas, but keep this in your mind, this is not that same asteroid a few years ago, you know, Varta?"

Varta was a pretty big asteroid that raced right along their atmosphere, barely missing them.

"We'll need your help to locate and find out the speed of the asteroid. But you'll have to keep monitoring it. Also, can you get a few graphics of it?"

They discussed for a few more minutes, and it was decided. George will do his part. Ever since then, he was busy with the asteroid. Now, he was relieved it was going to be over.

George walked in the big glass doors and went through all the security examinations.

Today is going to be a great day, he thought to himself.

He walked towards Steve’s office, knocked three times, and heard a gruff reply.

“Come in,” Steve grunted.

George entered with confidence and said, “I’ve found a solution”

This instantly made Steve sit up.

“Tell me about it.”

And so George began.

“Well in the galaxies, solar systems, etc., there are many planets like ours. C49, B36, and M02 are the closest three. All of which flourishes with plant life, water and surprisingly, animals too. They also have an ozone layer like ours. We can send spaceships to either of them, C49 being the closest, one-by-one”

Steve started to interrupt, but George put his hand up.

“Please, let me finish. Obviously, we humans can’t survive the transition from one galaxy to another on a regular basis. This case, we will freeze the bodies under -196°C to preserve them. You know Cryonics?”

It was more of a statement than a question. Still, Steve nodded.

“Well, we'll use that, but we give the process a twist. Cryonics is a process that freezes the body, so the cells stay alive even though the brain dies. Nonetheless, someone will still have to be there to unfreeze them.

“So, who will take the job to be the one who unfreezes everyone, but has his own risk of dying? There comes starvation if there’s a lack of food supplies. That person may just as well develop ASPD, Antisocial Personality Disorder. With no one to talk to for a couple hundred years will affect their behavior, making them impulsive. They might try to suicide, or worse, ruin the spacecraft. Who knows, they might even −”

“Yes, I know, I know! I know what ASPD can do! Can you please get on with your idea?” Steve cut in.

George cleared his throat and continued.

“Well, none of this needs to happen. As I said, we will twist the process so that after a certain amount of time, the bodies will automatically unfreeze. It takes a couple hundred years to get there if we use a very fast spaceship, so we probably should set the timer to few thousand years just to be careful. Even if we do arrive earlier, the spacecraft will be designed to hold off any living creature that tries to disturb us. Lastly, the scientists will make sure that the process of cryonics won’t erase our minds”

Finished his explanation, he sat back.

“I don’t know … it seems risky. What if on the way, the spaceship encounters another asteroid?” Steve asked.

“Oh, it won’t. We’ll design the spacecraft with something similar to a force field that prevents objects from hitting us”

“It’s still risky. What if it malfunctions? What if − is that coffee?” Steve peered at George’s shirt, just above the breast pocket.

Come ON! George thought.

As he sat back after his explanation, the creases over his shirt had undoubtfully unfolded, revealing his stain. He was about to explain when someone knocked.

“Yes?” Steve called.

The door opened and in walked Joe Chipman. He had brown disheveled hair and big blue eyes that seemed to be full of excitement.

“Steve, after a few minor calculations, the asteroid, Theio, is in the open! We can totally change its course of direction!” he cried.

Steve stood up.

“That’s it! We can send something there, possibly a Wubble, to lightly bump it and change Theio’s direction. We don’t have to run! We could even fuel power the Wubble there, then use some ions to slowly push the asteroid away!”

“But are you sure it would work?” George reasoned. “This asteroid is very fragile, and cracks very easily. Only when it breaks through the ozone layer would it burn up and harden. If it breaks, then we’d be in for a meteor shower. You want that?”

Steve and Joe knew not to question George’s reasoning, for he is usually correct.

“Yes, but this is far more simple, and we might be able to stay. We don’t have to leave!” Steve said. “Besides, it won’t, uh, shouldn’t break if we start with a small force, then gradually increase the force,” he turned towards Joe. “Joe, tell the engineers to start creating a Wubble. And tell them to hurry!” Steve commanded.

George had no choice but to go along.


A Wubble is a ball of rubble (tires, erasers, etc.) melted and reformed then coated around an ellipsoid metal which contains an operating center with an engine. The engine has two settings. First, it is powered by fuel, and then changes into an ion-powered engine when it reaches the asteroid. Even the slightest push can send the asteroid hurtling in a total different direction.

The operations are done at the base, located in S.P.A.C.E.’s laboratory. There, they control the direction, the speed, and the changing of the two engines.

The Wubble was used only once, against another threatening asteroid, but it had failed. When they thought they were doomed, the asteroid luckily changed direction by the gravitational pull of a neighboring planet. That was before when “technology wasn’t so advanced” but now it’s different. Now, it is guaranteed to change the direction of the asteroid, and guaranteed not to break the asteroid.



Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5