30 Days Writing Challenge #30

5 Phrases of today –

Keep your fingers crossed / envy / miniature / pathetic / crave

---

“My girlfriend said she has prepared birthday present to me. She said I must be astonished about that, because it was what I craved for.” Tony said. “And she said she has spent a lot of money on this present.”

“Wow~” I whooped, “this kind of girl is definitely the envy of all boys.”

“Yes,” Tony replied, in a sarcastic voice, “I have had the same thought, and thought that I just needed to keep my fingers crossed.”

“And?” I was curious about what was happening.

“And… on my birthday, I received my DREAM car.” Tony said exaggeratedly.

“Cool!!!!!” I was surprised by what he’s got.

“huh~” Tony said, shaking his head slowly. “It was a car, indeed, but it was a miniature one. She has bought me a car model! I was soooo disappointed, but I still needed to pretend to be very excited! Can you imagine that?”

“Gee, what a pathetic man!” I had nothing to say, but to slap him on the back.

30 Days Writing Challenge #29

5 Phrases of today –

Go off on one / hit the jackpot / in the dark about / reckless / scowl

---

“I’m completely in the dark about why he went off on one,” Joby wondered, “and even now, he still keeps scowling at me.”

“What have you done?” I asked.

“Nothing!” Joby said, “a moment ago, I saw a plugged power cord across the floor. It’s too dangerous, so I unplugged it and moved to another socket.”

“What?” I shouted, “you unplugged that power cord? That was the one connecting his laptop!”

“Really?” Joby said nonchalantly. “But, what a big deal? And actually I did re-plug it.”

“Hah, his laptop is an old model, and once unplugged, it will shut down immediately.” I explained. “Well, he was playing an online game and almost hit the jackpot, but all are gone now because of your reckless action.”

“What…?” Joby felt scared.

“Next time, please ask before you unplug anything.” I said and walked away.

30 Days Writing Challenge #28

5 Phrases of today –

Get together / sleep in / bonehead / spooky / a slap in the face

---

Debby and I finally got together for a drink yesterday night. Debby is working on a big project, which makes her pretty stressful.

“The project makes me feel super tense. You may know that I usually sleep in on Saturdays morning.” Debby said, looking at me.

“Last Saturday, I woke up at 8 am and I immediately got into a panic that I would be late for work, so I got up quickly and went brushing my teeth and got dressed, and right before I left my house, I realized that that day was a Saturday and I needed not to work!” Debby told the whole story in one breath.

“At that moment, I really didn’t know how to react, I just stood there, like a bonehead, and I felt spooky. I just thought how stressful I am to act like this.” Debby finished her story, sat back and inhaled deeply.

“I understood.” I said, “it’s sad, but it also can be a good reminder to you to look into your current life. Are you biting off more than you can chew?”

“Yes, you’re right,” Debby responded. “It was definitely a slap in the face for me. Luckily, the project will be completed soon, and I’ve already decided to take a few days leave after finishing the project, to recharge myself.”

“Good idea! Everyone should take good care of themselves, and you should do the same too!” I was glad to see that Debby finally 曾

30 Days Writing Challenge #27

5 Phrases of today –

Rad / to add insult to injury / sth is out of sb’s league / leave sb cold / be a lightweight

---

Hanging out and drinking beers with colleagues on Friday night maybe rad to someone, but I can’t give any comment on that, because I have never been invited for it.

I knew my colleagues said behind me that I’m not an interesting person, and always leave them cold. To add insult to injury, they said they dislike me as a lightweight, and get drunk easily, so they would not invite me to join their gathering.

So, drinking beers with colleagues is out of my league, but I’m fine with it, because I don’t like to drink beers at all, and I have my own friends gathering which is more suitable for me, and I still can have my happy Friday.

30 Days Writing Challenge #26

5 Phrases of today –

Come up with / odds / roll sb’s eyes / vibe / make time

---

The odds are that he will say something wired again.

And I ‘m right about him again. Daniel always has a special vibe.”

“I’m thinking of learning a new language after work, but my life is already very busy, and I’m not sure if I can spare some time for it.” Daniel said seriously.

“So, do you come up with any solution?” I said nonchalantly.

“Yes,” Daniel replied. “I decided to make time for it.”

“Another meaningless conversation” I said, rolling my eyes.

30 Days Writing Challenge #25

5 Phrases of today –

Fall apart / all things considered / beam / dive / spell out

---

We had a gathering in a dive restaurant the other day.

Although the environment of the restaurant was not that good, the music and the food were spectacular.

The waiters were not very professional, but they beamed at customers all the times, which made me feel relaxed.

However, when I was spelling out the travel plan to my friend excitedly, there were a bunch of plates falling apart suddenly, which scared me death. Except that, all things considered, but I guess I would go there again.

30 Days Writing Challenge #24

5 Phrases of today –

Squat / put yourself in (sb’s) shoes / chip in / be at a crossroads / go into your shell

---

I squatted on the ground, looking at the broken shell decor.

This was what both of my sisters chipped in and bought to me, to remind me not going into my shell anymore, especially when I was at a crossroads. Although they may not be able to put themselves in my shoes all the time, they would be always there to support me and listen to me.

The shell decor was so meaningful, and I actually broke it.

“What are you doing here?” My elder sister said, standing behind me.

“I broke the shell decor you bought me,” I said sadly, “it is so precious to me, but I broke it.”

“Are you breaking it by intention?” My sister said, and started tidied up the place.

“Of course not!” I replied firmly.

“It’s fine then.” My sister responded calmly. “Done! Let’s go and buy a new one!”

I didn’t know what to say, but just followed my sister going out. How lucky I am to have such a wonderful sister.

30 Days Writing Challenge #23

5 Phrases of today –

Call it a day / bring (sth) up / grieve / in a rut / come full circle

---

Johnny is a wired guy, and he always brings up some topics that baffle everyone.

“I’m grieving” Johnny said.

“For what?” I queried.

“For being in a rut!” Johnny explained. “I always live in the same place, meet with the same people and work for the same company. I need some changes!”

“Well, most of the people are like that, but it doesn’t mean you won’t have fun in it.” I tried to give him a feedback.

“I’ve already thought about it.” Johnny said. “I am going to put some flowers at home, meet you guys more, and… take another bus to work.”

“So, you will still live in the same house, meet with the same people and… work for the same company?” I asked.

“Of course!” Johnny said firmly. “Unless I’ve lost my mind, I won’t relocate or change my job.”

“Seems you have come full circle, and still being the same.” Looking at this crazy guy, I had nothing to say. “I don’t think we should talk on this topic anymore, let’s call it a day.”

30 Days Writing Challenge #22

5 Phrases of today –

Beacon / go up in the smoke / break a leg / on second thought / doom (n)

---

In wartime, you would not know when you would meet your doom, maybe just in the next second.

You have to make the most correct decision quickly, because you don’t have time to be on second thought.

Once you see the beacon, you have to run as quick as possible, otherwise, you will go up in the smoke very soon…

Linda was doing her last practice before she went to the stage.

“How do you feel? Is my voice clear?” Linda asked.

“Yes, it sounds good! Hey, it’s your turn, let’s get the show on the road!” I replied.

Linda seemed a bit nervous, so I tried to encourage her. “Hey, Linda!” I called her. “Break a leg!” Linda looked back and gave me a big smile. I knew she would have a good show.

30 Days Writing Challenge #21

5 Phrases of today –

Feeble / run into / come off / barking up the wrong tree / crappy

---

I ran into Joseph in the park the other day. He was energetic and fit before, but at the day I saw him, he looked tired and feeble.

Joseph told me that he has been working in a big firm for 3 years. He was extremely excited when he first got an offer. He thought he would get an excellent career prospects in this company.

The job was demanding and stressful, but Joseph always got his job done beautifully. After 3 years of hard work, Joseph finally got a chance to get promoted.

Joseph was not the only candidate for the promotion, but he was confident of his performance. Joseph has spent countless days and nights on his job, and he believed that he would be the one who got the trophy.

However, the matter did not come off as expected. The company has promoted another guy. Joseph was completely shocked by this result. He just thought that all his hard work went up in smoke.

After this issue, Joseph completely fell apart and even fell sick. He was so sick that he even couldn’t get up for work. Because of sickness, Joseph has been absent from work 3 weeks already.

At the first two weeks, Joseph felt crappy and depressed. He knew that his illness was greatly related to not being promoted, but he couldn’t get over it at all.

Until one day, Joseph saw a blog post. The blogger had exactly the same experience as Joseph, and the only different was that the blogger has gotten over already.

Reading the blog post, Joseph just noticed that he was totally barking up in the wrong tree. He was too focus on his job, and forgot to develop and maintain a professional network.

In fact, Joseph’s boss has reminded him once. His boss said the company liked someone who had a professional network, because it would help the company to get new knowledge and opportunities, but Joseph did not aware of it.

Joseph finally realized that he really was not the suitable candidate for that position, and he knew that it’s time for him to get it together. Therefore, he started running and that was the reason why I saw him in the park.

Joseph said he was ready and would resume to work on the next Monday. I was glad to hear that and I hope he can back on track soon.