Insomnia and Latin

Have you ever been so tired that you can't sleep? Well, if you haven't, it sucks. A lot. I tried to do my homework, but I was too tired to concentrate. I tried to go to bed, but I couldn't fall asleep. Now I'm back to the homework and I seem to be doing a bit better. The Dr Pepper certainly helps as well. However, Dr Pepper does not translate Latin. But if it did, that would be awesome.

So, I gotta wonder, how many 15 year olds read Persius? I mean, no public school would read him. Hell, most public schools don't even offer Latin. Most private schools wouldn't read him either. Roman satire isn't exactly church friendly. Like in Horace 1.2 talking about "grinding other men's wives" and raping the slave girl. Though I'd love to see a nun try to translate cunnus. Isn't it wonderful that Latin has it's own word for cunt?

Well, back to the translating...

~~Wynn

Morning musings

There are certain phrases you just don't want to hear first thing in the morning. "Can we just skip our lessons today?" is one of them.

You see, if you had stayed up all night preparing lesson plans, you'd be pretty pissed off too. The girls seem to think that biology isn't worth their time and effort. They just want to do the "cool" stuff (though I don't know how many teenagers think human osteology is cool). I explain to them that they have to learn the basics first, that they can't fully understand the advanced material with out it. They never listen. It's always, "How much longer until we can learn this?"

At least the littler ones enjoy it. You have no idea how hard it is to teach a "class" when you have two 19 year olds, a 17 year old, a 16 year old, a 13 year old, a 5 year old, and a 1 year old (granted, Raven mostly just plays). I can't wait for Toni and Aria to move in so we can have some more kids Vivianne's age. And having a boy or two would be nice. Maybe we'll adopt one. Though, I doubt any adoption agency would see our family as fit to adopt.

Well, that's all for now. It's biology time.

~~Nona

The ridiculousness of modern scholarship

Sometimes I wonder what the point is of doing scholarly research. Because it seems to me that it's become all about trying to prove some outlandish theory in order to make a name for yourself. While it's important to consider new perspectives, scholars these days take it too far. They find the most obscure detail, and then claim that it's proof that the whole field needs to be rewritten.

I realize this is a bit of an exaggeration. There's plenty of good scholarship out there. But the academic community as a whole seems to be approaching learning all wrong. People shouldn't be seeking to learn in order to puff up their own egos. What you learn doesn't have to rewrite history to be of value. I think if more academics realized this they would find that they learn more when they aren't self-aggrandizing.

Well, that's my mini-rant for the day.

~~Alan

P.S. Drak, I find that it's much more effective to have her write a paper examining why she did it, why she shouldn't have done it, and how she should approach a similar situation in the future. It is fun to watch the little ones squirm :P Whether they actually learn something, or just want to avoid the discomfort, it seems to keep them in line.

Sunday mornings

I think one of the greatest things about not being Christian is that you get to sleep in on Sunday mornings. Why would anyone want to get up early to listen to a boring old man drone on and on about heaven and hell and sin and Jesus and stuff? Granted, not all churches are like that. When we lived in Ireland my mom was adamant about us pretending to be Catholic. I didn't mind that so much, because unlike Baptists, Irish Catholics are pretty cool.

Of course, there is a downside to Sundays: chores. Mom says that since we got to sleep in, we should have plenty of energy to clean. It's just so much to do! Do you have any idea how much of a mess fifteen people can make? Terri says that if I did a little bit every day of the week, it wouldn't be so bad. But she likes doing laundry. I can't understand why.

Well, I suppose I'd better go. I've got laundry and homework to do. Though I don't get why home schooled kids would get homework....

~~Anne

Please excuse my outspoken wife

Hello, I'm Drak. While I love my wife very much, she isn't always very tactful. I hope she hasn't discouraged you from further reading. I think you'll find life at the Big House very interesting.

On a side note, Alan, if Anne ever does something that stupid again, you have my permission to administer an ass-beating.

~~Drak

Do I really have to do this?

I like sex. I like sex a lot. Hell, I have two husbands, and they can barely keep up with me! Yeah, you read that right. Got a problem with it? Well, fuck you!

My father disowned me when I was 17 for participating in... certain summer activities. Ironically, that's how my parents met.

I suppose I should tell you my name. I'm Myst. I'm Scottish, and I have a temper to match my hair.

I have a 17 year old daughter with Drak, and I swear she's an exact copy of me. Was I really that much trouble? Given how much of a handful she is, I'm reluctant to have any more kids, but I wouldn't be surprised if Alan got me pregnant. He already got Terri and Nona pregnant with in days of each other.

Well, I guess I'm done for now. Unlike Alan, I can't write a novel at four in the morning.

~~Myst

Hello, my name is Alan

I'm never quite sure how to introduce myself. I'm brutally honest, and most people don't take too kindly to that. Well, I suppose that's a start, isn't it? Let's see... I was born in Roman Britain, during the reign of Emperor Claudius. Yes, I realize this makes me nearly 2000 years old. And, yes, I realize you think that's impossible. But that's your problem, not mine.

I live out in the Texas hill country, near Enchanted Rock, in a place we call the Big House. That all started because the girls were watching Monarch of the Glen, and they thought it would be cool to call our house the "big house" like in the show. Teenagers.... But, I suppose it makes sense to call it the Big House. It is ridiculously big. We could have 150 people live here quite comfortably. Our house sits on a very large piece of land, and is completely self-sufficient... well... almost. Our herds aren't quite large enough yet to eat them and have them be sustainable. So, we still have to go into town for meat. But otherwise, we're completely off the grid.

Hmm... that last paragraph really wasn't about me at all, was it? Well, what else do you want to know? I'm about 5'10" and have a slender-ish athletic build. I have long black hair and blue eyes. I like long, romantic walks on the beach... Nah! I'm not too fond of beaches. The sand gets in too many uncomfortable places. I do have some hopeless romantic tendencies. But I am also very practical. I am not a fan of the popular notions of love, the kind that produce such idiotic sayings as, "You complete me," "I can't live without you," and "Love means never having to say you're sorry." People have this ridiculous idea that one day they will meet that one special person who will meet all their needs and desires for the rest of their life, will fix all their personal problems simply by being in a relationship together, and will be the primary source of happiness and fulfillment in their life. What a load of bullshit! Having such impossible assumptions about relationships is the main reason why so many of them fail.

That's another thing about me: I have no tolerance for bullshit. I don't have the time or energy to deal with lies and drama. If you fuck with me, you'll get an ear-full at the very least. But if you persist, I'll just ignore you.

I wonder if I should go ahead and tell you about my family. You see, it's rather unconventional. But, I think it'd be fun to keep you guessing. No doubt you'll figure it all out eventually.

~~Alan

In The Beginning...

This is the tale of an unconventional family. It is a complete work of fiction. Sometimes it will be told in traditional third person prose, and sometimes it will be told in first person blog posts from the point of view of the characters. We'll begin with each of the characters introducing themselves, and then we'll see where it goes from there.

Note that this is not a finished, polished story. It is a work in progress and a way for me to get down my ideas.

Warning: This story contains explicit language and, on occasion, adult content. Posts with adult content will have a warning at the beginning.