Word: Middling

middling

[mid-ling]

adjective

1. medium, moderate, oraverage in size, quantity, or quality:

The returns on such a large investment may be only middling.

2. mediocre; ordinary; commonplace; pedestrian:

The restaurant's entrées are no better than middling.

3. Older Use. in fairly good health.

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“So, how’d it go?”  Dave asked.

                “Meh.”  Tim responded with a casual shrug of his shoulders.

                “What do you mean, ‘meh’?”

                “Meh.  It was alright.”

                “Alright?  It was just alright?  Seriously?”

                “Yeah.”

                Dave fell back into his chair and let out an exasperated breath.  He had been expecting something more than “alright”.  Tim just continued looking at the screen of his computer with an unreadable expression. 

                “Okay, I know you’re keeping something from me.  I mean, you went on a date with Kelly Daniels.  One does not go on a date with one of the hottest girls on campus and say it’s just alright.”

                “It was alright.”  Tim said again.  “We went to dinner.  We talked a bit.  That was pretty much it.”

                “Dude, that’s lame.  You can’t tell me you went out with a girl like that and didn’t do anything.”

                “We did do something.  I just told you what we did.  It was alright.  Not bad, not good.  Just, you know, alright.”

                “You didn’t even take out to go dancing or anything?”

                “Nope.  Didn’t need to.”

                “Why not?  That’s what I would do.”

                “She said she didn’t want to.”

                “You’re kidding, right?”  Dave asked.  He couldn’t believe that someone didn’t want to go dancing somewhere.

                “Nope.  I mean, I guess she didn’t expressly say she didn’t want to, but she said she doesn’t like to dance, nor does she like clubs and such.  So, I didn’t take her to any of those places.”

                “Huh.”  Dave said as he processed the new info.  “Well, I guess that’s a good reason.  Still, you had to do something other than dinner.”

                “Nope.  Just that.”

                “Not even a movie or anything?  A walk at the very least?”

                “No and no.  There aren’t any good movies playing, and it’s too cold out for a walk.”

                “Okay, yeah, I’ll give you that one.  But still, just dinner?  That sounds like a really sucky date to me.”

                “It wasn’t bad.”  Tim said, finally turning away from the computer.  “It just wasn’t anything special.  We talked.  I think we got along well enough, and it looked like she didn’t outright hate it.”

                “Well, what did you talk about?”

                “Oh, you know, first date stuff.  Likes, dislikes, school stuff.  That sort of thing.” 

                Dave held his head in his hand.  He had been hoping Tim would’ve done better than that.  If he and Kelly hooked up, it meant she’d come over to see him.  And that meant he’d have the chance to see her more often.  It was the next best thing to dating her himself.  Plus, Kelly might put in a good word for him with her friends, who were almost as hot as Kelly herself.  But, after hearing Tim talking, Dave’s hopes of such things were rapidly being depleted. 

                “Did you at least have something in common?  Anything at all?”  He asked.

                “Oh, yeah, sure.  Actually, we have a surprising amount in common.  We both like the same books, the same music, same movies, same games.  A lot of stuff, really.” Tim answered.  Dave breathed a sigh of relief.  Similar interests meant they could at least hang out together, even if they didn’t end up dating.  That would fulfill Dave’s desires just as well.

                “Great.  So, do you think you’ll get a second date?”

                “No idea.  I mean, it’s a possibility.”

                “Did you get her number or anything so you could ask?”

                “Yeah, I did.  She even friended me on Facebook.”

                A heavenly choir echoed through Dave’s mind.  Kelly was notorious for only friending people she actually liked.  Most thought that was a bit unusual, and there were numerous rumors about why she did so.  None of those mattered to Dave though.  She liked Tim enough to add him after only one date.  The fact that it was so average only made it all the better.  It meant she must have really liked him.  Dave had no doubt that she would be a regular visitor to their dorm room soon enough.  He needed to encourage that.  His future dating life depended on it. 

                “Great.  That’s a good sign.”  He said.  “It means she really must’ve liked you.”

                “Cool.”  Tim said. 

                “Cool?  Dude, that’s great.  You made one of the hottest girls ever like you, just by talking with her.  Guys everywhere will want to know how you pulled that off.”

                “I don’t think I did anything special.  Like I said, the date was pretty standard stuff.”

                “That’s why it’s so amazing.”

                “If you say so.” Tim seemed much less impressed with his accomplishment. 

                “I do.  Now come on, let’s see what she’s got on her page.  I’ve been dying to find out.” 

Dave stood and crowded around Tim’s computer while he pulled up the page.  Dave was quite happy with that, even if Tim wasn’t.  All in all, the guy did pretty good for such a supposedly average date. 

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 Honestly, I'm not really sure what to say about this one.  So I'm not really going to say anything and just leave it as is. Have a wonderful day.

Word: Tatterdemalion

tatterdemalion

[tat-er-di-meyl-yuh n, -mal-]

noun

1. a person in tattered clothing; a shabby person.

adjective

2. ragged; unkempt or dilapidated.

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“Excuse me, sir, can you help me please?  The girl asked.

                Evan wasn’t sure what to say.  The girl had simply walked up to him and asked for help.  She certainly looked like she needed it; that was for sure.  The girl looked to be in her mid teens, but her age wasn’t the most important thing about her.  The girl was a total mess.

                Evan couldn’t tell if her hair was brown because of natural color or because of all the dirt caked on it.  Her face looked like it would be fairly pretty, but there was so much dirt on it that it was hard to really tell.  The clothes she wore looked like they had once been nice, if unusual, but now they were horribly tattered and ragged. 

                “I’m sorry, what?”  Evan asked.

                “I need help.”  She said again.  “I don’t know where I am, I don’t have any money or anything.  I haven’t eaten in days; I don’t have any place to stay.  I don’t know what to do right now.”  She looked at him pleadingly as she spoke.  Evan sighed.  It was odd, but he couldn’t in good conscious leave her in such a state.

                “Alright, fine.  I’m not sure what to do about shelter and money, but I can at least get you something to eat.”  The girl’s face lit up when she heard that.

                “Thank you.  Thank you so much.”  She said.

                “Yeah, right.  Come on, let’s go.  I was just going to get lunch anyway.”

                Evan led the girl through the streets until they arrived at a small diner.  He just hoped nobody would ask any questions about the dirty, ragged teenage girl following him around.  Fortunately, nobody did.  The two of them got plenty of odd looks, but nobody bothered to actually say anything.

                “So, miss, what’s your name?”  Evan asked when they had sat down.

                “I’m sorry what?”  She asked.

                “You’re name?”

                “My name?  What’s that mean?” 

                Evan was quite surprised by that.  Did the girl have a name?  Did she have amnesia or something?  He was getting worried he had just done something he probably shouldn’t have.

                “You know, you’re name.  What people call you?”  He tried again.  The girl thought about it for a moment before responding.

                “You mean my designation?”

                “I, uh, I guess so?”

                “Why didn’t you just say so?  I’m A.J. 37.”  She said as the waitress brought the two of them menus.  “What about you?”  Evan just sat there for a moment while he processed what she had just said.

                “Uh, well, my name is Evan.”  He said tentatively.

                “Evan?  What kind of designation is that?”

                “I was going to ask you the same thing.”

                “Oh come on, you know.  Area A, Sector J, Number 37.  I don’t even know what to make of your designation.”

                “Okay, first of all, Evan is my name, not designation.  And I have no idea what you’re talking about with areas and sectors and stuff.”

                “Well, now you’re just talking nonsense.”  A.J. said.  She sounded quite sure of herself.  “I mean, I’ve never even heard of this name thing.  And no Areas?  No Sectors?  What kind of place is this that doesn’t even have those?”

                Evan wanted to say quite a few things to her.  He even considered whether she was joking or playing a game or something.  But she seemed so sincere about the whole thing.  He needed to get to the bottom of what was going on with her.

                “All right, let’s forget about all that stuff.  Why don’t you tell me how you got here and why you’re in the condition you’re in.”  He said.  He wanted to ask where she was from, but he figured he’d just get some answer about those areas and the like.

                “That’s kind of tricky.  I had just gotten home from my education block, when a really big, bright light filled the room.  Once it stopped, I found myself here.  I didn’t bring any money, so I couldn’t afford anything, and nobody was willing to help me.  I’ve been living outside in the dirt for days now.  I can’t even contact my parents or anything.”  She said sadly.

                “I…see.”  Evan said.  Her story would explain why she was so disheveled, but that was about it.  “Well, you’re obviously not where you were before.  Look, let’s just get some food.  It’ll probably be easier to think then.”

                A.J. nodded and picked up the menu without bothering to open it.  She looked at the cover curiously before looking up at Evan.  She seemed quite surprised that the menu opened to several other pages, and even more surprised when she saw the items printed there.

                “What is all this stuff?”  She asked.

                “Hm?”

                “I’ve never heard of any of these things, and I’ve never seen so many options.  What happened to the standard meal selections?  I was looking forward to a nice, warm blue plate.”

                “Man, the more I hear you talk the more…”  Evan stopped dead.  It was just like a movie involving some kind of parallel world.  A mysterious light, a completely different place with strange customs.  Everything fit.  But it was impossible.  That kind of stuff simply didn’t exist.  A.J. looked up at him curiously at his half finished sentence.  “Never mind, we’ll talk about it later.  Just get a hamburger or something.  We can go to my place after that.  I think I have some ideas.”

                “Okay, that sounds good.  Um, what’s a hamburger exactly?”  

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Ooo, weird stuff.  Fun!  Maybe I'll continue this some time down the line, maybe I won't.  I guess it kind of depends on what words I get in the near future.  Or if I decide to continue it in another venue.  That's less likely to happen, but hey, you never know. 

Word: Bibliomania

bibliomania

[bib-lee-oh-mey-nee-uh, -meyn-yuh]

noun

1. excessive fondness for acquiring and possessing books.

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Molly knocked on the door.  She looked around the hallway while she waited for a response.  The hall was well lit and clean, and the door was attractively done up as well.  The building was nice and in a good location with lots of things around to do.  All in all, this would make a fine place to live.  The only downside was the rent for this area was a bit steep, but the fact that she would have a roommate would help lessen the blow in that department.  Still expensive, but much more doable. 

                Some noises from the other side of the door soon caught her attention.  Shuffling feet running around what seemed like several different obstacles.  Molly could only wonder what was on the other side of the door.  She just hoped her prospective roommate wasn’t a complete slob. 

                The door opened just enough for the occupant to poke her head out.  A frizzy mane of red hair and large rectangular glasses greeted Molly.  The girl looked almost nervous about something.

                “H-hello?”  She asked.

                “Uh, yeah, hi.  I’m Molly Green.  We talked on the phone about the room?”

                “Um…Oh!  Oh yes, of course.  I remember now.  Hang on a second.  Um, just, you know, try and ignore the mess.”

                The door was shut and the sound of it being unlatched could be heard.  When it opened, Molly was immediately able to see what her host had meant by mess.  Even from outside the doorway, Molly could see large stacks of books laying around the entryway and living area of the apartment.  There were dozens, or even hundreds of them just in that fairly small area.  She had to wonder how many would be in the rest of the place.

                “Come in.  Just, you know, watch your step.”  Said the owner of the collection.

                “Yeah, right.”  Molly said as she entered the apartment.  “So, I never actually caught your name.”

                “Huh?  Oh, right.  I guess I forgot to put that on the flier, didn’t I?  I’m Liz.”

                “Cool.  So, uh, is there a couch or chairs, or should I make one?”  Molly asked, pointing at the many, many books.

                “Uh, right.  Um, follow me, there’s some spots set up.”  Liz replied. 

                Liz led Molly through the increasingly maze-like piles of books.  Molly had been right.  As many books were visible from the entrance, there were far more in the main part of the apartment.  She swore Liz had as many books as her high school library had.  She wondered if Liz actually read all of them, or just liked having them around.

                “Here we go.”  Liz said.  She was standing in front of a ring of three reading chairs.  Two of them were already occupied by more books, and Liz had begun to remove the piles from one of them.  “You can sit here once I clean it off a bit.”

                “Cool?  I guess?”  Molly wasn’t sure what else to say. 

                Once she finally had the chance to sit, the chair was moderately comfortable.  Not the best she had ever sat in, but not the worst either. 

                “So, um, I guess we should get started, right?” Liz asked.

                “Mm hm.”  Molly agreed.

                “So, tell me about yourself.” 

                The two of them talked about their various lives.  Liz would ask a question about Molly, and she would answer.  It was mainly things about her job, dietary practices, hobbies, music preferences and the like.  Molly was a bit surprised, really.  It sounded like Liz had gotten a list of questions to ask off some website or something.  Of course, it was also just as likely that she had gotten them out of a book or some such.

                “Okay, I think that’s everything.”  Liz said.  “Do you have any questions or anything?”

                “Yeah, do you, uh, do you read all these?”  Molly asked, waving her hand around the room.

                “Oh yes, of course.  Well, I try to anyway.  There’s so only so many hours in a day you know.”

                “Right.  So, how many books do you have in here anyway?”

                “Hm, let me think.”  Liz’s face scrunched up in thought.  “What day is it?”

                “Wednesday.”

                “Okay, what month?”

                “May?”  Molly was more than a little surprised Liz didn’t even know the month.  Day of the week was acceptable, but the month?  She just hoped Liz wouldn’t end up asking about the year as well.

                “I think it’s around 3,280.”

                “Whoa.  Seriously?”

                “Roughly.  It’s a very rough estimate, so I could be wrong.”

                “Dear lord, girl.  How do you keep track of them all?”

                “I have a system.  It’s not perfect, but it works for me.”

                “Uh huh.  You do know there’s such a thing as an E-reader, right?  You can get most of these books digitally.  You could get rid of most of them that way, and just keep the ones that aren’t online.”  Molly said, hoping to be helpful.

                “But if I did that, I wouldn’t have the books.”  Liz said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

                “It would make it easier to get around this place you know.”

                “But…but…books…”  Liz almost looked sad when she said it.  Molly figured another line of reasoning might work.

                “You’d be able to get a lot more books digitally though.” 

                “But I like having the actual book.  It’s just not the same when you’re reading it off a screen.  I’ve tried you know. It just doesn’t feel right.”

                “If you say so.”  Molly said skeptically.

                “You sound like you don’t like to read.”  Liz said.

                “It’s not that.  I read more than most others our age.  I just prefer to do in a more compact format is all.”  Molly replied.  She wished she had actually brought her E-reader with her, just to show how loaded the thing was. 

                “Seems kind of weird to me, looking at a book on a screen.  I mean, books are supposed to be on paper.”

                “Well, to each her own, I guess.”

                “I suppose.”  Liz looked like she was thinking hard about something. “So, um, about you moving in here; you seem nice enough, except for the whole e-book thing.  Um, if you want, you can stay here for a week and see?”

                “Uh, yeah.”  Molly wasn’t sure about whether she wanted the apartment anymore.  Of course, it was a nice place, even though it was overloaded with literature.  “I actually have a few other places I was going to check out before I commit to anything.  That’s fine, right?”

                “O-oh, yes.  Of course.  You’re the only one to respond to the ad, so you probably have time.  Just…just you know, let me know?  Um, if you wanted a full tour before you decide, we can do that now also.”

                Molly thought about it.  Liz just looked so earnest and nervous about the whole thing.  Even though the girl had an almost unhealthy attachment to books, she didn’t seem so bad.  She nodded and agreed to the tour.  The two of them stood to begin.  Molly just hoped she would be able to see anything other than books.

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I should probably read more.  I'm told to be a writer, reading a lot is a must, but I have other things I like to do.  Meh.  Maybe someday I'll start reading more.  Maybe.