Ramblings Category

Posted On May 15, 2017By Jackie RodriguezIn Miscellaneous, Opinion, Ramblings

Not Your Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day is an especially tricky holiday for the best of us. It’s even worse when your relationship with your mother leaves something to be more than desired. And it’s the hardest thing to see‒ Facebook posts from friends that love their mothers, each one a special story about their mother and the things they’re doing to repay them. Stories about the way they never can. And scrolling through each one becomes a chore because you don’t have your own to add. This is the life of someone with aRead More
May 5: Labels This isn’t a terribly original idea, I ‘m afraid, but recent circumstances have caused me to realize how exceptionally convenient it would be if males came with labels. By labels, I specifically and exactly mean a small stamp on the back of their furry little necks, or measly muscled calves, that summarized, in one word or phrase, the most critical information regarding their personality and/or damaging characteristics (physical and non) to any glimpse of a relationship. For example, if one of these males was staggeringly, emotionally unavailable in that dating him was like dating a scarecrow,Read More
The following article contains SPOILERS of ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens.’ Proceed only if you’ve already seen the movie, and if you haven’t what the heck is stopping you? If its $1 billion take is any indication, most of us have already witnessed the force awaken (maybe three times if you, like me, were alone this holiday season). For the most part, Star Wars: The Force Awakens seems to have done a great job washing out the bad taste left in our mouths from the much maligned prequels. The reviews have beenRead More
 Surgeon General: Turn Signals Added To List of Cancer Culprits  The ever-increasing list of activities, behaviors, and objects linked to cancer, which includes, but is not limited to, cell phones, white bread, wheat bread, rye bread, pumpernickel bread, pumpernickel yeast; plastic bags, plastic toilet handles, plastic silverware dividers; cats, dogs, parakeets, cockatoos, tortoises, hamsters; carpet, hardwood, cement foundations, and sleeping on sheets with between zero and 25 million threads, has added a new member for the first time in over two hours: your turn signals. After spearheading the multi-trillion-dollar researchRead More

Posted On November 27, 2015By Jackie RodriguezIn Girlzone, Lifestyle, Miscellaneous, Ramblings

The Ten Commandments of Copacetic Living

College is well underway and it’s that time of the year, everybody! The time when you want to slowly smother your roommate with a pillow when they sleep because their little habits are starting to seriously annoy you, and you’re wondering why you didn’t just shell out the extra three thousand for the single suite. Interspersed with the grand moments and adventures where you find yourself really grateful that you didn’t opt to live alone, of course. But if you still find yourself sighing loudly instead of laughing loudly becauseRead More

Posted On October 15, 2015By Will GoldsteinIn Miscellaneous, Ramblings

Born on the 5th of July: Part 31

Record 31: Monterey, Sunday, July 5th, 2015. Day. Old John does his crossfit exercises on the wharf’s edge. He does them at sunup, not only for the sake of adding a, yes, hint of drama to the retelling of his daily crossfit undertaking, but, he will tell you, because he is infatuated with the sun, and its location relative to him mid-burpee. When asked why the sun is so arresting to him, he will tell you to think of a world with no natural light. A world artificially lit inRead More

Posted On August 11, 2015By Brian WrayIn Miscellaneous, Ramblings

Big City Poetry: D.C.’s The Brain

On part 2 of my “Big City Poetry” series, I examine the intellectual heart valve that is Washington D.C. I pretentious it up with a bit of lame-ambic pentameter (see what I did there?) based on my experience visiting the Capitol city. Big City Poetry: D.C.’s the Brain The August recess makes this public sector hotspot feel oddly ghostlike. This isn’t the real D.C., it’s not alive enough. For an authentic experience you must wait until the leaves change. It’s then you’ll know… When bureaucrats strut through awakened streets withRead More

Posted On August 4, 2015By Brian WrayIn Miscellaneous, Ramblings

Big City Poetry: The Air of NYC

Ah, it feels great to be back. After a many month hiatus from the world of Writtalin, I have returned to try my hands at something a bit different. Poetry. On a recent trip to the Apple of Bigness, I decided to wet my chops in this field, and am looking to turn ‘Big City Poetry’ into a series of chronicles from cities around the states. Although I’ve never done this before, I figured it never hurts to try a hand at something pretentious. Enjoy. The Air of NYC JulyRead More

Posted On July 10, 2015By Will GoldsteinIn Miscellaneous, Ramblings

Born on the 5th of July: Part 30

Record 30: Temecula, Friday, July 5th, 2013. Day. On the weekends we ride our Schwinn mountain bikes through the park and smile. Mother is the leader of the Schwinn bicycle trips and she signals where to turn left and where to turn right. She does this because she is the leader, and leaders of Schwinn bicycle trips know where we turn. We all smile. And follow. We sip from our individually customized plastic water bottles during our rest period at the alcove, shaded by California sycamore trees. Father explains toRead More

Posted On July 9, 2015By Jackie RodriguezIn Lifestyle, Miscellaneous, Ramblings

How to have the Ultimate Beach Trip

Summers are the one season that fools everyone. People go around talking about the weather and how nice it will be, and how much socializing they’re going to do with their friends, and all that ever happens is those same people who hyped the sun are now bemoaning its presence and sheltering themselves indoors with Netflix. There is no cure to possibility of heatstroke, and the desire to socialize is often trumped by the overwhelming urge to sleep in an air conditioned bedroom with every shade drawn. The only thingRead More

Posted On June 22, 2015By Jackie RodriguezIn Lifestyle, Miscellaneous, Ramblings

An Open Letter to High School

Dear High School,   It’s me. Four years later, here I am. Well, maybe not four years exactly. Four years and some days, just under four years, hell, maybe close to five years– you know as well as I do that I’m really bad at math. Bad at math, bad at science, and yet you never cared. Every August your doors opened, and your halls welcomed me like the cold, distant home I never had.   Oh, high school. Where do I begin this letter? You were there during myRead More

Posted On May 19, 2015By Will GoldsteinIn Miscellaneous, Ramblings

Born on the 5th of July: Part 29

Record 29: San Francisco, Saturday, July 5th, 2014. Day. Here ye here ye all you radders ‘n rollers! Dat Bar: BAR is straight opening its doors TONIGHT for an unofficially and totally incomparably lit 4th of July after-soiree! That’s right, it’s that summer season of sippin’, so trip on in for a coupla brews and kickback with Dat Bar: BAR’s in house groove dude, DJ dubblaLICKAbron! He’ll be lettin that bass drop all nite dear brahs and brahdesses, and word on the street is DJCM’s crushin’ the illest brat-pop dubwaverRead More

Posted On May 7, 2015By Will GoldsteinIn Miscellaneous, Ramblings

Born on the 5th of July: Part 28

Record 28: Sacramento, Friday, July 5th, 2013. Night. The locker room is a church at halftime. Winning or losing, it doesn’t matter. It’s where we come together for reassurance. For motivation. Hope. At least, this is what I’m told I should believe. There’s the smell of sweat. Old Spice. Axe body spray nonsense. Cedar from the open window. But this is all familiar. Tonight, there’s a sting in the air. Something sour in the space between our heads and the cement ceiling. My players, the kids, they’re sucking air inRead More

Posted On May 7, 2015By Jackie RodriguezIn Miscellaneous, Ramblings

Surviving AP Exam Week: A Guide

While half of the high school is off shopping, the other half is busy cramming, because AP tests are in May. The beginning of May, to be exact. All of their preparing and studying comes down to this final day, the test day– where how you do is the determining factor of if you’ll be taking that class in college or not. It’s a time of stress, kids cramming and quizzing each other in the hallways, teachers telling other students to shut up because they’re trying to help their kidsRead More

Posted On April 27, 2015By Jackie RodriguezIn Lifestyle, Miscellaneous, Ramblings

The Six People You Meet in High School

1. The Dysfunctional Teenager This person is the person who gets stoned before every big school event just to see how different it is compared to the times they went sober. Their mother is done raising them, and says things like, “I’m done! There’s nothing left for me to teach you!” They’re probably into really artsy, expressive things, and are insanely talented. They dabble in any and all forms of art, and somehow still make it thoughtful and art show worthy. They know all the good music, the good concerts, theRead More