Miscellaneous Tag

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

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

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

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

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

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

Record 27: Six Flags Magic Mountain, Saturday, July 5th, 2014. Day. Today 4:34 PM haha gurl i just puked onn some kids bugs bunny stuffed animal thing lol…relax tho. i bought her a new one 😛 n e way imma hit up superman soon, at like sundown cause we wanna see th fireworks (aiden said their still lighting frieworks off tonight even though the 4th was yesterday) so if u dont wanna go thats cool, but just tell me whats up. u didn’t show up for tatsu an i knowRead More

Others notice it, or recognize the absence of it.  That silent “R” that Bostonians leave out when speaking.  When you hear it, or don’t, that’s when you know you’ve stepped into the greater Boston area.   You’re now in “Boston Strong” territory. I have no problem screaming at the top of my lungs that I was born and raised in California.  We’re all from somewhere, and yes, I’m extremely proud to be a California Girl, but there’s something about saying I live in Boston that causes a smile that I didn’tRead More

Work sucks. I think I’ve mentioned this at least six times before, but it just really sucks. As part of my intense dislike for the job, I’ve decided to dish the beans and spill the dirt on the secrets I’ve learned– and used myself– since starting my minimum wage job. 1. Sometimes when we say the coffee’s fresh, and we say, “There’s a fresh pot in the back” it just means we’re going to microwave the coffee. It’s probably one of the most common lies we tell. There are peopleRead More

Family. Six letters, three syllables. We all have it in some way, shape, or form. Some people say it’s the people who are there from birth until death do you part, amen, forever. Some people say it’s the people who support you and love you. Both sets of people are right, of course, but the fact is that your family isn’t just what they have in mind– that the group of people who buy birthday cakes and hang your picture on their wall don’t have to be the people whoRead More

If you’re like me– sixteen and thrust into a grown up world of taxes and employment before you even graduate– then you’re probably internally dying over taxes, employment, and what in God’s name the powerhouse of the cell is…because you have a biology test next week and you have no idea. If you’re not like me, congratulations, because you still have a soul hidden from the rudest people in mankind and the desperate urge to sleep. Juggling this all would’ve been easier with a handy guide to navigating the intricaciesRead More

Record 26: Bakersfield, Friday, July 5th, 2013. Day. On Fridays this summer we go to the Aquatic Center where I do activities in the pool. Today is a Friday and so today I am having my swimming lesson while my mom and Francis eat hot dogs and drink diet soda at the barbecues. They are wearing their swimsuits but they don’t get in the pool very often, and it makes me wonder why I have to be the family swimmer. Right now I’m on my stomach with my arms stretchedRead More

Okay, I will never be the first person to say that getting a job when you’re allowed to is a bad thing, but I’ll also never be the person to say that getting a job is full of sunshine and rainbows and that it restores your faith in humanity, because it doesn’t– that’s a lie perpetuated by movies and TV and the occasional blogger. Nevertheless, I still have a job, for, y’know, college. To celebrate almost a full year in this particular job– whose nickname rhymes with Rickey Lee’s– I’veRead More

The thing about Tacos de Huicho, the most kickass taco place in town and probably the world, is that though they have kickass tacos they also have a not so kickass restroom setup. It’s not as bad as the one in my favorite Starbucks. The one that has the automatic light that seems to always turn off right in the middle of doing your thing. The one that seems to give up on you the way your high school English teacher did during your junior year. But it does onlyRead More

As a 24-year-old, standing in front of my classroom full of high school sophomores is not something I find too difficult. I haven’t been far removed enough from high school to be completely out of touch. I still keep up with the latest pop music, Internet sensations, and relevant slang. It helps that my younger siblings who are still in high school help me stay “with it.” Of course, it is only natural to compare this new generation of teens with my own, but I think it leads to someRead More