The early days of Autumn crept into the small city of Yonkers. The wind blew the browning leaves off the Maple trees and onto Sarah Hartman's black suede boots. She closed her eyes as she took in a deep breath of the fresh Autumn air. She sat on a park bench alone. Sarah glanced at the trees and foliage all around her, mocking her. The feeling of isolation slowly began to fill her body. Her lip began to tremble. She didn't know if it was the weather or her emotions, but all of a sudden her lip began to tremble even more. Sarah's eyes watered as her hands frantically searched her purse for a piece of tissue. She began to dabble the wrinkled tissue under her eyelashes, being careful to not smudge her mascara. With her hand lazily placed to her side, Sarah looked at the empty space in front of her and let out an exasperated and hopeless sigh.
Sarah dried up her tears and shoved her raggedy tissue back in her flat brown leather purse. Her lip still slightly quivering, Sarah took in another breath. Shoving her hand into her jean pocket, Sarah pulled out all the money she had-- one dollar and twenty seven cents. Her eyes began to tear up again. She began to wonder how she could be so angry and so spiteful enough to storm out of her house with all of her belongings but still forget to take her twenty dollar bill that was rightfully hers from her fathers wallet. After all, he wouldn't notice. He was a alcoholic deadbeat that was always in a drunken stupor.
Sarah never knew why she put up with him for so long. Upon comparison, one could see her as one of the women who lived with their abusive husbands and never chose to leave them. She hated herself even more for that fact.
Her mother's words seemed to recycle in her head at that particular moment as she sat on the bench alone.
"Do not leave your family behind, no matter how burdensome they get."
Her mother's words would have had much more of an impact if she hadn't abandoned her own family and run off with the mail man. Sarah always thought her mother was a hypocrite.
She leaned forward from the bench. She saw a car coming and began to gather her belongings. The car drove closer, but she sat back down with feelings of disappointment and anxiety all at the same time. Twenty minutes passed until the rusted midnight black Mustang pulled up in front of her. The man driving the vehicle appeared to have traveled through a time machine from the early 70's. His brown leather jacket seemed to be two sizes too small for him and had creases in places where you didn't think creases could form. His polyester pants were overly flared for his own good and almost completely covered his dirty black boots.
He went by the name of Skiz Goodman. A good form-fitting name for the kind of man he was Sarah always thought. He stood lazily near the door of his car and looked at Sarah.
"You Sarah?" he asked
"Yeah," Sarah said lightly
"Hop in, Buster's waiting for you"
Sarah gathered her bags, briefly looked back at the small town behind her and entered the car.
The ride to the apartment was only twenty minutes away. Sarah wondered why it took Skiz so long to pick her up. The drive was silent with the occasional cough from Skiz. Sarah made an effort to start a conversation with him but all he did was stare aimlessly at the road ahead of him.
"So...how long have you known Buster?" Sarah asked nervously, her fingers fidgeting.
Skiz coughed.
"Well I met him when I was walking back from work one day. He said --"
"Lookie here girl, I don't mean to be rude or nothin' but I'm just here for business. I pick people up and drop 'em off. I don't do the chit chat"
Sarah became quiet.
Skiz pulled up into the gate of an apartment complex. Sarah rolled down her window as they passed a sign reading "Sunnyhills Apartment Complex" with a medium sized sun on top of the bright orange letters. Sarah was surprised--she never knew Buster could ever live in a place like this. A place that sounded like it was named after a retirement home.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Fantastical Fatalities of Love
It was precisely 8 am on that Tuesday morning when Karen Hart shoved the last piece of whole wheat toast in her mouth, gulped the last of her remaining coffee and headed out her door. The cold air seeped through the cracks of the dilapidated front door and brushed against her face, sending a chill down her spine. The radio was on in the kitchen informing their listeners of the snow storm that hit their small town just two days ago. As Karen began to grasp the cold brass door nob, she heard someone calling her. Unfortunately, it was her mother, begging her to bring another jacket.
"Karen, honey, you have this jacket I bought you from last year!...And what's this? It still has its price tags on it?! KAREN EMILIA HART! You are going to wear it this instance!" Karen's mom screamed, her voice trailing down the stair case from Karen's room.
"MOOOOMMM! Would you get out of my closet! You don't belong there! I have a right to privacy too ya know!", Karen screamed back in defense at her mom.
Karen's mom was always nosy. Paranoid, Karen's mom would barge into her room while she was at school and look for empty condom wrappers under her bed or a Kama Sutra book hidden behind her dusty bookshelf. At the end of her hourly search and discovering nothing dramatic, she would feel accomplished, as if she had raised the next Mother Teresa.
Karen let go of the door handle and frantically ran upstairs, fearing her mother would find some incriminating evidence.
"Mom, would you stop, I'm already wearing a a beanie, leather gloves and three extra thick sweaters. If I was to get sick, don't you think it'd happen already?" Karen asked placing her hand on her hip.
"Oh I forget how grown up you are sweetie, I guess if you get cold, you have Marcus to warm you up," her mother said smirking.
"MOTHER for the last time, me and Marcus are just friends. Nothing more..." she said as she was walking out the door, "even if I did like him, I would have totally done him by now anyways," she added under her breath.
"What was that honeykins?"
"Nothing mommy dearest," Karen responded mockingly and shut the door.
Karen stepped outside and took in a deep breath of the cold crisp winter air. She began walking towards her neighbors house, excited to tell Marcus of her good news.
She had more time to dwell on her good news seeing how the two feet of snow kept her from walking the normal pace she usually had. Karen smiled at the thought that kept recycling in her mind, but her smiling caused her lips to crack.
"FUCK," she thought to herself. She pulled out chapstick from her pocket as she reached Marcus's doorstep. She banged hard on the door.
"You're late," Marcus said with fake disappointment in his voice.
"You'd be late too if you walked in that deep ass snow..."
Marcus smiled at her as she pushed her way through his arm that was holding the door open. Karen practically lived in Marcus's house. They had known each other since they were babies. They used to take baths together and share the same bath toys. They also went to the same school ever since kindergarten and used to hold hands and sing songs together. But that was when they were kids. Now that they were reaching the age of 18, they didn't share anything anymore and they didn't dare to hold each others hands.
"Soooo guess what!" Karen exclaimed as she tried to hold back her excitement.
"You're a man"
"I have a date!" Karen screamed, knowingly ignoring Marcus's previous statement
"Who's the unlucky guy?"
"You know what, don't get mad at me just because you haven't gotten laid in the past three months...and just so you know, the lucky guy is Adam Ferguson," Karen remarked as if she had just verbally bitch-slapped Marcus.
"Karen, honey, you have this jacket I bought you from last year!...And what's this? It still has its price tags on it?! KAREN EMILIA HART! You are going to wear it this instance!" Karen's mom screamed, her voice trailing down the stair case from Karen's room.
"MOOOOMMM! Would you get out of my closet! You don't belong there! I have a right to privacy too ya know!", Karen screamed back in defense at her mom.
Karen's mom was always nosy. Paranoid, Karen's mom would barge into her room while she was at school and look for empty condom wrappers under her bed or a Kama Sutra book hidden behind her dusty bookshelf. At the end of her hourly search and discovering nothing dramatic, she would feel accomplished, as if she had raised the next Mother Teresa.
Karen let go of the door handle and frantically ran upstairs, fearing her mother would find some incriminating evidence.
"Mom, would you stop, I'm already wearing a a beanie, leather gloves and three extra thick sweaters. If I was to get sick, don't you think it'd happen already?" Karen asked placing her hand on her hip.
"Oh I forget how grown up you are sweetie, I guess if you get cold, you have Marcus to warm you up," her mother said smirking.
"MOTHER for the last time, me and Marcus are just friends. Nothing more..." she said as she was walking out the door, "even if I did like him, I would have totally done him by now anyways," she added under her breath.
"What was that honeykins?"
"Nothing mommy dearest," Karen responded mockingly and shut the door.
Karen stepped outside and took in a deep breath of the cold crisp winter air. She began walking towards her neighbors house, excited to tell Marcus of her good news.
She had more time to dwell on her good news seeing how the two feet of snow kept her from walking the normal pace she usually had. Karen smiled at the thought that kept recycling in her mind, but her smiling caused her lips to crack.
"FUCK," she thought to herself. She pulled out chapstick from her pocket as she reached Marcus's doorstep. She banged hard on the door.
"You're late," Marcus said with fake disappointment in his voice.
"You'd be late too if you walked in that deep ass snow..."
Marcus smiled at her as she pushed her way through his arm that was holding the door open. Karen practically lived in Marcus's house. They had known each other since they were babies. They used to take baths together and share the same bath toys. They also went to the same school ever since kindergarten and used to hold hands and sing songs together. But that was when they were kids. Now that they were reaching the age of 18, they didn't share anything anymore and they didn't dare to hold each others hands.
"Soooo guess what!" Karen exclaimed as she tried to hold back her excitement.
"You're a man"
"I have a date!" Karen screamed, knowingly ignoring Marcus's previous statement
"Who's the unlucky guy?"
"You know what, don't get mad at me just because you haven't gotten laid in the past three months...and just so you know, the lucky guy is Adam Ferguson," Karen remarked as if she had just verbally bitch-slapped Marcus.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Sugar Mama
Steven was thirty minutes into his sleep when he first heard the noise outside his window. When Steven heard the thump, he automatically propped up from his bed and looked around. He was always afraid of the dark. His hands ran over the bedsheets in the darkness searching for Mr. Huggies, his favorite teddy bear. Once he felt the soft cotton feeling of Mr. Huggies arm, Steven pulled the bear close to his chest and squeezed it hard, as if squeezing the bear would get rid of his fear. He suddenly heard another noise, not that of an object hitting the wall like the previous noise, but instead he heard a voice.
"Psst...open up!" said the voice.
"Wh-wh-who's there?" Steven nervously asked.
"Shut up and just open the window! You're window was always open before, and now you choose to close it?! Come on I've got something for ya!"
"But I don't know you! And I don't know where you are! I can't even see you!"
The voice sighed
"Jeeze Louise...do you see the tiny pink light outside your window?"
"yeah..."
"That's me! Open up!"
Steven sat in shock. He wondered if that was the boogeyman that his best friend Kyle told him about. But he remembered that Kyle said the boogeyman was a man and that he was big. But this thing was tiny and from the sound of the voice it sounded like a girl.
Steven wondered if she was the boogeyman's assistant and if she could still hurt him and take him away to boogeyman land. But the longer Steven looked at the size of the thing outside his window, he figured it couldn't do much damage to him.
Steven edged his way out of bed and walked towards the window. He lifted the lower portion of the window and stuck his head out.
"Took ya long enough" it said.
"Are you the boogeyman? Because if you are, then Kyle really sucks at explaining things," Steven said.
"Your friend Kyle sucks at a lot of things. That's why he'll never amount to anything. Anywho, I'm here to pick something up ..." it said shaking a surprisingly large bag in front of Steven's face.
Steven looked at the small floating thing in front of him. He noticed that it was a tiny girl in pink tights and that she was holding a wand in the shape of a weird rock. She also had tiny wings on her shoulder blades. He also noticed that she was wearing too much makeup on her face.
"If you're here for the marbles I won, then you're too late, my mom took them away"
"Marbles? Who said anything about marbles? Marbles are useless, I want your teeth," the tiny girl said holding her hand out as if Steven were just going to hand them to her.
Steven clasped his hands around his mouth.
"Ugh, no, I'm not going to pull them out of your mouth," the small girl said.
This kid might be just as stupid as that kid Kyle next door.
Steven's shoulders loosened up and his hands dropped from his mouth.
"Oh," he said letting out a sigh of relief.
Bakersfield, California was a strange land. Eight year old child named Steven Hoffman knew this but, since he was a child he had that ignorance of youth so he assumed thats how all cities were. Steven was your typical eight year old--he played in the mud with his male stereotyped toys, ate like an animal at the dinner table, and ate candy every chance he got-- despite his mothers wishes. Steven believed that she was bossy, even though he didn't exactly know what the word meant. He just heard his father call her that once when they had one of their fights. From then on Steven had the idea instilled in his mind that his mother was "bossy".
It was a cool autumn morning and Steven was laying across his living room carpet watching his Saturday morning cartoons and eating candy. Steven watched in amazement as his favorite super hero Superman flew across the television screen to save another helpless citizen. But just as Steven began to move up from his sloth-like position in excitement, Superman came encounter with kryptonite. Steven horrifically looked down at the pile of candy next to him. It was at that moment that Steven came to the realization that candy was his kryptonite.
"oh man," Steven said panic-stricken but still chewing the candy in his mouth.
"STEVEN!" his mother screamed at him while walking into the living room. This made Steven briefly look away from the television. When he realized it was just his mother, he returned his gaze to the television.
"Where on earth did you get all of these sugar sticks!"
"Dad," Steven responded carelessly with his eyes locked on to the television screen
His mother's face filled with rage. She couldn't believe that his own father contradicted her rules. She marched to the telephone in the kitchen. She accidentally knocked over the mail on the coffee table, but she was too enraged to notice or even care.
"Mr. Hoffman's office, this is Alicia, how may I assist you today?"
"I'd like to speak to Johnathan...NOW"
"Please Mrs. Hoffman, you don't have to yell..." Johnathan's secretary responded
"Don't give me etiquette tips you whore. If anything I should be the one giving you etiquette tips...stealing people's husbands and taking them away from their children."
"I'm transferring you to Johnathan now," his secretary said nervously.
"Good, at least I know you can do one productive thing..."
There was a click and soft classical music came on.
That bastard has the nerve to disobey the rules I set in my home. He has no right, NO RIGHT to do that. What is it with him? Does he want Steven to grow up to be a typical American obese man just like his father? Good God, I can't even imagine it.
"Psst...open up!" said the voice.
"Wh-wh-who's there?" Steven nervously asked.
"Shut up and just open the window! You're window was always open before, and now you choose to close it?! Come on I've got something for ya!"
"But I don't know you! And I don't know where you are! I can't even see you!"
The voice sighed
"Jeeze Louise...do you see the tiny pink light outside your window?"
"yeah..."
"That's me! Open up!"
Steven sat in shock. He wondered if that was the boogeyman that his best friend Kyle told him about. But he remembered that Kyle said the boogeyman was a man and that he was big. But this thing was tiny and from the sound of the voice it sounded like a girl.
Steven wondered if she was the boogeyman's assistant and if she could still hurt him and take him away to boogeyman land. But the longer Steven looked at the size of the thing outside his window, he figured it couldn't do much damage to him.
Steven edged his way out of bed and walked towards the window. He lifted the lower portion of the window and stuck his head out.
"Took ya long enough" it said.
"Are you the boogeyman? Because if you are, then Kyle really sucks at explaining things," Steven said.
"Your friend Kyle sucks at a lot of things. That's why he'll never amount to anything. Anywho, I'm here to pick something up ..." it said shaking a surprisingly large bag in front of Steven's face.
Steven looked at the small floating thing in front of him. He noticed that it was a tiny girl in pink tights and that she was holding a wand in the shape of a weird rock. She also had tiny wings on her shoulder blades. He also noticed that she was wearing too much makeup on her face.
"If you're here for the marbles I won, then you're too late, my mom took them away"
"Marbles? Who said anything about marbles? Marbles are useless, I want your teeth," the tiny girl said holding her hand out as if Steven were just going to hand them to her.
Steven clasped his hands around his mouth.
"Ugh, no, I'm not going to pull them out of your mouth," the small girl said.
This kid might be just as stupid as that kid Kyle next door.
Steven's shoulders loosened up and his hands dropped from his mouth.
"Oh," he said letting out a sigh of relief.
Bakersfield, California was a strange land. Eight year old child named Steven Hoffman knew this but, since he was a child he had that ignorance of youth so he assumed thats how all cities were. Steven was your typical eight year old--he played in the mud with his male stereotyped toys, ate like an animal at the dinner table, and ate candy every chance he got-- despite his mothers wishes. Steven believed that she was bossy, even though he didn't exactly know what the word meant. He just heard his father call her that once when they had one of their fights. From then on Steven had the idea instilled in his mind that his mother was "bossy".
It was a cool autumn morning and Steven was laying across his living room carpet watching his Saturday morning cartoons and eating candy. Steven watched in amazement as his favorite super hero Superman flew across the television screen to save another helpless citizen. But just as Steven began to move up from his sloth-like position in excitement, Superman came encounter with kryptonite. Steven horrifically looked down at the pile of candy next to him. It was at that moment that Steven came to the realization that candy was his kryptonite.
"oh man," Steven said panic-stricken but still chewing the candy in his mouth.
"STEVEN!" his mother screamed at him while walking into the living room. This made Steven briefly look away from the television. When he realized it was just his mother, he returned his gaze to the television.
"Where on earth did you get all of these sugar sticks!"
"Dad," Steven responded carelessly with his eyes locked on to the television screen
His mother's face filled with rage. She couldn't believe that his own father contradicted her rules. She marched to the telephone in the kitchen. She accidentally knocked over the mail on the coffee table, but she was too enraged to notice or even care.
"Mr. Hoffman's office, this is Alicia, how may I assist you today?"
"I'd like to speak to Johnathan...NOW"
"Please Mrs. Hoffman, you don't have to yell..." Johnathan's secretary responded
"Don't give me etiquette tips you whore. If anything I should be the one giving you etiquette tips...stealing people's husbands and taking them away from their children."
"I'm transferring you to Johnathan now," his secretary said nervously.
"Good, at least I know you can do one productive thing..."
There was a click and soft classical music came on.
That bastard has the nerve to disobey the rules I set in my home. He has no right, NO RIGHT to do that. What is it with him? Does he want Steven to grow up to be a typical American obese man just like his father? Good God, I can't even imagine it.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
the expense of happiness
i just had an epiphany today...while i was in the bathroom (where most of my epiphany's occur)that had to do with the topic of happiness.
How many of us are actually truly happy with our lives? I'm not talking about one portion of our lives like our work or school place, but our entire life in general. Sure we have temporary moments of contentment but the operative word in this sentence is 'temporary'. After that, everything just fades away. We get A's on our tests and we become happy. But we strive for something more and if we fail we automatically think that there is something wrong with us. This made me lead on to wonder, is it society or our own personal goals that make us feel this way? And of course there's the idea of becoming rich or having a stable job, but money can only go so far. I'm starting to question whether or not being happy with ones self for a good amount of time is actually achievable. I've been on this earth for approximately 19 years and I have never once met one person that was happy with who they were as a person or with what they were doing in life.
We all dislike something about ourselves. Be it physical features or the internal problems we have. By the end of the day, we just look at ourselves in the mirror and feel a tinge of disappointment. And what's worse is that the slight disappointment you feel you have with yourself, suddenly is the only thing that is on your mind. It blocks out any feelings of happiness you had with yourself previously, and you soon become enveloped in your disappointment, thus feeding your disappointment with attention just like a mother feeds her baby. But we can't help it. It's human nature that makes us this way.
I always wondered if people weren't constantly judged by society, would it make any difference on how easy it would be to achieve personal happiness. To not let any other outside source cloud your judgment on yourself. Which brings me back to my previous point -- is it society that gets in our way? I personally have tried my best to not let anyone's judgment affect how i live my life. And honestly, i feel lost without it. Maybe I've been told where to go in life one too many times to the point where if left alone, i can't even figure out what i want myself. And to tell you the truth, I can't see myself being happy either way. I can't see myself getting married and having a family. I just see my future self being way too passionate about my work and living in a one bedroom apartment in a busy city somewhere. But that still leaves me with a blank on whether or not I'd end up being happy.
How many of us are actually truly happy with our lives? I'm not talking about one portion of our lives like our work or school place, but our entire life in general. Sure we have temporary moments of contentment but the operative word in this sentence is 'temporary'. After that, everything just fades away. We get A's on our tests and we become happy. But we strive for something more and if we fail we automatically think that there is something wrong with us. This made me lead on to wonder, is it society or our own personal goals that make us feel this way? And of course there's the idea of becoming rich or having a stable job, but money can only go so far. I'm starting to question whether or not being happy with ones self for a good amount of time is actually achievable. I've been on this earth for approximately 19 years and I have never once met one person that was happy with who they were as a person or with what they were doing in life.
We all dislike something about ourselves. Be it physical features or the internal problems we have. By the end of the day, we just look at ourselves in the mirror and feel a tinge of disappointment. And what's worse is that the slight disappointment you feel you have with yourself, suddenly is the only thing that is on your mind. It blocks out any feelings of happiness you had with yourself previously, and you soon become enveloped in your disappointment, thus feeding your disappointment with attention just like a mother feeds her baby. But we can't help it. It's human nature that makes us this way.
I always wondered if people weren't constantly judged by society, would it make any difference on how easy it would be to achieve personal happiness. To not let any other outside source cloud your judgment on yourself. Which brings me back to my previous point -- is it society that gets in our way? I personally have tried my best to not let anyone's judgment affect how i live my life. And honestly, i feel lost without it. Maybe I've been told where to go in life one too many times to the point where if left alone, i can't even figure out what i want myself. And to tell you the truth, I can't see myself being happy either way. I can't see myself getting married and having a family. I just see my future self being way too passionate about my work and living in a one bedroom apartment in a busy city somewhere. But that still leaves me with a blank on whether or not I'd end up being happy.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Cheap Date
Steven smiled in amazement at the girl standing across from him.
"That was awesome," he said, "now how much do I owe ya?"
Stacy wiped the sweat off her forehead. It was a tough job.
"Forget about it, you don't owe me anything."
Steven gave her a serious look.
"Are you serious?"
"Do I look like I'm joking?" she said, smiling at him.
"but....why?"
"because it's rare that I get a customer as cute and sweet as you. all of my other previous customers were soul-less assholes, but I know you, and I think you're a one of a kind gem."
Stacy winked at him and reached for a hand towel to clean her hands up.
"at least let me tip you, I mean you did one hell of a job for me, I've been needin' that for a while now," Steven insisted.
"If ya wanna tip me hunny, then take me out to dinner...I'm starvin' after doin all that work...plus I hardly get to leave this place," she said with a sigh.
"You hardly get to leave? I thought you had would have a free schedule, you know, considering where you work..." he said looking around the dilapidated room, "who's your boss?"
"My daddy"
"Phew, if your dad is your boss, I would assume you get to go out as much as you'd like" Steven said.
"That's what you think. But we need the money...So you gonna take me out for that dinner or what? I'm not askin' for anything extravagant, just somethin' from the near by diner. Are we goin or not?" she asked with fake demand.
"Are you sure your dad won't mind? I don't want you to get in trouble..."
"Nah, he's busy with his own work right now. Come on before it gets too dark out," she said, reaching for his hand.
Steven was hesitant to hold her hand, seeing how he barely met her hours earlier. But he couldn't resist that beautiful smile. He lifted his arm and grabbed her hand. They walked towards the diner that was one mile away. Steven noticed that Stacy's hands were slippery.
"Oh, it must have been from all that lube she used," he thought to himself,"that girl's sure got the skills for fixin' cars. Her daddy sure did teach her well."
As the sun lowered down the horizon, Stacy's father turned on the lights on his store sign that read, "Albert & Stacy Mechanics: We're Here to Service Your Car 24 Hours, Rain or Shine"
"That was awesome," he said, "now how much do I owe ya?"
Stacy wiped the sweat off her forehead. It was a tough job.
"Forget about it, you don't owe me anything."
Steven gave her a serious look.
"Are you serious?"
"Do I look like I'm joking?" she said, smiling at him.
"but....why?"
"because it's rare that I get a customer as cute and sweet as you. all of my other previous customers were soul-less assholes, but I know you, and I think you're a one of a kind gem."
Stacy winked at him and reached for a hand towel to clean her hands up.
"at least let me tip you, I mean you did one hell of a job for me, I've been needin' that for a while now," Steven insisted.
"If ya wanna tip me hunny, then take me out to dinner...I'm starvin' after doin all that work...plus I hardly get to leave this place," she said with a sigh.
"You hardly get to leave? I thought you had would have a free schedule, you know, considering where you work..." he said looking around the dilapidated room, "who's your boss?"
"My daddy"
"Phew, if your dad is your boss, I would assume you get to go out as much as you'd like" Steven said.
"That's what you think. But we need the money...So you gonna take me out for that dinner or what? I'm not askin' for anything extravagant, just somethin' from the near by diner. Are we goin or not?" she asked with fake demand.
"Are you sure your dad won't mind? I don't want you to get in trouble..."
"Nah, he's busy with his own work right now. Come on before it gets too dark out," she said, reaching for his hand.
Steven was hesitant to hold her hand, seeing how he barely met her hours earlier. But he couldn't resist that beautiful smile. He lifted his arm and grabbed her hand. They walked towards the diner that was one mile away. Steven noticed that Stacy's hands were slippery.
"Oh, it must have been from all that lube she used," he thought to himself,"that girl's sure got the skills for fixin' cars. Her daddy sure did teach her well."
As the sun lowered down the horizon, Stacy's father turned on the lights on his store sign that read, "Albert & Stacy Mechanics: We're Here to Service Your Car 24 Hours, Rain or Shine"
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Rotten Apples
I remember every single detail of the day that I met Adam. It was towards the end of summer when I was starting my third year of college. The sun pierced through my window panes and onto my then closed eyelids. The pain on my eyes from the sunlight was a sign that I had to get up to start my day. But, to tell you the truth, my day started out crappy. I was awake for a good 2 minutes before my alarm went off and it was at that moment that I just knew I wasn't in the mood to get up. But being "Susie College", I pulled my lazy ass out of bed and rubbed off the drool that was encrusted on my chin. I drool a lot. Even when I'm fully awake and working through my day. In addition to it being pretty gross, it ruins my daily schedule as well as my social life...well that's what I like to believe anyway. Once I finished de-drooling my mouth, I got dressed and drove the 1 hour and 30 minute commute it takes to get to Verona.
I pulled up into the cold dull walls of our parking structure, which by the way was where I met Adam. I was walking down the rows of cars when I tripped on my own shoe--in addition to having large salivary glands, I'm also probably the clumsiest person on the face of this earth. Then to my luck, Adam was just getting out of his car.
"Oh my God! Are you okay?" Adam asked with a sense of shock in his voice.
"Yeah, yeah, I guess I should watch out next time...." I said looking around as if some stranger came, tripped me and ran away.
"What'd you tripped on?" he asked looking around concerned.
"Uhmm...my....shoe," I responded embarrassingly.
Adam's face lit up.
"Well, yeah I guess you should watch out for your shoes next time then, I hear they could be tricky sons of a bitches," he said still smiling.
Thoroughly embarrassed with myself I took a quick glance at him and smiled. I wanted to leave badly. Any other girl would stay and talk with him and most likely flirt back. Sadly flirting or even talking to boys is just not my forte. I pushed myself up off the cold cement, grabbed my books and was getting ready to walk away.
"Hey, why are you in such a rush?" he asked with a raised voice as I was walking away.
"I, uh, have to get to class! I'm gonna to be really late!"
My head was turned in his direction but my eyes were pointed straight ahead. "I'm sorry, but thanks a lot for helping me! Have a nice life!" I said as I walked out the door.
'Have a nice life?!' What the fuck was that Eva? You couldn't even say 'have a nice day'? Good Lord, I probably came off as a huge douche bag. God, ok get over it, Verona University is a ridiculously large campus. I'm probably never going to see him again. If I do, I am so taking "have a nice life" out of my vocabulary. Ok, I'm over it.
I didn't actually have to leave to class. I wasn't even close to being late. I was about 2 hours early. I guess I was just scared off by the rush of talking to a man as nice and beautiful as Adam. I could tell God took time making him. And I know I said I was 'over it', but truth is, I was still obsessing about it while I was walking to the computer lab. I finally opened up my Biochem book to get my mind off of the situation. Surprisingly, I was the only one in the computer lab. I say 'surprisingly' because there's usually some nerd in the corner playing anime video games.
I lounged on one of the couches in the lab when, twenty minutes into my reading, I noticed someone else was coming in. The thin cellophane on the double doors made it hard to distinguish who was about to open it. I saw a head covered in dark brown hair peak through the doors and then the head turned and looked my way.
Holy shit
It was Adam. Trying to be 'slick', I pulled the book up to try and cover my face.
It didn't work.
"HEY!" he said with his luscious voice.
I was still covering my face.
"I know it's you, you really suck at hiding. You look like you're suffocating yourself in your book," he said letting off a slight laugh.
"OH HI! I didn't see you. I mean, hear you. No, I meant see you."
You are such an idiot, Eva
My butt was suddenly lifted by the cushion due to the fact that Adam had sat next to me. We were sitting on a love seat -- ah, the irony.
"I thought you had to go to class? Did you lie to me?" he asked pretending to look hurt.
"A little bit..." I responded, still staring at my book the whole time.
"I hope you know lying's bad for your health"
I let out a snort and smiled. My eyes finally tore away from the book and looked into his eyes.
"Finally you look at me, I was starting to think I had a booger in my nose or something..." he said.
"I'm Adam by the way.” He held out his hand.
"Eva"
"Huh...'Adam and Eva', that's quiet a coincidence isn't it?" he said.
"I have to pee," I blurted out, totally killing the moment.
Adam laughed and said he had to get to class. He asked for my number, which caught me off guard. The only time I ever gave my number to a guy was when we did group projects. But when Adam asked for it I didn't think to hesitate.
Throughout the semester Adam and I had gone out to lunches with each other and hung out between classes. Between the both of us he was the most talkative. He always asked weird and random questions that made you think twice about how sane he really was. But, in spite of that, I began to get comfortable around him and I finally broke out of my shell and realized that talking to Adam was easy.
One day we were walking down the deserted track field late in the afternoon when he asked me the most insane question I had ever heard.
"Do you think the world is going to end?" he asked with a serious tone
"Uh, no. The world is a big circle. Circles never end, they just keep going round and round an--"
"No seriously," he responded, cutting me off "you don't ever think that God might come and there might be a sort of judgment day?"
"No, because I don't believe in those theories. I think it's all bullshit. It seems like the media is trying to syndicate my life with all of that hoo ha. The thought of Global Warming makes me laugh, and don't even get me started on Pryus's and Hybrid's--" I stopped mid-sentence and realized that Adam drove a Hybrid.
"Well, no offense to you, if that's what you believe in then power to ya," I quickly responded, hoping to erase my verbal mistake.
"You honestly don't think that there’s the slightest chance that the world might end?" he asked, ignoring my previous statement.
"Honestly, no. Are you one of those super religious people? Is that why you're asking me this?"
"No, I just noticed you've lost faith...a little bit" he said looking down at his feet as if he knew what he was saying was completely ridiculous.
"How do you know if I've lost faith or not. And why are we talking about this?"
"God noticed you lost faith, too" he said
At that moment, I thought he was going to hand me a flier with a picture of Jesus on it.
"What does faith have to do with this conversation, I thought you were talking about a cataclysmic event, not some spiritual uplifting..." I snapped back.
"If you had faith, you wouldn't be giving me attitude and snapping back, I'm just saying that you've lost faith, and you of all people cannot lose faith. God notices when people lose touch with their spirituality; he especially notices if YOU lose faith in him. I mean, don't you get it by now...you're a chosen one," he said with a straightforward tone.
This time I couldn't tell if he was bullshitting me.
"'Chosen one'? What the fuck are you talking about, I'm not even Jewish! I don't even know what you’re leading on to. This conversation is really getting me off edge," I responded "can we please change the subject?"
"You're losing faith, Eva, at a great pace too. God is upset and of all people, He doesn't want you to lose faith."
"What are you talking about? Please elaborate because my brain is starting to hurt"
"GOD Eva, I can't believe you're not connecting the dots. I'm Adam. God sent me here to reinstate your faith. He knows that you've lost it ever since your mom died. But I'm here to help you."
I stopped cold in the middle of the track field. Adam told me to sit down and let it all absorb. The cold metal from the bleachers touched my skin and sent a shock through me, but it was no comparison to the shock I was going through at that moment. I didn't understand, as close as Adam and I had gotten over the past few weeks, I never told him about my mothers death and my loss of faith as a result of it. How did he know? I thought it was some sort of cruel joke.
"Look, I know this is a lot to take in..."
No shit
"but we're running out of time," Adam said pointedly.
"What do you mean 'running out of time'?"
"The world is going to end soon, and if you don't gain your faith back, you can't come back with me. I want you to come back with me," he said staring at me with anxious eyes.
"Come back with you where?! You're not being clear at all. How do you know the world is going to end, and where are we going?" I asked with an enraged and demanding tone in my voice.
"God is finally giving me redemption. If I save you, we both get to go back to Eden. You're my Eve"
"But my name's Eva”
"Now you're Eva, but in your past life you were Eve. And now God is predicting that you are going to sin, and I have to save you before you do anything. Before the world ends and it's too late.
I was caught in a state of doubt. What if Adam was lying to me? But then again, why would anyone lie about something like this. I took a deep breath and shot Adam a look of skepticism.
"I'm not lying to you," Adam said without hesitation. "I can see the doubt in your eyes, you think I'm feeding you bullshit, but I'm not."
"Prove it"
He let out a slight sigh and pulled up his shirt. I couldn't believe it. He didn't have a belly button. I waited a moment, hoping that play dough would fall out of his naval, but nothing fell out.
"Holy shit, you're Adam" I stated in pure amazement
"If you want to state the obvious, then yeah I am," he said amused at my shock.
"Look, you could choose to stay here and play out the rest of your life and end up sinning, or you could regain your faith in God and spend the rest of eternity with me in Eden. It's that easy," he said.
"Easy?! Who said any of this was easy? You're asking me to decide on whether or not I should leave my family and friends and go with you...That isn't easy!" I said screaming at him. "You're also asking me to regain faith in God, which is something I find very hard to do right now seeing how I recently lost my mom. How can I have faith in someone that took the one person I loved away from me?"
"Because that's the way life works. Life, as mean as this may sound, isn't pretty. Wars happen, poverty is inevitable, and people die. That’s just how life is. You're parents can't live forever, and neither can you...unless you come with me to Eden. Don't you want that?" he asked with an eager tone.
"How do I know you're not doing this just so you get to go to Eden. How do I know you're not doing this out of your own selfishness?"
"Because I know you and everything you've been through. You deserve this."
I felt like I was on the verge of crying. I looked around trying to avoid any eye contact with Adam. Instead I looked down at the grass.
"I...can't. I have too much to live for. If God does exist, then he should understand that"
"You're telling me that you would give up Eden for the life you're living right now?"
I nodded.
"Are you sure you want this? Because I can't come back if you change your mind. I only have one shot at this."
"I'm positive”
At that moment a tear strolled down Adam’s cheek. He knew he failed at his attempt to reinstate my faith.
I pulled up into the cold dull walls of our parking structure, which by the way was where I met Adam. I was walking down the rows of cars when I tripped on my own shoe--in addition to having large salivary glands, I'm also probably the clumsiest person on the face of this earth. Then to my luck, Adam was just getting out of his car.
"Oh my God! Are you okay?" Adam asked with a sense of shock in his voice.
"Yeah, yeah, I guess I should watch out next time...." I said looking around as if some stranger came, tripped me and ran away.
"What'd you tripped on?" he asked looking around concerned.
"Uhmm...my....shoe," I responded embarrassingly.
Adam's face lit up.
"Well, yeah I guess you should watch out for your shoes next time then, I hear they could be tricky sons of a bitches," he said still smiling.
Thoroughly embarrassed with myself I took a quick glance at him and smiled. I wanted to leave badly. Any other girl would stay and talk with him and most likely flirt back. Sadly flirting or even talking to boys is just not my forte. I pushed myself up off the cold cement, grabbed my books and was getting ready to walk away.
"Hey, why are you in such a rush?" he asked with a raised voice as I was walking away.
"I, uh, have to get to class! I'm gonna to be really late!"
My head was turned in his direction but my eyes were pointed straight ahead. "I'm sorry, but thanks a lot for helping me! Have a nice life!" I said as I walked out the door.
'Have a nice life?!' What the fuck was that Eva? You couldn't even say 'have a nice day'? Good Lord, I probably came off as a huge douche bag. God, ok get over it, Verona University is a ridiculously large campus. I'm probably never going to see him again. If I do, I am so taking "have a nice life" out of my vocabulary. Ok, I'm over it.
I didn't actually have to leave to class. I wasn't even close to being late. I was about 2 hours early. I guess I was just scared off by the rush of talking to a man as nice and beautiful as Adam. I could tell God took time making him. And I know I said I was 'over it', but truth is, I was still obsessing about it while I was walking to the computer lab. I finally opened up my Biochem book to get my mind off of the situation. Surprisingly, I was the only one in the computer lab. I say 'surprisingly' because there's usually some nerd in the corner playing anime video games.
I lounged on one of the couches in the lab when, twenty minutes into my reading, I noticed someone else was coming in. The thin cellophane on the double doors made it hard to distinguish who was about to open it. I saw a head covered in dark brown hair peak through the doors and then the head turned and looked my way.
Holy shit
It was Adam. Trying to be 'slick', I pulled the book up to try and cover my face.
It didn't work.
"HEY!" he said with his luscious voice.
I was still covering my face.
"I know it's you, you really suck at hiding. You look like you're suffocating yourself in your book," he said letting off a slight laugh.
"OH HI! I didn't see you. I mean, hear you. No, I meant see you."
You are such an idiot, Eva
My butt was suddenly lifted by the cushion due to the fact that Adam had sat next to me. We were sitting on a love seat -- ah, the irony.
"I thought you had to go to class? Did you lie to me?" he asked pretending to look hurt.
"A little bit..." I responded, still staring at my book the whole time.
"I hope you know lying's bad for your health"
I let out a snort and smiled. My eyes finally tore away from the book and looked into his eyes.
"Finally you look at me, I was starting to think I had a booger in my nose or something..." he said.
"I'm Adam by the way.” He held out his hand.
"Eva"
"Huh...'Adam and Eva', that's quiet a coincidence isn't it?" he said.
"I have to pee," I blurted out, totally killing the moment.
Adam laughed and said he had to get to class. He asked for my number, which caught me off guard. The only time I ever gave my number to a guy was when we did group projects. But when Adam asked for it I didn't think to hesitate.
Throughout the semester Adam and I had gone out to lunches with each other and hung out between classes. Between the both of us he was the most talkative. He always asked weird and random questions that made you think twice about how sane he really was. But, in spite of that, I began to get comfortable around him and I finally broke out of my shell and realized that talking to Adam was easy.
One day we were walking down the deserted track field late in the afternoon when he asked me the most insane question I had ever heard.
"Do you think the world is going to end?" he asked with a serious tone
"Uh, no. The world is a big circle. Circles never end, they just keep going round and round an--"
"No seriously," he responded, cutting me off "you don't ever think that God might come and there might be a sort of judgment day?"
"No, because I don't believe in those theories. I think it's all bullshit. It seems like the media is trying to syndicate my life with all of that hoo ha. The thought of Global Warming makes me laugh, and don't even get me started on Pryus's and Hybrid's--" I stopped mid-sentence and realized that Adam drove a Hybrid.
"Well, no offense to you, if that's what you believe in then power to ya," I quickly responded, hoping to erase my verbal mistake.
"You honestly don't think that there’s the slightest chance that the world might end?" he asked, ignoring my previous statement.
"Honestly, no. Are you one of those super religious people? Is that why you're asking me this?"
"No, I just noticed you've lost faith...a little bit" he said looking down at his feet as if he knew what he was saying was completely ridiculous.
"How do you know if I've lost faith or not. And why are we talking about this?"
"God noticed you lost faith, too" he said
At that moment, I thought he was going to hand me a flier with a picture of Jesus on it.
"What does faith have to do with this conversation, I thought you were talking about a cataclysmic event, not some spiritual uplifting..." I snapped back.
"If you had faith, you wouldn't be giving me attitude and snapping back, I'm just saying that you've lost faith, and you of all people cannot lose faith. God notices when people lose touch with their spirituality; he especially notices if YOU lose faith in him. I mean, don't you get it by now...you're a chosen one," he said with a straightforward tone.
This time I couldn't tell if he was bullshitting me.
"'Chosen one'? What the fuck are you talking about, I'm not even Jewish! I don't even know what you’re leading on to. This conversation is really getting me off edge," I responded "can we please change the subject?"
"You're losing faith, Eva, at a great pace too. God is upset and of all people, He doesn't want you to lose faith."
"What are you talking about? Please elaborate because my brain is starting to hurt"
"GOD Eva, I can't believe you're not connecting the dots. I'm Adam. God sent me here to reinstate your faith. He knows that you've lost it ever since your mom died. But I'm here to help you."
I stopped cold in the middle of the track field. Adam told me to sit down and let it all absorb. The cold metal from the bleachers touched my skin and sent a shock through me, but it was no comparison to the shock I was going through at that moment. I didn't understand, as close as Adam and I had gotten over the past few weeks, I never told him about my mothers death and my loss of faith as a result of it. How did he know? I thought it was some sort of cruel joke.
"Look, I know this is a lot to take in..."
No shit
"but we're running out of time," Adam said pointedly.
"What do you mean 'running out of time'?"
"The world is going to end soon, and if you don't gain your faith back, you can't come back with me. I want you to come back with me," he said staring at me with anxious eyes.
"Come back with you where?! You're not being clear at all. How do you know the world is going to end, and where are we going?" I asked with an enraged and demanding tone in my voice.
"God is finally giving me redemption. If I save you, we both get to go back to Eden. You're my Eve"
"But my name's Eva”
"Now you're Eva, but in your past life you were Eve. And now God is predicting that you are going to sin, and I have to save you before you do anything. Before the world ends and it's too late.
I was caught in a state of doubt. What if Adam was lying to me? But then again, why would anyone lie about something like this. I took a deep breath and shot Adam a look of skepticism.
"I'm not lying to you," Adam said without hesitation. "I can see the doubt in your eyes, you think I'm feeding you bullshit, but I'm not."
"Prove it"
He let out a slight sigh and pulled up his shirt. I couldn't believe it. He didn't have a belly button. I waited a moment, hoping that play dough would fall out of his naval, but nothing fell out.
"Holy shit, you're Adam" I stated in pure amazement
"If you want to state the obvious, then yeah I am," he said amused at my shock.
"Look, you could choose to stay here and play out the rest of your life and end up sinning, or you could regain your faith in God and spend the rest of eternity with me in Eden. It's that easy," he said.
"Easy?! Who said any of this was easy? You're asking me to decide on whether or not I should leave my family and friends and go with you...That isn't easy!" I said screaming at him. "You're also asking me to regain faith in God, which is something I find very hard to do right now seeing how I recently lost my mom. How can I have faith in someone that took the one person I loved away from me?"
"Because that's the way life works. Life, as mean as this may sound, isn't pretty. Wars happen, poverty is inevitable, and people die. That’s just how life is. You're parents can't live forever, and neither can you...unless you come with me to Eden. Don't you want that?" he asked with an eager tone.
"How do I know you're not doing this just so you get to go to Eden. How do I know you're not doing this out of your own selfishness?"
"Because I know you and everything you've been through. You deserve this."
I felt like I was on the verge of crying. I looked around trying to avoid any eye contact with Adam. Instead I looked down at the grass.
"I...can't. I have too much to live for. If God does exist, then he should understand that"
"You're telling me that you would give up Eden for the life you're living right now?"
I nodded.
"Are you sure you want this? Because I can't come back if you change your mind. I only have one shot at this."
"I'm positive”
At that moment a tear strolled down Adam’s cheek. He knew he failed at his attempt to reinstate my faith.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Wednesday Cafe
its not done yet.
Theodore strolled down 73rd street early Wednesday morning, just like he had done for the past 5 years. After every ten steps he would take, he would breathe in the cold crisp air that was a marked sign that it was, once again, winter. As Theo turns the corner, he notices the same layout of the yet-to-be busy street: the old Yiddish man on the corner of Winston and 73rd setting up his boxes of oranges, the old decaying gypsy woman next to him offering palm readings for only 10 dollars and the middle-aged black woman that sells poultry. He smiles and nods, quickly (and purposefully) losing eye contact in order to avoid any conversation with people he considered to be 'common folk'.
Everyday before today was the same routine: walk to Yard House cafe, pick up a brew, grab a paper and head to work. But today would be different. Today, Theo would have an encounter that would affect his life, as well as the life of his family forever. But Theodore doesn't know this yet. No, poor naive Theo is unaware that one young woman, full of bright hope and aspirations of her own is going to ruin his life.
Theo grips the cold door handle and pushes effortlessly. The small golden tinged bell rings, allowing other customers and the cashier aware of a new presence in the coffee shop. His eyes quickly graze over the small crowd of business people -- the 26 year old paralegal, giving his friend legal advice while he adjusts his tie to his liking, the middle aged brunette striking up a business proposal over the phone. But as Theo looks around, he notices something different- a young blond, seated near the floor to ceiling window, not dressed in business attire, flipping through an issue of Vogue. He is automatically intrigued by her presence in the coffee shop and finds himself unconsciously staring. She feels him stare at her, almost as if it was an invisible force on her front body. Her eyes innocently roll up to meet his gaze. Both become instantly embarrassed at the situation and look away. "I'll have a large Columbian", says Theo still taking small glances at the young lady whose eyes seem to get more enveloped in the magazine the more he stares at her. As Theo lightly grips the coffee cup, he finds that his legs have a mind of their own and start walking in the direction of the young girl. She looks up and smiles as she notices him walking to her table. "Hi, I'm sorry but I think I've seen you around before", Theo says his voice slightly trembling. "Hi, I'm sorry, but I think I've heard that line one too many times before", responds the girl with a slightly amused tone in her voice. "Your clever lines amaze everyone but me", Theo declares. They both smirk at one another and the young lady turns her head as she feels her cheeks starting to heat up with embarrassment. "Can...I, uh, join you?" he asks with slight hesitation, afraid of being shot down. "Yeah sure!" she remarks with a shot of excitement as if Theo were the first person to ever talk to her in her life. She reaches for her bag on the empty seat and throws it carelessly on the floor. "I'm Theodore by the way", he says as he plops his bottom on the cold steel of the chair. "Emilia", she quickly responds, "so what important place are you headed to mister?"
"Ha, I doubt you could consider it 'important'", says Theo with a chuckle, "it's just another day at the office, nothing as exciting as sitting here with you chatting".
"Oh so what is this boring job you do?" she asks with a curious tone.
"I'm the executive manager of Paper Age...and I didn't say it was boring, I just said it wasn't so important..." Theo reflects on the thought for a brief second, "Well, okay fine I guess you could say it's kind of boring, but after 10 years of working there, wouldn't you get bored out of your mind too?" he asks.
"You work with a paper company!? Like in that show "The Office"! she says with a bright smile on her face.
Theo accidentally lets out a large snort as if he's laughing at her. As a result her head pulls away as a sign that she is slightly offended.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't laughing at you..." he says, his voice trailing off.
"Yes you were, do you think I'm mentally retarded or something?", she says defensively
"No--" she interupts his defense
"I can tell when people lie, and you're obvious because your eye does this retarded twitchy thing. You are a bad liar."
"Okay, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I just haven't heard anyone compare my office to the office on the TV show. You just say things that are new and fresh, and trust me that's not a bad thing...are we okay now?" he asks.
Emilia looks at him and laughs.
"I was totally joking, I can't believe you bought that, you look so cute when you go on the defensive."
Theo sits in dazed disbelief, "wow that was harsh! But I forgive you..."
"You seem very
Emilia slowly opens up a wide grin. They stare at one another for what seems like an eternity. Their seemingly romantic staring contest is interrupted by a cell phone ring.
"Holy shit," Theo says as he jumps off his seat
"I'm 20 minutes late for work, I have to go, but is it possible if I could call you?"
Theodore strolled down 73rd street early Wednesday morning, just like he had done for the past 5 years. After every ten steps he would take, he would breathe in the cold crisp air that was a marked sign that it was, once again, winter. As Theo turns the corner, he notices the same layout of the yet-to-be busy street: the old Yiddish man on the corner of Winston and 73rd setting up his boxes of oranges, the old decaying gypsy woman next to him offering palm readings for only 10 dollars and the middle-aged black woman that sells poultry. He smiles and nods, quickly (and purposefully) losing eye contact in order to avoid any conversation with people he considered to be 'common folk'.
Everyday before today was the same routine: walk to Yard House cafe, pick up a brew, grab a paper and head to work. But today would be different. Today, Theo would have an encounter that would affect his life, as well as the life of his family forever. But Theodore doesn't know this yet. No, poor naive Theo is unaware that one young woman, full of bright hope and aspirations of her own is going to ruin his life.
Theo grips the cold door handle and pushes effortlessly. The small golden tinged bell rings, allowing other customers and the cashier aware of a new presence in the coffee shop. His eyes quickly graze over the small crowd of business people -- the 26 year old paralegal, giving his friend legal advice while he adjusts his tie to his liking, the middle aged brunette striking up a business proposal over the phone. But as Theo looks around, he notices something different- a young blond, seated near the floor to ceiling window, not dressed in business attire, flipping through an issue of Vogue. He is automatically intrigued by her presence in the coffee shop and finds himself unconsciously staring. She feels him stare at her, almost as if it was an invisible force on her front body. Her eyes innocently roll up to meet his gaze. Both become instantly embarrassed at the situation and look away. "I'll have a large Columbian", says Theo still taking small glances at the young lady whose eyes seem to get more enveloped in the magazine the more he stares at her. As Theo lightly grips the coffee cup, he finds that his legs have a mind of their own and start walking in the direction of the young girl. She looks up and smiles as she notices him walking to her table. "Hi, I'm sorry but I think I've seen you around before", Theo says his voice slightly trembling. "Hi, I'm sorry, but I think I've heard that line one too many times before", responds the girl with a slightly amused tone in her voice. "Your clever lines amaze everyone but me", Theo declares. They both smirk at one another and the young lady turns her head as she feels her cheeks starting to heat up with embarrassment. "Can...I, uh, join you?" he asks with slight hesitation, afraid of being shot down. "Yeah sure!" she remarks with a shot of excitement as if Theo were the first person to ever talk to her in her life. She reaches for her bag on the empty seat and throws it carelessly on the floor. "I'm Theodore by the way", he says as he plops his bottom on the cold steel of the chair. "Emilia", she quickly responds, "so what important place are you headed to mister?"
"Ha, I doubt you could consider it 'important'", says Theo with a chuckle, "it's just another day at the office, nothing as exciting as sitting here with you chatting".
"Oh so what is this boring job you do?" she asks with a curious tone.
"I'm the executive manager of Paper Age...and I didn't say it was boring, I just said it wasn't so important..." Theo reflects on the thought for a brief second, "Well, okay fine I guess you could say it's kind of boring, but after 10 years of working there, wouldn't you get bored out of your mind too?" he asks.
"You work with a paper company!? Like in that show "The Office"! she says with a bright smile on her face.
Theo accidentally lets out a large snort as if he's laughing at her. As a result her head pulls away as a sign that she is slightly offended.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't laughing at you..." he says, his voice trailing off.
"Yes you were, do you think I'm mentally retarded or something?", she says defensively
"No--" she interupts his defense
"I can tell when people lie, and you're obvious because your eye does this retarded twitchy thing. You are a bad liar."
"Okay, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I just haven't heard anyone compare my office to the office on the TV show. You just say things that are new and fresh, and trust me that's not a bad thing...are we okay now?" he asks.
Emilia looks at him and laughs.
"I was totally joking, I can't believe you bought that, you look so cute when you go on the defensive."
Theo sits in dazed disbelief, "wow that was harsh! But I forgive you..."
"You seem very
Emilia slowly opens up a wide grin. They stare at one another for what seems like an eternity. Their seemingly romantic staring contest is interrupted by a cell phone ring.
"Holy shit," Theo says as he jumps off his seat
"I'm 20 minutes late for work, I have to go, but is it possible if I could call you?"
Friday, September 07, 2007
Losing my religion
WOW i haven't been on here for a while. excuse my unintentional vacation from here. wellll here's a article i wrote for the Union. enjoy. or don't. its up to you, really.
I believe it was around 7 years ago, during the ‘millennium’ period that I had first seen the phrases, “The world is going to end!”, “God’s wrath lies ahead!” and my all time favorite, “The end is near!” posted everywhere – on billboards, bumper stickers, and sometimes even t-shirts. Now do you notice how all of those phrases ended with an exclamation point? It’s because if you’re reading it, the religious psycho wants you to know that they would be yelling it in your face if they were there.
Honestly, I’m sick of having people force their views on me, especially if those views are about religion. Don’t get me wrong, I have my own views on religion. After all I grew up in a strict catholic household where I was taught to pray every night and do things such as the rosary or a Friday night prayer. But in all of those years I spent being taught how to be a good catholic, I did not once voice/force my opinion on anyone who didn’t want to hear it.
I think it’s pretty obvious to everyone by now that religion is a very touchy subject – one that is almost always avoided as much as the subject of abortion, but let’s not get into that topic. So if almost everyone knows that religion is such a sensitive topic, then why still talk about it or even preach it to uninterested parties? Granted you want to “save my soul from the fires of hell”, and thank you for your generosity, but I’d rather save my own soul on my own time.
Everyone’s views on life, religion, or politics are all great in my eyes. Hell, I’m even content with the fact that you even have a view on any one of those things to begin with. And I will appreciate and always respect those
views – so long as they are not forcefully thrown into my face (and the small spit particles that fly from your mouth onto my face won’t help the situation either). I will only overreact if you overreact. And chances are if you are preaching about religion, you’re pretty much overreacting. But all that your constant preaching is going to do is make me lose my faith that much more. Since I’m in college, I’m already on the bends about my religious views, and it doesn’t help that an (annoying/arrogant/
inconsiderate) outside source is getting in the way of me making up my mind on religion. So do me a favor my fellow religious recruiter, and leave me alone while I am walking towards my destination. Because if you preach in my face about my existing religious views, I will just look at you straight in the eye and preach my opinion in your face. And I won’t be quiet about it either.
I believe it was around 7 years ago, during the ‘millennium’ period that I had first seen the phrases, “The world is going to end!”, “God’s wrath lies ahead!” and my all time favorite, “The end is near!” posted everywhere – on billboards, bumper stickers, and sometimes even t-shirts. Now do you notice how all of those phrases ended with an exclamation point? It’s because if you’re reading it, the religious psycho wants you to know that they would be yelling it in your face if they were there.
Honestly, I’m sick of having people force their views on me, especially if those views are about religion. Don’t get me wrong, I have my own views on religion. After all I grew up in a strict catholic household where I was taught to pray every night and do things such as the rosary or a Friday night prayer. But in all of those years I spent being taught how to be a good catholic, I did not once voice/force my opinion on anyone who didn’t want to hear it.
I think it’s pretty obvious to everyone by now that religion is a very touchy subject – one that is almost always avoided as much as the subject of abortion, but let’s not get into that topic. So if almost everyone knows that religion is such a sensitive topic, then why still talk about it or even preach it to uninterested parties? Granted you want to “save my soul from the fires of hell”, and thank you for your generosity, but I’d rather save my own soul on my own time.
Everyone’s views on life, religion, or politics are all great in my eyes. Hell, I’m even content with the fact that you even have a view on any one of those things to begin with. And I will appreciate and always respect those
views – so long as they are not forcefully thrown into my face (and the small spit particles that fly from your mouth onto my face won’t help the situation either). I will only overreact if you overreact. And chances are if you are preaching about religion, you’re pretty much overreacting. But all that your constant preaching is going to do is make me lose my faith that much more. Since I’m in college, I’m already on the bends about my religious views, and it doesn’t help that an (annoying/arrogant/
inconsiderate) outside source is getting in the way of me making up my mind on religion. So do me a favor my fellow religious recruiter, and leave me alone while I am walking towards my destination. Because if you preach in my face about my existing religious views, I will just look at you straight in the eye and preach my opinion in your face. And I won’t be quiet about it either.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
the mother of all cool guitars
you know how you want the most unnecessary things at the most unnecessary times? well this is one of them. ever since i watched Audio slaves video for "Like a Stone", I've been pining for Tom Morello's Soul Power guitar. its just so fucking incredible. its almost hard to digest.ugh.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
I'm corny, I know...
I'm not the type of person to say that something/someone "changed my life", but after reading all three of Albom's books, it's kind of hard to say that they haven't had any impact on my life...or rather, how I live it. Call me corny or whatever, but he really knows how to tap into a part of your emotions. The last time I cried while reading a book was when I got to the end of Harry Potter (and the Goblet of Fire) when they killed off Cedric Diggory. But Albom's books are different. His books really make you cry....and laugh, but mostly cry. And knowing me, it takes a lot to even make me shed a tear, so you know his books are good for something. There is just something about his books...he makes them so easy for you to relate to. I seriously cannot wait until he comes out with another book, so I could try to catch him on his book tour and like, hug him.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
My heroin
I am addicted to these. Some one take them out of my hands so I don't end up eating the whole box.
Monday, June 11, 2007
I hate this feeling
Okay, so since my other blogs were all perky and shit, i figure one depressing blog is enough to even out the score.
Today is the anniversary of my mom's passing. And, of course, we had to do something about it. So yesterday, we went to church. The whole day I avoided thinking about her, but not to be mean. I guess after three years, I still can't get over what happened. In fact, I don't even feel like she's gone sometimes. It just feels like she's on vacation and taking a really long time to get home. I feel like ever since the hospital called and told us she died, I just denied the whole thing. For about a year I was still hoping she would come through our front door and say that the hospital made some terrible mistake. But she never did. I guess my hopes of her coming back were crushed by the fact that my sister, dad and aunt went to say goodbye to her, while I stayed in the waiting room refusing to see her and accept what happened.
Some people would probably wonder why I refused to say goodbye to her. And I just want to say that I did so because I felt that if i actually walked through those double doors, that I would walk out broken and no one would ever be able to fix me. I do, wonder sometimes, what it would have been like if I had a proper goodbye with my mom. I even think that would have given me closure on this whole ordeal. But all I know was that at that time, I couldn't handle what was given to me. And to be honest, I was pissed off...for numerous reasons. First off, I was (or am, I'm still not able to get over this) at God. I know, this is wrong. I'm not supposed to be pissed off at God. But step into my shoes for a minute. He made my mom suffer for almost a decade. She went through more than 10 hospitals to get treated, and when she was in remission, he decides that she hasn't had enough pain. So he lets it spread to her lungs. And it just went to hell from there. How could you not be mad at someone who lets that happen to the one person you look up to and adore? Granted she may be in a "better place", but right now, I'm starting to lose faith in the idea of there even being a "better place". But as of now, I am trying to recapture my faith...but it isn't easy. I'm currently filled with skepticism from head to toe.
Secondly, I am pissed off at life. All of those things people say about life are true. Life hands you shit, and you have to accept it, or else you won't be able to live with yourself. And right now, I haven't accepted what life handed to me. So where do you think I'm left? Sometimes it just seems easier to block out what happened and forget. The only downside is that, my memories of me and my mom are starting to fade away. I can't even remember the last time we went out, just the two of us. I can't remember the last time we laughed or the last time we hugged. All I remember is constantly waiting in the hospital. Just waiting. I also (unwillingly) remember my mom coming out of surgery and just laying there helpless. I knew she was fighting on the inside, but on the outside it was a whole other picture. So, I ask again, how could you not be pissed off at life when it hands you this.
Third, I'm pissed off with myself. I'm mad that I let my memories of me and her fade away. I am mad that I don't even have the balls to deal with my own pain and just accept what God and Life has given me. I'm not saying that my family has gotten over it either, because God knows how they deal with their own pain. I just feel that one of these days, I am going to break down when I shouldn't. I am mostly afraid of losing someone else I love...despite of the fact that 'death is a part of life.' The moment you lose the one you love, you really couldn't care less about those types of things. When someone close to you dies, you don't automatically become all philosophical and say, "well that's apart of life". You become consumed by what happened and try to figure out how to deal with the situation. Or if you're like me, you just ignore the situation all together.
Today is the anniversary of my mom's passing. And, of course, we had to do something about it. So yesterday, we went to church. The whole day I avoided thinking about her, but not to be mean. I guess after three years, I still can't get over what happened. In fact, I don't even feel like she's gone sometimes. It just feels like she's on vacation and taking a really long time to get home. I feel like ever since the hospital called and told us she died, I just denied the whole thing. For about a year I was still hoping she would come through our front door and say that the hospital made some terrible mistake. But she never did. I guess my hopes of her coming back were crushed by the fact that my sister, dad and aunt went to say goodbye to her, while I stayed in the waiting room refusing to see her and accept what happened.
Some people would probably wonder why I refused to say goodbye to her. And I just want to say that I did so because I felt that if i actually walked through those double doors, that I would walk out broken and no one would ever be able to fix me. I do, wonder sometimes, what it would have been like if I had a proper goodbye with my mom. I even think that would have given me closure on this whole ordeal. But all I know was that at that time, I couldn't handle what was given to me. And to be honest, I was pissed off...for numerous reasons. First off, I was (or am, I'm still not able to get over this) at God. I know, this is wrong. I'm not supposed to be pissed off at God. But step into my shoes for a minute. He made my mom suffer for almost a decade. She went through more than 10 hospitals to get treated, and when she was in remission, he decides that she hasn't had enough pain. So he lets it spread to her lungs. And it just went to hell from there. How could you not be mad at someone who lets that happen to the one person you look up to and adore? Granted she may be in a "better place", but right now, I'm starting to lose faith in the idea of there even being a "better place". But as of now, I am trying to recapture my faith...but it isn't easy. I'm currently filled with skepticism from head to toe.
Secondly, I am pissed off at life. All of those things people say about life are true. Life hands you shit, and you have to accept it, or else you won't be able to live with yourself. And right now, I haven't accepted what life handed to me. So where do you think I'm left? Sometimes it just seems easier to block out what happened and forget. The only downside is that, my memories of me and my mom are starting to fade away. I can't even remember the last time we went out, just the two of us. I can't remember the last time we laughed or the last time we hugged. All I remember is constantly waiting in the hospital. Just waiting. I also (unwillingly) remember my mom coming out of surgery and just laying there helpless. I knew she was fighting on the inside, but on the outside it was a whole other picture. So, I ask again, how could you not be pissed off at life when it hands you this.
Third, I'm pissed off with myself. I'm mad that I let my memories of me and her fade away. I am mad that I don't even have the balls to deal with my own pain and just accept what God and Life has given me. I'm not saying that my family has gotten over it either, because God knows how they deal with their own pain. I just feel that one of these days, I am going to break down when I shouldn't. I am mostly afraid of losing someone else I love...despite of the fact that 'death is a part of life.' The moment you lose the one you love, you really couldn't care less about those types of things. When someone close to you dies, you don't automatically become all philosophical and say, "well that's apart of life". You become consumed by what happened and try to figure out how to deal with the situation. Or if you're like me, you just ignore the situation all together.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
I Miss You...
Manhattan! I MISS YOU!!!! ohh so much. Ever since I got back to California, I've been comparing everything to NY. If you'd like to know, California is losing in the comparison game. There is so much to do in NY and the weather is fugging awesome. Its like 98 degrees everyday and the sun is out (almost) everyday. But when I got off the plane, i felt like i was in a huge bubble of depressing weather. I haven't seen California sun in almost 2 weeks. What the fugging hell is that about? But, I guess it will get better....hopefully. So far there are no updates. I just need a job. badly. give me one if you have one.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
NY Itinerary
1.) Drop off luggage at hotel
2.) Look for Conor Oberst
3.) If I find him, stalk him
4.) Sing Lover I Don't Have to Love to his face
5.) Walk away more infatuated with him than I was before
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Watch Out New York
I wish i could change the date on this thing to say April 23 just so that I can type that I spontaneously decided to go to New York. I finally emptied out my piggy bank and gave it all to AAA so they can book my flight and hotel.
That's right...i'm going in exactly 2 days. I can't hold in my excitement. I've been wanting to go to New York ever since I watched my first New York movie....which i can't remember the title of...ha. how funny. okay i'm officially lame for laughing at my own joke. but whatever! i'm going to NY! they'll just have to deal with my lameness over there. I can't wait...finals took forever to finish, and now i'm done!
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Friday, January 26, 2007
assumptions
About a month ago, i was listening to the radio, and i heard the dj talk about assumptions. The one thing he said was that, "assumptions are bullshit"--and once he said those three words, i had, without hesitation, agreed with him.
Everyday, we fall under the assumption that today will be just like yesterday. We assume that the worst won't happen to us, and as a result, we end up with our expectations blown to pieces by the end of the day. Whether it's a bad day at work, or at home, we always fall under the assumption that each day we live will be a 'good day'. But it isn't until we have a life changing experience, that we realize that our every day assumptions are infact bullshit.
I can't help but admit that I too have fallen into that haze of everyday assumptions. Ever since i was a child until Sophomore year in high school, i assumed that everyday was going to be the same, with only minor occurances to change my perspectives on how that day was different from the days previous. Minor occurances such as bad grades on tests, rumor spreading around campus, and mini arguements with my friends.
My assumptions soon stopped after sophomore year had ended; which mistakenably was the same time when i lost someone that i looked up to and loved with all my heart. After that day, I couldn't bear to assume that life would ever be the same. That my days, in general, would ever be the same. For a while now, i've lived in fear of losing another person i love. Though i never show it in the way i act or talk, that fear is buried deep inside me, and its just waiting to burst out.
Assumptions may not play a large role in your life. But they have in mine. And i just want to warn who ever is reading this, that if you're basing your life on assumptions, then you just have to buckle up, and wait for your expectations to be blown to pieces.
Everyday, we fall under the assumption that today will be just like yesterday. We assume that the worst won't happen to us, and as a result, we end up with our expectations blown to pieces by the end of the day. Whether it's a bad day at work, or at home, we always fall under the assumption that each day we live will be a 'good day'. But it isn't until we have a life changing experience, that we realize that our every day assumptions are infact bullshit.
I can't help but admit that I too have fallen into that haze of everyday assumptions. Ever since i was a child until Sophomore year in high school, i assumed that everyday was going to be the same, with only minor occurances to change my perspectives on how that day was different from the days previous. Minor occurances such as bad grades on tests, rumor spreading around campus, and mini arguements with my friends.
My assumptions soon stopped after sophomore year had ended; which mistakenably was the same time when i lost someone that i looked up to and loved with all my heart. After that day, I couldn't bear to assume that life would ever be the same. That my days, in general, would ever be the same. For a while now, i've lived in fear of losing another person i love. Though i never show it in the way i act or talk, that fear is buried deep inside me, and its just waiting to burst out.
Assumptions may not play a large role in your life. But they have in mine. And i just want to warn who ever is reading this, that if you're basing your life on assumptions, then you just have to buckle up, and wait for your expectations to be blown to pieces.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Not so self-effacing
Lately, ive been feeling like i'm doing things just to make other people happy. And now i find that, i myself am not happy. The major thing I fear is that i will fall into conformity; that i wont get to be my own person, and that other peoples expectations will get in the way of my own. Therefore, from now on, i choose to be self-righteous. But not in that snobby, bitchy kind of way. I'll only be self-righteous when i need to be. Its not that i hate it when people to ask me to do things, because i will do it. But when you ask me to do something that only benefits you, and leaves me in the dark, then i feel rather hesitant to do such things. But, in the past, i've been stupid enough to not think things through. So, i guess i'm adding this to my New Years resolution.
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