November 2010
1 post
It was late at night and we were slowly walking back to the house. It was a crisp autumn night with no wind. The moon was full and shining over us. The four of us trudged slowly on the pavement, smoking cigarettes and talking.
“I dated a girl like that once,” I said out loud.
“A girl like what?” they asked.
“Don’t make me say it. You know it sounds bad if I say it like that. You know I mean...
July 2010
1 post
Sometimes the weight of the world can be resting on your shoulders. Just pushing down on you—heavy, as you hold up the earth under the grip of your callousing fingers. Sometimes it’s not really as big as the world, but that weight is still heavy. You’ll want to give up, and you’ll want to feel that you can’t go on any longer. Try not to think that—I know,...
February 2010
1 post
“There are still a few men who love desperately.”
– J.D. Salinger (via jessicachu)
October 2009
3 posts
“Failed SAT. Lost scholarship. Invented rocket.”
– WILLIAM SHATNER’s six-word story in Wired (via inothernews)
Hey, That's My Seat.
The man with the belly, wearing a suit, got up from his uncomfortable seat and took the spot of the tall Jamaican man that had just gotten up. “That’s my seat,” gruffed the tall Jamaican man after walking back from the front of the bus. “You just left,” laughed the man with the belly. The tall Jamaican gave him a long hard stare. The man with the belly excreted fear...
Death Row.
I just wanna say sorry to the Hendersons. I know I can’t take back what I did, and it was really just a mistake. I’m sure your daughter could’ve grown up to be something special. I guess y’all being here will make you feel better. Marcel, little bro, don’t worry about me; I’m going with God now. Warden, you’re alright. Mama, I know I’m not your...
September 2009
7 posts
Rebel.
“No, that’s not what’s gonna happen. I’m gonna stick these ear buds into my ears, blast some music, pull my hoodie up over my head and just beehive through the crowd. No one’s even gonna know I’m there. They won’t remember me and that’s the point. I want to go unnoticed. I want to be in my own world. I want to be that person that people look at for...
Underground.
They all congregated in the basement for dinner. Mother, father, brother, sister and me, their guest. For weeks they had been holed up down there; the rest of the house had been gutted by a terrible quake, and all they had left was the basement. We squeezed around a table in the corner. Dimly lit and cramped, we ate sausage and corn and drank wine. It was like being in a bunker. It was like being...
Father Figure.
Every evening when my dad comes home from work he places the contents of his pockets on the dining room table. When I was young I’d sneak over and study the various objects. His keys, his wallet, his watch and as technology progressed, his phone. Sometimes I take a look at the things I keep in my pocket. I realize how essential they are to me. When I study my things I feel like my dad. I...
“Any place you love is the world to you, but love is not fashionable anymore, the...”
– Oscar Wilde (via quotewhore) (via kimmi3) (via itsantonia) (via chuicide) (via schadenfreudebuff) (via souplines)
Party in the Park.
We heard music booming from the distance and wondered what it was. We ventured into a part of the forest we never knew existed. Everything to us was epic. Climbing up this steep and winding gravel road, we found a festival. Cars lined up in neat little rows on the lawn and tents everywhere. I had no idea where we were; I’d never seen this part of the park before. We imagined it was the...
Lemme Get That.
She knows that men will spend to have her. They’ll shower her with bills for just one night—well, let’s be honest—as long as it lasts. She knows this too. She dangles it in front of them. She makes them beg for it like dogs. Just like the men, she has needs. They love the young girl, she says. They wanna give it to me, she brags. She thinks she’s empowering man. She thinks she’s starting a...
August 2009
11 posts
Waitress in the Wind.
It was a regular Friday night. He sat on the same old bar stool, at the same old watering hole, after slogging it out at his desk all day. He was showing the new guy the ropes—the stupid clips that played on a constant loop throughout the bar, how the loud music booming through the speakers could get on your nerves, and the different nicknames we had for the girls. When he got to his favourite...
Quality Inn, Buffalo-Niagara International...
We missed the last bus to Canada and had no way out of Buffalo until the next morning. Our only hope was to book a room at a hotel nearby and catch one of the buses in the morning. We picked the Quality Inn. Why? I don’t know. It was sketch. It smelt like sketch. We knew it was sketch. The room reeked of stale cigarettes and the covers had cigarette burns. We were too scared to sleep that...
Reunion.
Two parties one after another—back to back. The same people. Nothing has changed and I don’t think it ever will. “Dude”, I say. “You think when we’re 40, we’ll still be doing these house parties?” He responds with a shrug. He knows that we’ll still be here and that it’s sad. We try to forget about it by getting drunk. We can worry about...
18 til I die.
When my friend Leah turned 19, I made her a mixtape of as many songs I could find that were about being 18. I think I really only found two. The best one was 18 til I die by Bryan Adams. I found it weird that he sang about being 18 forever when he was really, like, thirty something. She wanted to stay 18 forever and I don’t really know why—being 18 wasn’t that cool, really. I...
Via fullmoonfever.
fullmoonfever:
when my brother was a senior in college, in philly, he was dating a girl who lived in new york. they were one of those talk for hours on the phone couples. my brother is always one of those couples. and late one night, after he hung up the phone in philly and she hung up the phone in new york, he decided to get in his car and drive to new york to see her. so she’d wake up and...
Whatever.
I didn’t realize that the little girl was vying for the seat before me. When I sat down I got the meanest cut eye from some filipino nanny. She made it look like I had pushed the little girl out of the way to hog the bus seat. When I glanced at the little girl, I realized that she was not a girl, but a dwarf. Then I wondered why the filipino nanny was giving me such rude cute eye. Why...
Condo.
When I ask the nice sales lady how much it is for that particular unit in that particular building, she shoots off a price. I glance down at my shoes and then up at the ceiling saying “um” and “ah”—as if I’m thinking it over. It’s way out of my price range. “Oh, that’s all?”, I respond. I want her to think that I can afford it. I want...
Ew, Licorice.
I hate licorice. In fact I have a huge fear of the stuff. Black, red—it doesn’t matter, it’s all gross. When I was in kindergarten this kid, Michael Fittock who was a real douche of a racist kid for a five year old, thought it would be a fantastic idea to chew up some black licorice and shove it down my shirt during nap time. When I woke up all I could smell was the horrendous...
fullmoonfever:
yesterday while watching a top chef marathon, i got really frustrated and angsty. one of the master chefs was talking about her illustrious career and how she always knew she wanted to be a chef, since the age of 12. when i was 12, i had to write a research paper on some sort of career. i suppose it was to be on the career i wished to pursue. have i written about this before? i...
Gamble.
Think about it for a second and realize that what you could be doing might be wrong. Once you’ve thought it over, just go ahead and do it. If you fuck up then it’s too late now. Next time, when you’re in a situation like this, do the same thing again. Life’s too short and fucking up is exciting.
Packing.
I’ve started packing and I don’t know what to bring. My process is opening a suitcase and throwing everything thing that comes to my mind in one burst. I struggle to close the suitcase and it’s pointless—the things I’ve packed I probably won’t even wear.
July 2009
18 posts
Slacks.
I wasn’t exactly all ears for going and being the only guy out that night didn’t make it any better. To the people in the bar I either looked like a skeeze bag trying to get with a room full of chicks, or just a really butch girl with no chest. I think I was the latter.
Hold Up.
For some reason we were robbing a grocery store. I think we didn’t have anything better to do, and I waited while he picked the lock. He didn’t know how to pick a lock so we just broke the glass and stepped in. I was the lookout and he was getting the loot. Turns out all he wanted was a bag of chips and Sunny D. Gross.
Toppa Most of the Poppa Most.
If they make it I’ll be surprised. They haven’t got anything special and they’re no different than anything else that’s out there. I’ll be surprised but I’ll congratulate them. I’m a good sport like that; I’m not a sore loser. I’m sure everyone else will be surprised—they generally suck.
Columbia.
Imagine that very last moment; upon re-entry there’s the tiniest hole in the shuttle and it’s enough to cook you a turkey in seconds. It’s already hot to begin with, but now your skin is pretty much melting off—the pain is unbearable. After that point you’re probably dead and if you’re alive, I feel sorry for you. Then you obliterate into thousands, if not...
Pay Up.
He owes me $50 and each time he sees me, he tells me that he owes me $50. It’s been a year now and he still owes me that money. Whenever I see him he tells me he has a new business prospect for me. I tell him he still owes me $50. I won’t lift a single finger until I get that $50. It’s the principle.
Last Card.
He was teaching us how to play the game for the first time. We all sat in a circle around him and he explained the rules. We started playing the game and if we did something wrong, he would slap us all in the face. I think we learned the game pretty fast that day.
Slow Down.
I stopped writing because she moves the slides too goddamn fast. Half my notes end abruptly, mid-sentence, and make no sense. I only know half of what I’m learning because she moves too fas-
Steel Drum.
It was so weird because we were like walking under the bridge and from far away you could hear this steel drum music. As we got closer and closer, the sound grew louder and louder! All of a sudden we turn this corner and there’s a whole steel drum band playing under the bridge! Or should I say, undah da breedge. It was amazing. It was like having your own soundtrack out of nowhere and it was...
Lance.
“You should start biking with us.”
“Oh really?”
“Yeah. You’ve got the body for it. You should get a starter bike.”
“You’re trying to recruit me. You guys are like a cult. Screw that.”
Motivation.
You’re suppose to live life to the fullest. Live life as if each day is your last. Forget about your worries and your stresses—they’ll sort themselves out. Then you realize the people that tell you these things have money to burn, are bored, and spend their idle time making up stupid quotes like this. Screw them.
Break.
It’s such a nice day outside. We sat on the bench in front of our building and basked in the sun. We talked and people watched. We listen to the drone of the cars speeding round the track near the lake. They were practicing for the big race. From where we were sitting it sounded like a swarm of killer bees was heading toward us.
Ouch.
There is a scene in Good Will Hunting when Matt Damon tells Minnie Driver that he doesn’t love her. She cries and screams and detests to his words, but he stands his ground and says that he does not love her. She feels sick to the stomach and she leans against the wall in agony. That scene is probably the most realistic hurt I’ve ever seen in fiction and I’ll never forget it. To...
RSVP.
Pleased that he wasn’t causing any harm by saying “no”, he refreshed the page. There it was again—the same invite, but from someone else. They never stop do they, he thought. He didn’t want his face plastered under the “not attending” corral of pictures; and to the people inviting him, they thought they had just forgotten him. If he had a nickel for every...
I Don't Like Mondays.
The night was cool but not too cool. We zipped down the highway changing lanes and swerving past the slower cars. I had the window open a crack and you could hear the wind tunneling around the car. I watched the lights on other cars dotting the road all the way to the horizon. Our eyes were red and we had smiles on our faces—we were full. It was only the beginning of the week, but we were so...
Pre-Crime.
When I’m fully engrossed in my work I play classical music because it makes me feel like Tom Cruise in Minority Report.
Drill Me.
I once wasted two weeks of my life at a camp for air cadets. It was like being in a pretend military and for the most part, you were being groomed for possible future service. Out of the entire experience of waking up at the crack of dawn, the shitty food, and endless hours of drill practice, I took away two things:
- a $120 cheque from the government for wasting my time - and being able to apply...
Welcome.
When I asked him if we had to take a test to get our new passports, he said yes. What a waste of time, I thought. I’ve lived here for twelve years and I still know nothing about this place. If I fail they’ll give me the boot.
Salaam.
I was waiting for my friend outside his class when I saw her come out from the door and walk to the corner of the foyer. She found a spot facing against the wall and lay down her cloth mat on the cold, shiny floor. She began to pray. Her bare toes touching the ground, she stood up and whispered a prayer and then kneeled and repeated. When people would pass by her end of the foyer, she’d stop...
June 2009
22 posts
Never Enough Time.
He felt ashamed because he was a celebrity chef and here he was eating a whopper from Burger King because he had no time. He was late for a cookbook signing. The book was called, There’s Always Enough Time.
Very Busy.
I have to clean my room today but first I’m going to update my Facebook status:
Blah Blah is cleaning his room today.
There. Now everyone knows I have to clean my room today. I should get started but first I’m going to check if anyone responded to my update. No. Okay, I’m going to start cleaning my room. Ha ha, I think Facebook needs to know that my room is a mess—how am...
Z-boy Wannabe.
Once he stepped foot into the park, all the other kids stopped what they were doing and watched him. He zipped past them on his board and executed a series of difficult tricks with relative ease. They were jealous and intimidated. They knew that anything they tried would be shameful and terrible and that he would just laugh at them. He owned that concrete and they worshiped him. He was king to a...
RAH RAH HUNGRY!
We’re hungry and we’re waiting for food. We can smell it wafting up into our noses and our stomachs are gurgling. Why is it taking so long? Why is my mother taking so long? We want to eat and we want to eat now!
Late.
I woke up this morning with the worst hangover ever and realized that, fuck, Michael Jackson is dead and he’s never coming back.
Gross.
I didn’t think he’d do it but he did it! That was so sly. I was watching him too—after he finished at the urinal he squeezed past me to fix his hair in the mirror. I could see him the entire time. Then he just looked at me, dead in the eye, and walked away! WITHOUT WASHING HIS HANDS! I was shocked. He would spend the rest of the day touching things and soiling them with his pee...
Poopmobile.
I don’t know why he decided to buy that car. He has trouble parallel parking because it’s so huge and it takes up more space—space that could be given to a better looking car. On top of that he bought it in white. Who buys a white car? It’s a fucking dirt magnet! He spends half, if not all, his time making sure that he can see his reflection on the chrome. I love it when he...
For Neda.
It was watching a woman die in real life. We’ve seen it in movies and paintings and pictures, but we rarely see the last moments of a person’s life right before our eyes. The way she falls back. The way her eyes roll to the back of her head. For a moment it looks like she is staring right at the cell phone that is video taping her soul leak out. When the blood gushes out of her and the...