Characters and Plots

I'm slowly getting back into writing again. I've written 5,000 words in the last week on a fully revitalized version of a plot I devised at age 15. I've salvaged the main idea, the name of the main character...and that's all. I have too many characters and too many plots flitting around in my mind,…

Emergency Kit

At long last, we're preparing our earthquake emergency kit. I went to Office Depot near my work and bought a squat but otherwise large plastic bin. It's large enough to fit everything we need and also short enough to slide under the bed and out of the way. Michael bought scads of canned food, and…

Frost

(And the barman asked, "Why the long pause?" And the bear said, "Because I got them stuck in a lift door." - Eddie Izzard In the long span of time since my last entry, we moved into a new apartment, further from downtown and with an actual bedroom with an actual door that kind of…

Cracking Pistachios

While touring through the new Target that opened up last weekend, I saw gigantic bags of pistachios. I don't think the sound that came out of me was composed of real words, or potentially even human in its origin. It was a visceral glee, from deep down in my gut and from deep back in…

Migraine

"So you have a migraine." He said it so carelessly, matter-of-factly, like it meant nothing. Just another day, another ailment. There was a point in my head that had been radiating pain for the last hour or two, and the light made my eyes hurt, and the sound of the street outside was a pure…

Saturday Mornings

I wake up earlier than Michael does. My eyes slide open when the first bit of sunlight comes through the blinds downstairs and then filters through the smoky blankness of the skylight. The light diffuses through the air, not casting shadows, but instead seeming to illuminate everything from within. This is only in the mornings,…

Jobs Jobs Jobs

Searching for a job is an exercise in emotional tenacity, which is something I have never claimed to possess. The whole idea of "having a thick skin" has been preached to me since I was small and fainted at the sight of blood for the first time. (It was just a scrape on my thumb,…

Portrait of a Friend

He's tall and muscular, muscular to the point of not seeming all that tall anymore. He has a sleek and, at first glance, average build; it is only in his posture and the definition of his shoulders within his jacket sleeves that one can see how toned he is, muscles standing like ramparts against his…

Rebloom

My orchid, Olivia, is reblooming. I bought Olivia about two years ago, when she was just a little thing. She had three flat leaves and a couple of spindly aerial roots. Her flowers were a color that I can't quite recall, but it was something pinkish, I think. She bloomed for six months straight, which…

Squirrel

Often, when waiting for the bus, I read or check my e-mail. But sometimes, if the mood strikes me right and the sun is low and the clouds are lacy and prim, I will just sit and look at my surroundings while I wait for the rumble of chassis and tires. Last week, I felt…