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I think I burned the popcorn
I am usually very well-coordinated, organized, and able to follow directions. But when it comes to cooking, I am a completely, absolutely, and entirely helpless mess. It is maybe one of the only things (from the list of life essentials) that I just can’t get right. It’s been a running a joke among my family and friends for as long as I can remember, but it’s not even funny anymore; it is ridiculous. It doesn’t help that the kitchen is the last place I want to be. And I gave up on trying to be a chef a long time ago, but thought I’d talk about it one more time…
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Fitting Right In
The other day, after a woman who must’ve been in her late 50’s or early 60’s started talking to me out of nowhere, I started reflecting on the relationship I have with people of all ages. This lady and I both walked out of a store at the same time, and walked the same couple of blocks towards the train station. Once there, we sat on the same side of the platform: southbound. Perhaps it was this coincidence that inspired her to want to start a conversation. “I love Sephora,” she said. “OMG, so do I!” I replied. Next thing I know, we’re deep in a conversation about skincare. Then,…
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Two Drinks and Five Hours of Patience
Hot but calm afternoon, clear sky; no signs of potential torrential rain, no canceled flights. As customary, when one is part of my family, I was running on a tight schedule. My mom was making dinner and hoped I’d eat before I left the house. “I won’t have time,” I said. But, in anticipation of the pitfalls of traveling, I fixed myself a quick bite so that I wouldn’t starve. My friend picked me up and we drove off. Although we were making good time, I’m always terrified of long checkpoint lines. At that moment, I wished I had left at least half an hour earlier or that the flight…
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A Teacher is that Person
A caring teacher is someone who goes out of her way to earn your trust and to get to know your emotional needs as much as your academic needs, in order to better help you. A kind teacher greets you every morning like she hasn’t seen you in a week. Her hugs can be so warm you’ll realize it’s not just a school but also your safe haven. A good teacher thinks of you and of ways in which she can help you even when not teaching you — when reading the news, when shopping for food, when a kids movie comes up, when the radio plays a song you…
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Tales of a Friendzoned Night of Champagne
“Here’s to a fun night!” she raises her glass. But the only thing he raises in response is an eyebrow. Studying the bottle now planted on the table, he tightens his lips, holding back a laugh. “What’s the matter?” she asks. “You wanna walk around with that?” Puzzled, she glances at the bottle and right back at him. “It’s legal…” “Cheap champagne? It should be illegal.” “Your vodka isn’t all that either,” she refutes his disapproval. “Not like we’re finishing the whole bottle anyway… I knew we’d prob’ly get too drunk to appreciate the good sh—t.” “Let’s just finish it up before we get to the park.” “God, you’re such…
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If My Walls Could Talk
They’d probably tell on me, but I wonder which rumors they’d choose to spread. Would it be the story of how much I procrastinate; how I spin on my heels eighty-nine times a day before making it out the door when I need to be somewhere on time? I wonder if they notice me when I have a bad day, when I’m out in space, when I can’t concentrate because the world’s batsh*t. I wonder if they can tell that my soul is scarred because cold-hearted lads keep finding a way to get in my heart; that I allow too many chances, that I’m too nice to the unkind. I…
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Eavesdropping on the M Path
I was on my way home. The worn-out leather seats in the next-to-last coach were comfortable enough to make me tilt my head back and close my eyes for the next three stops. On other occasions, I would not have. But it was all women; moms, schoolgirls, a couple of chit-chatting friends, a tired girl in scrubs (who seemed to have the same idea as me). There were enough of them and enough space among us to make me feel safe. The monotonous breathy voice over the PA system announced the next stop. I opened my eyes, as if to pay better attention. Something about humans thinking we can listen…
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Falling for Strangers – an Excerpt
How inexplicable is it to be in love with what never gave you a reason to fall? To want and need his attention more than every once in a while and to be jealous of whoever steals that attention from you. I write about it to try to understand this phenomenon — this grueling, unnecessarily painful phenomenon called love. I’m sorry, but I don’t have a lot of positive things to say about it. It has made me cynical. At least that’s what people say (and I’m in no way quoting Taylor Swift.) You see, I find it hilarious that whenever I talk negatively about love, which would actually be…
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Road Rage Saved the Day
It was a four-way intersection. He honked at her as she sped up to turn right. In an unexpected move, he turned left and was then driving behind her. That’s when she rolled down her window, stuck out her hand and gave him the finger. She watched his face in her rear view mirror hoping to get some sort of reaction out of him, but his face was as serious as The Queen’s Guard’s. “Idiot,” she murmured. After a couple of turns, his car was no longer in sight. But five minutes later, they both pulled up into the same parking lot of a convenience store. “Oh for crying out…
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How to Live with Cats When You’re Not an Animal Person
The listing didn’t say anything about there being cats. It was when we met in person that she told me she had, not one but TWO cats. I’d been tirelessly looking for an apartment at the time when I came across what I’ve now called home for quite some time. The housing situation seemed so suitable for me that I completely ignored the fact that I’ve never been into animals and that the last time I voluntarily pet a cat I was about eight years old—decades ago. Oh it can’t be that bad, I thought, revisiting in my head the times I’d gone to houses of people with cats. Those…
