Writing
Social Media Recluse
Ever since I self-published my first novel, Tribe of One, nearly two years ago, I’ve been nagged by thoughts of social media. One of the main joys of self-publishing is the satisfaction of finally having something tangible to show for all my hard work. My major challenge is promoting my work. I’m well aware of how … Continue reading
Writers’ Retreat
It’s been years since I headed out of town immediately after school on a Friday. The mission for this getaway was to attend a writers’ retreat. My regular schedule’s so jammed packed that it’s a vacation to abandon it for a spell. In less than an hour, I arrived to the resort ranch and immediately saw some … Continue reading
Super Saturday
I once joked that it was a good thing that February 2012 had an extra day since I’d probably have something scheduled every single day before the month arrived. February has arrived and my prediction did not come true, but that’s only because a few things are scheduled on the same day…like this past Saturday … Continue reading
Distractions from Happiness
I’ve had quite the dramatic weekend, starting on Friday when I discovered that I could no longer enter “last minute,” ie “late,” grades electronically since the deadline had already passed. I’d been marking furiously to complete my short stack of grades only to be locked out of the electronic gradebook. I took the first of several … Continue reading
I Wanna Be a Comic Stripper When I Grow Up!
Last night, I attended a salsa-themed birthday party for two friends. Most of the attendees were salseros who I’ve known since moving to Austin, but only see every blue moon. So, as social custom dictates, we all greeted each other and inquired what the other had been up to since we last saw each other. I … Continue reading
My Last Stupid Act of 2011
Although I thoroughly enjoyed the week I spent with my family for Christmas, I rushed back to Austin in order to celebrate New Year’s Eve. Part of my preparation, besides attending a few bootcamps to work off the two-desserts-a-day-and-sedentary lifestyle that I had embraced while visiting my family, I went to Goodwill in order to get … Continue reading
Budding Cartoonist
I can hardly ever retrace the path of my creative ideas, but as far as my latest one, I know I was swimming. If I care to go back a little further, I had checked out two books the Saturday before I’d gone swimming. One was “A History of Mathematics” by Carl B. Boyer and … Continue reading
NYE’s Revelry 2011
As I busied myself washing clothes and unpacking from my weeklong Christmas vacation with my family, I came across the gift my nieces and nephew had given me: a mesh sponge, body wash and hand lotion. I put the mesh sponge in my gym bag, the lotion in the bathroom and paused when I thought … Continue reading
Christmas 2011
My sister, Renee, and her family, once again, hosted us for Christmas. Ten people and two bathrooms, lots of good food and even more good laughs. And much to my surprise, no cold! I came busting out of Dulles Airport fully bundled, complete with a knit ski cap and immediately started stripping–only down to my … Continue reading
Half Day Vacation
Christmas vacation has already started for me since we’ve been on half days since last Thursday. For the first time in the three years that I’ve been teaching at my current high school, all four of the exam days are “early release,” which means my professional stress level has gone dramatically down. Even with the … Continue reading