I know, I haven’t posted in a while. I feel sort of bad for neglecting trusty ol’ Gray, but it was a necessary evil. You see, right around December 24th, I wrote up four entries’ worth of lighthearted tsunami anecdotes. And well, we all know what happened shortly after that. So you see? The timing…
Category: Human Condition
Secular Bells
It’s a little after the fact, but I’m still feeling the holiday cheer. It’s a genuinely good feeling. I remember the days when I still considered myself a Catholic, and December carried with it a comforting aura of religious joy. Christmas meant so much back then because, you know, it actually meant something. But these…
Go Tell It on the Weblog
After an hour of Christmas shopping, I stepped out of Best Buy with bags full of commerce in my hands, and was met with the sound of an incessant jingling bell. I looked up slightly and saw three volunteers standing expectantly around a Salvation Army collection bucket. I felt a twinge of guilt, but my…
Boy, Are My Legs Tired
It’s happened to all of us at least some point in our lives: You reenter a room after visiting the restroom, and you find some guy in your seat. When you politely ask to reclaim your chair, the guy stands up, claps you on the arm, and says, “Here ya go, buddy. Just keeping it…
Actually, It’s Just Shampoo
This morning, I couldn’t help but notice that a female student sitting next to me was wearing too much perfume. It was a pleasant fragrance–slightly citrus, slightly floral, and unmistakably feminine. But there was too much of it to take in, and I found myself growing nauseated and even a little resentful. But even so,…
Hope Against the Inevitable
I was staring out of the window this morning when my train happened to pass an elementary school along the way towards San Francisco. It was recess time, and the playground was sprawling with playing children. In the center of all the activity, I noticed two boys in particular. The taller, huskier boy had a…
Lonesome Town
Imbedded in the heart of every man is the quiet fear of being alone. How to cope with that fear is a question that we all answer differently. Some would choose flight and constant company, while others stand their ground and confront the solitude. Sometimes you have to generalize when you’re playing the part of…
Stay Cool
On the train ride home today, I heard a guy behind me say, in a slightly agitated voice, “I can’t believe how hot it is in here.” Upon these words, I immediately tensed up and expected the worst. When people make unsolicited announcements like that, you can’t help but wonder what their deal is. In…
*Guitar Riff* … Inappropriate!
It’s not as if I’m easily offended by vulgarity and salaciousness, but I believe everything has its time and place. I don’t know about you, but I feel dirty every time I check my email at school. I’m surrounded by books and scholarly people, and what’s on my computer screen? Solicitations from lonely housewives, barely…
The Difference
I remember watching television with my father on the afternoon of September 11, 2001. All day long, footage of the flaming buildings kept flashing across the screen, but I never looked away, even when I grew tired of seeing it. I was paying penance for all of my past years of blissful ignorance. There inevitably…