I stood anxiously with the others. We all waited, silently, many staring down at bright little screens, to board the long elevator down to the metro. None of us looked at each other, and the man with the sign didn’t look at us either. He didn’t call out, forcing us to acknowledge his existence, pushing … More Angels in “The Swamp”
I used to humor myself by judging the monotony of workplace elevator conversations—you know, the typical, “How’s it going?” met with a, “Well, the weekend was too short.” Then one day, I got on an elevator with a man who asked the question, “How’s it going?” and I pulled one of the expected responses from … More Metro: To Talk or Not to Talk?
Life is a composition of story arcs. This is one. I first met him one year and one month ago today. I use the term “met” lightly. One year and one month ago today, I was dragging my feet in self-pity up a metro escalator at Union Station. I was hanging my head in disdain … More To Say, I Love You
I really enjoy writing about relationships, pop culture, and my ardent love for California. However, there is also this whole piece of me that likes to write more academic pieces. This piece of me longs to further practice how to convey the topics that compose my professional soul goals to an audience outside of my … More An Introduction to the Gal Behind the Giggles
(For Part I, please click here. For Part II, here.) After almost settling for less than butterflies, my montage continued. Basement apartment with no windows. Really cute studio in a mildly questionable neighborhood, well out of my reasonable price range. Bottom level of a house with the pungent aroma of mildew and a housemate representing the … More Confessions of a Suburban War Veteran — or, looking for love in the city. PART III
I began writing this post 38,062 feet above New Mexico. I had 876 miles left on my steel bird until I reached the promised land of California. I was dreaming of touching down within the sweet, succulent borders of the place on this earth that, more than anywhere else, has consistently taken me into its … More Moments: Opening Lines, Two Degrees, & Being You
In a year, I’ll leave this place and go learn how to live off the land. The imagery of this thought consumed my mind as I sat in my cubicle one Friday past. I have a list of jobs I’d like to try. One of them is Policy WONK, and I’m lucky enough to be … More Success, Reconciliation, and Crisis
Early February, I went on a work trip to Los Angeles to attend a conference I have lusted after for the past three years — the National Alliance to End Homelessness’s Annual Conference on Ending Family and Youth Homelessness. I stepped off the plane at LAX, and although it didn’t feel exactly like the Northern … More The Heterogeneity of Life
I often find myself running late to things because I’m too busy dancing. I’ll be five minutes away from departure time and then erroneously put on some Beyonce song. After this has been done, it’s all over. One song leads to the next and I find myself in a time consuming predicament of, “But wait, … More D.C., Round Two
About three years ago, my plane landed down in California with an origin of Athens, Greece. When I first came home from my six-month adventure, I was mailed a stack of papers on reverse culture shock. I quickly tossed them in the recycling bin. After all, it’s not like I was coming back from somewhere … More On Courage and Chaos
ROUGH OUTLINES 