Today’s prompt is way way way too similar to the one I did on March 23 that it’s practically identical. If you wish to read my response, it’s right here. Therefore I’m going to do Writing 101 instead. The assignment is to write a story about my most prized possession. Continue reading “Writing 101: The Things We Treasure” →
People say childhood are the best years of a person’s life. Continue reading “Writing 101: Happy Fast Food” →
Today’s prompt asks: What’s your travel style? Are you itinerary and schedule driven, needing to have every step mapped out in advance or are you content to arrive without a plan and let happenstance be your guide? Continue reading “Travel Loosely” →
When I taught English as a Second Language (ESL) at the private school, I used to ask my students. “Where are you going for college?”
Continue reading “#AtoZChallenge – W For West Coast” →
Today’s prompt asks: When the full moon happens, you turn into a person who’s the opposite of who you normally are. Describe this new you. Continue reading “Unpredictable Transformation” →
I recently began to compile all the short stories I have written into a mini-collection. There’s almost enough there for me to turn it into a book. So who knows, it might be my first published work. I even already have a title for it, “A Light in the Dark: A Collection of Short Stories”.
So is a blurb really necessary? Because I know that most people nowadays read ebooks. At least I can’t remember when was the last time I picked an actual book. Also there’s no book jacket in ebooks. So what’s the point?
But since that’s what today’s prompt asks, I might as well write something. Enjoy. 🙂
So here’s the gist…
I believe at some point, everyone experience sadness, darkness, misery, you name it. It all just depends on when. This collection of short stories is about my fantasy and life. A few years ago, I went through a period of misery, sadness, and anger. I lost my interest in school and life. I watched the days just slide on by.
One day, I decided to get over it, to shine a light in all of this darkness. What did I do? I closed my eyes and whisked myself to another world. Then all of a sudden, a part of my fantasy came to life.
It was hard to believe that a few months ago when I peeked into my files that I discover I have written so many short stories. I am so excited to be able to share such collection with you and I hope you enjoy my short stories as much as I enjoyed writing it.
You know, I realized something. Continue reading “Writing 101: Your Voice Will Find You” →
This morning, I woke up to something horrific! The time on my alarm clock read 3:10. I jolted up like I’ve just been zapped with a thousand volts of electricity. Is this a dream? I often have dreams about being late for school. Did I just slept the entire day? Why didn’t anyone wake me? Is this like a parallel universe or something?
Anxiously, I reached for the useless cell phone which I only use for the alarm function. I pressed a random button and the screen lit up. 7:55. I relaxed a little and peeked at the other alarm clock on top of the dresser next to me. It was flashing and immediately, I knew what it meant. It meant we lost power during the night.
Just then my mom barged into my room. “Did we lose power?” I asked.
“Did we?” She replied, clueless.
“Uh, my clocks are flashing.”
“I just know we lost the internet.” How does she know that, I wonder? Because if the internet was out when the power went out, then when the power came back on, so should the internet and in minutes. Does this mean she was up in the middle of the night?
I still haven’t reset my clocks yet, maybe later. I just came home a few hours ago after sitting in the testing center for three hours taking an exam about a book with concepts that feels way out of time. It’s a textbook novel about the evolution of cost accounting in a hospital setting. I hope I did well. I still have three more exams before I’m officially done with this semester.
I came home, almost 1 pm, hands shaking and stomach growling. I asked my mom if she’d eaten yet (being thoughtful). She said yeah and told me to eat all the leftover beef. I looked at the bowl of leftover beef. “It’s too much. I can’t eat it all.”
“Then make some noodle for me.”
“I thought you’ve eaten.”
“But I’m not full.”
I threw in an extra ramen and when I was so close to be done, she came downstairs, frustrated. She had just texted her tenant about the air conditioning tuneup appointment she had made for them all by herself. “Put some lettuce in there. We have so much.”
I paused cooking and became irritated. Don’t get angry, don’t get angry. I told myself. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “I just want this done. I want to eat.” I said with clenched teeth.
“Fine whatever. Too much, you complain, not enough, you complain.” I took a few more super deep breaths, convinced myself to ignore her.
After the beef was done, I just poured them with the noodles. I sat at the end of the counter and ate my lunch silently. I was in no mood to make conversation, although I had no idea why. The moment I finished cleaning everything up, I bolted for my room. I sat at the computer, wanted to start studying for the next exam but my brain was fried. I had no idea what to write for anything let alone the A to Z challenge. So I spent the afternoon catching up on TV shows.
Now, I think I’m ready to get back to work and study for the next exam now. Anyway, just a quick update. 🙂
Daily Prompt: Do you love hot and spicy foods or do you avoid them for fear of what tomorrow might bring? Continue reading “Hot and Spicy? No Thank you.” →
This was me when I was 11. I couldn’t find pictures of when I was 12. So I thought, this is just as close. Continue reading “Writing 101: Size Matters (In Sentences)” →
No one was fated to spend a life in such a small space, especially not these brothers, just barely getting by, dependent on its caretakers to feed and bathe them. The book, Temporary Home, chronicles the brothers’ daily life and reading their story will bring you to tears.
Temporary Home begins in the brothers’ early days when they had spent in an aquarium. They had many great friends but somehow their friends would disappear now and then. Their then-caretaker told them he had found a great home for their friends. On that fated day, their future caretaker, a girl with long silky black hair and glasses approached the tank. “Which do you like?” Their caretaker had asked the girl.
The girl pointed at the brothers and at that moment, they knew the girl would be their new home. The moment they arrived at their new home, the girl fed them pellets she had bought at the store, just three. The brothers ate hungrily and after that eyed the container of pallet, wanting more but their owner had stopped caring for them.
A few months later, the brothers were passed onto their owner’s friends while their owner went on vacation. The brothers’ life at the friends were even worse. They spent day after day, almost drowning in their urine and feces.
A few months later, the brothers were once again passed onto another. This time, a lady and a girl. At first glance, the brothers knew they would be the same as the friends but at the same time, they knew this would be different. They were right.
Their new caretakers made sure they were well-fed, clean, and warm. This was the best home they ever had but they knew this is not forever. Eventually, they would have to return to their lives of starvation and misery.
My review: five out five stars, definitely.
I love the personification of this book. The author portrait the turtle brothers like real people. Reading it the first time, you can never tell whether it was talking about the life of a person or animals. The brothers seemed so real.
It definitely made me cry, alright especially the part of the brothers not getting enough to eat. I felt so bad for them. No one should be starved. So yes, I will definitely recommend this book even if it’s not written.
Okay, I’m going out of order here so I can catch up with this week’s writing 101 assignments. This is Day 9’s assignment. I hope you will enjoy my bit of flash. 🙂 Continue reading “Writing 101: Point of View” →
Today Prompt: This just in: let’s pretend that science has proven that karma is a thing. Your words and actions will influence what happens to you in the future. How (if at all) will you change your ways? Continue reading “No such thing…” →
I do not know her. We have never met before. Continue reading “Writing 101: A Character-Building Experience” →
Monterey Bay, California is one of those places that has to be visited at least once. It is situated just south of the San Francisco Bay and next to Pebble Beach (17 Mile Drive). I am not a good tour guide and there are really not much to tell except you just have to see it and marvel at the landscapes yourself.
The last time I went to the city of Monterey which is the city next to the bay was May, 2010. We drove hours through the twisty freeway to arrive to this beautiful city. Our first stop was the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Unfortunately my external hard drive went bonkers that summer and lost all my pictures except these which I had cleverly uploaded to Facebook.
Anyway, after the aquarium, we met up with my mom’s friend who worked nearby and we went to a restaurant by the beach for lunch. It had to be the most exquisite lunch I’ve ever had. After that, we said goodbye to my mom’s friend as she headed back to work and we headed toward Pebble Beach.
17 Mile Drive or Pebble Beach is said to be California’s most beautiful coastline. On Wikipedia, it said that there are a lot of mansions and golf course along this scenic road. I guess I wasn’t paying attention since I was focused on the ocean. I mean, how can you focus on mansions and golf courses when you got this to look at?
I hope you’ve enjoyed this mini-tour and thank you for reading. 🙂
In 2006, I was given a fresh start. I had moved to a new city, new state, new home, new school. For the first time, I got to choose my classes, not the other way around. I finally got to be in classes I would have never thought I could like web design and choir. Continue reading “Socializing is Not for Me” →
Today’s prompt asks: A hundred years from now, a major museum is running an exhibition on life and culture as it was during our current historical period. You’re asked to write an introduction for the show’s brochure. What will it say? Continue reading “The Museum of New Ages” →
Day two of Writing 101 is asking us to tell about a place we would go if we can zoom through space. Continue reading “Writing 101: A Room with a View” →
This is my first time taking Writing 101 and the first task is to free-write for 20 minutes. Okay, I can do that. Continue reading “Writing 101: Unlock the Mind” →
I hate it and dread it every year. Will someone pull a prank on me? Will someone prank me so hard that my chest pound and I have to watch my back the entire freaking day? Will I get hurt? I might be able to stand pain but I hate to get hurt. Continue reading “So Not a Fan” →
Head throbbing, throat aching, voice going coarse, and my bottle of anger is full again.
My weekend was crappy, worse than usual but I’m not going to complain. I’m going to let it out another way, a story. I’ve weaved my crappy weekend into a tale between two roommates, Leslie and Sarah. First, I should apologize for this incredibly long post (I can’t help it) but anyway, enjoy the dramatic tale. 🙂
Leslie sat before her computer on a Saturday morning, studying for an afternoon exam. After more than 6 months, she still hadn’t adjusted to fact that she had to find her own time to complete the exams for her classes. At least this one’s open-book, open-notes, she thought happily. She wouldn’t had to go through the tedious process of making a half-page note-card.
By noon, her stomach was growling. She often skips breakfast to save time on studying. So she quickly went to the pantry, pulled a ramen from a plastic bag with her name on it, and popped it into a bowl. She dumped the tiny bag of soup mix, added the water, and popped it into the microwave. By the time she finished with her ramen, she heard a click of the locks. Sarah was home.
“Hey, Les, can you help me with these groceries?” Sarah was carrying at least six bags of food.
Leslie took four bags and hurried to the kitchen. “What are you trying to do? Feed an army?” She dropped the bags on the counter.
“They’re for both of us, duh.” Even then, it would be too much. Leslie went to the sink and clean up while Sarah put her purse on the chair. “Listen, I need your help with something.”
“What?” Leslie asked as she wiped her hands dry.
“I have this paper due Monday and I’m wondering if you can help me since, well, your writing is better mine.”
“What is it on?” Leslie asked quickly.
“It’s a research paper, 6-9 pages. I don’t know what’s on yet. The instructor wasn’t clear.”
“Well, you’ll have to wait. I have to go take the exam.”
“Then go,” Sarah replied. “We can talk about it when you get home.”
Three hours later, Leslie finally came home. The exam took much longer than she had thought. It was 24 questions on 30 pages and each question took forever to complete. Tired but still full of energy, she knocked on Sarah’s door and almost instantly, Sarah wrenched the door open, shoving a paper in Leslie’s face.
“You see this?” Sarah shrieked. Leslie grabbed the paper and looked at it carefully. It was the rubric for the assignment. “It makes completely no sense! He doesn’t explain anything. He just gives the assignment and expects us to understand it at a snap of a finger.”
“The paper said to pick four or more variables affecting the operating environment. What kind of operating environment?” Sarah led her to her laptop sitting on the desk and showed her a PowerPoint presentation on Argentina. “What does Argentina have to do with anything?”
“He assigns us each a country and we’re supposed to apply the variables.”
Leslie frowned. “I don’t know. What do you want me to do exactly?” Sarah handed her an index card. On it are the words, “political, military, economics, social, information, infrastructure.”
“These are the things I need you to research and write about. I will write the rest.” She switched the screen to a word document. “It’s all formatted. All you have to do is fill in the information.”
By then, Leslie only vaguely understood the assignment. “And why can’t you do this yourself?”
“Do I look like I have the time to do both?” Sarah snapped and Leslie threw her hands up and retreated to her room. “I want this done by tomorrow.” Sarah called as Leslie shut the door to her bedroom, she leaned against the door for a minute and sighed.
Sarah always does this, wait until the last minute and just snaps her fingers. Just like that, Leslie to the rescue. She was like one of those nerds that does bully’s homework. Leslie went to her computer and opened the file Sarah had just sent her over dropbox.
That night, to decompress from the long exam, Leslie decided to watch a few shows on TV. She’s already had two pages completed. Lounging on the living room couch, Sarah joined her. “So, roomie, have you completed my paper yet?”
“Not yet, almost though.” Leslie replied.
“May I make some suggestions though?” Leslie nodded. “Focus more on how each variable affect the environment.” Leslie wasn’t exactly listening but Sarah kept blathering on. If you want me to do your assignment, don’t tell me what to write. I have my own methods. She thought.
Leslie screamed when she opened her eyes the next morning to find Sarah hovering above her. “What are you doing?”
“It’s 8, time to get up.” Leslie glanced over at her alarm clock, it was only 7:30. She moaned and sank her head back on her pillow. “Come on, Les, I want it done by 10 am. You do want to have time to do you own thing, don’t you?”
She went to the window and opened the blinds, the light streaming into the room made Leslie shrank and curled. Leslie groaned. “Fine, I’m up!” Leslie stumbled out of bed over to her computer. She yawned and clicked open the file. It looked like Sarah had updated it, she added a few more sections and miraculously, it was completed.
Groggily, she made her way to the kitchen to scour the fridge for breakfast. She settled with a yogurt and ate it over the sink, her head was still throbbing from the blast of sunlight. She stumbled back into her room and sat before the computer, the words blurred and the more she read, the more it was becoming more puzzling.
“Is it done yet?” Leslie jumped, suddenly realizing Sarah was behind her. Had she been watching me this whole time? Leslie wondered. This was beginning to feel like Sarah’s got a gun to her head forcing her to write.
“Almost.” Leslie answered.
“Almost?!” Sarah shrieked. “It’s been two hours!”
Leslie rubbed her temples and said tiredly. “I’m doing the best I can. It’s not that easy, you know.”
“Hurry up,” Sarah snapped. “I’ve been waiting on you all morning and you can’t even write two paragraphs? I am way faster than that.”
Leslie bolted up, “Fine, then write it yourself. I’m tired of your bossing around. My head hurts, I’m not in the mood.”
“Fine!” Sarah screamed. “I don’t need your help. I will write it myself.”
“Fine!” Leslie shouted back and pushed Sarah from her room and locked her room. They didn’t exchange a single word the remainder of the day. Leslie worked on her own homework. Now and then, she could hear Sarah rehearsing in her room, always the same line and this is how their story ends (for now) because do stories ever end?
Want to know a surreal experience? How about going under?
I am talking about going under gas, as in surgery. I think it’s surreal because if you’ve ever experienced it, it’s almost like a first-person account of death in novels, except this is temporary.
I went under twice in 2013. The first was in May that year when I finally committed to get rid of the calcification in my left leg. My doctor/surgeon originally didn’t want to put me under. He was originally just going to inject me with anesthesia and be done with it. Unfortunately, I have tiny veins and the anesthesiologist wasn’t skilled to find one that will work. I guess it’s their fault to tell me to go on an empty stomach.
Anyway, they wheeled me through the narrow corridors into the operating room. Then it felt just like in TV shows and movies when they put a mask over my nose and mouth, told me to take a few breaths and said, “You should be out in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.” I was still awake after he said one. Then just as I lose my last shred of consciousness, I could almost hear him say, “Now close your eyes and drift off.”
Anyway, this isn’t the surreal experience I want to tell you.
I want to tell you about the second time I went under in September. It was the day of my oral surgery. It was a procedure I paid for all on my own and frankly, it was a huge waste of money because it didn’t work. That morning, as usual, my mom was cranky because first she had to miss an hour of work and secondly, when we got to the office, we had to pay an extra $250 for the anesthesiologist, all because the oral surgeon was afraid to work with my small veins.
Anyway, she left right after writing a big check, much more angry than before, and I was left waiting alone with nothing to do in the waiting room. They told me the anesthesiologist was running late and wouldn’t be there for another 20 or 30 minutes. Well, that’s not good.
Finally, about thirty-minutes later, the anesthesiologist finally came out and called me in. I was expecting an OR like the last time I had surgery but this room was bright and was lined with windows. There was even music playing.
He showed me the gas mask as I sat down. “I need you to take a few deep breaths into this mask for me, okay?” The anesthesiologist instructed. I nodded and he placed the mask over me.
I was nervous and anxious. So I focused on the music to calm me as I breathed in the gas and before I knew it, the music became slower and slower and then it stopped.
I don’t mean it stopped playing. I mean it sounded like a CD or a vinyl playing on a turntable and it’s caught at a place and the same note just plays over and over and over. If you watch I Love Lucy, the episode where the apartment was dressed like Cuba and Lucy was serenading Ricky with Spanish music, you’ll know what I mean.
The other strange thing is I don’t think I even closed my eyes because all I could see was that florescent light above me and I couldn’t blink. Maybe in reality, my eyes had been closed but in my reality, they had been unblinkingly open like someone had kept their eyes open during their last moments.
A while later, when I finally came to, I found myself on a wooden table in a tiny room. It was odd and uncomfortable and it made me wonder. Is this where they let the patients sleep until the gas wear off? Do they not have a bed or anything?
At the same time, I really want to sleep. Unfortunately, I think someone knew I was awake and sent my mom to come and get me. She helped me off the table, apparently, it was a table because she was complaining about a few hours later when my mind was once again crystal clear. Then with her aid, I stumbled across the parking lot to the car like a drunk and before she even leaves the parking lot, I was asleep again.
So how’s that for a surreal experience?
Seriously???
Telling jokes have been one of my biggest weakness ever since like the dawn of time. I am simply incapable of telling a good joke. Even when I was in Toastmasters and I had to stand before everybody to tell a joke because I was chosen to be the Jokemeister of the meeting. I’d recite my joke and silence would ensue. I could hear cricket chirping in the background.
I don’t even get the joke, why should they? After all, I had forgotten my task and left it to the last minute to scour the web for a good joke.
Anyway, I am not even going to try to tell a joke today. Instead, I’m going to resurrect one of my old humorous tales from way back in my archives.
By the way, I didn’t know this until last week but I have published over 500 posts! Of course, those include the ones I imported from the other blog as well but still, I wrote each and every one. Over 500! Wow, I’ve certainly never expect to get this far. Anyway, enough chitchat, here it is…
Have you ever seen that car commercial where the little boy sits in the backseat asking all kinds of questions? Like, why can I see the sky or why is my butt hot?
Well, Michael is one and the same. He is 10 and one curious boy. When he began elementary school at the age of 7, out of nowhere, questions would start popping from nowhere. After that, everyday, right after he got into his mom’s car after school, questions would start flying. At first, his mom was just ecstatic about her son’s curiosity. “That the way kids learn these days.” She told herself but after three years of enduring Michael’s ridiculous questions, she had just about enough.
One night, right after his mom tucked him to bed. She leaned in and said, “Now, give mama a kiss goodnight.”
Michael frowned and shook his head, “I can’t, kissing you means I kissed a girl.” His mom looked at him, confused. “Mrs. Rachel says we are not allowed to kiss any girl until we are 16.”
“Now, kissing mommy does not mean kissing a girl. Now give me a peck on the cheek.” Michael obeyed. He lifted his head and kissed his mom’s cheek. “Now, go to bed.”
She walked to the door and was about to switch off the lights when Michael asked, “Why, mommy?”
“Why do you have to go to bed? Because you have school tomorrow.” His mom automatically answered, tired.
“No, why we are not allow to kiss any girl until we are 16?”
“Uh, uh,” His mom stammered before she thought of a great answer, “uh, why don’t you ask Mrs. Rachel tomorrow? Now, you need to go to sleep.” She switched off the lights and shut the door and took a giant breath of relief.
This is Another Story