Year: 2017

  • Getting home

    Getting home

    She bought a bag of grapes and a handful of bananas. Me, I was waiting behind her to pay for my three Jamaican meet patties, a bag of chips, and a jar of salsa. After we had each paid, we met again outside the Hasty Market, where she was searching around for a lighter. I…

  • Filling the Sink with Water

    Filling the Sink with Water

    Whenever I do the dishes, which is not altogether that often, I like to plug the one side of the sink. While I’m washing dishes, I let the water collect. Eventually, the water level gets high enough to spill over the little inset portion of the sink. Whenever that happens, I take a minute to…

  • Earned this….

    It’s the holidays.

  • I’ve grown a beard

    As 2017 is starting to come to a close, I’m starting to think about the things that I’ve accomplished during the past year. The year started in a very unusual way, with me at home with my family. To say that the rest of the year was just as unusual wouldn’t be too much of…

  • I left the baking sheet in the oven

    I tried my hand at baking cassava fries tonight. I boiled the cassava on Sunday, hoping that I’d get to making them on Monday. I was going to fry the chips. The fries. While cutting up the cassava into fries, I set the oven to preheat. I thought I had turned it to 425º. After…

  • I kneed a sleeping baby in the face

    I kneed a sleeping baby in the face

    While getting off a packed bus, I stepped over a stroller and as my right knee was coming over, it hit the baby sleeping inside on the left cheek. I blurted out, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” as I, without thinking, as if instinctually, reached down and gently stroked the child’s cheek. Maybe I was…

  • Riel is Teaching Me About Work-Life Balance

    It happens nearly every time I sit down at my desk to do some work. It won’t take five minutes for Riel to jump up on my desk, take a quick scan, and then lay down directly on top of whatever I’m working on. Even if I’m sitting on my recliner staring at my iPad…

  • I’ve finally gotten old

    I’ve finally gotten old

    It’d be easy to argue that I’ve been aging since I was born, some 34.5 years ago. What of those nine months during gestation, when I was but a parasite? We’ll them a growth, but not aging, period. Tonight, I finally got old, though. It happened tonight while I was paying for my groceries. But,…

  • I remember how to do this

    I remember how to do this

    5 am. My alarm goes off at 5 am. By 7:00, I had better be no more than ten minutes away from leaving for work. If I get to work by 7:45, I’m pushing it. Officially, I have to be at work by 8:30 and in class by 8:50. 45-65 minutes isn’t enough to get…

  • Gym Membership

    So, we're going down this road again. It's nearing the end of the summer and I'm feeling a bit pudgy and lazy. My beach body doesn't exist, and I don't like exposing my toes, especially if there's a chance that sand will gather between them. I'm having trouble carrying the bag fulls of groceries that…

  • Still Waters

    I've been going through some old boxes, looking for my old journals. I came across this little ditty from 1998: The peace and serenity of still waters Calms my mind and sets me free I have no more pain and am released of sorrow My heart can cry and my soul can run free The…

  • Nearly a Month of Morning Pages

    For almost every day this month, when I wake up in the morning, I put on a pot of coffee, play my racing car game until I run out of fuel, go poo, and then sit down to write my Morning Pages. It usually takes me anywhere from 45 – 90 minutes. By the time…