No, don’t turn this around on me. Not “all this over $5.“
Do you see what you created over $5?
Actions have consequences, people–
xLoJu
Month: August 2014
Who Needs a #Filter?
Open Letter to the Parking Police (because I’m really sorry you didn’t make the grade):
To My Dearest Friends at the Parking Police (I think you’re known as “Code Enforcement”);
For two years, I worked at a jazz bar. Most of the time, my shift started at 7pm – although once or twice a week I started at 5pm. Throughout this entire period, you had to pay to park daily until 7pm. So, it wasn’t really a big deal – at most, a few dollars a week. At least for me. Those who worked days paid a monthly permit fee, I believe.
Nearing the end of my time there, a massive, corporate sports-bar conglomerate moved in around the corner and took over the neighborhood. Not only did they steal much of our business with their cheap drinks and big screens (well, I suppose the Lost weren’t really jazz-lovers, then…), but they also stole our entire parking lot. Regulars told us tales of how they tried to come in on a Tuesday and, after not finding parking within 20 minutes, drove home.
Trials and tribulations of an expat stuck in her home country–
I have to be strong so that he can be weak. Well, at least that’s the long and short of it. He’d rather not be here either. But we’ve just done the back and forth so many times. Had it ever worked out, we would have stayed. Honestly, had he never asked me to go with him to Tenerife in 2009, we still would probably be in Italy. Well, I would. Maybe it would all be different…
The Soundtrack of my Life: or, what music and when?
I live life by a Soundtrack. Music lends itself to any situation. Whether it be in regards to creativity, productivity, or even your emotional state, music is always there to stimulate and bring to life ideas.
Reading Your Writing Lady‘s post “Should You Listen to Music While Writing?” brought this idea to the forefront. Whether music is a helpful base or a harmful distraction to your endeavors – well, that’s really dependent on the type of person and the type of music.
Living with Wild Abandon: or, the Bad Boy appeal —
This is an excerpt from my last (rather long, rather verbose) post. I thought why bad boys have such appeal was a concept that deserved more specific discussion:
My best friend from childhood, the one I always speak about, calls me for relationship advice. Or, rather, a decision between two “boys.” She is my age and just as smart, but she is wholly inexperienced in exploring herself and in relationships. I have been married nearing 5 years, so I can understand her seeking me out for advice. Especially on such an appropriate query:
M: One of them is so smart and so respectful; he wants to treat me so well, but I just don’t feel it. The other? Such a bad boy. Felonies and DUI’s galore. A drop-out, a possible drug-dealer – no future, really. But he’s just so exciting.
The Bartender Therapist: or, a harem forming about me
I happen to have lots of problems. I don’t know if it’s because of this or in lieu of this, but I seem to gather about me women with just as many issues. Whereas my problems are continuous – and generally kept under wraps – it seems like their lives, on sporadic occasion, blow up in their faces.
All at the same time.
And Most Women Do Not Creep by Daylight: I always lock the door when I creep by daylight —
I won’t attempt an analysis of text, or anything quite so intellectual at the moment. Instead, in adulation, I felt inspired to record myself reading Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s 1892 short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper.”
I hope, if you have a listen, you enjoy it. I have never done anything like this before, so I know there will be much criticism – which I welcome!
Apart from my carrying on, I do hope you give the original text a read – if you have not – as it is one of my all time favorite shorts about Madness.
xLoJu
(P.S. Sorry about all the technical issues, I don’t know why the video is starting at 2minutes+ or why the still disappears at about 7 or 8 – if I do this again, hopefully I will have gained a better understanding of Jahshaka!)
Escape
I found a secret place
where it’s easy to rewind;
I found a secret space
where I can clear my mind —
In the back of my apartment building, there’s a laundry room. Its stark white cement and cold, sterile tile (I use the term “sterile” lightly as it’s really in need of a good scrubbing) soak in blue light from the large window and sliding glass doors that make up the back wall.
Tolerance insinuates that at some point it will be too much–
What is pain? Scientifically, I wouldn’t really know how to explain it. But I’m sure it is a reaction – it’s a physical reaction relative in intensity to some sort of external stimulus.
You stub your toe…ouch. You break your leg – OUCH! Your parachute doesn’t open when you skydive – AHdvhsjjNkskaksjsbJshshsjeb!!
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Opposite the Border 