My mom and dad always used to get me a box of See’s Candy for Valentine’s Day. Some years, it was the big white variety box. Others, it was the smaller golden box of truffles. Why did they always select the smaller box for the truffles? Because they are rich. (The truffles, not my parents.) They’re not meant to be …
Guys, I Have a Webcam
If you’ve seen the classic chick flick 10 Things I Hate About You, you already know how I feel about this post. Remember that part when Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is trying to persuade Patrick (Heath Ledger) to have another try at dating Katarina Stratford (Julia Stiles)? “Sacrifice yourself on the altar of dignity and even the score,” Cameron says. “Don’t …
Croatoa: How I Turned the Lost Colony of Roanoke into a Short Story
If you like unsolved mysteries, I have a doozy for you. You may have seen a recent article on NationalGeographic.com that describes a new discovery in the search for the lost colony of Roanoke. If you’re a Supernatural fan, a word associated with the Lost Colony—Croatoa —probably means something to you. If you’re a student of history or Native American …
I Have a Theory
What if all the things you’re afraid of are things that killed you or hurt you in a previous life? I had a lot of irrational fears when I was little. Among them: One day, I started trying to figure out why I was terrified to light a match. Grown-ups did it easily. Lots of other kids did it easily, …
What’s in a Name?
Answer the following question: If you could choose your name, what would you pick? Seems like such a simple question, right? As I tried to answer it recently, I sat with my fingers poised over the keyboard, waiting for the answer to come. It didn’t. Every possible choice tied me up in angst-filled existential knots. For the record, let me state that …
Why I Write
Because you can’t drink all the time. Just kidding. Of course you can. I write because I suck at everything else. Have you seen what comes off the stove when I try to cook? Have you ever eaten something I pull out of the oven? You don’t want to. Those “nailed it” memes are the story of my life. I …
Welcome to the Jungle
The jungle… that’s how I view the world of website ownership and management. I used to think my job was just to write. Stories, books, memoirs, heck, even poems if that’s what it took. But the world is different now. Thirteen-year-olds successfully create and operate websites, and I’m not about to be outdone by someone who wasn’t even alive when …