Jul 17Dumb Shit WritingMy son constantly takes his phone with him into the bathroom, and I’m afraid one day he will drop it in the toilet. I don’t know how he will feel if his phone drops in the toilet, but I will feel that I’m out $800. Access. Cellphones. Restrictions. Screen time…Tik Tok10 min readTik Tok10 min read
Feb 10A Broken MugA few days ago, this mug broke in my hands. I don’t know why it broke. I pulled the mug from the cabinet, was about to place it on the counter, and without reason, the handle fell off. Since then I’ve been debating whether to throw it away or fix…Broken10 min readBroken10 min read
Jan 9Lisbon StoriesExcept for “thank you,” I don’t speak Portuguese. Before a recent trip to Lisbon, I spent a few weeks on Duolingo trying to learn Portuguese phrases such as “I have an apple” and “I am a boy/I am a girl.” During my trip, I wanted to be able to converse…Lisbon10 min readLisbon10 min read
Oct 18, 2022My Dad’s ThingsI opened my dad’s office desk drawer after he died. In it, I found neatly organized items from the insurance and financial planning businesses he had run. Pens. Letter openers. Calling cards. Rulers. Dirty jokes on calling cards. Mostly promotional materials saved throughout the years. When I was a child…Dads9 min readDads9 min read
Jun 23, 2022A Few Grumpy RhetoricsThis is a photograph of my daughter and me. We are in a Mexican grocery store called Aguascalientes. There is a taqueria inside the store. We are waiting for our tacos. I love tacos. They make me happy. I drag my kids to taqueria after taqueria, trying tacos whenever I…Grumpy10 min readGrumpy10 min read
May 17, 2022Significant InsignificanceOn a given afternoon, I sit down at my small bistro table outside with an espresso. The tiny cup on the tiny saucer. Thick coffee staring back at me. This is my afternoon ritual. My daughter will sometimes comment on this ritual or text me later in the day: did…Significance9 min readSignificance9 min read
Feb 17, 2022Shit RhetoricsShit Rhetorics My father used to shit with the door open. Growing up, I might be walking down the hall of our small, suburban, ranch home in Kendall, and there, out of the corner of my eye, would I spot my father on the toilet shitting. Maybe he was reading…Shit9 min readShit9 min read
Dec 28, 2021A Story About A StrokeThis cigar store Indian sits in my parents’ living room. It’s offensive. Anyone I know who has seen it recognizes that it is offensive. I once asked my father, who likely paid a decent amount of money for this figure and who proudly displays it where people gather in his…Stroke9 min readStroke9 min read
Oct 6, 2021Dream RhetoricsI had a dream the other night. I was with some other people at either a dinner or a banquet. In front of me was something to eat, something cheesy and gooey that looked delicious and worth a picture I should upload to Instagram. I took out my phone —…Dreams8 min readDreams8 min read
Aug 29, 2021Pandemic SketchesI’m a writer trying to write. Laptop open. Dog under my feet. Staring at a dirty computer screen marked by scattered, past lunches and dust. The radio playing in the background. Work emails. Pandemic hovering around. Trying to write. Trying. This is not writer’s block. This is not — necessarily…Pandemic9 min readPandemic9 min read
