What Do Teachers Really Want For Christmas?

I stumbled across a post on Facebook, asking one simple question: What do teachers REALLY want for a gift this year? It immediately caught my attention and – like any proper link on Facebook – I clicked on it, expecting “it” to be some type of op-ed piece on what teachers really, truly want. “It”…

An Ode to a Chiberian

"The wedding was amazing, but now I'm hungover!" she downright sings. Even her hangovers are energetic and entertaining. "Text me your address and we'll grab lunch!" It's just like any other phone call with my best friend.  She's telling me the adventures of last night as I drive back from my morning class.  The only difference…

Pulling Out All The Stops

Forewarning: I'll be talking about somebody else's circumstances, only to immediately turn it around and talk about myself, only to attempt to make it universal by the end.  You've been (fore)warned. Someone I know was recently let go from her job.  It was a job she liked, didn't love, and was doing until the next…

Writing and the Primadonna Yawp that is, “Creative Freedom!”

I first want to start this by saying that my cat has just indicated he wants to go on my lap my turning my back into a human scratching post. He is now happy as a clam sitting in the nook I've created by crossing my right ankle over my left knee (the figure-four position…

Writing and the Ultimate Unpaid Internship

Long before I tried my hand at op-ed pieces and personal essays, I was a wannabe novelist. I knew I wanted to be a novelist before I could actually read books that counted as real novels.  I told everyone I was going to be the next Stephen King (only, y'know, Stephanie King, because I'm a girl) long…

Another Reason Why Modeling Is Not For the Weak of Heart, Brought to You by a Rejection Email.

I got an email from my agency yesterday, letting me know I was released from a set of wedding shows in the upcoming months.  This is standard operating procedure in the modeling world: an agency will ask for your availability for a show, a shoot, whatever they're potentially hiring you for, only to release the…

Thoughts on a Day

It's been a low and dreary couple of weeks.  The weather has been a consistent gray, with patches of rain and wind to keep things interesting.  It's getting to the point that there'll be a momentary break and I'll involuntarily squint in bewilderment, as if I've forgotten what sunlight feels like when it's not being…