You Ask Me Why I Like You, And The Words Feel Too Earthbound—like Cupping Water In Your Palms And Calling

i'm not the best at singing. but i'm gonna sing anyway dude. i'm not the best at painting. but i'm still going to paint. my dancing will never see a stage. but it's perfect for early mornings in my bedroom and late nights with people i love. so what does this mean? it means that people are designed to do. not to be the best. just to do. if you're doing what you enjoy, then you don't have to be the best. you just have to enjoy it. you have to live.

Late nights and Would you rathers

My car lurches wildly into the parking lot and I abandon it, still running, at the curb, ignoring the guard who calls after me: “Hey! You can’t leave this here.”

I race into the hospital. A flock of bedraggled “get well soon” balloons bob wildly behind me.

I stop at the desk and startle the poor clerk there. “Where?!” I gasp.

I rush off before he can tell me. I know in my heart where my destination is.

As I near the end of the hall I am greeted by a whole crowd of anxious mourners and well-wishers, all bearing tokens of affection; flowers, cards, teddy bears. Our balloons join into one giant, grieving stormcloud.

“Any news?” I ask the nearest person. And they shake their head sadly.

“We can only wait now,” they say. And though we have never met before, we squeeze hands.

All of us hope for the swift recovery of our beloved AO3.

The days

By sun.after.winter

There is no memory of my creation, 

the days are stagnant and infrequent. 

I've been here forever, or perhaps I was made yesterday? 

Time has no relevance.

 Today, I fall.

 Nothing more, nothing less, 

crashing towards the ground as time seems to stop

A couple job interview hacks from someone who has to give a job interview every single goddamn day: (disclaimer: this goes for my process and my company’s process, other companies and industries might be different)

1. There are a few things I check and a few questions I ask literally just to figure out if you can play the game and get along with others in a professional setting. Part of the job I interview for is talking to people, and we work in teams. So if you can’t “play the game” a tiny bit, it’s not going to work. Playing the game includes:

- Why do you want to work here? (just prove that you googled the company, tell me like 1 thing about us, I just want to know that you did SOME kind of preparation for this interview)

- Are you wearing professional clothing? I don’t need a suit just don’t show up in a ratty t-shirt and sweatpants.

- Are you able to speak respectfully and without dropping f-bombs all the time? Not because I’m offended but because I don’t want to be reported to HR if you wind up on my team.

- Can you follow simple directions in an interview?

2. Stop telling me protected information. I don’t want to know about what drugs or medications you’re on, I don’t want to know about you being sick, I don’t want to know if you’re planning to have children soon, I don’t want to know anything about your personal life other than “can you do the job?” 

3. When we ask, “What questions do you have for me?” here are my favorites I’ve heard: - What does the day-to-day look like for a member of your team?

- If one of your team members was not performing up to his usual standard, what steps would you take to correct that?

- What can I start doing now to accelerate my learning process in this job?

- What are some reservations you have about me as a candidate? (be ready for this emotionally….it will REALLY help you in the future, and I’ve had people save themselves from a No after this, but can be hard to hear)

- In your opinion, what skills and qualities does the ideal candidate for this job possess?

- What advice would you give to a new hire in this position/someone who wanted to break into this industry, as someone who has worked here for a while?

Those are just my tips off-the-cuff. I work in sales in marketing/SAAS, so these can be very different depending on the industry, but I wish the people I interview could read this before they show up. 

Anyone know the artist? For clarity, the painter, not the writer.

We suffer from an incurable malady: Hope.

— Mahmoud Darwish

A short comic I made about my experiences as a seasonal worker, and the way places change you.

Prints & PDF

skeletons

It could be coincidence, or destiny, or some neurological memory of an espresso cup. I choose to believe all of the above, that beautiful coincidences are part of fate, and my life has shaped my hands that have shaped the cup.

-my poem