This is one of those events that seem almost surreal even a couple weeks after the fact. I was asked to Zoom speak to Professor Pilar Milagros and her literature class at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul, Turkey. Because of the time difference, my lecture started at 11:00 PM and lasted until 12:30 AM the next […]
This past Spring, I returned to my MFA Program to read and answer questions. This was one of the most meaningful readings of my life. After leaving Cornell, my life did not exactly follow the path I would have guessed. But I somehow kept writing. And, as it always has, writing sustained me. I am […]
(Dec-20 retrospective) I was trying to select my WordPress theme, and I ran into “Reykjavik.” It wasn’t the right theme for me, but it was funny that I could actually post pictures from Reykjavik onto the Reykjavik theme. It’s been a few months since I left Iceland, and I hope to go back in a […]
And so it is over. The first I-5 DIY Queer Lit Conference concludes with a Filet-O-Fish at the Castaic McDonald’s. Wow. I had thought to end the conference in Gorman, where I started. Kind of cyclical, right? But as I passed Gorman, I didn’t feel right about it. Too soon. So I drive until it […]
5:45 pm Buttonwillow Up until now, I have been faithfully stopping and writing at every stop I have made. I have tried to convey what I felt, to bring people into the conference. All along, I am aware I am the only one in this I-5 DIY Queer Literary Conference on the road, but the […]
And, yes. Because I had to come back here. Lost Hills. I had not intended to come here. We had so many good times. I didn’t want them to end. Coming here was an acknowledgement it was over. And it’s over. It’s over. Shit. I had intended to come here, triumphantly, with the road behind […]
If you ever want to run into Asians on the road, go to a table in the shade and look for the coolers and packages from Costco. There’s like a completely different vibe between the folks who bring their own food and the ones who stop at the Del Taco. Here, you get more families, […]
Yes yes yes I know I am going to leave, but soup is mostly liquid and caffeine is a diuretic…. Time to leave Santa Nella. I hate the voice inside my head rushing me out. I hear the voices on the road, as well. I have seen women rushing into the bathroom, sometimes, girls in […]
This is what I have been waiting for all trip. Andersen’s Home of Split Pea Soup, because nothing goes with late June on the I-5 better than steaming bowl of split pea soup. Sure, go ahead and roll your eyes. But for me and a whole bunch of “Pea Soupers” in the Sunday queue, a […]
So here is the Love’s I wrote about yesterday. The one I said was in Lost Hills. It is in Santa Nella. There is a Love’s in Lost Hills, too, but this one has the Del Taco. And it sells cowboy hats with shiny jeweled bands. And I realize how important this Love’s is because […]