This is my Halloween ghost story. Please go back to Part One if you're just starting it. I'm publishing it here in five (5) parts since it's kind of long. “Did you see Mr. Santiaguillo at the chapel?” Lillian called her sister as soon as she got home that night....

This is my Halloween ghost story. Please go back to Part One if you're just starting it. I'm publishing it here in five (5) parts since it's kind of long. “Liliana,” Eulalia beckoned one day when she was feeling particularly weak.  The doctor had told them to...

This is my Halloween ghost story. I wrote it in October 2003 when I was in a scary, haunted mood. I'll publish it here in five (5) parts since it's kind of long. Enjoy. Eulalia Carrera had a ferocious temper. As a child she had cowered with her brothers and sisters...

Hey, look - I've been recognized on SpinsterSpin.com! My poem "Spinster" has been added to the site and I feel like I've achieved a new level of singlehood. Does this make me a published writer?

I complain a lot. I never look on the bright side. I constantly blame myself for everything that goes wrong in my life and I rarely take much time to focus on what I do well. I’m sure everything is about to fall apart and I will have “failed” again. Anyone want to...

Now THIS is what I've been talking about: SpinsterSpin.com celebrates spinsterhood without shying away from the word "spinster" which few people realize is a great word. I love her links to podcasts and articles on how to enjoy the holidays as a spinster, famous...

Now I don’t feel so stupid. According to Rene Steinke’s “Women on the Rocks,” an article in the October 2006 issue of Oprah Magazine (sorry, I couldn't find the article online), it turns out that alcohol has seriously worse effects on women than on men (way beyond...

So! I started working full time at this restaurant in June. In June and July I made about 60% of what I need to live on, but figured it was because I was new, plus business was down. I made almost 100% of what I need to live on in August and had hope for the fall....

Things continue to go amazingly well with my new boyfriend (of almost nine months). Startlingly well. I mean, we're both startled at how happy we are with each other. I'm starting to really want my friends to know him and I want him to know my friends because he's...

By the way, do you know how to check if an email sent to you is true? In the past few days I've received forwarded emails about a Muslim "Christmas" stamp, a robbery method that leaves women naked in bathroom stalls, and which leading cosmetics companies have lead in...

I just have to say another word about Fatty McBlog. There is so much prejudice about overweight people, especially those who fit the description "morbidly obese." I know I have some of that prejudice, too, however much I wish I could be free of it. But her post of...

Ever since I attended a workshop on living wills two weeks ago, I have been slowly working on mine (a living will is a document that lets you decide whether or not to be kept on artificial life support and appoints someone to make health care decisions on your behalf...

Disclaimer: since I've become properly obese, I re-read these old posts and see my body dysmorphia and obsession with food and weight. It's sad to me now. I have heard from someone I haven't seen since we graduated from high school together (he found me through my...

When I was very depressed, but before my doctor and I figured out the right medication, I wrote a lot of songs and performed very regularly. There’s a myth of creativity that the best art comes out of the worst suffering and while I don’t think that’s always true, I...