May 16, 2019

You Don't Ask, You Don't Get.

In today's episode of "You don't ask, you don't get" -
I hate yardwork, but I'd been doing a fair amount of it today since the weather is cool enough, and my neighbor was kind enough to mow my lawn this morning. About two hours in, I'm straightening up the garage and getting ready to pack it in for the day, I notice a young man I've seen around the neighborhood power walking past my house. I wave and say hello. He acknowledges me, and stops cold. "Ma'am, could I trouble you for a ride to 16th and Ida?"

September 28, 2018

The Math Comes Out To Be Ephemily +1

"How did you manage to get ahold of a loan officer at 9:30 at night on a Thursday?"

The question came in over text, so I couldn't tell the degree of incredulousness in Loverboy's tone.

"I dunno.  I know people, and for some reason, they seem to like me."

That was late August of 2018.  And that's all it took to refinance my house.  Well, ok.  Obviously there was more than that.  But the hassle of shopping around for the right company, the reasonable rates, the type of loan that fits my needs, reflected my well earned 823 FICO score, and the right team to work with was quite simple, actually. 

June 9, 2018

You Stand, I Stand

"Welp, I think we found our woo girl."

I didn't so much whisper as I did direct a targeted cone of sound at Loverboy's ear as the target of my ire was sitting just to his left.  The concert was in full swing by then.  We'd just taken our seats, and the group of women next to us were immersed in the experience up to their eyeballs.

January 31, 2018

From The Heart - Robe Sleeves, Privlidge, And A Week In Mexico.

I need to show you something. I wanted to sit on the balcony on a particularly brisk morning during my vacation last week, and decided to take advantage of the robe hanging in the closet. As I started to untie the belt and remove it from the hanger, I noticed that the right arm was tucked in such a way as to give it the appearance of saluting, with the hand over the heart.  I wrote the following from said balcony as a reflection of the experiences I've had in Mexico and at the Vidanta resort:

January 26, 2018

The Necessity of "Goodbye, Paradise."

The last of my pesos are sitting on the vanity, next to my winter coat which was begrudgingly pulled from the closet. I have utilized katana space, bargained with deities, and conjured my inner Tetris playing 90s kid to close and lock my suitcase. I'm dressed in layers so I can slowly remind myself what it's like to be cold.

January 25, 2018

The Boldest Print

Something I learned from walking around in a bathing suit, half skirt, and sheer, knee length cover up during the day - I'm not the smallest on the resort. I'm not the most ideally proportioned, or conventionally beautiful. I'm thick, jiggly in the middle, and small breasted, to tell the unvarnished truth.

January 23, 2018

Comedic Timing. Or, How I Learned To Love The Pain And Support The Toaster

I need to monetize my dad's sense of comedic timing.  Not the one that he *thinks* he has.  You know, the one that has me apologizing to waiters the world over.  I'm talking the one he doesn't realize he’s got, but would make him the perfect character in a slapstick comedy.

I’ve been on vacation with my folks for 4 or so days now.

Yesterday, I listened to my folks, both in their mid 70s, argue for half an hour over how to use the microwave.  My dad wanted to warm his muffin just enough to melt a pat of butter from the stick left in the fridge overnight.  If he’d have left the butter on the countertop for the same amount of time. . .   But, I digress.  

November 4, 2017

A Protagonist You Like

I spent about two hours delaying the inevitable of having to get out of bed this morning, chewing on thoughts and enjoying the weight of my down comforter.
I used to have this fear of frailty. That I'd be "less than" because I get migraines, that I have a trainwreck of a back and neck thanks to choices in leisure activities, exacerbated by actual injury. I've got a brain that doesn't quite fire right, meaning it spins off on its own path, too fast, too dark, and too anxious. I'm a packrat, and have historically carried around extra body "just in case I came up short", which is the dumbest thing to hoard, ever. I'm well versed in pain, spending weeks a year whispering curses into ice packs, leaking pain inspired tears into pillows, and being pickled by epsom salts and opioids. Part of my identity has historically included the word, "broken" on some level. Empirical evidence and some other bullshit I'd talked myself into.

This morning, with the duvet pulled up to the tip of my frosty little nose, my logic and my emotion stood akimbo over me, and in unison said, "And?"

May 29, 2016

Graphic Novelty, or Ephemily Podcasts

How does a person who has been racking their brain to find an outlet for their creativity, but also has an unhealthy need to sit on the couch and watch TV indulge both urges?  Why, podcasting, of course!


May 5, 2016

Ephemily Recommends - Free Comic Book Day Edition

This Saturday, May 7th is Free Comic Book Day 2016.  This is a day when comic lovers old and new are enticed out of their dwellings with the promise of free teaser issues of different comic titles, cosplay events, sales, and social time with others who share their fandom love.

If you haven't gone through the list of free comics for 2016 yet, here's your chance.  They can be found here on the FCBD official website.

If you're looking to make the best of any sales your local store might be having, I want to offer a few titles that might be worth your time.