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Challenge Accepted

Write a fictional story… without guns, death, physical sex, the supernatural, historical figures, or alternate universes.

“My name’s Paul.” He to get that much through the lump in his throat.
“Stephanie.”
“Nice to meet you”, he said extending a hand shakily. Pretty woman or not, one must not be impolite he thought. A smile cracked across from him, although at this point she could have just been trying to be equally polite. Politeness was all it was, he fully knew her name from the nameplate on the end of her cubicle wall. Every day, if he could, he would make his way to the art department just to catch a glimpse of her. Not that he was stalking her. Not at all, never. It was just a reminder…that she was there…and that she was beautiful.

Her weight shifted onto her other leg, after all the conversation had been going on for some time. Fifty floors justified the useless balloon juice spread out there as if it was the way “normal” people spoke to each other, your usual faux pas about the weather and work. New scenarios spattered through his mind, but like the computers he’d been working on, processing power was too low. He was hung up on compatibility. The knickknacks on her desk, the busted black Jetta with all those bumper stickers, the music on her headphones when she walked past the IT department; she probably hung out with awesome artistic friends, made trips frequently to the city…an adventurous life…

“I like your shoes” she said. The confidence in her voice put him at unease. Paul quickly managed to notice that she was wearing the same Chuck Taylors. “How did I miss that?” he thought. Again, compatibility. Following an awkward and panicky laugh he blundered “Psh, yeah… I just…you know.” He broke eye contact as quickly as he could, looked at his shoes, remembered that was what the conversation was about and dashed his gaze upon the other side of the elevator. He saw in the reflection of the brass walls, that her reaction was the same as his. Compatibility…

The awkwardness could have only been broken by the buzz of the cell phone in her messenger bag. She quickly stabbed into the bag for it and pulled it out with a jingle of change. A small figurine of Japanese origin hung from the antenna. She scrolled through texts and let out a personal giggle. Devastating grief came over Paul and negativity reined. “It’s probably her boyfriend.” He unwisely leaned over and violated privacy protocols. He managed to catch a glimpse at the screen and felt a wave of relief suspended the grief. “Just a text from a girl friend” he assured himself. He stealthily shifted himself to avoid being caught.

Floors were flying by, he only had a few moments to make a move. “Kiss her? No. Bring something else to talk about? No time. Panic? Panic.” His mind franticly fumbled while his hands played with the keys in his pocket out of nervousness. “Listen, I…” ding went the elevator and a wave of sunlight poured in. Lobby. She adjusted the bag on her shoulder and made for the exit still scrolling through her phone. He dashed after her valiantly. “Want to grab lunch tomorrow?” He threw like a Hail Mary.

“Sure, but I usually bring my own lunch.”
“It will be on me” such confidence shooting through him, he felt strength like no other.
“Sure” she repeated with a smile “See you then.”

He sealed the contract with a wave and a suppressed grin. Gloom and uncertainty were problems for another. His life enlightened, despite the fact his internship ended that afternoon.


Little did he know she was a werewolf with an Uzi sent from the future to correct the mistakes of the past and… damn it. As an aside, I actually flipped a coin to decide if it was a happy or sad ending.

Boredom Poems

I requested that a few friends make poem requests to end my relentless stagnation. I am actually surprised that it made me write. All in all, I feel that they are pretty good for an hour or so's worth of effort.

Jon requested an Epic Poem about himself being a super hero. I did not think that he realized that epic poems can be several books long... so here is a "snippet."

A story so bold is this
The greatest antihero of our time

So fine a lady she was
Walking home that night
The devil came swooping
Grave was her plight

Hands reach to silence
To an echo, her scream
Then, there she was
Fallen to his scheme

Smoke entered the alley
All at once, a terrible jolt
The eyes of a champion
Back lit with a bolt

His cape would flutter abruptly
His leap, uncompromised
The pain was intense
The jaw was prized

Struck and dazed he stumbled
A quick left struck his nose
He was left grasping blindly
Eyes watering he rose

A hasty retreat was quickly made
The woman lies dead
She should have known better
Where evil will tread

He escapes into the night
Following leads on the other
Always apathetic
Strike before he finds another.

Tiph requested a Ballad about "Monsters Eating Peanut Butter." I couldn't resist...

Love, such a love,
What is this thing I crave?
Peanut butter, peanut butter

A taste, just a taste,
So torturous I was ripped from the fey
Peanut butter, peanut butter

Meh-ow, I cry Meh-ow,
Your frightened face holds no sway
Peanut butter, peanut butter

Find, oh please find,
The courage to extend a hand
Peanut butter, peanut butter

Would you grant me this,
Small penance of trust?
Find it in your heart
To end my ravenous lust.
Reach out with your spoon,
Drop a speck,
And see it through!

A terrible fiend to some
A friend till the end
Can I live in your shoe?

Quiet too much quiet
How awkward is this moment
Peanut butter, peanut butter

Eyes, our eyes
They cannot separate
Peanut butter, peanut butter

Would you grant me this,
Small penance of trust?
Find it in your heart
To end my ravenous lust.
Reach out with your spoon,
Drop a speck,
And see it through!

By simply feeding me
You’re stuck with a friend.

Can I live in your shoe?
Can I live in your shoe?
Can I live in your shoe?
I need more food.
Can I live in your shoe?
I’ll live in your shoe.

Pawl wanted a Blank Verse regarding Quantum Entanglement. Heh, I liked this one.

Comprised in this chaos of particles,
Now entwined, betwixt the various states,
Pulled forth from the dimensional ether,
I am Alpha and I am Omega,
From these two I am indistinguishable,
Argue if you must, a labor of space,
For in philosophy, a paradox.

J-Pop Summit Festival 2010

Pawl and I were able to make it to Japantown by 2:30, thus just missing the cosplay contest by a few minutes. We managed to see a few girls walking by in Fashionista and Gothic styles, but none dressed as characters, a little disappointing I know. We worked our way around the area which wasn't too crowded. We found the Bazaar Bizarre where local artists had put their knicknacks up for sale, not too many of them were Japanese, but to each their own.

Behind the stage, they featured Bay grafitti artist Estria doing a live painting which was then silently auctioned off. I got a picture of it about half way through.

They started a Pocky eating contest not but a few moments after we arrived, however it seemed that we were too late to enter. Regardless, the flamboyant judge was panning for so much time the contestants were giving him lip, it was quite amusing.

Pawl managed to test some of the new Sega games coming out. Needless to say Sonic was the theme. Ironically the independantly built 2-D Sonic made for download on the 360 and PS3 was far superior to the 3-D Sonic that was made for the Wii. The 2-D featured angled pixels that invoked a sense of 3-D whilst retaining the 2-D gameplay that we all have come to love. The Wii version on the other hand was flashy, however seemed to be more about pressing the right buttons at the right time, if not pressing ANY at all, it was like watching a movie that may give you a seizure.
From there we caught an adorable song and dance entitled the Harajuku Kawaii Experince by 6% Doki Doki. I have to say I enjoy Japanese electronic music to an extent. They feature great rhythms and driving beats, but half way through the song they drop it all and start playing a different song before dropping that and bringing back the original song. I find it confusing and just a bit depressing. I managed to see one girl portraying Tsunade from Naruto, she was cute and buxom enough to portray the character, but my suspension of disbelief was pierced by her hairy, unshaven legs :(.

We took a break by going inside the New People building which we had visited the previous day. Posters were everywhere warning us that this was a video filming zone and that we could be filmed at any moment. However we only saw one camera and it was on its way to the top floor. Once we had entered we found a HUGE line heading up the stairs. Like typical bad asses, we walked right by the entire line heading for the art exhibit on the top floor. Turns out that the line was for Mori Chack, the creator of Gloomy Bear, and he was doing an autograph secession. I am more than familiar with his work, but I was unwilling to stand in a line for hours and spend the little money I have for an autograph. I am just as easily stoked to see someone like that.

We made our way upstairs to the art exhibit that was closed off to us the previous day. Ken Hamazaki's Greatful Red was a mixture of the Greatful Dead jam band, modern Japanese and the color red. Everything red, from Coke cans, to Budweiser to bacon. The exhibit was much better than most modern art and featured had drawn illustrations that could be taken down for a small donation. Some pieces were interactive, like a magnet board on which you had to place the magnets in order to stop a timer on an opposing wall. There was a desk in the corner of the room where a man in a business suit sat "protecting" the exhibits. Once he had moved out from behind the desk, Pawl's curious nature got the best of him. He moved around the desk and found a small opening in the wall. He bent down and looked through it and exclaimed "What is this!?" to which I heard someone snapping at him in Japanese. He quickly rose from his knee with the greatest look on his face. "Did you find Narnia?"I asked jokingly. He raved about a small bald Japanese man in a red suit with his face painted white sitting in a room with light displays going on all around him. I told him he was probably looking at the artist, I could tell the experience was shocking to him. I felt smart not looking. There was no photography allowed so I couldn't take any pictures.

Afterward we made our way back onto the street and I bought us some chicken teriyaki wraps and we sat and enjoyed the sun for a few moments before heading into the first section of the Japantown Center Mall. Not much was there and we left.

Outside we heard good tunes and made our way to the stage. The band Excuses for Skipping was playing their set. They had a smooth grunge/indy sound that Pawl and I quickly picked up on. They told us we could catch them again at the Bring Your Own Queer event at Golden Gate Park. Once their set was done we explored the remaining part of the mall where Pawl commented "It does my heart good to kids doing the Kamehameha wave."

Inside we found several shops that pander to the child in me that must have the most unnecessary things, luckily I was able to avoid him for the time being. Although, I found the cutest Soba shop on the bridge between malls that I will have to visit someday.

After that we were about finished and the festival was closing down. It was a short walk and a bus to catch and we made our way to Pawl's loft where I got him addicted to Doctor Who before I caught the Cal-train home.

San Francisco Part 1

I wanted to make post #50 something special so I waited until I did something special. Also it is in two parts, I can do that, it is my blog...

Friday, I had visited San Francisco for the first time and hung out with my long time friend Pawl who goes to the Academy of Art University. I got off the Cal-train at the depot and walked toward Market Street. Little did I know I was passing through the "Tenderloin" district, where I was accosted by a homeless person selling unwanted hugs for a dollar. After a quick stop at 7-11 for some Gatorade and hand sanitizer (my skin crawled all day), I made my way to the Alexander Book Company to await Pawl. Whilst waiting outside, Ian McConville walked by me, at least I thought it was him. I was even more sure the second time as he passed me again with lunch in his hand. I felt like talking to him, but his ear-buds were blasting away and he was in the zone.

I found Pawl and we got some food. My appearance was enough to mistake me for a student so I was able to ride the Academy buses for free. We walked though the Tenderloin district again making our way to Folsom Street where we had an "east coast" giggle at the stores and bars that inhabit that part of town. We found fliers for the Folsom Street Fair and felt that we may need to do that too.

We then found ourselves on Haight Street, where the hipster artsy people live. We found a good comic store and a gaming shop; the record store Pawl wanted to visit felt like closing four hours early.

We ended our trip in Japantown, the nicest part of town I had seen so far. Signs were everywhere for a J-Pop festival that started the next day... I felt the need to come back.