This post has something for everyone. If you’ve been to the Big Island of Hawaii, you’ll relate to it. If you plan to go, you’ll get a little advice. If you’re scared of the ocean and won’t leave your landlocked haven (or if you just don’t have the desire or means to go), you’ll get…
I’m writing this post from here: For those of you keeping score, this is a beach on the big island of Hawaii. I’m not gonna lie. It’s freaking amazing. Neener neener. This time last week, I was here: This was the display at my grandma’s memorial service. What a difference a week makes. Don’t get…
When I was a kid, and the paper arrived on Sundays, I’d read it. Not just the comics, like most kids. I read the news stories, the business section, and if I was really bored, the lifestyle pages. Before I set it aside, there was one other page I would read every week: the obituary…
After reading Eclectic Alli’s post for #1000Speak for Compassion, I decided I wanted to participate in this month’s theme: connection. I’m using the term “craft” loosely for the purposes of this post. Consider it “the thing you do for fun and/or to make money”. Hopefully, whatever you do to make money also happens to be fun.…
Last week, I participated in a flash fiction challenge in which I picked two subgenres to mash together into a single short story. I did this using a random number generator and landed on dystopia and erotica. (Read it here if you’re so inclined.) Yep, erotica. As in hormones, blood rushes and naughty bits. I…
Imagine a misfit kid. He’s picked on. The teacher doesn’t like him, and he’s often in trouble. He’s not from around here, so he has difficulty relating to the locals. After many weeks of loneliness, he tries to win the favor of his classmates by providing them with snacks. All is going well until his popcorn machine…
I watched The Hunger Games last night. I read the book before the movie came out, and I’ve seen the movie a few times. So I obviously knew what would happen. Still, a certain scene got me. By that, I mean it made me weepy. I’m not usually a weepy individual, so the moment surprised…
Ah, late April. The weather is warming, the birds are chirping, flies have started to invade my house. And the students at school are almost – almost – done with standardized testing. Think if I say that enough times, it will become true? I wrote a post similar to this last year (find it here) wherein…
This post is about my grandma. Last month, I bought the pictured hummingbird feeder. One of my favorite occasions every year is the end of winter, when we can all climb out of our cozy dens and enjoy the new life around us. I’ve seen hummingbirds in our yard in past years, so I thought providing…
A few days ago, this article came out on Consumerist.com. If you don’t want to click over and read it right this second, allow me to summarize: There are companies that sell five-star reviews to authors, and Amazon is suing these companies. I think almost everyone would agree that paying for fake 5-star reviews is…
Allison Maruska 