Prosaic Shades of Gray »

You are here:

Home
2004

Yearly Archives: 2004

Secular Bells

December 27, 2004 (Mon)

It’s a little after the fact, but I’m still feeling the holiday cheer. It’s a genuinely good feeling. I remember the days when I still considered myself a Catholic, and December carried with it a comforting aura of religious joy. Christmas meant so much back then because, you know, it actually meant something. But these [...]

Go Tell It on the Weblog

December 16, 2004 (Thu)

After an hour of Christmas shopping, I stepped out of Best Buy with bags full of commerce in my hands, and was met with the sound of an incessant jingling bell. I looked up slightly and saw three volunteers standing expectantly around a Salvation Army collection bucket. I felt a twinge of guilt, but my [...]

A Good Start

November 29, 2004 (Mon)

One minor annoyance I have with being a law student is that everybody always makes the same comment once they find out that I’m a lawyer in training: “Hey Kev, if I’m in trouble in a few years, you’ll represent me, right?” Har har. It gets funnier the twentieth time you hear it. Quite honestly, [...]

Recent Realizations

November 24, 2004 (Wed)

The word “freedom” doesn’t sound as credible as it ought to when it’s pronounced with a Texas accent. Even when you suspect that the party on the other end of the telephone is an automated recording, you shouldn’t go into “back-talking, sarcastic asshole” mode and interject with obscenities until you’re absolutely sure it’s a recording. [...]

Boy, Are My Legs Tired

November 15, 2004 (Mon)

It’s happened to all of us at least some point in our lives: You reenter a room after visiting the restroom, and you find some guy in your seat. When you politely ask to reclaim your chair, the guy stands up, claps you on the arm, and says, “Here ya go, buddy. Just keeping it [...]

Actually, It’s Just Shampoo

November 11, 2004 (Thu)

This morning, I couldn’t help but notice that a female student sitting next to me was wearing too much perfume. It was a pleasant fragrance–slightly citrus, slightly floral, and unmistakably feminine. But there was too much of it to take in, and I found myself growing nauseous and even a little resentful. But even so, [...]

Hope Against the Inevitable

November 4, 2004 (Thu)

I was staring out of the window this morning when my train happened to pass an elementary school along the way towards San Francisco. It was recess time, and the playground was sprawling with playing children. In the center of all the activity, I noticed two boys in particular. The taller, huskier boy had a [...]