December 2011
44 posts
Fun Size Slackmistress: A Year Ago. →
slackmistress:
A year ago I was recovering from a sprained ankle. I had been running a little bit, but the idea of running a 5k (which I did the following January) seemed insane. I did it in 45-ish minutes, walking a good amount of the way.
I just got back from a 6.6 mile run around the Silverlake Reservoir…
While my running has gotten most of the attention in our household my...
Sentimental Accidents: Making It Last A Little... →
willstegemann:
As a kid I would come to the sad realization every Christmas night that it was over.
The weeks of planning and anticipation had ended with opening presents earlier that day. The food had been eaten, the relatives had been seen and by 8 PM on Christmas night there was nothing left to do but go to…
More from the Sentimental Accidents Christmas file.
1 tag
My New Philosophy
I’ve lived my life believing that if I worked hard and treated people kindly, I would be rewarded with opportunities. I believed this because it was what I was taught.
Recently, it has been brought to my attention that the people who taught me this were wrong.
I would therefore like to change my personal philosophy to reflect the wisdom of Judge Smails, who wisely said: “You’ll...
Sentimental Accidents: The Tree Dream →
willstegemann:
My dad had a dream about the family and our Christmas tree. Every year, on the day after Thanksgiving, he would crank up the holiday music and start setting the tree up in hopes that it would come true.
The Christmas tree dream went like this: He’d set up the tree and the lights and then we’d…
Continuing my recent trend of brief holiday stories. More to come later this...
Fun Size Slackmistress: The "You're Awesome"... →
slackmistress:
Every year instead of getting gifts that are probably awesome but just add to our “stuff” I send out a “you’re awesome” letter. To friends, family, or random people on the Internet. Sure, it’s not commercialized and it doesn’t kill the environment and you can’t unwrap it and force a fake smile…
I hope I made the list.
Holy Goddamn: Episode 2 →
“After a far-too-long hiatus, Holy Goddamn! Scratchbomb Radio returns with episode 2: The Foe Becomes Enemy! Mark It Down’s Mark Rosetti discusses the unfair impact deadly diseases have on sports fans! Alan Rickman hosts a car talk show! 45s and Counting host Chad Delahanty knows way, way too much about his interview subject! And Stew Leonard’s has a fantastic new product to share...
Sentimental Accidents: Two Types Of Family Gift... →
willstegemann:
Part One- Holidays in Stereo
By the fall of 1984 my parents had been separated for more than three years. While we were doing better than we had been the first two years, things were still far from easy for my mother. When Christmas came around that year mom reminded me that money was really…
From my story project Sentimental Accidents: Two examples of my parents saving...
4 tags
Mark Your Divorce Calendars*
My wife just questioned my ability to make homemade pizza.
Start deciding which one of us you want to remain friends with after we split up.
If my great grandmother were still alive she’d be muttering under her breath in Italian right now.
*Divorce Calendars are a thing, right?
“When I was little, my parents took me to FAO Schwarz but they didn’t want me to...”
– A girl at my New York Cares knitting project (via woodlandcreature)
These parents were brilliant.
Watchjakefogelnest:
funnyordie:
Billy On The Street: New Preview!
This amazing (and 100 percent real) surprise game show with Billy Eichner premieres Dec. 22 on Fuse TV!
Billy is fucking hilarious. I am so psyched for his show. Watch it. Make it enormously successful. The world needs this.
Don’t miss this.
1 tag
A Reminder Of Where You Can Find Me
Hey Internet,
Many years ago someone described me as: “A train wreck that had been hit by a flaming airplane.” The person who said this was correct in their assessment of me, at least at the time they said it.
The first thing I did when confronted with this reality was look for a picture of a train being hit by a plane that was on fire but I couldn’t find one. With nothing else...
Sentimental Accidents: The Infamous Holiday Story →
willstegemann:
By the time the holidays arrived in 1995 I had already moved out of my father’s house. Since I was technically going to be a guest in the house where I used to live I called my father a few days before Christmas to ask if I could bring anything. I should have expected the response I got:
“I’ve…
This is a story I’ve told many times about Christmas with my family in...
In Full Fucking Stereo
I’ve been trying to incorporate this anecdote into a Sentimental Accidents story but I can’t seem to make it fit right. But it’s been on my mind lately so I’m sharing it here with the warning that I’ll probably use it later for something else.
My father liked to make mix tapes but unlike most people, who made them for others, he made them for himself. My father was...
Sentimental Accidents: Don't Wake the Kids →
willstegemann:
By the time the news of John Lennon’s death broke I was already asleep. My parents, sometimes woke me up to watch TV with them but not that night. Usually they woke me because there was a particularly good Star Trek or Odd Couple rerun on but on this night they let me sleep. It’s easier to explain…
A very short recap of what happened at my house 31 years ago. What a...
3 tags
A Better Way To Get There
Last week I decided to start taking public transportation to work three days a week.
Yes my commute is 30 minutes longer in each direction on the days I take the train but in exchange for an hour of my time I get to:
1-Catch up on my reading
2- Get some exercise (walking to and from the stations)
3- Cut my fuel consumption and time in my car by 60%
This last one is a big deal for me. For...
