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[albertn5f-blog]

Grandmama

I love my daughter. She’s my only child and she’s so gorgeous and smart. Christine has always been an overachiever. I have been proud of her all of her life. From taking her to kindergarten and, eventually, dropping her off in college, she has exceeded all of my expectations. When her father died back when she was sixteen, she remained strong and did not give up on school. 

I, unfortunately, had to work two jobs just to support the two of us. There was no time for me to find a new husband and I was fine with it because I had my daughter. Sadly, the older she grew the less she saw me. When she went to college, I kept working and she hardly ever visited. I thought then that it was just school and she would be back home on her breaks. Eventually, she got married to an engineer and they moved far away to New York City. I asked her if I could’ve lived with them, but her husband hated me. The only time I felt disappointed in Christine was when she did not even seem to care that I’d be living on the opposite side of the country.

I recently retired from nursing and I’m still living alone. My pension and Social Security pays for most of my expenses, but I have to still live within my means. I can’t afford to see Christine and she does not bother visiting me. The only thing that keeps me going is the calls I have with Christine and her kids. I love the way her son, Bryan, calls me “Grandmama.”

The hardest part of this assignment for me was to write about what an older character might write about. The oldest people I’ve talked to are my parents. I do not know what an even older crowd might talk about. I definitely felt like a thief stealing ideas from “Who’s Irish?” The idea of different generations and family comes to mind when I think of the elderly. When I imagine a character over 65, I usually see them talking about either their family or past experiences. It seems like once you get to a certain age there are less chances to experience new things. Thus, older people would generally talk about the past more so than the present or future. 

[decemberhooyah-blog]

Prompt 9.1

1) I wasn’t sure how long I stared through the one way glass at her killer, imagining the man’s death by my hands.  I felt like an eternity.  I watched his every move, every blink, every glance to the side until my eyes watered.  It was only when the back door opened when I returned to the real world and realized how tight my jaw was clenched and how much my teeth hurt from it. I felt my palms with my fingers, realizing I had left deep marks in each with my nails, almost to the point of blood.  But it didn’t matter.  I couldn’t feel the pain.  

2) I sat across from him at the interrogation table, watching him wring his cuffed hands.  He didn’t dare look at me, keeping his eyes focused on the surface of the desk.  I continued to stare, trying to meet his gaze, and give him a look that would let him know I would be the end of him.  Finally, he looked up.  And I did not see the eyes of a cold blooded murderer but of sorrow.  I have no idea how long our gazes were locked.  There was something in there…someone in there.  “I didn’t mean to…” Those green eyes reminded me of hers.  His eyes began to glisten, and I felt my own vision begin to blur.  A single tear began to roll down his cheek, and one down mine.  

[albertn5f-blog]

The first passage gave off such anger and hostility towards a killer. The way you confused it was interesting as it leads to such confusion or frustration that you can not be mad at the killer. Anger at times can be subsided by sadness easily. The way a single tear drops down both characters shows how dramatic and conflicted the characters are. In a situation like this it is easy to see anger, but not as common to see sadness.

[albertn5f-blog]

Finals

1. What do I do? I failed my midterms and may possibly fail my finals. I worked so hard throughout this quarter, but there seems to be no end in sight. To make matters worse, there is no curve for this class. In order for me to pass the class and graduate, I will need to score a 100 and get both extra credit right. I can’t go home and tell my parents I have failed.

2. My parents love me, they won’t hate me even if I don’t succeed. I will be fine. They must love me. I will be able to retake the courses, but I will have to stay another year. *sigh* If only I was smarter... I wouldn’t be in this situation if I was. All my friends are graduating and I will be stuck here. I am such a disappointment, I don’t even know what to do with myself right now. Positive thoughts. Everything will be alright.

[ucdfictionalthings]

Prompt 8.1

He had a cheap bottle of vodka in one hand and two pills in the other, he thought fuck it…

[albertn5f-blog]

A fifth of Skyy, two pills, maybe more...

Fuck it....

[ucdfictionalthings]

Revolver

He grew tired of the noise he heard coming the apartment across the hall. 

*Bang* 

He would never have to worry again.

[albertn5f-blog]

He hated how loud the neighbors were.

*knocks*

“Hi, Jim!”

*Bang*

Peace and quiet.

[albertn5f-blog]

Albert Nguyen is a statistics and economics major at UC Davis. Growing up in San Jose greatly influenced him. He has many influential people in his life that most people are too scared to even come close to. He oftentimes writes dark characters who are similar to all the people he has met. He enjoys action, crime, and romantic genres. This has led him to write stories with relationships as a central plot.

[danielleistakingawritingcla-blog]

7.2 Form

_______________________________________________________________

Subject: CONGRATULATIONS YOU WON A NEW CAR!!!

Sent 3:44 AM Wednesday October 14th

Hello Friend,

Amazon corporation would like to reach out to yeu with a grate opportunity for a brand new car. Please vist amzn.org to claim your prize

Bye,

Amazon Corporation

_______________________________________________________________

RE: CONGRATULATIONS YOU WON A NEW CAR!!!

Sent 9:30 AM Wednesday October 14th

To whom it may concern,

This is maybe the worst phishing email I have ever seen in my entire life. If you are going to be a cyber criminal, please have some pride in your work and run spell check.

Sincerely,

You can do better than this

________________________________________________________________

RE: RE: CONGRATULATIONS YOU WON A NEW CAR!!!

Sent 11:52 AM Wednesday October 14th

Hello You can do better than this,

I wouldn’t be so high and mighty since you just took the time to respond to “the worst phishing email” you have ever seen in your entire life. Also, tell that to the 235 people who have responded to my emails in the past.

Regards,

Who knows, maybe I just uploaded a Trojan to your computer.

________________________________________________________________

RE: RE: RE: CONGRATULATIONS YOU WON A NEW CAR!!!

Sent 1:46 PM Wednesday October 14th

To “Who knows”

I literally work in cyber security.

Sincerely,

I have definitely uploaded a trojan to your computer. It is nice to meet you, Rick Pearson from Ft. Lauderdale Florida.

________________________________________________________________

RE: RE: RE: RE: CONGRATULATIONS YOU WON A NEW CAR!!!

Sent 2:45 PM Friday October 16th

Rick my good buddy,

Its also nice to see that you do not currently have a house leased under your name? Do you live with your mother perhaps?

Sincerely,

You should probably learn a little more about computers before trying to be a criminal

________________________________________________________________

Subject: HELLO RICK FROM FT LAUDERDALE FLORIDA

Sent 3:30 PM Friday October 16th

Rick my main man,

Your bank balance also leaves a lot to be desired. But this baby photo of you is adorable!

 *View Attachement*

Sincerely,

What a cute kid

________________________________________________________________

RE: HELLO RICK FROM FT LAUDERDALE FLORIDA

Sent 3:35 PM Friday October 16th

Alright please, please stop. You win jesus christ. Don’t you have anything better to do?

You win,

Rick from ft. Lauderdale Florida

________________________________________________________________

RE: RE: HELLO RICK FROM FT LAUDERDALE FLORIDA

Sent 3: 45 PM Friday October 16th

Dearest Rick,

Honestly no. I work as a freelancer who hacks into software systems to expose weaknesses in their code. I just finished my last job so hacking into your (incredibly weak) system is a way to stay fresh. This is the equivalent of light stretching for me.

Sincerely,

Daphne

P.S. You may want to reverse your encryption feedback loops. Free tip from a pro ;)

________________________________________________________________

RE: RE: RE: HELLO RICK FROM FT LAUDERDALE FLORIDA

Sent 4: 52 PM Friday October 16th

Dear Daphne,

Isn’t that information a little confidential to be sending over the internet?

-Rick

P.S. That tip honestly saved me. Thanks.

________________________________________________________________

RE: RE: RE: RE: HELLO RICK FROM FT LAUDERDALE FLORIDA

Sent 5:02 PM Friday October 16th

Dear Rick,

Like you have any chance in hell of hacking my systems. Please.

Anyways, your LinkedIn says you graduated with a computer science degree in 2012. Why stoop to phishing?

-Daphne

________________________________________________________________

RE: RE: RE: RE: HELLO RICK FROM FT LAUDERDALE FLORIDA

Sent 5:08 PM Friday October 16th

Honestly, the same old story, the economy sucks… student loans, whatever.

-R

________________________________________________________________

Subject: Daphne WILLIAMS?????!!!!!!!!!

Sent 5:15 PM  Friday October 16th

ROOKIE MISTAKE SUCKER! I JUST REMEMBERED THAT LINKEDIN HAS A SETTING THAT LETS YOU SEE WHO HAS VIEWED YOUR PROFILE.

“Daphne Williams is a cybersecurity professional based in the New York metropolitan area. Specializing in attack based encryption and ethical hacking, Daphne graduated from M.I.T. cum laude in 2014.

Nice to meet you,

Rick from Ft Lauderdale Flordia,

________________________________________________________________

RE: Daphne WILLIAMS?????!!!!!!!!!!

Sent 5:20 Friday October 16th

I may have “no chance in hell” of hacking into your systems, but I can do some good old fashioned Facebook stalking.

-Rick

________________________________________________________________

RE: RE: Daphne WILLIAMS?????!!!!!!!!!!

Sent 5:25 PM Friday October 16th

Wow, congratulations on finishing that half marathon last July!

-Rick

________________________________________________________________

RE: RE: Daphne WILLIAMS?????!!!!!!!!!!

Sent 5:27 PM Friday October 16th

And, yes bangs definitely are a good look for you. Really digging the new haircut.

-Rick

________________________________________________________________

RE: RE: RE: Daphne WILLIAMS?????!!!!!!!!!!

Sent 5:28 PM Friday October 16th

AND YOU HAVE TWITTER TOO!!!!!

“Currently watching Star Trek in my pajamas and drinking bourbon at 3 in the afternoon. Who says this adulthood thing is hard?”

Well I just envy your life now.

-Rick

________________________________________________________________

RE: RE:RE: RE: Daphne WILLIAMS?????!!!!!!!!!!

Sent 5:29 PM Friday October 16th

Stop! STOP! I will literally drain all of your bank accounts in 5 minutes if you don’t stop stalking me on the internet. Please I am begging you!

-Daphne Williams, the cyber security professional from New York

________________________________________________________________

RE: RE:RE: RE: RE: Daphne WILLIAMS?????!!!!!!!!!!

Sent 5:31 PM Friday October 16th

How about this instead. Let’s call a truce.

-R

________________________________________________________________

Subject: Truce

Sent 5:31 PM Friday October 16th

Sounds good to me. I’ll do you one better though. I’m bored out of my mind and you’re unemployed so you clearly have nothing better to do…let’s be friends.

-D

P.S. Currently texting you on the cell number I pulled from your bank statements ;)

________________________________________________________________

Subject: Date?

Sent 8:32 AM Wednesday April 30th

Hey Daph,

I know you don’t check email until after 9am so call me after you get this.

Here goes, I got that job interview in New York I was telling you about… I’ll be in the city in a few weeks. Let me take you out to dinner.

Yours,

Rick.

[albertn5f-blog]

Your use of e-mail was hilarious. The story starts with a very formal e-mail. Similar to how people e-mail strangers or people they may not know, the e-mails start off really formal with greetings and salutations. As the story progressed, the greetings and salutations become much more loose. For example, the ended many of their e-mails with their initials like “-D.” The subject title was also interesting showing how some messages were in reply to another. The date also played a big role for me it was well used to have a time frame jump. Months after their last e-mail Rick finds a job in New York and it was transitioned smoothly.

[albertn5f-blog]

3:00 AM

Nicki I miss you

I just drank three bottles of Ace of Spades

This pink bottle remids me of when you used to dres in pink

Drizzy, I am with Meek.

Drop him for me I better

You’re drunk

I know... 

Btchs in my old phone.... I shoud cll one nd go home

I been drinking so much

Don’t start texting me Marvin’s Room

Meek will kill you

haha......

Wat is he going to do tweet me?

Just come over

Read 3:12 AM

3:45 AM

Nicki..... My diss on Meek was nominated for a Grammy.. He has nothing on me...

Read 3:47 AM

4:12 AM

Nicki I miss you

Read 4:13 AM

11:23 AM

Sorry about last night

I guess I’m not over you

Read 11:28 AM

[ucdfictionalthings]

Question (6.1)

After recently experimenting with flashbacks in my writing, I realized it may be confusing to the reader what is happening. My question is on the kinds of mechanisms to use to indicate a flashback is taking place. More specifically, if I’m writing in the past tense, should I change to past perfect to indicate the beginning of a flashback, or are there other ways?

[albertn5f-blog]

I think the use of flashbacks adds style to a story. Just the overuse of it can get quite confusing. When used moderately, flashbacks can do many things like show motive or important back stories. 

Personally, I think a good way of indicating a flashback is by showing distinct breaks or separation from the present or current tense. A paragraph break would be sufficient for me when introducing a flashback. A short introduction to the flashback could also be helpful in guiding the reader that it is a flashback. 

https://www.standoutbooks.com/writing-flashbacks/

Paige Duke explains how important the first sentence in a flashback is in this article linked above. She gives us tenses we should use for different narrations. If you are writing in the past tense, which you indicated that you are, then you should transition into past perfect or from present tense to simple past tense. However, she also mentions that you only need to change this tense for the initial sentences. Afterwards, the readers would be aware that it is a flashback. Once they are aware that it is a flashback you can begin to use the past tense or present tense so that the readers are in the current timeframe, the flashback.

Reading a flashback seems more interesting if it was to feel like it was in real time. By moving along with the character in the flashback, we are able to see how they came to be.

Among her advices on flashback is to write only what is necessary. Since a flashback stalls the story, we want to keep it concise. The longer a flashback is the more a reader would lose interest in the present. Duke states that we should give enough information about the past as to show its relevance but not to show more. A long flashback dulls out the main idea of the flashback which is to show a glimpse of what implicated the flashback.

[ucdfictionalthings]

A Question About Fiction

In almost all of the stories we have read this quarter, excluding perhaps The Girl, the Wolf, the Crone, have been focused on characters as human beings. My question is, how do I create a character that seems genuinely human? I want people to read my story and connect to it in a very real way, but I am not sure how to go about achieving this. 

[albertn5f-blog]

To create a character that is genuinely human, I believe it is important to first define what you believe to be human yourself. For me, humans seem to always have a motive. Characters are always in pursuit of something.

Sea Oaks, for example, had characters that felt to me as very genuine. Even though the characters are beyond human, i.e. a zombie, we can understand why the characters are doing what they do. Aunt Bernie was a nice woman who allowed people to commandeered her life throughout her lifetime and as such did not fulfill all her goals. Her death and subsequent revival was a means of her to help her nieces and nephew improve their lives. 

The story was absolutely fictitious, considering how a major character was not even human. I was able to connect with the aunt by her traits. Her guidance and anger was believable. Wouldn’t you be upset too if you died with many regrets? Her struggle was left unfulfilled in her life and thus, created a new personality opposite of what she originally began with.

If I wanted to create a more believable character, I would ask myself if I can see another character with the same traits do the same actions. Would a likable character do something terrible for no good reason? 

https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/writers/advice/410/a-writers-toolkit/story-and-plot/

This seems to be a great link to improving your character’s authenticity. The first advice seems the most applicable to me. Having characters that you are emotionally engaged to makes them more believable. We can engage the reader by showing how characters react instead of just saying how they feel in reaction to an event.

Another advice that Morris gives that seems fitting is the way people write antagonists. Oftentimes, we neglect to give more information about the antagonists. We simply show that they are bad but not their backstory. By adding more backstory to every character they become more believable.

[decemberhooyah-blog]

Knowing

It started with an idea–an idea that people could no longer live in a world where we could not truly know each other.  It came to him as his daughter, his own flesh and blood, lay on her death-bed, contorted face wrapped in bandages after the car crash. It happened a few days after she got her license his wife told him.  As he sat next to her hospital bed and gripped her soft, cold hand in his, he realized that the dying girl in front of him had for her entire life, been no more to him than a stranger walking down the street.  On his trembling fingers, he could count the days in which he had more than a quick exchange with her in the past couple years.  And as the heartbeat monitor slowed to a constant, shrill tone, he made the decision that being an alien to another human being would be an idea of the past.

The others at the lab called him the Crow, his sleek, black hair always combed back.  They noticed that when he came back from his leave of absence, there was a new determination within him.  There was a new project they were to work on.  It would take recent advances in medical imaging technology to scan not just map thoughts, duplicate them into transferable information.  That’s crazy, they said.  It’s genius! said the board.  And so the funding came.  

Months turned into years.  Since his daughter’s death, the Crow had not spoken to his now ex-wife.  In fact, he hadn’t spoken much to anybody outside of his research and development team or the board.  And with them it was always technical speech or just about the project–Once we load up the data from all the synapses it’ll take a few hours to translate it into transferable information…The board is relegating a team to streamline the process… We’re almost there… Soon you’ll be able to know your neighbor without speaking a word. And no more struggle to ask how your teenager’s day was.  They think. You feel. And you fully understand! And they fully understand you–what you’re trying to teach when you don’t have the words to say it. No more barriers. No more strangers.  We’re going to change the world.  His pursuit was obsessive.

The Crow was caught in an automobile crash three days before clinical trials were scheduled to begin.  His death amounted to devastation within the research team–but at least he had gotten his vision out.  At least they had a product and his legacy would be continued.  At the Crow’s funeral were members of the R&D team, one member of the board.  And all they could talk about was the project, the man they called the Crow alien to them as a stranger walking down the street.

[albertn5f-blog]

The introduction was great with how it showed the Crow feeling compassion, but the subsequent paragraphs did not seem fitting. The ending sentence of the first paragraph said the Crow made it his duty to stop being alien to people. Although this was a good setup for his medical/technological advance, it made a major character flaw. For someone who promised to stop being distant to people, no one was able to talk to him. His wife left him and he was a stranger to everyone.

I enjoyed how he was not known by his real name. Since he is so distant to everyone, no one calls him by his real name but a nickname. A nickname used to keep us even more distant from the man. 

[albertn5f-blog]

Picnic Day

It all started with a sandwich. Her boyfriend offered to make her lunch for their picnic. This is the first time Craig has ever made food for Diane. A rather complex sandwich filled with avocado, bacon, turkey, tomatoes, pesto, lettuce, and mushrooms. Odd mushrooms. It may have been the most delicious sandwich if it were not for those mushrooms. She kept eating but the taste just got to her.

“Honey, what kind of mushrooms are these?”

“Ugh, they are psychedelics. I thought it would be fun for us to do it together.”

“Babe, babe, babe. Are you fucking kidding me?”

Craig manages to cool down Diane’s temper; she can never stay mad at him. The park was rather quiet and they cuddled near the lake waiting for the mushrooms to take effect. After an hour, neither of them felt anything. They had then decided to eat more mushrooms. Diane started to get stomach cramps, so Craig brought her to the nearest bathroom.

What felt like an hour was only five minutes in the bathroom. Diane walked out of the bathroom to see absolutely nobody there. She is starting to hear voices. She runs around looking for Craig. He is not by the car and he is not near the lake. Her vision is getting blurry and things she knows should not exist are visible.

The sky is turning purple and crows are flying everywhere above her. She screams, “Craig!!! WHERE ARE YOU!!???” Her voice is echoed inside her head, but she thought someone else was near her. Her heart is racing and she just wants to find Craig.

She runs into the lake and starts swimming down. The water is too murky and she can hardly see. After a few seconds her eyes adjusted and she sees a shark come at her head on. She screams and closes her eyes. Imminent death is in sight. She opens her eyes and sees that she was still in the bathroom submerging her head in the sink she filled with water. 

She walks out of the bathroom, again. This time, Craig is waiting outside for her, but something feels off still. The mushrooms seemed to worn off. She runs to Craig crying about what she saw. However, he seemed to show no emotion or any action really. Craig stood there like a tree. 

Caw. Caw. Caw.

The crows cawing gets louder and louder. They began to swarm around her. She can not handle it any longer.Sitting in the fetal position, she cries and hopes that the trip ends. The sky has eventually turned black from the millions of crows swarming above her. A gigantic crow, the size of a human, soared straight at her. It yanked her and overpowered her, pulling her into the sky. The crow launches her into a tree house and she eventually passes out.

She wakes up in a cell with Craig. 

“Honey, what happened?”

“I don’t even know.”

Diane and Craig were escorted out of their cell by two large cops. 

“Do you guys know what you guys were doing?”

“No. I am so sorry, are we in trouble?”

“Yes, yes you are ma’am. You and your boyfriend were terrorizing little kids. There were reports of you hugging a tree and screaming while your boyfriend was imitating a crow. Little kids play in that park. Your court date is the fifth of August. Arrive sober.”

[albertn5f-blog]

This home has never felt so empty. Ten years since I was last here. The lawn has been overgrown with weeds. My mom used the mow the lawn once a week and watered her favorite lilies. She was attached to her garden. Whenever I saw her, she was either making room for new installments or playing in her garden. She brought life to the house.

The flowers have since wilted. Her funeral is the only thing that can make me come back here. My mother’s sickness prevented her from taking care of her colorful plants and my dad refused to do the work. Stubborn old man, I never understood what she saw in him. His sight sickens me. I thought by now we would have forgiven each other but it is still as awkward as ever. 

He sits on his old recliner watching the five o’clock news just like old times. Showing no expression on his face, it was always hard for me to understand how he felt. The only expression he seemed to know was anger. His wife dies and he is still not grieving or showing any emotions. 

My room at least is still unchanged. My mom had made the sheets in hopes that one day I had returned. The room is spotless. My old Xbox is still connected to the same plasma T.V. i bought when I was twenty. The posters my ex-girlfriend made me still hung in the exact position. There is, however, a new photo frame on my desk.

I do not think I have ever seen this picture before. My mom must have placed this here while I was gone. It is a family picture back when I was little. My fifth birthday, this may be the only picture of my entire family happy together. My dad is actually smiling and my parents surrounded me as I blew out my candles.

[mercedesp24-blog]

The Jar of Satisfaction

They looked so fresh. The silver Nike sign resting against the creamy white exterior made these shoes seem godly. They were the latest model in Nike’s Air Jordan shoes. And there they were, sitting on a small clear pedestal in Foot Locker just waiting for someone to claim them. Drew wanted to be their owner and to have the pleasure of wearing them with some ankle high socks. He pictured himself walking down his halls in school and receiving envious looks from his peers. All these daydreams ran through his mind as he stared longingly at the shoes. The wilder his thoughts became, the more his desire grew. So he peeked at the price tag to see how many candy bars it would cost him. He didn’t get allowances like most kids, he got candy bars placed in his candy jar instead. Drew didn’t ask for much, but when it came to his Snickers he had to have them so his parents compromised with him. If he brings in good grades and behaves himself, he will get his jar filled every now and then. But as he saw the price he almost dropped his Snickers from the shock. The three-digit number made him realize that his thoughts would remain just that, nothing tangible anytime soon.

He would have to give up Snickers for years! He would never have his candy jar filled again, his cravings would go unanswered. He wanted the shoes badly, but not enough to give up the chocolate and nuggety goodness of a Snickers bar. Drew used this thinking to justify what he did next. As the thought crept into his mind, his palms became sweaty, melting the remainder of his Snickers. But he didn’t care for he had to act fast. The workers were all busy attending to customers; nobody paid any attention to him. Swiftly, he knelt down, took off his own shoes, and threw them in his backpack. He grabbed the Nikes and placed them on instead. Just before he walked out, his courage got the best of him and he decided to do one more thing, just to cushion the blow to the store. He pulled a post-it out and wrote I OWE U and left where the shoes had once been.

He sprinted the whole way home, taking back streets but avoiding anywhere with dirt. The adrenaline coursing through his body propelled him to continue until he arrived home. His parents were both at work but he ran into his room anyway. He had the shoes! They were his but they had to remain hidden, possibly forever. He grabbed a fresh Snickers from his jar and dung in as he held the shoes. He was home free, chillin’ with the Nike’s in his possession.

But as the adrenaline went away, paranoia crept in instead. Drew began to replay his every move in his head. He had checked for workers then took of his shoes and oh crap… He had dropped his Snickers. He had left DNA at the scene. In his naïve mind, this was the key to finding him. Drew became more engulfed in his thoughts and with every passing minute he slowly grew to regret his decision all because of that stupid Snickers bar. He would get caught. His parents would put an end to his precious candy jar and it would be goodbye Snickers for good. He looked at the time, maybe the workers hadn’t even noticed the shoes were gone. Drew gave the shoes one last look and put them in his backpack. He ran back to the store and placed the shoes where they belonged. He placed a new post it and walked out.

At home, he felt ten times better and decided his day of adventure was over. He reached in his backpack to get his homework but instead felt a warm creamy substance. As he looked inside, he noticed the melted and smashed remains of his Snickers.

At the store, the workers finally noticed the Air Jordans, not because they had gone on a brief trip but because they had some chocolate smeared on the side. And on the floor they found a post-it that read SNICKERS SATISFIES.

[albertn5f-blog]

Unbeknownst to Drew, he was caught on camera stealing and returning the pair of shoes. His face was caught perfectly while he wrote the last note. The image was expanded and given to every employee. The manager had never felt so disrespected. The limited edition Nike Air Jordan signed by Michael Jordan himself has been returned by a punk kid who decided to prank the store.

Ever since that day, Drew avoided the mall at all cost. He feared that mall security would arrest him on sight. Months pass and his old pair of shoes began to show signs of wear. His mother kept insisting that he goes and buys a new pair.

Eventually, his mother decided to bring him to the mall with her. He cried throughout the entire car ride. His mother did not understand what was going on. How can a kid be crying going to the mall for new shoes? Going into the mall, Drew tried going to the converse store. There was, however, a sale at Foot Locker for 40% off with a purchase of socks.

The sale was too irresistible for Drew’s mother. She dragged him in against his wishes. All was well, no one had recognized him and Drew asked for a pair of Sperrys in a size 6. The employee went to the backroom to look for the pair. Sadly, they ran out of the pair he had wanted. His mother was quite upset and requested to talk to the manager.

After a few minutes, the store’s manager came out from the backroom. Drew felt his spiteful glaze. He knew he was about to be in a lot of trouble. Before the manager could even yell, Drew broke down in tears and urinated in the middle of the store. 

The scene stunned everyone. Drew’s mother felt so embarrassed she rushed him out of the store and they headed home. Drew was scolded for causing a commotion and he decided to confess. Days later, his mother brought him back to the store to apologize. Realizing how innocent Drew was, the manager forgave Drew. Feeling so ashamed, Drew offered to give the manager all of his remaining snickers.

[albertn5f-blog]

Temptation

I have been on my cut for four weeks. I am currently at twelve percent body fat. My goal for now is to reach five percent within a few months. The only way I can reach this is by staying strict to my diet. My diet consists of meals that are calculated and precise. I measure out everything I eat down to the last gram and input it into MyFitnessPal.

An apple and oatmeal for breakfast. An ounce of almonds between breakfast and lunch. Six ounces of chicken and three hundred grams of sweet potatoes for lunch. A scoop of whey protein post-workout. Nine ounces of chicken with three cups of carrots and two cups of broccoli. About two thousand and a hundred calories.

I am consistently at a caloric deficit of seven hundred calories. Losing a bit over a pound a week means I have to eat everything I hate. Every cutting season I feel absolutely miserable. I drown all my food in water to take it down easier.The best part about having a cut, besides the fat loss, is the cheat meals or snacks. Many people do not understand how happy I get when I get to eat my peachie-o’s. My biggest weaknesses are sweets. 

As a kid, I was always rewarded with peachie-o’s. Sadly, this made me an obese child. I have worked hard to lose all the weight, but I am still unable to decrease my body fat percentage below ten. I used to cheat heavily on my diet until I figured out all I really needed was some candy. Every three weeks, I allow myself ten pieces of peachie-o’s. My wife buys a candy jar filled with them for me. Waking up to the thought of consuming those three hundred calories fills me with joy. 

After my legs session, I noticed a tear in my training shoes. I just bought these too. Whatever. Luckily, today is my cheat day. Nothing can ruin it. I jog two miles home. I do not even know how I was able to walk after lifting, but somehow I made it. 

The house is empty and I just finished my protein shake. Now comes the best part of the month. My peachie-o’s. I reach for the candy jar in the top cabinet in excitement. That is odd... It feels much lighter than expected. Maybe I have been making some gains. I open the jar to see a post-it note.

“Sorry honey, some friends came over and ate the rest. I will pick some up when I come home.”

She knows how important peachie-o’s are to me. I can not believe she would let her friends eat them. I go to the store to pick up more, but the clerk notifies me that they have been discontinued. At that very moment, my heart broke into a million pieces. Not only did people eat my cheat snack, but my favorite snack is being discontinued. I have never felt so depressed in my life. There is no more meaning to life. What can I possibly reward myself with now?

[albertn5f-blog]

Vietnamese Coffee Shop

It is very hard to breath in here. This small shop was filled completely with smoke. Old men smoking cigarettes as they were gambling illegally. The waitress are all half naked to earn more tips. Most of these girls are quite young, twenty perhaps. Their bodies are amazing, skinny waists and large breasts. The customers ranged from young gangsters to old creepy men. It was incredibly noisy in the shop. Vietnamese music and loud bantering between the customers and servers. 

“Come here baby girl,” said the young man. He has both his arms tattooed with demons and dragons. He looks quite intimidating. “Are you single?”

“Sorry honey, my sugar daddy is over there.” She is wearing very skimpy teal bras and panties. Her breasts are the size of melons. She happens to be someone I have known from high school. Her breasts were flat until just last year. She must have gotten some implants. On the side of her ribs are a lotus tattoo surrounding a koi fish. Typical Asian tattoos.

 “That does not mean we can not talk, right? There is nothing wrong with just talking.” 

“I mean I guess. How are you doing, honey?” said the waitress annoyingly.

“Great girl. I just made a few thousands off this deal. Maybe you can come hang out with me. We can fly to Vegas tonight” 

“No means no. You do not have nearly as much money as my man. I have other customers to serve,” said the waitress. She left and went to her boyfriend gambling with the other customers.

“Stupid girl,” said the gangster. He left, tipping ten bucks for his iced coffee as he left.

[albertn5f-blog]

Wave, the only coffee shop that lets you smoke inside. It is way too cold to be sitting outside drinking iced coffee and smoking. Wave is more crowded than it usually is.  

It is very hard to breath in here. Literally, everyone was smoking packs of Marlboro Midnights. ESPN is on three flat screen TVs and old men were screaming at replays of the Vikings and Seahawks game. Only in San Jose would this coffee shop seem normal. There are at least five other shops similar to this on the east side of San Jose.

The waitresses in this shop are all dressed skimpy. Most of these girls are quite young, twenty perhaps. Their bodies are amazing, skinny waists and large breasts. The sexual appeal is similar to that of strippers. Their presence was what most of these men came for. 

The customers ranged from young gangsters to old creepy men. It was incredibly noisy in the shop. Vietnamese music and loud bantering between the customers and servers. Aroused men kept hounding at the girls for their attention. 

“Come here baby girl,” said the young man. Sipping on his iced coffee with extra condensed milk. He has both his arms tattooed with demons and dragons.

“Sorry honey, my sugar daddy is over there.” She is wearing a very skimpy teal bikini. Her breasts are the size of melons. She happens to be someone I have known from high school. Her breasts were flat until just last year. She must have gotten some implants. On the side of her ribs are a lotus tattoo surrounding a koi fish.

“That does not mean we can not talk, right? There is nothing wrong with just talking.” He gives her such a dirty smirk that even I felt uncomfortable.

“I mean I guess. How are you doing, honey?” said the waitress annoyingly. She looks like she would rather be anywhere else right now.

“Great girl. I just made a few thousands off this deal. Maybe you can come out with me.” He reached for her butt and she flinched instantly.

“No means no. You do not have nearly as much money as my man. I have other customers to serve,” said the waitress. She left and went to her boyfriend gambling with the other customers. She sat on her boyfriends lap and poured him some more water.

“Stupid girl,” said the gangster. These girls are probably used to cat-calls and insults after they reject men. He left, tipping ten bucks for his coffee. Their tips here are incredible. From what I see, everyone has been tipping five to ten bucks. She is only in it for the money. Working half naked all the time must at least have some benefits to it. 

[decemberhooyah-blog]

Listening In

Understood.  Tell us in what direction they leave and we’ll send in escort.  Good job.

I was looking for somebody in particular–a professor who had a job in plant sciences, meeting a new assistant.  However, I didn’t have a name, and I didn’t have a facial profile to reference.  If that didn’t make my job hard enough, I couldn’t directly interact with anyone in the vicinity either, in fear of making myself known to the asset.  I could only find them by listening.  And once I found them, it was my job to be their shadow and make sure they remained undisturbed by the other parties involved.  

The meeting was supposed to take place at 1400 hours at the Starbucks Coffee on Russell Boulevard and Anderson Drive.  The coffee shop was located on a strip adjacent to a busy parking lot with many passerbyers streaming up and down the sidewalk.  The shop itself had every table occupied, mostly with UCD students furiously typing away at their keyboards or staring intently, presumably studying for upcoming midterms.  

While usually not a coffee drinker, I waited in the extended line in order to listen into the rows of tables for key words.

“Esta bien…”

“Oh I hope I can get this done soon. I want to be able to do something tonight.”

“Chemical engineering…” That sounded important.  I turned directly sideways to them to let one ear overhear their conversation a little better.  “…I”ve always been interested in the physical sciences and that major makes me feel like I’m really applying them…”

I tuned out of that conversation.  I listened and listened, but none of the conversations seemed to match with who I was looking for.  In what seemed like no time at all I was in the front of the line, hastily deciding on a drink order.  A green tea frappuccino, no whipped cream.  I remember having one of those before.  Before heading to the outside tables, I did one more listening sweep through the customers inside.  Nothing.  

I sat down at a middle table, best for listening in on the surrounding but not the best for comfort since the low winter sun was just barely glaring into my eyes.  I got comfortable in the black, basket woven seats and pulled out my laptop to appear busy, occasionally taking sips of the green tea frap.  To my right, there was an asian man and a black man sitting across from each other, talking to each other like they just met.  In front of me was a loud Indian man, seemingly explaining his entire life story from the time he was born.  On the far table was a diverse study group of college students, textbooks out and nearly identical fluffy boots tapping in concentration.  None of them fit.

But to my left, I heard something interesting.

“The roots…very fascinating.  They will find water, crawl to it…”

I turned around toward the left as if I was looking for someone to arrive, catching a glance at the pair conversing.  There was an old asian woman, wearing a dull orange, buttoned up jacket, jeans, and black and neon running shoes. I found the color choice odd, assuming her as someone who is constantly on the move, or someone that just really couldn’t care less about matching shoes.  Her hair was short, shorter than mine, and shaved on the sides. Across from her was a young pale skinned man, probably in his early twenties.  He had brown, curly hair, partially consumed by the collar of his grey windbreaker.  He spoke in a german accent.

“But how would you do that while preventing the bacteria from spreading?”  This was definitely an exchange worth some extra attention.  I checked my email for any intel updates, pursing my lips in disappointment when I found none.

“So… professor…”

“Eventually destroying the chemicals…”

A later to middle aged white man with large, dark sunglasses sat at the empty table not far from me.  He seemed to be minding his own business, constantly checking his phone.

“Hard to replicate the results… But there will be so much power behind it if it’s true…Now I always print  extra labels with the serial numbers so I can add them to the list”

I noticed the middle age man glance up from his phone, scan the area, and look back down.  He did this another two times.  I made a mental note to keep an eye on him in case we were looking for the same person.

“Pass my research on…”

This was the asset.  I took a quick video with my phone of the surrounding area and sent it to my team and marked the asian woman. I opened up the the chat box and quickly typed.  VIP spotted.  Then I glanced at the man in the sunglasses again, who once again, was looking in the direction of the professor.  Possible tail by unknown party.

The reply came almost instantaneously.

[albertn5f-blog]

This story was a bit unexpected. After reading a few of the other stories, I expected just you, the author, eavesdropping into a conversation. However, you made yourself/the eavesdropper into a bigger character in the story. He seems to be on a mission and there is some secret research going on that he must intercept. It gave off a spy theme similar to that of James Bond. It produced extra flare to the story rather than just people having a conversation inside a coffee house. It was very well written but the beginning sentence was quite confusing at first. For a revision, you can maybe move the initial bolded statement somewhere better fitting. It sounds a lot like a concluding sentence. The eavesdropping character received a “good job” after succeeding his mission on intercepting the asset.