Getting Back What Anxiety Stole

Getting Back What Anxiety Stole

View image | gettyimages.com On my way to bed, I tripped over one of my nighttime prayers: “Your yoke is easy and your burden light,” it said. I stopped with some mixture of confusion, dumbfoundedness and anger. I laughed out loud. My ‘HA!’ echoed in the dark chapel....
The Advent of Refugees

The Advent of Refugees

I’m as much a fan of ironic situations as anyone else, but this might be too much. In the wake of the recent heart-wrenching terrorist attacks in Paris, Beirut, and around the world, U.S. politicians are weighing in.  An alarming number of governors have already...
Starbucks’ War on Christmas

Starbucks’ War on Christmas

I have been a Starbucks Gold Card member since 2008. I’m still known at the Starbucks at Gonzaga University, even though I moved away five years ago. I measure the time of year by seasonal coffee blends and drinks. I love Christmas. I love the songs, the colors, the...
Trumping Up Racism

Trumping Up Racism

View image | gettyimages.com   I once decided to shave my head. It is a normal look in Los Angeles — a 1” all around with a 0 used to draw defining lines. I must admit, I feel a certain sense of Latino pride when I sport this haircut. My timing, however,...
Things I Do Not Like About Myself

Things I Do Not Like About Myself

“Come have a drink with your friends!,” she said – well, shouted – as she stood in the doorway, blocking my exit. But I was a man on a mission. Tasked with organizing a barbecue for some 130+ guests, I was in the midst of a frantic cleanup. As the party...
Why Do We Still Love Bond Films?

Why Do We Still Love Bond Films?

View image | gettyimages.com Bond is back. And yours truly is excited. I know, I know.  YES, I have some misgivings about liking Bond. He’s a misogynist. He dispenses violence a little too casually. Plus that penchant for terrible puns. Still, when the 24th...
Don’t Waste Love

Don’t Waste Love

At 6:30 AM, my phone buzzes loudly on the faux-wood desktop in my room, tearing me from an intimate moment with Albert Camus and French existentialism. Someone who loves me is texting to say good morning. I don’t respond. My mind is sharpest in the early hours, and I...