Wednesday, September 24, 2025
King of the Hill
Thursday, May 2, 2024
My Favorite Friend
I remember Friends being on, 1994-2004. Honestly I wasn't a very loyal viewer. I didn't really get into it until they were in mid-life. Then I watched it off and on until the last 2, 3 seasons. I remember my Aunt being a big dedicated fan. I definitely remember the hype of Jennifer Aniston's romance with Brad Pitt and Courteney Cox's romance with David Arquette being splashed over on every media magazine possible. It wasn't until after it ended when I became a 'dedicated' fan when I collected the entire run of seasons on DVD. I remember one particular birthday while there was a Hurricane (Jeanne) visiting and I spent the entire day watching a marathon of Friends. Chandler (played by Matthew Perry) was my favorite male Friend, Phoebe (played by Lisa Kudrow) was my favorite female Friend. I felt more relatable with Chandler, a female version of Chandler I sometimes felt. Especially the humor and fear of commitment (unlike Chandler, I wasn't in many romantic relationships, never been married - and I'm fine with it.... or maybe I am the female version of Matthew Perry? Minus the drug and alcohol addiction). Whatever relating it may be, I was definitely drawn to Chandler and Matthew. I definitely found Matthew to be a very handsome man, attractive.
I wouldn't call myself a dedicated fan of Matthew's, though I did see Fools Rush In (my high school even played the movie on those "off" days; I remember one summer a teacher would have movie day once a week) and his guest appearance on Scrubs is one of my favorite Scrubs episodes (which he directed, including co-staring with his father, John Bennett Perry). I also watched The Kennedy's After Camelot just to watch Matthew - it turned out to be his final acting role before a series of drug addiction and health scares took its toll. I just recently binged into his version of The Odd Couple (too bad it only lasted three seasons, I enjoyed it; Thomas Lennon did a great Felix). I watched the Friends reunion with a dear friend of mine. Poor Matthew had just gotten his teeth yanked out due to their bad conditions and was replaced by fake teeth. The pain he must've felt - his face did look twisted in pain. Of course the criticism over his drug addiction was there, believing he was strung out. Luckily for Matthew, there were paparazzi photos of him going to the Dentist to help back him up. The taping of Friends reunion happened almost a year after Covid (2021) and this was a done deal; Matthew had to muster all this strength to make it and pretend he was fine while his jaw/mouth was on fire. He did look happy to be there. Bless him.
In November of 2022, Matthew published his memoir. I remember him being on the cover of People magazine and buying it - he looked so good. Never would I ever thought we would have lost him almost a year later. I didn't buy his book when it came out. I did intend to, but, honestly, me going to a bookstore went from (past) going weekly to (present) every few months. I could've ordered online, sure, but usually I reserve that for vintage books that you can't find in a bookstore or the library. His memoir was the Best Seller, so Matthew enjoyed its success, making appearances and book tours (unfortunately not in my area). A year later, almost exactly to the date his memoir was published, it went back on the #1 Best Seller list - second year in a row ... unfortunately, he wasn't here to see a new popularity the second time around. For some reason, when a (especially beloved) celebrity dies, their work catalog gets popular again.
Hearing the news of his death ... At first, it was almost like a shrug off, Oh well type. I was washing dishes. The news sunk in deeply afterwards, and the grief also went deep. The news was becoming more real by the second, I soon watched live TikToks of outside his home as it was happening - his body was still there. By 2 AM my time, I had to cut it off as I had to get up to go to work. I did debate to take a day off.... then I said nope, as I thought it would look ridiculous to take someone's death, someone I never met, seriously to take a day off. I pushed those days during that first week through - but I didn't hide my sadness. I was more quieter than usual, my students noticed my mood - some hugged me without snowing other than their teacher was very sad. I don't think I have felt this devastated since Robin Williams in 2014 where a celebrity death will just come to you and suddenly punch in the stomach, wounded enough not to eat much.
At this time, it's been over 6 months since Matthew passed away and he's been on my mind since. I'm starting to think he's craving his initials "MLP Here 4 Life" into my brain tissue.
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
I Stand With Isabel
Tuesday, March 3, 2020
Bernard Pivot Questionnaire by James Lipton
1. What is your favorite word?
Please
2. What is your least favorite word?
No
3. What turns you on?
Ferraro Roche
4. What turns you off?
Cigarettes
5. What sound or noise do you love?
The Beatles
6. What sound or noise do you hate?
Explosive
7. What is your favorite curse word?
Sh!t
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Photographer
9. What profession would you not like to do?
Being famous for nothing
10. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
“I found your cat” (Snowball)
Saturday, May 25, 2019
Where is My Life?
turning to my conscience
trashing around the bay
without knowing what to say
Everybody telling me the story
wishing for all the glory
in my life to be perfect
however I am away causing a conflict
crying in vain
feeling my tears drain
closing my eyes from the lecture
dizzy from this torture
Wanting to be left alone
biting my skin down to the bone
trumbling with anger
risking the edge towards the danger
Lost in the words of the sea
not letting me to be free
trying to make me do what I don't want to do
they don't get my clue
They are trying to make me crack
by putting me in the sack
trapped because I won't break down
digging into my soul to the ground
letting me drown in my blood
creating an emotional flood
Stealing my misery in space
not wanting to look at my own face
sorrow has reached my eye
listening to my heart cry
crawling away in gravel
hoping that the tension unravel
Depressed most of the time
increasing the thoughts in my mind
alone in the darkness with a knife
Where is my life?
Written in 2002.
I wouldn't say I was being suicidal... overdramatic, but not suicidal. At the time, I was around 21 years old and still wasn't driving. My whole family was flabbergasted to put it kindly. They had all gotten their licenses when they were 15, 16 years old and here I was, 21 and no license. Unlike them, I just did not want to drive. I was scared. I was, and still is, the only one who lived near busy streets and those are not easy to practice on! The rest of them were raised and lived in areas that were quiet, residential. Plus, a guy that I had a massive crush on died in a car accident when he was 17 (I was 16) so that really put a damper on driving. It took me until I was 22 to finally get a license. I like going at my own speed and apparently my own speed never impress my family's qualifications. I suppose it's safe to say that I am the black sheep of my family? The weirdo.
My Imagination
very hard to explain the ideas
Pretending to be someone else
in another time era
Pretending to invent someone in fiction
trying to picture of what the future would bring
Having my own little world
a place to escape and relax
To be able to smile and create
up to the temperature to the right degree
Reaching up to my imagination
knowing that my mind is a thousand of miles away
Rephrasing a memory
eyes replacing it's vision from the real world
To the fantasy world
a feel to make you feel small
a dream that makes you feel big
Imagination that no one can control
it's mine only
no one else to have
My feelings of happiness and pain
trying to search to get out
My imagination is a dream
a far away look in my eyes
It takes me longer to reach reality
my very own imagination
to shine like a star
to slide down the rainbow
Bright as a sun
glowing like the moon
A far cry from the special destiny
a dream that can not be taken away
Something to have is a part of you
sometimes it's hard to understand
only I could
My imagination contain things
some that will never happen
Crying and laughter is in
like a butterfly flapping it's wings
spreading it's color, like a peacock
Ideas come fresh to the head
never to forget that piece of mind
wherever when it blossoms
The events can go on for months
maybe even a year or two
The pain to reach down under
hopefully to disappear
To love or to hate
questions will come at any point
Just my imagination
only I could bring it to myself
The keys to success of hard work
only steps have to be taken
time by time
Crossroads will happen in life
joining to steal of togetherness
Stories form together in the head
My imagination
which is only just for me
Originally written in 1998, revised in 2002.
When I was writing poems in those days, I was trying to be suave, like I knew my way around words, and jotting down things that came to mind. It sounded great at the time. Today? Well, other than thinking that I was showing off over 20 years ago, I have to say that it's still not that far off either. My imagination is still just that- my faraway getaway.
Saturday, May 18, 2019
Running Against the Rain
she grabbed my hand for support
So we ran outside to hide
a strange look on his face
Running down on the damp cement
across the rocky street
a shoe flew across the field
Rain poured down like sharp needles
the moon disappeared behind the clouds
no light was shown anywhere
Thunder pounded against the dark sky
lightning got closer and closer
No shelter was around to protect us
his steps grew louder and louder
we continued to run, fast
She tripped down the rock
tears, water, and blood dripped down
from her fact to her princess gown
I didn't know what to do
leaves caught in my hair
she wanted to bury herself
He approached us, slowly and carefully
She was scared
Suddenly, he put his arms around her
she put her limp body on him
I watched, crying
he whispered in her ear
she was holding him tight
The rain poured down their drenched clothes
I left, leaving them alone
I looked back
they were kissing on the wet grass
I walked across the field
back towards the house
My princess gown was in ruins
my curls were in knots
my shoes were lost somewhere in the wind
but I was happy
after I got into the house to join the party
I looked out of the window
they were still there
holding each other with a passion
the moment was unforgettable
feeling so real
I sat down on the sofa, wet
mesmerized by the scenery
The rain grew stronger by the minute
thunder and lightning were bolted around
the party was panicking and pacing
I ignored them, looking at my dear friend
who was once frighten of her boyfriend
but now, she is all right
finally returning to her engagement party
that has always been her dream
Originally written in 1999, got reworked done in 2002.
I must have been reading too many romance novels or something at the time? Heavily influenced by Stevie Nicks and I was trying to write a romance novel in poem form.