Twix Bars and Bus Stop Angels

One day I was standing on

14th street waiting for the 14A bus

it was probably following an after school

trip to Taco Bell (nom) & Forever

after sharing my quesadilla and

cheesy bean & rice burrito, I was still

craving something else

(if you can't tell, I'm so hungry right now,

I don't even remember what a burrito tastes like)

anyhow, my bus was just not coming

and the Avenue D buses continued to pass

1,2,3,4 D's and still no A's (my eternal strife)

in my frustration, I turned to my friends

and said "I really wish I had a Twix right now"

then I heard the voice of angel,

the woman standing next to me took

a cute, fun size Twix bar out of her purse

and handed it to me, she smiled

like all she wanted to do was gift Twix bars

to make teenage girls happy

I love that mystery woman

then my bus came,

and I sat in the back nomming my tiny Twix

eating the chocolate and caramel off first

then savoring the wafer

it was beautiful, and people think New Yorkers aren't nice

untrue is what I say,

most people in the city smile back

no one smiles back here,

or gives me Twix bars.

College, J.LO, & the like.

I really wish I had a frozen lemonade right now

or a big pitcher of the limeade my mom makes for me at home

I also wish I had time for recreational reading

the kind of reading that comes after browsing the library

not in search of some elusive book with a call number

as long as the entire alphabet

the kind of reading I would do when I was 6

in the first grade all that really mattered was

Cam Jansen, the mysterious books about the girl

with the photographic memory, who we all wanted to be

I actually still want to be her

or Amelia Bedelia, the crazy maid

who would make sponge cake with real sponges

and couldn't quite grasp the English language

those were the days before obscure philosophical readings,

manifesto after manifesto

and Hemingway

I would go to my school's library

which was literally a small classroom with some bookshelves

and take out all the books available

on Princess Diana,

I was obsessed with her (so was my roommate)

maybe it was because she was a real life princess

but right after I read every single book I could get my small

magic marker stained hands on

she died, it was a tragedy

I had already lost my first hero, Selena

when I was about 3,

and yes as a 3 year old, she was my everything

and I remember standing in front of my grandma's TV

weeping while watching Univision, maybe Telemundo

she gave me Bidi Bidi Bom Bom

before I could tie my own shoes

I listened to my Selena cassette tape on loop

with my little walkman, and once the first 4 songs were over,

I would have to flip the tape

I miss that

then Princess Diana died,

I healed eventually, when I discovered Egypt

all little kids become obsessed with Egpyt,

pyramids, mummies, the underworld

it's so odd

and the Holocaust at around age 10, but maybe that's just girls

but when I was 10, I couldn't get enough of it

and now, I have no time to read a short story for enjoyment

oh the woes of college

These were my favorite women,

but I must say that now,

my favorite woman, hands down

is Jennifer Lopez,

I might be alone in that

but thats ok, shes the best

and I'm running to the movie theatre

to catch my matinee of The Back Up Plan

while blasting Waiting For Tonight in my Jeep

through the streets of PK (in my dreams).

I Dream of Jeep-ie

Maybe since my strawberry dream came true today

tonight I will dream of owning a

shiny, beautiful, fierce, bangin', sexy

Jeep Wrangler

and who knows, with the way things are going

you might see me cruisin' around

probably blasting My Humps, literally

in that case,

I'd also have to dream up learning to drive...

Dreams Do Come True.

A couple of weeks ago

I had a dream that I was at the Retreat (other Vassar dining option)

and to my delight they were selling

Vanilla Soy Milk

and strawberries in little plastic cartons

and in my dream I was simply overjoyed

for I love cereal

and its nommier with strawberries and a lil vanilla goodness

this morning at the Retreat I saw a girl eating strawberries

out of a small plastic container

and I immediately ran over,

and alas! in the sad Passover cooler( that had previously housed

with odd, tragic looking concoctions like roasted beets

"Matzorella Lasagna", and "Matzorella Salad"

the word play was cute

but the food looked pitiable)

were small containers each containing 6 juicy strawberries

my heart leaped and jumped

and I let out a squeal of delight

at 2.99 the price is a ripoff

but its so worth it for something other than apples and oranges

I bought two and anxiously explained to the cashier lady

that my dreams were literally coming true

she thought I was a loon, obviously

but hey, I ate those strawberries on my hilltop

sprinkled with Splenda (as everything should be)

whilst soaking up the sun

bronze skin & strawberries,

hey a girl's gotta get her kicks somewhere.

Spring Has Sprung

This weekend was a breakthrough

both on my tan and other important matters

I did not let my nostalgia or homesickness rule

I broke out of the norm,

no more egg white omelets and multigrain toast

I've moved onto scrambled eggs and cheese on an English muffin,

but that wasn't the revolution of this weekend

everything was beautiful,

maybe because I abandoned all my papers and readings and priorities

for blue skies, sandals and a sunny hilltop by Sunset Lake

and for once it felt good not to be in the city

to be away from the movement and

the sounds

(besides the sweet soul sounds of Robin Thicke)

I dearly miss the pigeons,

but I was ok trading them for the robins that would hop around in the grass

sounding like footsteps and awakening me from my sunny slumber

or the occasionally blue jay or cardinal sighting

(and I was overjoyed to see a woodpecker, a real, live woodpecker!!!)

I couldn't hear the hum of car engines or the rumble of subways on old tracks

but I could hear geese overhead and the occasional bee buzzing (quite frightening)

some good ol Vitamin D and combo of UVA UVB made me feel like

I took a short trip to Miami

Spring, you have done a great thing for me and my tan

I am sincerely grateful.

Snowcones & Eden

Things were so much better in middle school

when Astoria Park was like Eden

because in my Eden

the boys are cute,

with awkward middle school haircuts,

band tees and skate shoes

in my Eden water balloon fights

are regular entertainment

and the rocky shores of the East River

littered with disintegrating porn magazines,

soda cans, and empty 25 cent bags of chips,

became our "spot"

a place to hang out, to have first kisses

on those warm spring days

all we needed was a one dollar slice of pizza

maybe a snow cone

if when you're a freshman in college, the conventional date

is a movie, maybe dinner

then, it was sharing a snowcone

an ongoing battle of who'd get to eat the red and blue parts

a game of caution, as to not let the rainbow drips

stain your shirt

playful pushing and pulling

holding hands even when in competition,

a balancing act

it was impossible to ever finish the whole thing

in the flirty, innocent tug o war

it would end up on the sidewalk, or in the grass

all the colors melting into a purple pool

but it was ok,

because kisses always tasted better after a snowcone

a chemical, icy-sweet taste

that I can still almost feel

because my nostalgia is bordering on synesthetic.

Midnight Bedtime.

I find that in college it has become

increasingly hard

to get a decent amount of sleep

when the obscure art history and

Dada readings pile up

my poor roommate usually falls asleep in chemistry class

every Monday, Wednesday and Friday

and has to drink caffeinated tea to stay awake

which makes her act worse than drunk

mint tea is like vodka for this girl

as she plows through her English readings

even though at one point in my life

I had to wake up in the early morning darkness

for zero period gym class that was at 7:30 am

(that was the bane of my existence)

who wants to do yoga that early in the morning?!

yes, downward dogs, baby cobras when the toothpaste taste

was still fresh on my tongue

and my eyes had not fully become accustomed to the light

it seems like we all find it difficult to wake up for our 9am classes

I guess its just harder to have to leave your room

and probably wander to the cold bathroom

to just sit in someone else's pee (yucks)

in the city I would have to actually commute

and sleepily take the subway instead of walking for 5 minutes to class

maybe the proximity of everything is not a luxury after all

alls I know is that a midnight bedtime is a blessing

even when some people are playing

aggressive house music

till the wee hours of the morning

and screaming on the quad

me and my roommate are old ladies

and like to catch our zzzs

a midnight bedtime is optimistic,

but what can I say, I'm a dreamer.