A Former Janitor Collects and Photographs the Items Seized from Immigrants and Thrown Away By U.S. Customs and Border Patrol

Read about it here.

So in the summer of 2015, I went out with this boy I’d known from high school. I’d not been in a relationship since 2011, and it was fun and exciting. I did things with him that I’d never done with anyone else before. I remember the first day, perched on the edge of his bed, shivering, feeling bad but not knowing why. I was excited, or thought I should be, that someone–someone I’d admired in high school, no less–was paying attention to me. He treated me pretty poorly, for the few weeks we were together, but I was still sad when he went back to school. It took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that not everything we did was consensual, that I was coerced at times, I think. I don’t remember very well. Anyway, he’s just moved back to the area, and we’ve got a lot of mutual friends. The three friends I’ve told have chosen to interact with him very little or not at all, and it’s nice to feel a sort-of wall of protection, even though two of those people have gone away themselves. We live in a small town, and interacting is probably inevitable. I’m stronger now than I ever was, but I still sometimes feel guilty and worry that I’m wrong and I don’t know how long that will take to recover from.

A few weeks ago a colleague lightly punched me on the shoulder to say hello and even though I do not like being touched without anticipating, I thought it was very nice and friendly and made me feel like I belonged.

Amazing women authors and their typewriters Daphne du Maurier, Marguerite Duras, Margaret Mitchell, Francoise Sagan, Sylvia Plath, Carson McCullers, Agatha Christie, Lorraine Hansberry, Doris Lessing

Comic by Lynda Barry

It's not something to worry about, just something to suffer through.

My friend, who has a stomachache

My friend teaches Latin to children and he says they sing “Head, Shoulders, etc” in English and Latin and when they get to the “Knees and Toes” part, his students (kindergarten) shout “What are those!” and he asked me what that meant and it’s probably the last time I’ll know a meme that someone else doesn’t already know also how adorable

Yo wow I have been hanging out with a very nice boy who sends me poetry and takes care of me when I am sick and I just think he’s the greatest. He may want to move away soon and I am SAD.

Okay, content warning for assault ahead.

I am friends with a boy who is the brother of another boy who did not treat me/the rules of consent with respect. The brother invited me to a Take Back the Night-type event at his school tonight. He was right in the other room when it was happening. There’s no way he could have known then and I don’t think he knows now and I’m glad he’s involved in this event but it feels very strange. I’ve always wanted to talk to him about it and if I weren’t ill right now this would be the perfect chance but also I’m worried he’ll hate me or be even more alienated from his brother than I thought. So that’s happening. Otherwise things are fine-ish.

if anyone is curious how I’m utilizing my English degree in the office

The other day a student addressed me by my first name in order to tell me he'd spilt applesauce on his copy of The Stranger. What a prefect example of the Absurdist conflict between the human tendency to seek inherent value and meaning in life and the human inability to find any.

Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451

I saw some nice flowers while hiking Hellhole Canyon yesterday. This is Fremont’s Monkeyflower

Men often ask me, Why are your female characters so paranoid? It’s not paranoia. It’s recognition of their situation.

Margaret Attwood