Dear Duane,

Sorry I sounded weird last night, but the parental units were right there. Dad was in his chair and Mom was on the sofa—both sitting as far from each other as they could while still being in the same room. They’re doing the not-talking thing again. It keeps me busy.

Dad: Justin, would you please tell your mother she’s being paranoid?

Me: Dad says lighten up Mom.

Mom: Justin, please inform your father he’s a liar.

Me: This is so lame, would you guys just talk to each other?

Remember those conversations that you were in the middle of? Now all you have to do is march around and shoot guns. Want to trade? I better go; Mrs. Perez is giving me the eye like she suspects I’m not doing algebra.

Adios and hasty banana.

                                                                       Your suffering brother,

                                                                       Justin

P.S. The units are both off work. Mom said she needed a mental health day but I bet it’s backfiring. All that will be left are two pairs of empty shoes with smoke coming out of them by the time I get home.

Everyone was staring and laughing when I looked up…

I always leaned back in my chair. Ms. Sullivan, my second grade teacher, repeatedly advised me, “Do not lean back in your chair.” Ignoring her useless advice I continued my habit daily. One day my chair-leaning habit was broken. I must have leaned back too far because the seat of my chair was instantly perpendicular to the floor. This seat position forced my green and white plaid uniform skirt upward. I was paralyzed. The incident happened so quickly and evoked laughter from every student in the class. Ms. Sullivan walked over and replaced my chair to upright position without saying a word. I sat silently, pouting with my head buried in my orange “cubby”.

Wednesday was no ordinary school day. Several weeks ago my partner and I won the city-wide public forum debate league, this day was designed on our behalf - to honor our achievements. We began the day by meeting Seth Williams, the District Attorney of Philadelphia. We shadowed his assistant around city hall, witnessing several interesting trials - and also several more medial trials involving the use of marijuana and several other misdemeanors. The way people act when they're on defense was unbelievable - with their hood over their head, cursing in the presence of the judge, and a gangster lean that embodied the belief that he was too cool for this court room. 

After that was over, we headed over to the school district to be honored by the Super Intendant of the School District of Philadelphia, Arlene Ackerman and several of her colleagues. 

He sits at the table, celebrating his friend's birthday.  They eat cookies and pile on the ice cream, syrup and whipped cream. Their laughter fills the room as they devour the sugar overload in front of them.  She brings out the milk, offering each boy a glass.  Each one gratefully accepts, inhaling a refreshing sip, until she reaches the last boy.

"I don't want any; milk doesn't agree with me."

"Then tonight's going to be a great night," she laughs to herself, as she returns the milk to the fridge.   

Woke Up at a good time
Actually ate break fast

Drove to King a Prussia
Saw the most amazing store ever
Found my Prom Dress

Took a nap
Went out with my boyfriend
Had the best dinner EVER!

Came home
Watched movies till 11
Stay up all night & reminisce about the day...

The Best Day Ever ♥

Sunday was the day of the super bowl. The Steelers were up against the Packers. All my friends were rooting for "black & yellow" including myself. I personally think that football is fixed so I didn't believe that the Steelers were going to win and I was right. They lost and the Pakers won.
During the game I had fun relaxing with old and new friends. The dorito commercials were hilarious. The food was also delicious. I can't wait until the next super bowl party.

one day in a teen's life 

​Today is my dad's birthday. He turns 59 (I know that is one year from 60, which is old). I don't usually buy my dad gifts because: 1. I've never had the money, and 2. he's not really the gift- receiving type of person. Unless it's money in its purest and most recognized state, gifts fail to affect my dad. So I had my annual challenge; give him something that will definitely affect him. Our household consists of 7 children; and the classic ice cream and cake has been my family tradition since the 4th child was born. I knew he didn't have the care or desire to buy his own ice cream and cake, so I bought it for him. I had to buy cake mix and frosting, though because store bought cake is out of my budget. Since our oven doesn't work, I went around the corner to my best friend, Edward's house to bake the cake. Edward had to leave about 20 minutes after I started baking my cake. So I had sat alone in his grandmother's house using her pans to bake my father a surprise cake. Luckily his grandmother was still at work. It would've been strange for her to walk in and see me in her kitchen, and her grandson nowhere to be found. To avoid even a few minutes of awkwardness, I only let the cake cool for five minutes after it was done. I wrapped the pan in foil, slipped on my layers of cold- protectant, and carried the hot cake home. Once I was home, I started dinner. While I cooked, I ran around trying to gather my brothers and sisters to record messages to my dad. Instead of buying a card that he'd forget about tomorrow, I wanted to make him a video card. I planned to record short messages from everybody in the house, and arrange it into a nice video to present to him. I'll probably never do that last minute again. 4 and 5 years seem to love to see themselves on camera because they never moved out of the way. The 5 year old never got the hint to be quiet at times that my dad was in ear shot. He was like the lady on the Ravioli commercial that didn't get the hint about saying vegetables in front of the kid. In the end, our video was raw and heartwarming, and my cake was fulfilling. My dad didn't shed a tear, but he couldn't stop smiling.Hopefully next year, I pull some tears out of him. 

*I'd post our video, but don't know how to.