This Is What It’s Like

You scan the area, the distance to your car. Extra cautious if it’s early morning or late at night.

And vice versa; if you park your car in your driveway or parking lot near your apartment, you wonder how quickly you can make it to your door without being noticed. You wonder who is watching and what they might do if they see no one else is around. You hold your breath as you damn near run after locking your car, keys prepared to unlock your door as quickly as possible. You make it inside and automatically lock the door behind you. You do this several times everyday.

My Secret Place

“It's San Francisco,” she replied. “I've gotten raises and promotions and you're working, but we're struggling to get by. We couldn't even afford to take time off for a vacation last year.”

They both hated what the City had become, an overpriced playground for tech geeks working at Google, Uber, and Airbnb. Once sketchy nightclub areas had been gentrified into neighborhoods where newcomers fought over four thousand dollar a month, one-bedroom apartments.

A Lifelong Obsession

I have received many bits of advice over the years—some sound, some idiotic. But the most solid was: your writing cannot improve if you don't read. And not just in whatever genre you've chosen to pursue, but widely.