Category Archives: crazy stories

crazy stories, life lessons September 17, 2017 1 Comment

Another Day, Two More Shootings

I wrote about a shooting that happened in my neighborhood just two days ago, and this morning the news reported that there were two more unrelated shootings in my neighboorhood at 3:45 AM today. They found one man at the gas station, and they found the other man down the street from my house; both of them were Hispanic men in their 20’s. Less than 1/4 of these shootings make it on the news. Usually what happens is everyone thinks everyone else is going to call the police or 911. No one wants to get involved, so these incidents often go unreported. I think if the police had a better relationship with the people in this neighborhood people might be more inclined to help law enforcement. However, if the police show us they don’t care, people tend to return that favor.

I was lucky enough to sleep through this one, so I didn’t hear all the gunshots early this morning. I’m a heavy sleeper though because I once slept through 17 gunshots after finals week one semester.

It’s sad, but truthfully the police don’t care if you call in that you heard gunshots, they barely even care if you call in a body. It’s just another day to them in this area. That’s why it takes 45 minutes or more to respond to reports in this neighborhood, and that’s if they bother to come at all. Theoretically, a pizza delivery man would get to the crime scene before a police officer, if the pizza places in my neighborhood still delivered here. They stopped a few years because they feel their drivers would be in danger. They stopped accepting orders from the Converse area because the drivers would get robbed all the time.

This week started off with two shootings. It won’t be the last. It won’t even be the last for the month. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were another shooting later tonight.

Check out a similar post called The Piercing Sound of a Gunshot

crazy stories, life lessons September 15, 2017 1 Comment

The Piercing Sound of a Gunshot

It was 8 PM. I was posting some links on MCXV and working on my website when I heard it. I had listened to this sound a thousand times before. It was a sound almost more familiar than my voice. The first shot was paralyzing. It took only seconds to realize what was coming next. The second shot seemed louder than the first. The third shot was deafening.

That was the moment when I fully realized I couldn’t move. Seconds of silence passed before I heard the retaliation shots. I heard one, two, three, four, five, six shots. One right after another. I felt scared; My brain couldn’t comprehend what was happening. I was in shock. I had never been this scared before. This was not the first time I’ve ever heard gunshots. In fact, it happens almost twice a week in my neighborhood. Something about this night is different.

I went online to listen to the police scanners, and they were strangely offline. Now I won’t find out what happened until I watch the news in the morning, that’s if anyone of importance got killed. I would not be the least bit surprised if I never find out what happened tonight. Truthfully, I wouldn’t be surprised if no one ever finds out about this shooting. Most of the shootings in my neighborhood go unreported. It’s not hard to see why.

San Antonio is a beautiful city, but with the quick population increases, there has been a tremendous rise in violent crime over the past two years. My neighborhood is notorious for having shootings on a weekly basis, and developers still decided to start building $180,000 homes about 2 or 3 blocks away from my house. I hope the new mayor can get a handle on the rise in crime. We all know the crime rate is going to get worse before it gets better.

Check out this follow-up blog that happened a few days later: Another Day, Two More Shootings

crazy stories September 4, 2017 No comments

The San Antonio Tortilla Shortage of 2017

Yesterday, I posted a blog called The San Antonio Gas Shortage of 2017, and the media turned a simple misunderstanding into a massive city-wide panic. Well, San Antonio is about to be in for another devastating blow. I went to my local HEB this morning at 8 AM, and they were already running low on food. They were limiting everyone to 2 of everything. That’s if there was more than two. There was a sign with all the food they were limiting.

My question is: how is a mother supposed to feed her family with only two packs of tortillas for the whole week? That’s not right.

You thought it was crazy when we were allegedly not running out of gas?

Things will get crazy if there’s a real tortilla shortage. I searched on social media and #tortillashortage had a few posts on Instagram and Facebook.

We are blessed here in San Antonio that we only got a sprinkle of rain compared to what happened in Houston. I hope things will go back to normal soon. I don’t think people can handle the chaos and the uncertainty. Stores are raising prices because of the hurricane, but I wouldn’t feel so bad about paying more if I knew where the money was going. If it’s for hurricane relief, then I’m okay with it. There have been a lot of stores in Texas that have gotten accused of price-gouging. We haven’t had any cottage cheese in the grocery store for weeks now. I cannot believe how expensive groceries are now, especially over the last few weeks.

There are many of us in San Antonio living below the poverty level. Some families rely on our neighborhood HEB to feed their families. I hope that during this time we can come together and show the rest of the country what it means to be a Texan.

crazy stories September 3, 2017 No comments

The San Antonio Gas Shortage of 2017

San Antonio is known for being the City Who Always Panics

San Antonio will close down the roads over 2″ inches of snow. We panic over every little thing, and it’s almost always overblown and overhyped. Hurricane Harvey may have missed San Antonio, but the fear has caused chaos. All the gas stations in my neighborhood and surrounding areas were closed or out of gas. The ones that were open were charging $3. To be honest, I wouldn’t take their gas even if it was free. My job closed as long with many other businesses over the weekend that Hurricane Harvey happened. We were fortunate to get light rain.

72% of gas stations are out of gas

Initially, there was no gas shortage, but because everyone in the city freaked out and put gas when they didn’t need it, there is now a real gas shortage. This information was found on MySanAntonio where they reported that an estimated 600 gas stations are low or out of gas. There were reports of people filling up 50-gallon barrels as if we were never going to have gas ever again. The panic is out of control. Now instead of working together as a community, a few bad apples ruined the bunch.

Many of us rely on gas to get to our jobs and school. I honestly think the media caused a frenzy on purpose to make money. The mayor has tried to convince San Antonio residents not to hoard gasoline. The long lines continue as there are rumors that things won’t be back to normal until Tuesday or Wednesday. There is also talk of the price of gas going up to $2.75 in the next few weeks.

crazy stories June 26, 2017 No comments

3 Injured at Tobin Center for the Performing Arts

Today, June 25, 2017, I went to see my grandfather sing with The San Antonio Liederkranz at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts. I was expecting a normal concert and it was quite an event. I really enjoyed one of the songs that had one of the men wearing a Vikings hat and yielding a sword. They did a cover of the song “Memories” from the musical Cats which I posted a video of below.

A few days ago, my local newspaper wrote this tidbit of the organization urging San Antonio residents to enjoy quality entertainment at no cost. They are also promoting that the organization is looking for new members. If you would like more information about that click here.

The San Antonio Liederkranz is celebrating a major milestone this weekend and they want you to join them. The German historical society is honoring their 125th anniversary through a free concert. (News 4 WAOI)

Disclaimer: This is strictly my point of view and it should not be regarded as fact. I do not know the full story, so please do not quote me on this section.

Before the concert started, right before I got there, there was a man and woman being wheeled out on stretchers. From what the event staff said, both of them were walking down the stairs, slipped and fell, and hit their heads pretty bad. One man had a large amount of blood all over his clothes, and the woman didn’t appear to have any blood but she did look very pale as if she had fainted. I was a little shocked that they just wiped up the blood and the opening band never stopped playing. I’m not sure if I would have done the same thing, but it was just strange to me in that moment. I know the show must go on, but it just didn’t feel right.

During the intermission, I sat down and apparently another woman fell down and sustained a head injury in the same manner that the previous two people had fallen. She was an 85-year-old woman who had lots of blood gushing from her head. I find it crazy that 3 people were injured at this event and I will bet that none of the local news media will report on it.

crazy stories, life lessons April 16, 2017 No comments

How My Bullet Journal Changed My Life

Before September 2016, I had never heard of a bullet journal. I was struggling in my life, and I started seeing stuff about bullet journals on Instagram. Right around that time, I think BuzzFeed posted an article about using it for mental health. I decided to check it out, and soon I was joining Facebook groups, and all my social media started to fill up with different kinds of content. After a couple of months, I started posting my spreads, and people seemed to like them.

A++++

I have always been a disorganized mess. My bullet journal helped me organize some of that mess. I was able to separate everything into categories, so I knew what I needed to read or if I need to submit something online. It helped tremendously. Not only did I finish early sometimes, but because I started early I usually able to get the library copy for free which also helped me save money. I’ve always been pretty good in school, but at least I wasn’t writing papers a few hours before they are due anymore.

Time Management

My mother has been trying to get me to use a planner my entire life, and I finally decided that now was a good time to start listening to her. A Bullet Journal is a planner, journal, organizer, and brain dump. It’s a paper version of your brain. If I thought it wouldn’t make me seem neurotic I would probably plan out every single minute of my life. But having reminders and seeing dates on a calendar helped that so that I didn’t forget any events or assignments. I was able to sleep most nights, which was a nice change from the all-night paper writing sessions. One thing I learned from all my years of school is that you need to schedule fun. When your body is telling you to relax, you need to listen. I cannot stress this enough.

Self-Expression

I started writing down little details about my life because who knows, maybe one day someone in my family will dig up my old journals and be fascinated by my daily life. I doubt it, but it’s worth making a note of what seems like small things in my journal on the off chance it becomes essential. I keep a separate journal to get things off my chest because I am liable to write 20 pages easy and most of the journals I use do not have that many pages. I love writing in my journal because it allows me to be honest with myself. It allows me to deal with the thoughts in my head, clear them out, and start fresh. I think it has helped my mood swings as well, although some people would beg to differ.

Creativity

I’ve always been creative, but as of recently, I didn’t have a medium to release my creativity. I started painting a few months ago, but I enjoy the doodles and coloring in the stamps. I just enjoy customizing my journal to look the way I want to, which is the whole point, and in my opinion the best part, of the bullet journal. I also use different colors for different things because literally, everything in my life is color coded. The bullet journal that I have now reminds me of the journal from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and I love it so much. One day, I’m planning on getting a dotted journal to serve my creativity because I don’t feel like I’m as creative as I could be. I love using stamps in my journal, but I wish I could draw my own stuff. I’m not that creative, but I try my best nonetheless.

My journal has been a good source of coping for me, and if you haven’t heard of it…you’ve been warned. Once you’re in, you are hooked for life. I don’t know what I do without my bullet journal. Honestly, it’s a cheap $5 journal I got from Walmart but it’s a representation of my thoughts. Who knows maybe one day, I’ll look back on these journals and see how much I’ve grown.

If you would like to get a fancier journal and you are good at drawing freehand, I would recommend getting the Leuchtturm1917. I haven’t used this product yet because I’m waiting to fill up my other journal before buying a new one, but this is the one I plan to get as soon as I’m done.

crazy stories, imagination June 11, 2010 1 Comment

The Trip: A Short Story (2010)

“What are you doing?” said Mark.
“I’m looking for something.” said Jess, absent-mindedly.
“Do we need it?” Mark said, unconcerned.
“Yes, Mark!” Jess cried, “We can’t leave without it.”
“Alright, alright. I’ll help you look for it.” Mark rummaged through a few of Jess’s things and came across her diary. As a sudden impulse, he grabbed it and dropped it in his bag.
“Um, Jess. What are we looking for anyway?” Mark said, now pretending to search.
Jess lets out a heavy sigh. “My music box, Mark. We’re not leaving on this trip without it.”
Mark sighed as well. “Alright, but if we don’t leave soon we won’t get there in time.”
Jess was getting more frustrated. “I’m aware of that, Mark. Here’s my rebuttal: We’re not leaving until I have my music box with me.”
Mark picked up some of her clothes and threw them in opposite directions. “Why do you even need it anyway? You’re not a little girl anymore, Jess.”
“I’ve never been away from my music box. I listen to it every night before I go to sleep.”
“So how come I’ve never seen this music box before, if it’s so special to you?”
“You’ve seen my music box before. You probably just never noticed it.”

Suddenly, the air gets still and only silence is heard despite the city sounds. Mark turns slowly and watches as the music box quickly appears on the dresser. Jess continues to ruffle through her clothes. Mark walks over to the box and opens it, the music starts to play. Instantly, Jess stands up straight.

“Mark, where did you find this?” Jess asked, frantically as she walked over to him.
“It was right here, Jess. The whole time.” He lied.
“No, Mark. That’s impossible. I would have seen it if it had been here.”
“Maybe you missed it, Jess. Now, come on or the bus is going to leave without us.”

“Come on Mark, we’re going to be late.”
“I can’t go if the light is red, Jess.” said Mark, already frustrated.
“I know, but if you would drive a little faster, we wouldn’t get stopped at all these lights.”
“Jess! I’m driving as fast as I can. Stop rushing me.”
“I’m sorry, Mark. I just don’t want to miss this trip.”
“You could spend just a LITTLE bit of time with me. It’s not like we’re gonna to see each other after this.”
“What are you talking about? We spend time together, and we’re going to be at the same place. How could we not see each other?”
Mark sighed. “You tell me this every time we go on a field trip, and every time you run off with Alex and I never see you.”
Jess had a weird expression on her face. “Well…” She paused awkwardly. “You could hang out with us.” Mark almost missed a red light. He pushed the brake instantaneously. They both gasped in shock and then settled.
“Why would I want to be around you and Alex? He’s always all over you. I don’t want to see that.”
“You’re not…jealous of him, are you?”
Mark took a deep breath. “No, that’s the last thing I would ever be.”
“Well, it sounds like you are.” Jess retorted, unconcerned.
They turned into the school parking lot and their conversation ended there.

“This bus leaves in 15 minutes! If you’re not on it, we’re leaving without you!” yelled Mrs. Bailey, into the megaphone.
“Jesus, Mrs. Bailey. We can hear you just fine,” said Alex, pushing down the megaphone.
“Be that as it may, Alex, I don’t want to hear it if you miss the bus.” said Mrs. Bailey, sternly.
Alex walked away towards a dense group of students. He watched as Mark and Jessica pulled into the parking lot. He walked around the car to open the door for Jessica.
“Thank you, Alex. You’re such a gentleman,” said Jessica, smiling at him. Mark rolled his eyes, slammed his door loudly, and walked over to the bus without waiting for Alex or Jessica.
Alex places his hands on Jessica’s waist. “What’s his problem? Something happen this morning?” Alex said, pretending to care.
Jessica put her face in her hands. “I’m not really sure. I did sort of rush him to get here, and I wouldn’t let him leave without my music box.” Jessica looked away from Alex but kept his hands at her waist.
“You’ve had that music box since you were a little girl, and you listen to it every night before you go to bed. How could put such little importance on something like that?”
Jessica moved away from Alex and started walking toward the bus. “Come on, Alex. He’s not that bad. Let’s just get on the bus.”

8:35am
Mark was sitting in the back of the bus by himself. A frown formed on Jessica’s face. Mark’s words were ringing in her ears. She sat next to Mark, without one word to Alex, leaving him there to stand awkwardly in the middle of the aisle. “You’re not going to sit next to me, Jess?” Alex said, sadly.
“I sit next to you every class trip, Alex. I can’t sit next to Mark for just ONE trip,” Jess said, persuasively.
“I guess so…”
Jessica put her hand on Alex’s shoulder. “Change is good, Alex. Change is good.”
Alex rolled his eyes. Mark smiled at this. Things were finally going his way. Alex sat quietly throughout the whole hour ride up there while Mark and Jessica never stopped talking to each other.

Ten minutes before the arrived, Jessica turns to Alex. “What’s wrong, Alex? You were quiet this whole time.”
Alex closed his eyes and took a silent deep breath. “I just figured since you were sitting next to Mark for once, that you would want to catch up or whatever. I didn’t want to get in the way of that. I respect your wishes and I know what’s important to you.”
Jess looked around awkwardly. “Uh, thanks, Alex. I think.”
Mark began talking to Jessica again, and Alex turned back around.
“Jess, can I ask you something?” Mark said, quietly. Alex strained his ears to listen to what they were talking about.
“Sure, Mark. What is it?” Jessica said, in a normal voice.
Mark put his finger over his mouth signaling her to keep her voice down.
“Sorry.” She whispered. “What is it?”
“You sat with me today. What made you change your mind?”
Jessica smiled. “Mark, you’re my best friend. I noticed you were sad and I needed to fix it. I hate seeing you sad all the time. If I can make you happy, I’m going to.”
“Thanks, Jessica,” Mark said, smiling. “You’ve made my day.”
“We’ll see about that…” Alex mumbled under his breath.

If you enjoyed this story, please check out my eBook “Sad Songs and Gray Dresses.”