The Facts About Fiction

I love fiction that's based on reality. Always have.

I recently had to find my fiction sea legs again. I've been working on a story for an upcoming anthology I was asked to contribute to (it's great to have Muchachas in your life who see your potential and push you). Up until a few weeks ago, I didn't know what to write about. I had stories in my notebook I could've transcribed and submitted but I just wasn't feeling those stories.

Then, I had a great evening earlier this month and it sparked a story--my muse had arrived in the form of a man (nothing new there). So I wrote. It was great to write to get the story down on paper, but after further review, it was just a fictional retelling of actual events. Yeah, that works when that's what you're going for but I wanted to write a work of fiction.

A story.

About the characters.

Characters make or break works of fiction. They don't have to be likable, but they have to be relatable. That's my rule of thumb.

Let's Move!

Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy

I applaud the Let's Move! Initiative launched by First Lady Michelle Obama in partnership with the National Association of Broadcasters Education Fund (NABEF). Children, and all of Americans, are getting fatter. It's not a good look. It's also unhealthy and leads to a whole host of problems. The economy is strained as it is, we won't have the funding to treat the preventable cases of diabetes, heart disease, hypertension (Metabolic syndrome) cancer, knee and hip replacements etc. that are bound to plague this generation of children--a generation that may be the first to have shorter lifespans than their parents. 


Part of the blame lies with the parents who don't encourage their children to play or don't lead healthy lifestyles for their children to learn from. There's limited access to healthy, affordable foods and knowledge about proper nutrition. Then there's the epidemic of recess, physical education (PE) and intramural sports being eliminated from schools. 

My Tae Bo Workout With Billy Blanks

Me with Billy Blanks after a great Tae Bo workout

What??? This is amazing! I "grew up" on Billy Blanks!!


That was my reaction when I received an email from Harrison Wise on Wednesday. Billy Blanks would be teaching a kickboxing workout at the dojo Wise attends. A live Tae Bo workout!! Last year, I attended Harrison Wise's Pleasure & Pain Kickboxing Boot Camp class. I'm so grateful he remembered and shared the news with me.


Anyone who's known me for longer than 5 years, knows how much I love Tae Bo and how the workout and Billy Blanks has shaped my outlook on health, fitness and working out. I was a freshman in college when Tae Bo went mainstream. My mother ordered the tapes, but I claimed them for myself. My workouts were comprised of Tae Bo and weights. When the Tae Bo Live! series came out, she ordered the subscription for me -- a new advanced workout every month!


At the same time I was working towards my Sports Sciences degree and Athletic Training certification and was taking courses in Biomechanics & Kinesiology, Exercise Physiology, Principles of Athletic Training, Adapted Physical Education and Sports Psychology, I was also learning from Tae Bo and was applying the body awareness, willpower and positive visualization from one to the other.

Connect The Dots

Keeping in line with my Reboot and priming for travel...

A long-time friend took me out for Korean last week. She took me to one (of two) of her favorite spots. Ok, first, I think that's a great honor when someone takes you their favorite place.

I should also tell you that I'll be all over the place in this post.

So we met at Kunjip and did a lot of catching up over pipping hot stone bowls of bibimbap and steamed eggs, radishes, dried fish, miso soup... I should've taken a photo of the spread, because I can't remember what else was served. I had the camera in my bag, by the way.

The windows of the restaurant were covered with flyers and posters but from where I was sitting, I could see through one of the spaces to the street outside. I did a double take. Is that the Eiffel Tower? Does that say 'Paris'? 

My Date With A Naked Boy

Me with some of the cast of Naked Boys Singing circa 2004 

I found this photo about a month ago. At the time it was taken, I was working at a Sports PT clinic. I was young, taut, virile...  One of the patients at the clinic was a dancer and actor in musical theater.


I started writing my novel, Letters to My Former Self, in 2005. Churned out 20 chapters in 5 - 6 months. One character in the novel is based on the patient/friend who gave me tickets to see him in the play Naked Boys Singing. At the time he may have been the only hetero cast member. I remember watching to see if any penises would perk up. And the eye contact we made. This was the first time we'd seen each other outside of the clinic.

Looking Back

The 'fro is back. Yet it's a new start. I put the twists in the day after my birthday in 2009. They were supposed to "get me through the winter"...

March 1, 2011. Tuesday. Anyone else consider Tuesday's their lucky day? Is Tuesday your day to begin? I even love the word Tuesday. I named a character in Letters To My Former Self and a screenplay, Tuesday Akers. I'm waiting to meet my real-life Tuesday.

Tuesday afternoon, March 1, 2011, I decided to take out my twists. I could've just done them over but one by one I dropped the extensions on to the living room floor. With the fresh start I'm undergoing, new hair is par for the course. Hair, I believe, can carry energy. I doubt I'd ever do anything drastic. Color? Nah. Locks? Too permanent. I haven't even trimmed my hair in over 10 years. I'm firm, stubborn yet noncommittal. Go figure.

I documented the moment by snapping a few photos right after I was done -- before I put the conditioner in, all sorts of gunk and lint sitting in it. And it felt great.

I said this year would be a year of firsts and I also made the declaration that I would finish my novel this year. My life continues to mirror the tale I penned back in 2004. Looking back to move forward.

The Romantic, The Writer and The Sociologist

I just watched Before Sunset (2004). I heard about it on the special Unseen: France during a segment on the bookstore Shakespeare and Company I watched earlier that afternoon. I’m so glad I watched the movie. It totally put me in the mood for romance, friendship, writing, Paris and Tom all at once. It touched on all the “what ifs” in life and getting second chances. The writer in me loved the dialogue, the screenplay. I’m inspired to go back to the screenplays I wrote around the same time (2002-2004). I remember I’d come up with my elevator speech about how I write character-based screenplays. It was the characters, what they said and how they said it that moved a story from FADE IN to FADE OUT.

And I saw myself, past, present and future in the film. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve been on those “walk and talk” dates like the one in Before Sunset. The conversation flows to family, beliefs, food, sex. I know men relate better side-by-side than they do face-to-face and maybe that’s why I’ve had such memorable moments talking to men. Kudos to Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy for their chemistry (and the script); natural, fluid. The way Jesse’d gaze at her adoringly and make self-deprecating jokes about sex in an attempt to flirt, let his intentions be known but also protect himself at the same time. That whole scenario is the perfect date for me. Spend time with me without the frills. Like Céline said in the film, everyone is different; every person has their own unique details. And no one can be replaced. I love being given the opportunity to find out what it is that makes you unique.

I could go on forever about all the things I loved about the movie, how I related to it. It resonated so vividly, how it made my desire to visit Paris even stronger, my desire to write, just… my desire.