This summer turned out to be wholly reckless. I made time for my bad habits in and around stretches of responsible behavior. They’re not really that bad… I mean whiskey in the summer? It’s the only thing that takes the edge off the heat. It gives me something to chat about other than the obvious…

“How I Spent My Summer Vacation” sounds like an essay a third grader would write. Just imagine that nervous little girl: a Dora the Explorer t-shirt, a purple skirt whose hem ends below the knees, and shoulder length brown hair adorned with a little red bow. And imagine her, legs shaking, mouth full of anxious saliva, breaking into song: “Straight outta Compton, crazy motherfucker named Ice Cube/From the gang called Niggaz With Attitudes” I’m not saying that NWA provided me with my summer anthem, just that I was amused by …

After taking the train from New Brunswick all the way to Montreal, I am convinced that flying would have been the fastest and easiest option. Amtrak’s Adirondack line follows the Hudson River Valley and Adirondack mountains, starting from Penn Station in New York, and traveling through Albany, and Saratoga Springs to Montreal. The trip takes twelve hours on a good day and nearly fourteen when the Canadian Border Patrol takes a particular interest in a couple of passengers. Despite the length of the journey, and how much faster flying from …

When the heat takes over, most people don’t think of drowning themselves in food, but rather cold beer and mixed drinks. This summer, through sweat and an unstuffed wallet, I discovered the best of the best of food and drinks.
Mac ‘n Cheese:
My mother’s mac ‘n cheese, which I nicknamed “birthday pasta” over a decade ago, will always be superior to all others, but E.A.T. Café’s (1064 Madison Avenue) is easily one of my next favorites. Despite the price tag of an outstanding sixteen dollars, the dish is worthwhile. The macaroni …

I only had two goals this summer: to find a job and to volunteer at my newly constructed local library. It is now the middle of August and I can confirm that the job hunt went…terrible. However, I’m not completely upset by this since I achieved my second goal, which became one of my summer highlights.
For three weeks in July, Monday through Wednesday, I worked on art-related activities with children and adults at the Plainsboro Public Library. The events I volunteered for were “A-Team Mondays”, “Artful Conversations”, and building the …

I was six years old when I found out that nobody I loved was made of flesh. A day after my parents told me we were moving away from Madras, I discovered that my best friend was really a pile of dry leaves.