pH Balance

Thank you to everyone who’s read this while it was still on Google Drive. Double thank you to everyone who saw something in it that was worth improving. Hope you enjoy this one! Prologue June 30th, 2019 Alfie and Rose had set off to play soccer hours ago, and the game had devolved into a…

My latest story, in all its nostalgic, stanfürd-loathing, youth-filled glory, all in one place. prologue (Freja) Freja was drunk in a basement when she saw the notification: “1 new message from Stephen Cohen.” It was hot, but she felt her cheeks go redder still. Steph was an infrequent (but not wholly unwelcome) guest in her…

After a not-so-brief hiatus, the last story of 2024 concludes here part III: freja “I already checked all of campus, even the far buildings on the North Side,” Freja said. “Aside from a few dance teams practicing outside the Rec center, campus is pretty empty.” “Dance practice?” Steph said hazily. “At this hour?” Amani and…

Of course, I included some parts of the story at Stanford. If my story suggests to you that it seems like a fun place, filled with nice people… just remember that this is a work of fiction. part II: Steph Steph was drunk when he saw the message. His labmates were throwing a party, and…

I’ve been working on a Berkeley story for some time now. This is in quite a different shape from where I first started, and will continue to change as I develop the characters to be more interesting, the plot to be more exciting, and to create a description of Berkeley that is equal parts as…

We can’t be good at everything—there’s just not enough time, money, or willpower. That doesn’t mean things aren’t worth doing—activities like running and rock climbing, are fun for me, even if I’m not very good. And I do want to get better. But do I want to be the best? Not really. I just want…

I recently finished The Ugly History of Beautiful Things. Among other topics, the book reminded me that it is okay to find happiness in material objects, just like it is okay to find happiness in music, food, and movies. It is also important to notice the objects that make us happy, so we can learn…

In Season 3 of the very excellent TV series Ted Lasso, the eponymous character “discovers” a “new” tactic of playing (non-American) football after hallucinating about triangles in an American bar in Amsterdam. If you haven’t seen the show (shame on you), here’s a clip of what happened, entirely out of context: And then someone later…

At the end of my last post, I mentioned that I reread The Secret History for a book club (the book clubs are going great, thanks for asking). Rereading a book is a great way to see how you’ve changed (and you have changed). Bonus points if you re-read the same COPY and it has…

Imagine if, instead of a repatriation renegade, Laila Croft was a lawyer. Imagine if, instead of stealing from museums, she negotiated with them to return artifacts stolen by scholars from the Western World. Imagine our young heroine working with the law, rather than against it, to do the right thing. You may be thinking that…