xavier-alsabr

[xavier-alsabr]

Enter the Autumnal: 2024

My mind visited fifteen years of 'seasons' like a bee to flowers. The honey to be made is their composite; I did not drink too much nectar from any one. I hoped the clouds would break, drench me, thrust me into a sensory revolution.

This essay is a prelude to “Owl & Stag” A Perch Fit for Reflecting On a misty Friday after the Autumnal equinox, I walked into a wooded pocket of Northern Maryland. The NYT daily Wordle was ‘FAITH’ and a Mary Oliver poem shared on Instagram suggested the need for a “prod”. I carried a vague sense of spiritual confluence with me, but I did not know what it meant nor what I wanted it to mean. My…

[xavier-alsabr]

Owl & Stag

As the golden light intensified, I heard a familiar 'whoop-whoop' to my left. I turned my whole body ninety-degrees hoping for a glimpse of an owl as it disappeared beyond a nearby bend in the stream-bed.

Swamp Owls are Watching Me In February of 2019 I moved-in with my father at the age of nearly 33. The memory of our overlap in Holland, Michigan, has an ephemeral aura. Neither of us live there anymore. We were both raised in the smaller town of Cassopolis, which has a history and essence different from ‘tulip town’. I made the move I was laid-off from a lawncare job in Gaithersburg, Maryland. I…

[xavier-alsabr]

One Season of "Ahsoka" Background Content

No one asked for this but I wanted to do it, anyway. Earlier this week I asked a friend, who plans to watch the “Ahsoka” series how much time they would have to spare for additional content. I’ve watched the whole Ahsoka series twice, so I have a fair idea of what animated “Star Wars” content would enhance their viewing experience. My friend said they’d have “30 minutes, tops”. So I humored them…

[xavier-alsabr]

'The Huntress' & Me

This is the difference between pursuit and seeking: seeking needs and desires the consent of the sought.

Thirteen years and several days have passed since that day:A vision came to me in the morning. That is how I must describe it. If I were to offer a scientific explanation it might be that the sensory parts of my brain were as active in sleep as when awake— but I am not credentialed as a scientist. It was a vision: what happened in my mind was as real as anything that ever happened in my…

[xavier-alsabr]

The Smallest Nesting Doll

Before I explicate, analyze, and otherwise become verbose: I offer an image. There is a doll of a man who looks like an international education professional; see him, though it does not matter how you dress him. There is a seam along his edge, a crack that is not a mistake, where (obviously) he comes apart to reveal another aspect. This outer-most persona would be missed the least, though it is…

[xavier-alsabr]

Values: A Reorientation

I was an undergraduate writing consultant, years ago. I tutored students in English by helping them with their writing assignments. I worked at the MSU Library Writing Center Annex with Aimée Knight, who was a pleasure to work with on an evening shift. She recently launched a blog about “Contemplative Communication” — because I’m a School of Communication graduate and a dabbler in ‘contemplative…

[xavier-alsabr]

Courage 3: Bung-hole Breathing

My submerged state isn't like a genius in his technologically advanced vessel as much as a reptile breathing through its asshole.

I considered titling this piece “turtle on a full-shell” In “Courage 1: A Star Word” I made an unearned allusion to “20 Thousand Leagues Under the Sea”, which I’ve never read. I am aware of cloacal respiration, though, so I can honestly say that I am more like a turtle in a frozen pond than Nemo, captain of a ficational submarine called The Nautilus. My submerged state isn’t like a genius in his…

[xavier-alsabr]

And Then I Flipped It

I leave by going backward down a spiraling ramp at more than 40 miles per hour! There isn't enough space between me, another car, and a concrete pillar so I decided to back down the ramp at great speed.

This morning I had an adult-life stress-nightmare. Come: relive it with me… …the sky was a threadbare blue, like faded jeans… I’m in my high-rise apartment and the sun is already so high I can’t see it in my window. I need to drive to work! But I can’t remember how to get to work. I’ve been doing this for months, I think, but it’s still possible to simply forget. It’s being ‘different’ — it’s…

[xavier-alsabr]

Jump-Start Vol.7

The exciting, juicy conclusion of my "open-letter" "thinking-aloud" interview prep: 11 more questions to append to the 29 I answered yesterday... part #7 is here!

As promised, the juicy remainder of the questions provided by HelloGiggles: The Final 11 Questions from ’40 Interview Questions You Should Be Prepared to Answer’ 30) Tell us about a time you failed. I’m doing this one last. Like #33, below, there’s a menu of options. Unlike #33, an apropos instance isn’t jumping to mind so quickly. I am taking for granted that the failure was within my…

[xavier-alsabr]

Jump-Start Vol.6

I tackle a list of the 40 most common interview questions and get through 29 of them. Tune in tomorrow for the exciting conclusion!

I am a familiar, sub-optimal version of myself today, since not sleeping enough. The cloudiness of the day and running out of bananas also did not help. To be fair, many of us make the choice to procrastinate on a Sunday anyway — especially after working on interview-prep most of yesterday. Also fair to say: I did more reflective writing than focused interview preparation. Then again, still fair…

[xavier-alsabr]

Jump-Start Vol.5

Interview-prep free-write: part #5

What are your strengths? Writing has been a chief skill of mine my entire adult life. I attach both pride and pleasure to the process of creating a great document. I never tire of finding ways to make documents better. Making the writing better can take many forms. For example, creating more economy or clarity in the language. Sometimes, it means making the way that the text is presented more…

[xavier-alsabr]

Jump-Start Vol.4

Interview-prep free-write: part #4

So, can you tell us a little about yourself? I am someone for whom multiculturalism and polyvocality are important values. I’ve known for over a decade, now, that it’s the nature of mass media to distort narratives. To start to know a place or a people you have to travel there or meet them. So, I always I intended to find a professional niche where I could support people coming together. I…

[xavier-alsabr]

Jump-Start Vol.3

Interview-prep free-writing: installment #3

Could you describe your work-style, please? I’m accustomed to offices where my supervisors and coworkers are too busy to micromanage me, and thus I become intrinsically motivated. It was expected of me. I wanted my work to show my character so I wasn’t waiting to be told what to do in those environments, if I could help it. Counter-intuitively, that meant that I met regularly with the same…

[xavier-alsabr]

Jump-Start Vol.2

Interview-prep brain-dump: part 2

Where do you see yourself in five years? The honest answer is that I see myself writing performance poetry. I can tell because I keep avoiding performance-poetry videos and podcasts whenever that little voice in my head says “…that should be you but you’re not doing that right now…” I tend to be invested or not. I’m afraid the obligations of surviving will compete with my creativity or the…

[xavier-alsabr]

Jump-Start Vol.1

Flushing my brain in anticipation of an interview (#1)

I am an infrequent visitor to my own well of thoughts (Reverse Exiled) In a little less than four days I will interview for a position in Baltimore. I’ve lived in West Michigan, somewhat against my will, for almost three years — since I just barely missed getting a job in Northern California that would have transformed my life. I don’t mean to add so much preface but I have been in a steady…

[xavier-alsabr]

I'll Give You 5 Reasons to Move-on...

No one should be engaging with Rogers about vaccines. There is no need for a negative response, nor a positive one. Aaron isn't Colin and I will tell you why...

Aaron isn’t Colin and I will tell you why.The comparison is already being made. I want to reassure you all that we can continue to talk about Colin Kaepernick and flatly ignore Aaron Rogers because the former still matters and the latter never did.Colin Kaepernick was an NFL quarterback who symbolically took a knee during the USA national anthem instead of putting his hand over his heart in order…

[xavier-alsabr]

Hello Again, Sports Fans

Assaults won't stop happening until admins care more about ending exploitation and violence than sustaining donations and revenue. Is it so radical to put money behind kindness and honor?

I said I wasn’t done talking about sexual assault on college campuses but I didn’t expect to be writing about it again so soon. First, the ladies testified Then, I needed to say more But this time I was trying to be a normal, obnoxious Spartan fan during rivalry week. I searched Google for more evidence that analysts were over-estimating the University of Michigan in next weekend’s (american)…