Are you a man with that posture,
with your yearnings and spendings?

A man knows and wants and takes and gets.

The impulsive inertia of this collision course is criminal.

Prevention lies in submissive aggression--
impressionable,
supple.

Torn edges of paper can be cut smooth,
made new,
reused.

All things are eventually spent, after being well used.

While deathly sirens are swinging doors,
you can find your way throughout the world and still not know how to act.

On the days when being is unbearable,
when time accelerates and movement has no pattern,
where the deceitful sound of the world forces its false
predicaments upon you,
you cannot know how to act.

Nothing is created out of nothing.
And then you have nothing; you have it all.

Repeatedly shipping the breakfast of your day, your gut
has no feeling. You have no feeling but of the paste in your mouth
and the dryness of your lips.

Having no appetite for the world, you're skipping out on its tastes,
its bits of tastes, novel but not new.

The “walking” dead tend to move at a slouch or limp. Even without injuries or advanced decomposition, their lack of coordination makes for an unsteady stride. Speed is mainly determined by leg length. Taller ghouls have longer strides than their shorter counterparts. Zombies appear to be incapable of running. The fastest have been observed to move at a rate of barely one step per 1.5 seconds. Again, as with strength, the dead’s advantage over the living is their tirelessness. Humans who believe they have outrun their undead pursuers might do well to remember the story of the tortoise and the hare, adding, of course, that in this instance the hare stands a good chance of being eaten alive.

--From Max Brooks' Zombie Survival Guide: complete protection from the living dead

Well, I've decided to get off of caffeine again.

I've done this a couple of times now. Both previous attempts lasted for a few weeks, maybe a couple of months, before I convinced myself that I could have coffee occasionally. But it wouldn't be long before I was back to my regular daily 16-oz. strong brew habit.

I've read the literature about it, and I know coffee has its benefits, but as far as I'm concerned, it isn't worth it. I don't want this dependency on caffeine anymore. I know for a fact that I sleep better without it. And I hate it when I'm not feeling up to something just because I haven't had my coffee yet.

I've also read recently that caffeine can make anxiety and depression symptoms worse. It doesn't necessarily cause them, but it acts as a multiplier. That's something else I don't need.

So what does that leave me? Well, I enjoy green tea immensely, and I've been drinking even that decaffeinated. Then there are a...

If I were to succumb to a zombie attack, would it even matter?

I don't know how to turn brains into money, so why not turn them into food?

Someone once complimented me on my book smarts. It was the first time someone complimented me in such a way that made me feel good about myself. At the time I had already graduated college, moved to the Big Smoke, and had enrolled myself for another three years of university.

I've studied business and literature.

I completed college with an A average. A year before I started, I didn't think I was even smart enough to go to college.

I completed university with a B+ average. This despite going through a mental meltdown during the fallout of an emotionally abusive relationship of seven years. This despite handing in first-draft essays corrected for spelling and grammar. This despite better measuring study sessions in minutes, rather than hours.

After that? I landed...