1.   Chew 3 pieces of Grape Hubba Bubba at the same time.

2.   Wash your car in the rain in your bathing suit.

3.   Walk in and out of a store over and over again just to be greeted  
       repetitively. (this works best at Racetrak and Cici's Pizza)

4.   Wear comfortable clothes.

5.   Stop caring what you look like.

6.   Sing loudly in your car without any music (even at redlights), with your
      windows rolled down.

7.   Swing, for heaven's sake, swing at the playground.

8.   Be nice to everyone, even the snotty retail girl.

9.   Go to a church where every Sunday the hairs stand up on your arms
      because you feel the presence of GOD.

10.  Visit an old cemetery and just sit for a while.

11.  Say "I love you" at the end of every phone call, especially to the bill
       collectors.

12.  Play a video game with your kids, just so they can laugh at how bad you
       are.

13.  Go without underwear one day.

14.  Read Pope and the Bible.

15.  Once a month eat whatever you want and however much of it you want.

16.  Work out.

17.  Snuggle with the warm body of someone who loves you.

18.  Let a dog lick your face. (it's really not that bad)

19.  Call a random number just to say "hi" to the person who answers.

20.  Be yourself so others can know who you truly are.

Tangerine light of morning trails through the dusted blinds of my older brother Diego’s inherited home. Mom, Dad, they’re north in America working. Our, my sleeping arrangements weren’t ideal. Uncle Cici, a drunk who repairs shoes on the outskirts of town, was in my parent’s old room. My brother, newly initiated to a Tijuana street gang, is alone in his. On the couch, I sleep with my Milky Way designed blanket.
I hear his bedroom door slam.
Lets go, Diego orders.
Where?
Without answering, he tosses a pistol on my blanket.
This machine of death lands right on my favorite star.