relationships – Balasbas Says

I quit teaching

Today marks my last summer vacation—the end of my teaching career. I honestly don’t know if I would go back even though I could. But I’m not sure how worth it the pay and treatment a teacher gets would be later on in life. The decision came down to a common motif I’m seeing inContinue reading “I quit teaching”

I got a camera

Prologue: Photography has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. My parents always had a film camera available. It was something I looked forward to on the weekends when we went to Costco. It almost became our responsibility as their sons to go to the “Photo” area and lookContinue reading “I got a camera”

Niku Tama Udon without the Niku

I’ve never done anything with food content before. My partner, Aya, is an aspiring chef and several weeks or a few months ago, she asked if I could edit a cooking video for her, and of course, I’d gladly do that. I don’t consume a lot of food content, but enough that I’ve watched alongsideContinue reading “Niku Tama Udon without the Niku”

Celebrating Six Years

Prologue: Kind of shocked I haven’t posted about any of the ABxAM anniversary videos. When I think back to the most recent years, I’m usually so caught up with the end-of-year festivities, the holidays, Aya’s birthday, and the end of the semester. I almost rush stitching a video together between Christmas and New Years. ButContinue reading “Celebrating Six Years”

ALHS c/o 2022

“Who’s your favorite class?” One of my students would constantly ask me. I told him I didn’t have a favorite, but if I did, it wasn’t them. It was the class above them. He still asked me every day, for the next 2 years. Each class he was in lowkey pushed my buttons. It testedContinue reading “ALHS c/o 2022”

Red Rocks & Champagne

Prologue: I get so caught up in using writing as a tool to expel toxicity in my brain. I often put bright spots on hold or are in my drafts. Though I post about it on my private accounts for friends and family, I often find it difficult to find time to celebrate because writingContinue reading “Red Rocks & Champagne”

My Two Loves

Prologue: Aya and I decided to get a dog back in 2018. She seriously started looking for rehoming a puppy that Fall, and I didn’t really think anything of it. It was my first year working full-time so finding a dog wasn’t at the forefront of the laundry list of teacher tasks I was drowningContinue reading “My Two Loves”

Recounting the night

Prologue: This is a piece that I wrote one month after asking my girlfriend to go steady. Be official. Be together exclusively. I love looking back at things that I wrote at the beginning of our relationship. I actually wrote a lot. Most of it transformed into photos, and videos of her or moments together.Continue reading “Recounting the night”