Life of JEM: My Life In The Inland Empire

A BLOG ABOUT THE ZANY CHILDHOOD AND ADULT ADVENTURES OF A GIRL FROM THE INLAND EMPIRE WHO MOVED OUT OF THE INLAND EMPIRE ONLY TO END UP BACK IN THE INLAND EMPIRE.

Monday, February 28, 2011

Creature Comforts

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I bought a Ralph Lauren comforter this weekend at Marshalls. It is made of a stiff, thick cotton with pale blue stripes on one side and flo...

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Saturday, February 26, 2011

Cupcakes and Black Ops

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It was five p.m. on a Friday night. Tracy and I sat at Wing Nuts in Upland sipping on our Hanger 24. It was not as if we needed to catch ...

Thursday, February 24, 2011

The Quest

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My quest for weight loss has officially begun. Today, I took the day off and went to a bariatric surgery conference in Orange County. I ...

Sunday, February 20, 2011

My Great Expectations

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Insomnia has its benefits. It sometimes leads to analysis and reflection regarding life. A couple of nights ago I woke up at three a.m. an...

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Sunday, February 13, 2011

Driving Ms. Judy

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Friday was a county holiday and I had to take my car to be serviced in Baldwin Park. The question was how to get there. Adrian was at work...

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Saturday, February 12, 2011

Country Girl

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I didn't always love country music.. I grew up a reluctant listener. At our first house in Ontario, my dad blasted his favorite coun...

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Monday, February 7, 2011

Sing Your Life

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I just bought a new album by the Decemberists called "The King is Dead". Although their folk rock music is completely modern, the...

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About Me

Juanita E. Mantz (JEM): JEM's life story is the stuff that memoirs are made of. JEM went from punk rock high school dropout to corporate lawyer to rock star deputy public defender and nonfiction writer. JEM's stories, blog and video podcast document her journey so take a look! Her YA memoir, "Tales of an Inland Empire Girl", is available via Los Nietos Press (and through all national retailers). Her book tells the poignant story of her chaotic YA life growing up in the IE. Her chapbook, "Portrait of a Deputy Public Defender, or how I became a punk rock lawyer", was also released in Aug 2021 by Bamboo Darts Press. JEM is married to her wonderful husband Adrian who is a dentist. They have two Shih Tzus, Frodo and Chewbaca (Chewie to his friends). Her work has been published in Aljazeera, The Acentos Review, The Dirty Spoon Radio Hour, Entropy, As/Us, Inlandia, & Mutha magazine, among others. Go to her author website for more info at https://juanitaemantz.com. JEM is in the creative writing MFA low residency program at UNO. She has presented at AWP, Beyond Baroque and the UCR Punk Conference.

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