A few days ago, I found myself thick in a conversation with a young woman who, for the purposes of this conversation, we’ll call Maggie. Maggie is your average young woman: Struggling to find her voice, to fit in, to feel comfortable in skin that’s still growing … in all directions. She’s occasionally timid, rarely …
I’ve had enough judgment
Since I started training to be a Curvy Yoga teacher, I’ve been engaged in a long process (still in the early stages) of learning how to listen to, accept, respect, honor, and love my body. After 39 years of having not-so-accepting feelings towards this body, it has been hard. I still hear the (mostly imagined) …
Everyone is friendly in Las Vegas
I’m currently visiting Las Vegas with my mom and her two friends — by which I mean I invited myself along on their girls’ trip to Vegas — and I’ve noticed something on this particular visit that I haven’t noticed before: People in Las Vegas are just friendly. You hop on an elevator to go …
Making a fresh start
Welcome. If we’ve not met before, allow me to share a bit of information that those in the loop have known for a long time: I’m a writer. Words float in my head, animate my dreams, and populate my spaces. I collect words, fine-tune words, allow words to flow out of me whenever I have …
The 12 Ties That Bind
Fascinating.
There is still much work to do.
For the first time in WELL over a year, I went to see Maggie today while in a less-than-rosy mindset. This made our hour together (I’m afraid I went over the 50-minute time slot allocated) unusually productive. What was the takeaway? I’ve still got SO much work to do. Goodness. But what was most gratifying …
La solitudine
A few days ago, on my way up the mountain en route to see The Math Professor, I queued up Laura Pausini’s huge 1990s hit, “La Solitudine,” on the good ol’ iPod. As is often the case when I listen to this song in the car, I was singing the words to this song aloud …
I’d be lost without my iPod.
When I’m having a bad day (or, like now, a bad WEEK), absent warmer alternatives, I run headlong to my iPod, trotting out music I listen to infrequently but that conjures up memories that provide an escape from that which is suboptimal in the present. I don’t know how I’d cope with moments like these …
PhD examining, round four
Yep, that’s right — in less than 36 hours, I will be well underway on my fourth experience with a PhD comprehensive exam, and it’s my sincere hope that, unlike 67% of my prior attempts, my efforts will be rewarded with approval and establishment willingness to allow me to continue on this doctoral quest. I …
A beautiful mistake…?
Today’s BT’s birthday, a day that — for three years running now — causes me mild uncertainty about what to do (if anything). Three years ago, I was told in no uncertain terms that his friends had demanded the day, that he had no time for me. (Later, I found out “his friends” = BBBS …