Questing
I spent the summer I turned twelve doing four things: reading, keeping a journal of every book I read and film I saw, practicing my violin, and mowing the lawn while belting show tunes (secretly dreaming I’d be discovered by a talent agent over the drone of the mower). The summer I turned twelve I … Continue reading
In the last few years I’ve trained myself to snatch small windows of quiet. I need to recharge my batteries at least a couple times a day, and have learned to make the most of the moments I have instead of waiting for the hours I don’t. So tonight, with 10 minutes between my regular … Continue reading
audiobooks are for lovers
I feel as though I ought to have news. But life these days is a quick succession of busy nothings. (Did Jane Austen ever actually write that or have I just gleaned it from films?) There has been illness and snow and a procession of casseroles. There are hopeful exciting moments of professional glee muddled … Continue reading
Serendipity
A new year so often signifies a fresh start; a clean slate; a second chance. But I find starting over easy, the promise of new adventures exhilarating. It’s the staying which can be hardest. I opened so many new cans of worms last year it would be simplest (and shallowly gratifying) to throw them all … Continue reading
Things I Like — Virginia Woolf
If you told Dumas-loving-14-year-old me she’d ever be into the Hemmingway-Iceberg theory of modern novels and unspoken things she’d give you the squinty-two-eye. If you promised tightly-wound college me she’d indulge in meandering, obtuse sentences as long as the night which go nowhere at all (and that’s beautiful) she’d laugh derisively. If you tempted the … Continue reading
Things I Like — Libraries
I could spout for 10,000 words about my love of libraries. I’ve previously waxed poetic on their impromptu operas, their clandestine art, their conservation efforts. And words. Always words. But in the age of filter bubbles — where my menu of options is predicated on my past behaviors, choices and social network imprints — I … Continue reading
Things I Like — Little Free Libraries
Take A Penny; Leave A Penny applied liberally to books, and in adorably tiny bookhouses. Is there a single thing to not love here? (Unless you’re zealous California planning commissioners.) A Little Free Library has appeared at the end of our block recently. Cherry red, sporting a distinct bird house vibe. Today’s haul: a beatup … Continue reading
Learning Life
Life, I think, is a Sisyphean feat of learning. How ever much knowledge and self awareness is gained, the universes inside and outside your skin are infinitely larger and more nuanced than can be truly understood. At times this is a great awe-inspiring comfort; the world is magnificent in its oldest senses. There is boundless, … Continue reading
The Not Knowing
Lately I have been pinch-hitting at a local school. It is super fun. I get to work with kids and explain things like rainbows and dipthongs and fractions. I bring in library books for story time and host Jeopardy for the older ones if we finish early. I get asked things like “What color is … Continue reading
Que Sera Sara? 