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And Now for Something COMPLETELY Different…
I thrive on routine. If you are into astrology, you could say that’s because I’m a Capricorn. If you study psychology, you might say it has something to do with my introversion. Regardless. I may not have all my ducks in a row, but I can usually predict where they will wander off to and…
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Keep Your Distance–Demolition in Progress
I have this friend who is a great guy. In many ways, he’s the male version of me. He loves to travel, is liberal, and is a bit of a science nerd. He’s curious about the world and the people in it. He’s got a lot of stories to tell and he’s fun to banter…
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Defragging My Life
You know you’ve put off defragging your hard drive for way too long when the software says, “Estimated running time: > 1 day”. Oops. My bad. All of you computer savvy folks can skip the next two paragraphs. For the rest of us who struggle with the subtle nuances of all things technical, this is…
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Family Norms
One spring break in college I went home with a friend. Half Catholic Italian, half Jewish, hers was a noisy, welcoming household. Neighbors would come and go without knocking on their door, and help themselves to whatever happened to be cooking on the stove. The house was full of light and crackled with energy. And…
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Is a Puzzlement
I tend to spend an embarrassingly substantial chunk of my life doing jigsaw puzzles on my laptop. Even when I’m watching movies. I have to be doing something. For some reason puzzles bring me a great deal of comfort and reduce my stress. But why is that? After thinking about it for a day or…
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At What Point Did I Lose All Control?
Once upon a time, I balanced my checkbook, folded all my clothes, and actually could see most of the flat surfaces in my home. There was a place for everything, and everything was in its place. I changed the oil in my car like clockwork, I observed people’s birthdays, and doing my taxes was a…
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Chaos: The New Normal?
A coworker of mine was describing a situation in which he and his brother were watching TV and they got into an argument which then escalated into a fist fight, and the police had to be called. Just a regular Tuesday night at Chez Coworker, apparently. I remember thinking, “Huh. My whole life, the police…
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Rules? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Rules!
As I lie here in a feverish fog brought on by a cold that surely came from the very bowels of hell, I have been thinking about chaos, or more specifically, what keeps our world from falling into chaos. Rules. Not laws, mind you. Those we cannot really control, and must abide by. No, I’m…