The View from a Drawbridge

Tag: control

  • Your Own Little Inner Fascist

    It’s high time that we all overthrow the little dictators in our heads.

  • Sanitizing My Sanity

    I need to stop letting certain things get to me.

  • Helpless Stress

    Sooner or later, every train engineer will have someone step in front of his or her train as a way to permanently solve a temporary problem. That must be a heartbreaking experience. You want to stop, but you know you can’t. I suspect that all you can really do is close your eyes, swallow really…

  • The Stink Eye

    In order to get to my designated parking space here at work on the drawbridge, I have to drive along the bike lane for the whole length of the movable span. Most people are used to this, or don’t care. But every once in a while someone gives me a dirty look. And in Seattle,…

  • Staying Out of Trouble

    At the risk of sounding ultra-conservative (heaven forefend), I really don’t get it when people are incapable of staying out of trouble. I mean, I understand making mistakes, believe me. I’ve screwed up a time or two. But when you do it over and over and over again, and can practically hear Dr. Phil whispering…

  • Faith Ain’t Reality

    I admire people who have faith. Religious faith in particular is a quality that seems to have eluded me most of my life. I would truly love to be able to let go and let God, as the saying goes. It has to be comforting to think that there’s a higher power who has ultimate…

  • Historical Statues: One Solution

    At a time when the US seems to be struggling with what to do with its Confederate statues and memorials, I can’t help but remember my trip to Budapest back in 2006. What an amazing city, with a lot of very tragic history. They were occupied by German forces in WWII, forcing them to embrace…

  • Controlling Makes You Lose Control

    I know someone who insists that people do things simply because she wants to see if people will do them. Unfortunately, as is often the case with people like this, she has been placed in a position of power that she is neither qualified for nor capable of handling in a functional way. She knows…

  • My Newfound Independence

    Every year on this date, my thoughts naturally turn toward independence. But this year, ah, this year! I truly am feeling independent for the first time in ages. First of all, I am a homeowner again. That means that I am no longer at the mercy of landlords. I don’t have to worry about them…

  • Alien Hand Syndrome

    I caught the tail end of an NPR story during my commute. It was about Alien Hand Syndrome, and it sent me scampering off to Google, because stuff like that fascinates me. Imagine having a body part with a mind of its own. (Okay guys, get your mind out of the gutter.) First of all,…