When I was a teenager, I was in love with an Irish boy I met at a summer camp. He sent me beautiful love letters. He told me Tilt by Scott Walker was amazing. I bought the albums he recommended. I bought the Tilt CD. I convinced myself I liked it. I wanted to have such esoteric taste in music. I still want to be half as cool as I thought that boy was. Scott Walker’s death was announced…
In 2007 I moved to Japan to teach English. I was too tall for the bikes, and wore the worst-possible footwear. It was a dangerous combo. I had given up looking for the bakery with the great croquettes and was heading back toward a different bakery when I suddenly couldn’t pedal anymore. I looked down and realized that one of the loops of my Doc Marten bootlaces had gotten caught and pulled taut from one end of the pedal shaft…
And Lauren Hudgins, a digital strategist, has a similar rule. She copies and archives everything relationship-related that’s on her phone, and stores it in a place she doesn’t frequently look. “Delete from all places you usually look,” she advises. From “Wiping your ex from your phone is now an important breakup ritual” on Mashable
I recently found out that my friend’s husband had stage four kidney cancer that would require aggressive chemotherapy. I asked around to cancer survivors about what I could do to help out with the misery of chemo. The most common suggestion was to help with household chores—grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning—but I live too far away and can’t afford to pay for a service on my freelancer budget. But I can send inexpensive gifts! Here are some suggestions. Mary Ladd recommended:…
I’m planning to volunteer for the Orcas Lit Fest on Orcas Island the weekend of April 13-15, 2018. The festival aims to “bring together people who love to read books with respected authors, poets, and editors for a dynamic series of panel discussions, writing workshops, and a ‘Lit Crawl’ around the Eastsound village.” I’m excited to go because I’ve never been to the beautiful Orcas Island. And going to a beautiful island with other writers is even better. Early bird…
It’s another recipe from my dead mom’s recipe box. You can find the text of this banana bran muffin recipe here. This recipe mentions both Kellogg’s and Promise by brand name. On the back of the recipe clipping is an ad for Promise Spread. I made two substitutions. I used whole milk instead of skim milk because skim milk is gross and I never buy it. I also used butter instead of the Promise Spread because I’m not into margarine…
When I was a bright-eyed 25-year-old I rode nearly 6 hours in a car from Portland, Oregon, with Ursula Le Guin to the Winter Fishtrap Gathering in Enterprise, Oregon. We stopped to eat lunch at a casino on her request because she had never been in one. At the end of the conference, when we said goodbye, she called me “sweetie.” Sweetie only feels good from someone grandmotherly and it felt good. I’m so glad I got to meet her…
It’s another entry from my dead mom’s recipe box. This is the only recipe that was not taped onto an index card, so I assume it was the last or one of the last ones added. This recipe mentions Reynolds Wrap by name and appears to come from one of their advertisements. This is another recipe for the microwave so I deem it dubious. Sesame Chicken with Noodles ¼ cup brown sugar ⅓ cup soy sauce ¼ cup dry sherry…
My counselor recommended that I read Ambiguous Loss because she saw themes of unresolved anxiety and sorrow from my aunt’s terminal cancer and my father’s declining physical health. I didn’t get around to reading the book until after my aunt had already died, but the author, Pauline Boss, covers grieving the inevitable loss of a loved one from cancer, so maybe it would have been helpful. I don’t know how I’m supposed to help myself with self-help books. I’m not…
My essay about my sister, dyslexia, and Comic Sans was one of the top 20 most read essays on The Establishment for 2017. By tackling crucial issues with nuanced incisiveness, these 20 stories — the most read and shared of the year — played a key part in making 2017, in some ways at least, bearable and even emboldening. Now, please: Can 2018 actually be better than 2017?