In the middle of a conversation that covered a good deal of territory, and wide-ranging territory at that, eight words jumped out: “I want to do it right this time.”

I’ll be the first to admit that when I was in my 20s, it was incredibly easy to let myself be swept up in something that felt so very much larger than just me. I’d encounter something that captured my imagination, and I’d mentally be seventeen miles away as fast as you could say, “Wait, …

Last year, en route to the annual Gilbert family reunion in Pennsylvania, my mom remarked to me that it was the first time I was going to the reunion for years — perhaps a decade or more — without dragging someone along with me. And it seems I’m now going to do it again — …

My birthday was three weeks ago, now, but as it turns out, turning 33 was kind of a big deal for me. The reason won’t be obvious to anyone reading this, and after mulling over things for … well, three weeks now, I’m going to share. Finally. My birthday and New Year’s Even are times …

There are times when I go into a first whatever not knowing what’s going to happen, unsure how things will pan out, hence justifying my disinclination to specify what sort of “whatever” it might be. And then there are times when I just, well, *know* how it’s going to go. I can see the path …

Occasionally, it happens: You feel yourself trusting someone, and feel yourself trusting that you’re not making everything up, that it’s not an illusion. And then you don’t worry about time quite so much, or wonder if everything’s going to get all fucked up if you blink and look away for a few minutes. You’re genuinely …

Talking about my research to people who ask good questions and seem genuinely curious about the questions I ask Teaching the Electoral College (or anything to do with elections, really) Conversations about camping Being a yoga genius at the warrior pose (but not the tree pose, which I suck at) Radnor Lake in springtime My …

I’ve blogged about my absolutely favorite perfume (une touche de nafnaf) before, but what I failed to mention is that I’ve spent most of the last 12 or 14 years engaging in some really serious rationing of the lone bottle I’ve got. I love it so much, but it’s impossible to find anymore, having long …

Sitting on the patio at Cafe Coco until 3:30 a.m. Observing the asymmetrical nail patterns in a sign for a place called Symmetry Trying to come up with a palindrome for the concept of symmetry Being right about a word’s meaning, in spite of myself Camping in tents Joe Rogan Bach “A Walk in the …