Thirty-four days ago, my life was shaken by an earthquake of the metaphorical sort. A relationship I thought to be rock-solid showed significant signs of deterioration, perhaps beyond the point of saving. An email arrived in the late afternoon of August 1, 2016 that threatened my understanding of my place in this world. It threatened …
The 12 Ties That Bind
Fascinating.
There is still much work to do.
For the first time in WELL over a year, I went to see Maggie today while in a less-than-rosy mindset. This made our hour together (I’m afraid I went over the 50-minute time slot allocated) unusually productive. What was the takeaway? I’ve still got SO much work to do. Goodness. But what was most gratifying …
La solitudine
A few days ago, on my way up the mountain en route to see The Math Professor, I queued up Laura Pausini’s huge 1990s hit, “La Solitudine,” on the good ol’ iPod. As is often the case when I listen to this song in the car, I was singing the words to this song aloud …
I’d be lost without my iPod.
When I’m having a bad day (or, like now, a bad WEEK), absent warmer alternatives, I run headlong to my iPod, trotting out music I listen to infrequently but that conjures up memories that provide an escape from that which is suboptimal in the present. I don’t know how I’d cope with moments like these …
PhD examining, round four
Yep, that’s right — in less than 36 hours, I will be well underway on my fourth experience with a PhD comprehensive exam, and it’s my sincere hope that, unlike 67% of my prior attempts, my efforts will be rewarded with approval and establishment willingness to allow me to continue on this doctoral quest. I …
A beautiful mistake…?
Today’s BT’s birthday, a day that — for three years running now — causes me mild uncertainty about what to do (if anything). Three years ago, I was told in no uncertain terms that his friends had demanded the day, that he had no time for me. (Later, I found out “his friends” = BBBS …
Visiting pieces of me
When you leave pieces of yourself in places or with people, it fundamentally does the soul good to go back and visit those pieces from time to time. And there’s no question, not-insignificant pieces of my heart and spirit continue to reside inside the Beltway… this amazing, vibrant, weighty city where I first began to …
Nothing like a good movie to get you thinking
Tonight, I went to a sneak preview of “Ruby Sparks,” an eccentric and mostly charming flick with an indie-movie vibe that posed a somewhat poignant question: If you could define the perfect mate and have him or her materialize before you, would you be happy with that relationship? Or is true, genuine, fulfilling happiness what …
I’ve been thinking about this for a few days now…
[please note: this post was originally written in July 2010; I hid it from the blog feed some time ago, but I decided it was worth re-posting … ’cause it’s no less true than it was when I wrote it two years ago] … well, actually, it has been a week. But no need to …