When I was a kid, I used to accumulate burnt-out light bulbs in a paper bag and then take them down to the river to smash against the rocks. In my twenties, it was vodka and gin bottles. Last year, I got so mad at my computer that I hurled a glass of water against a … read more Day 86: Broken glass
Month: September 2015
Day 85: Overwhelming the subtle
Here’s a tip: Don’t substitute feta for brie. Especially not in a lobster-brie dip recipe. Think this post is about food? It isn’t. The sharp taste of feta is great, but it overwhelms the subtler tastes. Just because you like feta crumbles on your salad doesn’t mean it should be rumbling in vats across your … read more Day 85: Overwhelming the subtle
Day 84: Another wind
While my mom dances on the wind, I am stuck down here on earth with all the bad things I inherited from her. The tension forms rocks in my lower back, my shoulder blades. I get mad, impatient, worried, upset, and it locks into place. I really try to relax. I deep breathe, stretch, meditate, … read more Day 84: Another wind
Day 83: On the wind
Happy Birthday, Mom. You’d have been 92 today… but I think you don’t mind that you’re not here blowing out candles today. Because now you are an unfettered free spirit, after a lifetime in a conflicted body. For someone born in Monroeville, Ohio in 1923, you did pretty good. You loved music … it’s how you got through … read more Day 83: On the wind
Day 82: Is the Pope Catholic?
I’m a recovering Catholic. I don’t think I’ve been to church more than a dozen times since I turned 20, and most of those were for weddings and funerals. But this pope, Francis. He is Catholic??? You might wonder, if you grew up in the era where Catholicism was all about damnation and guilt, and exclusion and … read more Day 82: Is the Pope Catholic?
Day 81: On the grid
Grids: Some drawing teachers refuse to use them. Perhaps they believe that drawing something wrong, over and over, is better because it’s unaided. Grids can be used to scale an image: Take a 5 by 7 print of a photo, and draw lines dividing it into 35 one-inch boxes. Then draw 35 three-inch boxes on an 18 by 24 sheet … read more Day 81: On the grid
Day 80: Smartest person in the room
I’m not a morning person. I used to actually cry when I had to get up really early. So, when I lead a team meeting for our project in Pakistan, I’d rather that it wasn’t at 8 a.m. But we have team members in Vienna, Lahore, Tokyo and Sydney, and this is the only time … read more Day 80: Smartest person in the room
Day 79: Sitting with myself
I’ve been sitting for 56 years. You’d think I would have mastered it by now. But no. Today I couldn’t sit at the table and eat breakfast. I hopped around, doing dishes, doing laundry, noshing on random bites to eat. At my desk I shifted, adjusted my chair, stretched, got up again. Jumped from one browser tab … read more Day 79: Sitting with myself
Day 78: Reset
When I started this project, I cashed a check for $162.52 to get the 16,252 pennies. That was the last check of an annuity inheritance from Dad. Or so I thought. I got a letter from New York Life asking why I hadn’t cashed the check for February. Huh? I looked at my records and sure enough, … read more Day 78: Reset
Day 77: The T and me
It turns out that I, a cis, have a lot in common with transgender women and men. (Stop laughing, transgender people.) It started when I discovered how I completely relate to transgenders’ quandaries about clothes. I resent having to pick a gender every time I go out in public. I resent how conformity pushes at me. I want to … read more Day 77: The T and me