This weekend, I was pointed toward an essay called “Detour-Spotting,” about the ways white people can start to unlearn negative reactions to race and racism. It may not be the most beautifully-written essay (I found myself mentally editing bits of it) but there were a lot of sharp pointy bits I found myself getting poked …
It’s a gorgeous Spring day outside. The cherry blossoms are in full bloom, birds are singing, and every slot in the parking lot is full, engines cold. People are walking, but they’re not going anywhere. Fifteen miles away, the heart of Seattle’s downtown is nearly deserted. Everywhere, most retail stores are closed, lines forming outside …
Living in a Time of Pandemic (and special offers thereof) Read More »
This has been a busy week. When last we saw our intrepid meerkat, she was heading in to meet with the oncology specialist, who had all of her lab work and test results, and was ready to sit down and discuss What Next. That was Monday. I’ll spare you the hour and a half, complete …
The State of the Meerkat: Out of the Fire and Onto the Chafing Dish Read More »
After the surgery to remove Slimer, I was told that I’d start to feel normal again around the eight week mark. What they didn’t tell me was that this would be the “new” normal. Yeah, I’m getting better. Life has resumed – day-job, mild socializing, wearing jeans (this was a BIG deal, people! I’d been …
I don’t do round-ups or retrospectives or any other kind of year-end wrap-up, partially because I’m too lazy, but also because First Night/New Year’s Eve isn’t, for me, a time to look back. It’s a time to pause and look around, and then step forward into the yet-unknown. But there are things about 2019 I …
Earlier this week I had the surgical staples removed from the incision (to remove the tumor), and replaced with (too flimsy to my eyes) surgical tape, a week ahead of schedule. That part of things is healing “perfectly,” in the surgeon’s evaluation. So I’m starting to return (slooowly) to full activity. This does not, unfortunately, …
My plan to write a side project in November, obviously, has been put on hold for the duration of my healing.  I thought I was okay with it until I saw everyone showing off their NaNoWriMo diplomas (even tho I wasn’t doing NaNoWriMo). Even knowing that I can go back to it the moment I’m …
Sliding into December (where the slide is more of a slow hobble) Read More »
This is the beginning of the Days of Repentance in the Jewish tradition, starting today with Rosh Hashanah (Yom Ha-Zikkaron) and ending ten days from now with Yom Kippur. I am mostly, as I often say, a forgetting-to-practice Jew. But there are a few traditions I hold fast to, and the High Holy Days are …
“You will cast all their sins into the depths of the [metaphorical] sea.†Read More »
Friday night, I realized that it was the yahrzeit (anniversary) of my father’s death three years ago (he died on April 8th, but Jewish observances run on the lunar calendar, so things can catch you off guard). So the weekend started on a somber note, which may have been why the weekend also brought the …
I’ve been working in the wine industry out here in Washington for five years, the last two as manager of a tasting room, and for the most part, I’ve loved it. But this week I officially gave notice at the winery. I’m not walking away from the wine biz entirely – I plan to pick …