During college, I ended up changing my primary instrument from flute to trombone, taking two extra years to complete my degree because I needed to be proficient enough on the trombone to pass a jury or a recital. With all of the metaphorical sweat equity that went into becoming competent, there was no way I … Read more
Earlier in pandemic, we bought a treadmill. Even in the nice weather, one of us uses it most days, and when the weather is uncooperative, it gets used multiple times each day. Each week, I have a handful of Zooms, and I participate in most of them while walking on the treadmill. (If I’m going … Read more
We have a serious game of one-up-manship going on. It’s everywhere and completely lacks empathy. An easy example, one that likely isn’t triggering to most people, is weather. Right now, Texas is just starting to thaw a bit. People went for days without electricity and/or running water. It’s killing people. Homes are flooding. Drinking water … Read more
“Well, I don’t watch that much TV.” Defensiveness about television habits is in the top three things people think I’m judging them for because my habits are different. (Eating and alcohol consumption are the other two. Pandemic has relieved most people’s defensiveness about all three.) I don’t watch TV. It’s a simple statement of fact, … Read more
The sunsets here the last few weeks have been even better than usual, and they’re usually very nice. I live in a fairly typical suburban neighborhood, which means there are lots of obstacles to taking great sunset (or sunrise) photos. It’s not terribly far to hiking trails, though, so one day last week, we took … Read more
Selfies are given a bad rap. As with most reputations, there’s some legitimacy in there, and also as with most reputations, the legitimacy is overgeneralized. Some selfies are from single parents who have no one else to take photos of them much of the time. If they want a picture together with their kid, they … Read more
One of my life mantras comes from Maya Angelou: Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better. We apply this easily to many skill sets: math, reading, various arts, physical skills, and so on. We don’t apply it as well to our beliefs and how we interact … Read more
For a few years now, I’ve received “Notes from the Universe” in my email. Sometimes I read them and hit delete and that’s that. Sometimes I read them and smile and hit delete and that’s that. Sometimes I read them and they hit me just the right way. Or the wrong way. Or both. Here’s … Read more
As an introverted child, I did a lot of people-watching. I noticed people who were boorish and didn’t notice others’ fake smiles and “oh look at the time!” exits. I saw people who droned on about disinteresting things and didn’t notice others’ eyes glazing over. I was so scared about being one of those people, … Read more
Tempe Town Lake is a man-made lake not far from here where you can use a paddleboat or a kayak or go fishing. It’s also a popular location for triathlons. The water is not crystalline. When I swam in Tempe Town Lake, I couldn’t see my hand at the end of my completely outstretched arm. … Read more