Dear AdSense, Yes, we met online. Yes, you were my first. Oh, that’s a special relationship – the first. It’s a tiny bit overwhelming. It’s memorable. Playful. And of course, there can be misunderstandings. I had a lot to learn. It was one of those older man-younger woman things, you know? I plunged in with […]
Linger in a pleasing dream? Why not?
When you’re a challenged sleeper, even 30 more minutes of sleep can make the difference between an energized day and a long, difficult one. And when you love to dream, the idea that you could extend and linger in your cunningly conspiratorial unconscious is delicious, isn’t it? Yesterday I came across a Woman’s Day article […]
The Forest for the Trees
We were pressed for time. Again. While my son finished dressing and filling his backpack, I put a plate of fried eggs and toast on the table. Orange juice next to it. I paced a little. I hate running late. He swallowed down breakfast and gulped the juice, grabbed his things, asked for the car […]
Permission to Fail? I Don’t Think So.
My son got home late last evening. I wasn’t happy. He wasn’t happy. After his 13-hour day, with plenty of homework ahead, he looked tired and discouraged. His reason for being so late? An informational session on a scholarship program, and its first set of qualifying exercises. He perked up when he talked about it, […]
Who do you trust?
When I wrote about the film, Closer, I was intrigued by the fine line between honesty and dishonesty, genuine connection and its simulation, and the ways in which we deceive ourselves when we love. There is nothing more fascinating – to me – than adults dealing with each other. Men and women, interacting. The issue […]
Is “reputation” old hat?
Are you about getting it done, or how well you get it done? Do you dash off memos, emails, or work product of other sorts, with only a quick look – if that? Do you insist on being proud of whatever you produce and put your name to? Quality, quality, quality The other day I […]
News
Yesterday I was doing some editing and talking on the phone, when I was told to look at the news. A man had taken hostages at the Discovery Channel just outside of Washington, DC. There was a gun, and possibly explosives. I got off the phone. I put on CNN. I watched, and then had […]
500 Bottles of Beer on the Wall. . . Or is that 99?
Can’t you just hear the music? That grating, endless round we sang as kids, that we used to purposely irritate each other as teens, and again in college? Hell, I don’t even like beer, but I can picture everything from pale ale to dark lager as soon as I catch a measure of that tune. […]
Cake
Yes, there was one more teen party last night. Yes, I heard it. No, I wasn’t annoyed; I managed to sleep five hours anyway, and that’s good enough for the day’s mission: cake. Coffee I’ve been under the weather for a number of days, and I had plans to meet a friend for coffee last […]
Sink or Swim
Fond of clichés? Don’t they breeze into our minds and tumble out of our mouths faster than a speeding bullet? Catchy little phrases stick, don’t they? Good for what ails you? A quick fix? Oh yeah – tidy gems to sum up the world’s wisdom, like life isn’t fair, you get what you pay for, […]