Just a couple days ago I was reading a New Yorker article on Mo Willems. Mo Willems is most famous for his Pigeon books, his Elephant and Piggie series, and for Knuffle Bunny. The Pigeon books started it all with Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. But what he points to in his interview with Rivka Galchen is the fact that he had to fail a lot to get where he was. Even when he was succeeding, he felt like he was failing to a certain extent. I hit that point today where I was thinking much […]
The Science of Deduction
Yes, I’m writing a mystery novel. No, it’s not progressing well. I’ve hit upon the stumbling block that I haven’t done forensic research in a while, so I’m frustrated and reading as many books as I can get my hands on. Apparently my mind has come up with a victim, and a motive. But I don’t know the killer yet, nor do I know the detective. Also, the story changed enough that I can no longer use the title I had in mind. I’m thinking I should just let this one write itself before I […]
Discovering a New Talent: Food
I have been cooking for myself too long. And by “cooking” I actually mean shopping for cheap frozen dinners and microwaving them. Yes, I have a pretty good handle on the quickest, cheapest, and most delicious (in my opinion, anyway) of the food. The last time I had to cook for more than myself, I wasn’t very creative about it and determined that I must lack said skill of coming up with dinners. So when I went on my last grocery shopping trip, I was pretty sure I was going to fail at that one […]
Girls CAN Code and I am Proof
I always think it’s weird that more girls aren’t encouraged to go into STEAM careers. And then I remembered the fact that I grew up in a very different household from most of the other girls in my generation. I put emphasis on STEAM and not STEM because that is the kind of household we had. STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Arts and Math) is a much more “Renaissance” way of looking at it. It’s well-rounded. So well-rounded in fact that the phrase “Renaissance Woman” was used in every single one of my college recommendation letters. […]
Living with Kosmimaphobia
When I first looked it up, it was listed several places as “gemnophobia”, so the first most common reaction I would get when I told people I had gemnophobia was, “Oh, so do you Lysol your entire house?” Ah… So I guess I should explain… “Not germophobia, gemnophobia. I have no trouble with germs. I actually think germs help you stay healthy.” “What is gemnophobia?” Well, it’s not actually gemnophobia. I have kosmimaphobia. A fear so weird and unheard of that it was possible to actually get an inaccurate result for what it was called on […]
Things I’m Thankful For
I was nominated by my aunt to do one of those things that you have to do continually for a week. This one is to post three things you are thankful for every day for a week. As usual, I decided against posting (most of it) on Facebook. Why post on Facebook over the course of a week (inevitably annoying those people you are thankful for when you know you have a bad habit of continually posting to Facebook once you get going in a 24 hour span), when you can just get it all […]
Full Circle: Relationships and the Death of Chivalry
Every so often I come around yet again to this: the “Relationship Rant”. The post I do about… oh… once a year (more often if I’m in a particularly down part of my life) where I decide the best thing to do is to write a blog post about how: No one gets me. I don’t have a boyfriend. Past boyfriends have been total bums. I would really like to be treated if I were to have a boyfriend. Sometimes these posts have been oddly prophetic – which is probably the only reason I am […]
The New Body Shaming of the Thin
I remember being maybe nine or ten years old and going into the doctor’s office for my annual physical. It was probably about the first or second time I had an annual physical with the nurse practitioner instead of my actual pediatrician. It would also be the first time I would hear this question. “How do you feel about your body?” “Good.” I answered, before I’m sure a slightly puzzled expression would cross my face. I don’t remember what she said next, but it was clear that she thought there would be a possibility of […]
100 Happy Days: The Final Installment
100 Happy Days, Part 1 100 Happy Days, Part 2 100 Happy Days, Part 3 Last time on 100 Happy Days: Day 75) March 27 Knowing I have friends who can keep me in good humor even if I’m so tired I’m practically falling off my chair at work is amazing. Thank goodness for friends. (I’m sorry… A secret hiding spot for a car is so very James Bond that anyone could have made that mistake.) Day 76) March 28 Friday! Running all over the place, but it was the last day in the costume […]
“I Wonder How It Got On…”
I was introduced to Sunshine on Leith not that long ago, and instantaneously fell in love. Scotland, Proclaimers, Edinburgh, singing, musical… I mean, there was a lot to fall in love with. And unlike Mamma Mia, another “jukebox musical”, this one had a feasible story line. But every time I listen to the soundtrack, “Letter From America” is the song that hits home. It may be a commentary on Scotland itself, but when you’re a descendant from someone who left Scotland, it has an entirely different meaning. It begs the question of where you are, […]