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Monthly Archives: March 2020

Soundtrack for Daydreams

Is it really the last day of March? The longest March I have ever known. Last March flew by. All week Facebook Memories have been reminding me how much fun my son and I were having this time last year, in the Netherlands. The only netherlands I’m visiting now? Our slightly spooky basement and storage [...]

Fear is the Mind-Killer

Years ago I was at a Half Price Books when I stumbled on a stash of ridiculousness, on clearance. A giant pile of activity books from David Lynch’s 1984 adaptation of Dune. I bought multiple copies of each. Over the years I’ve given some away as gifts but I still have two complete sets. I’m [...]

Fixation on Future Outcomes

It has been strange to see so many people grappling with the same mental health challenges I’ve faced my entire life. But we are all grieving on micro and macro levels these days. What I’m feeling most acutely, other than anxiety, is anticipatory grief. My son was slated to participate in a summer internship program. [...]

Creatures of Habit, Revisited

Every day feels like a new reality. And this is just the wind-up. I had a particularly discouraging start to my morning. I’ve been turning to The Daily podcast from the NYT more and more as this pandemic unfolds but this edition was too much of a reality check.
Why the American Approach Is Failing
“Shelter in [...]

Melt and Surrender

So much has changed in just one week. On a personal level, our household went from two people with three jobs to two people with just one form of income. But I am grateful I can work remotely for my full-time position. The one that pays the most and covers our health insurance. We are [...]

The Myth of American Exceptionalism

Last night I listened to the audible version of N.K. Jemisin’s Emergency Skin, eerily and perfectly narrated by Jason Isaacs. I highly recommend it. But it hit close to home with our current crisis. Highlighting what happens when a small group of greedy people hoard all the wealth and power and the damage that does [...]

Kings of Plenty

What a weekend. My fears have been panning out. Despite dire warnings from Italy — the country with the world’s second-worst COVID-19 outbreak imploring the rest of the world not to make the same mistakes — not enough Americans have been taking this seriously. Bars and restaurants were still packed nationwide, with idiots celebrating St. [...]

Generations of Memory

Since I was a teenager, I’ve spent too much time faced with the fragility of modern life. My brother died despite access to decent healthcare. I’ve experienced how the uneasy equilibrium of health and finances, particularly for residents of the US, can quickly unravel on a personal scale. And I’ve seen it at a societal [...]

Concerns to Evade

Uncertainty and I have never been BFFs. Other personality types find uncertainty to be exciting and full of possibilities. For me, uncertainty is more like that one super irritating classmate I can’t stand but always end up sitting next to so I try to make my peace with them. I’m hard-wired to be incredibly anxious [...]