My first week as a public librarian was all I could have hoped for and then some. There’s an overwhelming amount of information to absorb, all of it fascinating. The people I’m working with, to a one, have been fabulous. They're supportive, welcoming and just the right amount of friendly – a matter-of-fact “here’s what I do, … Continue reading May rejection make you smile: my wish for job-seekers
Tag: friendship
Last night, I had a work anxiety dream. I’d gotten a new job to which I was supposed to report virtually on my start date – it was a telecommuting setup. It was about 3:30 in the afternoon and I was happily thinking about June 23rd, my first day. Then I looked at a calendar … Continue reading A little post about a happy ending
So many other things I’d rather be writing about today (eg: my new puppy or Argo, the coolest road-worthy amphibious Canadian export ever). Instead, I'm writing a cautionary tale about the hazards of being good at other peoples’ lives. There’s hardly anything easier. After all, who doesn’t know better than someone who hasn't dealt directly with an issue … Continue reading Suicide as clickbait is stigma in action, starring XO Jane & Amanda Lauren Kass
So, it’s been a few months. I could make up a whole raft of reasons for the radio silence, but the truth is job-related. Last July, I was laid off from the job I loved, and not long after my last post in February, there were signs of a happy ending/soft landing. In a fit of … Continue reading Love, loss, hope and backup plans: Making now count
Donald J. Trump is a man his supporters would avoid like gay pride parades if he were saying the things he says while unshaven and pushing all his worldly possessions in a shopping cart. But he wears bespoke suits and lives and works in buildings with his name on them. So instead of being called … Continue reading Up from the grave to denounce a naked emperor
The house is so quiet. No one needs to go outside before we go to bed. There are no clacking feet in the middle of the night, the prelude to a trip down the stairs and outside into the dark. No one needs to go outside first thing in the morning. And no … Continue reading A bottle of wine and a cat: Surviving the first dogless days
I’m writing this with a view. Tuki is lying with her head on my outstretched leg. In two hours, she will be gone and I will be bereft. I’ve never had to put a dog down before. In between writing, I put my hand on her head and stroke the space from just above her … Continue reading Goodbye, Tuki, and thank you for 15 amazing years.
July 12, 2015 Dear United: It’s a beautiful day here at Buffalo Niagara International Airport. Your white planes, with their gray/green logo-festooned tails look particularly striking against the blue-wash sky and gray tarmac. I’m sitting here at Gate 10, surrounded by what is rapidly becoming a small community of marooned souls, and in that group … Continue reading An Open letter to United Airlines, with a Postscript to Southwest: The skies were friendly, the ground – not so much.
Last summer, I gave myself a gift. My friend Judy was offering a four-week writing workshop. I went on-line and registered. She’s one of the Writer’s lunch writers, owner of Redbird Writing Studio and the author of “Shut Up & Write.” It was everything I hoped for and then some. You can draw a straight … Continue reading Just me, at a writer’s retreat weekend, or “Three seismic paragraphs and a sandhill crane”
So, last night was Book Group and my turn to host. Ever since my Facebook pal Chase recommended “The Orphan Master’s Son” and I read it, I had wanted to talk about it with other people. I thought I’d have to wait until August, but then Gail went AWOL (she does tax prep and is probably buried … Continue reading Bonus Post: Book Group at the Landfill and gluten-free baking, the maiden voyage
the sentence factory 