For the last six weeks, my life has become very local. I work from home. I relax at home. I follow along with virtual dance classes using a kitchen chair as a barre. I schedule virtual hangouts with friends and carry my computer around so I can sit on the patio while it's light out… Continue reading My life as an NPC
Category: Personal Narrative
A small grief on the subject of the body
I got back from a conference in New York late one Wednesday night. I left my bag mostly packed, knowing I'd be back on a train that Friday afternoon to visit friends in New Jersey. On Thursday night I went to see a murder mystery movie; afterward, at my place, my partner made us drinks… Continue reading A small grief on the subject of the body
A small grief on the subject of home
I take a bus to the city where my mother was born to sit with my aunt on her deathbed. Before we go to her, my older cousins drive me to the family house to drop off my single carry-on and maybe eat. “I’m just going to get a glass of water,” I say. “Rinse… Continue reading A small grief on the subject of home
A small grief on the subject of belonging
My aunt passed away this fall--on Thanksgiving Day, actually. It was both sudden and not: she had been sick and struggling for some time and had elected to transition into hospice care, but no one expected to lose her that day, that week. Unlike the rest of us, my aunt was slight in stature, short… Continue reading A small grief on the subject of belonging
Triangles and Quadrants
1. My office is on a street of science centers, so I will occasionally drop by labs to participate in research studies. Lately I've been doing a sequence of smell studies for which I am given a tray of anonymous brown bottles which each contain a few drops of colorless, oily liquid. I have to… Continue reading Triangles and Quadrants
An intention for 2020
My family (well, really my mother) has established a New Year tradition for the last few calendar years: pick one word. Verbs are good; some nouns work too. Choosing your word is like setting your intention at the beginning of a yoga class: it's the one thing you most want to find, or aspire to,… Continue reading An intention for 2020
