I watched I, Tonya tonight and had many feelings. I saw the neighborhoods I lived in and the people I knew in the portrayal. I don’t feel adequate to discuss all my thoughts, but goddamn my heart broke for her Read more…
Today I fell down a couple of internet rabbit holes, on fine recommendations from other essayist/teachers. Today the practice of being a better teacher meant some research was in order. Here is what I found: A good-and-creepy piece of fiction: https://catapult.co/stories/short-story-all-the-ways-he-wont-die Read more…
Today was payday, and since I’m getting new gutters in less than a week, I’m already out of disposable cash until my next check. I’m lucky: all my bills are paid and I was able to buy a couple of Read more…
Today was such a shitty day at ye olde day job, that I wanted to spend the evening doing nothing but knitting and maybe reading. I didn’t want to log in and check the discussions today. My stressed out bad Read more…
Today I met a few of my new students in my online writing workshop, and I am already loving the diversity of their experiences and topics. The course is being taught on a new platform, so I’ll be getting used Read more…
I read three essays today, on the eve of my workshop class starting. The first two are collected in Best American Science and Nature Writing 2015, edited by Rebecca Skloot (and series editor, Tim Folger). Here are my notes: “The Read more…
Today I got my student evaluations from the last semester. They were glowing. I scored above the college and school in almost every category (except that my students care less for this class than they do on average). This should Read more…
My online course starts on Monday, and today was my day to log in and make sure it all looked okay. But a technical difficulty made that impossible. Instead I went to see The Shape of Water. As far as Read more…
What a long, strange season it’s been. Marvin and I have gotten a lot of stuff done on the house. He can take credit for the paint and the amazing floors, professionals helped us with roofing, grading, plumbing, and (not Read more…
Today, a writer I worked with late last fall posted about (among other things) her experience of me as a reader and coach. It was a very generous review and I felt my usual mix of gratitude and disbelief. Grateful Read more…