I met Kathleen when I was twenty-two. It was at a nonprofit for at-risk youth, which is now defunct. It was a toxic workplace where people worked for ages and had given up hope of making it better. I was hired as a Day Treatment counselor and not trained at all. Yes, they expected a… Continue Reading
Shadow. My best boy. This is post two of my paean to my miracle cat. My boon companion for the past fifteen-plus years. I no longer think about Raven every day, but he is still tucked in a corner of my heart. It was such a shock when he died, I had a hard time… Continue Reading
I have a black cat named Shadow. He is sixteen years old. He has been with me since he was nine months old. Let me tell you the story of his life. Many many moons ago, I was perusing Petfinder for two black cats, siblings, in my area whom I could adopt. I didn’t know… Continue Reading
I have had a terribly low self-esteem all my life. I come by it honestly as I’m from a culture that eschews saying anything positive about yourself or loved ones. It’s partly to ward off bad spirits, but it’s mostly just being assholes. That’s not true or fair, but it’s how I felt at the… Continue Reading
There was an interesting discussion between Jessica and Rich on How to Do It about objectification and how to do it in a meaningful and thoughtful way. My immediate reaction was that you can’t. I was pretty adamant about it and upset by the concept. Even with Rich’s caveat about sapiosexuals, I still thought they… Continue Reading
One of my biggest assets–and flaws–is that I am a chameleon when I talk to people. I have exemplary people skills, but it’s more a burden than a blessing. I’ve written before that I’m excellent at reading people. I rarely tell them about themselves, but it’s knowledge I silently file away. Simultaneously, I was raised… Continue Reading
It’s almost nine months since I died twice–and came back twice! The latter fact is very important to the narrative. Obviously. If that hadn’t happened, then I wouldn’t be able to write this. That still trips me up when I think about it, by the way. The fact that I should be dead. It’s also… Continue Reading
When I was a little girl, I assumed I’d grow up, get married, and have children. Oh, going to college should be in there before the getting married bit. In fact, that’s where it was assumed I would find my husband. This was just a given, and it did not fill me with any joy.… Continue Reading
I’m a weirdo and I know it. Now. I did not know it for the first thirty years of my life or so. Or rather, I knew I was different than most people, but I thought it was just one standard deviation from the norm. I didn’t realize until much later that I was several… Continue Reading
I know myself pretty well. That’s not a humblebrag; it’s just a flat-out brag. Heh. I kid. It’s just reality. I have a pretty clear view on my negatives and a little less strong grasp on my positives. For example, there’s a famous survey that says 80% of the people surveyed think they’re better-than-average drivers.… Continue Reading