Anecdotes and narrative snippets from all corners, plus short essays on whatever comes to mind.
1. I was super nervous about my mother’s hernia operation. It’s a fairly minor procedure – doesn’t even require an overnight at the hospital – but she’s older and has some health issues that made it higher risk for her. Plus, the surgeon she picked wanted to use the da Vinci robotic system to operate. I went … Continue reading On journalism, medical decisions, and my new job
On My Rocky Affair With Geology 1. Once when I was like nine years old a kid from my neighborhood gave me a rock, littered with yellow crystals, that he’d found in his granny’s backyard. He said it was a geode. I didn’t know what that meant, but I thought crystals were cool; I’d only … Continue reading Stories From Stones
1. Two things, right now: My boyfriend and I are newly engaged. My father is in the middle of a manic episode. I’ve been neglecting this blog – partly because I am busy gushing and crying in equal turn, and partly because I am way past deadline on like a million things. 2. I am not so … Continue reading Chances for sorrow
1. The Judge has just told my father that he can’t go home yet. Twenty minutes ago he was all over the place. We were waiting in the hallway for someone to summon us into the conference room where the commitment hearings are held, and he was talking about writing a book on mold, and about learning … Continue reading Bipolar Chronicle 4: darkness on the face of the deep
One of the things that happens when your immediate family member is manic, and you are trying to get him hospitalized, is that the nurses, psychiatrists and social workers who are evaluating him will also sort-of evaluate you. They’ll listen for signs of family discord, or for hints that you might be exaggerating things. Why? Because maybe … Continue reading Bipolar Chronicle 3: fishbowl, microscope, spotlight.
1. We slept through the snow last night. I didn’t even realize it had snowed until I heard the plows scraping down Columbus Ave. By the time I got to the window it was all half-melted slush. It looked like there hadn’t been that much of it to begin with. They say a big one’s coming, … Continue reading Snowplow
1. My boyfriend Eric has been gone for three days and I am basically living like a squatter in my own apartment. I’ve been eating donuts for lunch and frozen pizza rolls for dinner since he left. And right now I’m wearing the same stained Harvard Tee that I put on yesterday afternoon. I’m also writing … Continue reading On Love & Entropy
