- The Crane Wife | The Paris Review
- Everything My Husband Wasn’t There For | The Atlantic
- On Choosing Life | The Point
All this time I was writing to the future
Until yesterday the timezone for this blog was set to New York Eastern Time.
I have lived in Santa Barbara, California since March 2017.
There are multiple facts present in this situation:
- My blog maintenance skills leave a considerable amount to be desired,
- WordPress does not have an intuitive settings dashboard, and
- Past Cassidy was giving future Cassidy a hint that they would eventually both understand.
No, I do not have plans to move any time soon.
(Though, Santa Barbara was never a ~*plan*~ but a series of thoughts that became possibilities that became choices made.)
However, I am considering my options.
And that is my most favorite fact present — I have options. Some are more practical, or more accessible, or more thoughtful than others. But, I have options to consider in most parts of my life, and there are no external pressures or forces that are requiring me to make any choices right now. It is a privilege to have options, and that is not a fact that I take lightly. I get to practice a sense of intentionality and reflection in what my next steps could be.
There isn’t even a sense that it needs to be the “right’ choice, because if I have learned anything over the last three years it is that most people are just trying to make the best choice that they can make with the knowledge that they have.
(*Most people – because there are also others who do not act with a kind heart or awareness, but that is the subject of a different post.)
I have made this choice. Onto the next one.
What I’ve Been Reading – 2/6/2019
- A Divorce Lawyer’s Guide to Staying Together | Vox
- The Class of 1946 – 2018: 27 School Shooting Survivors Bear Their Scars and Bear Witness | New York Magazine
- Not Everything is a Side Hustle | The Cut
- Is Estrogen the Key to Understanding Women’s Mental Health? | The Cut
- The Unbearable Heaviness of Clutter | The New York Times
Love List – 11/5/18
Q2Q Comics #459: To-Do List
Chrome Extensions – Google Chrome is the way of the world at work, which has lead me down the rabbit hole of browser extensions. Grammarly, Animal Crossing music, and Marinara: Pomodoro Assistant are my most used ones.
Deafheaven – Canary Yellow – Deafheaven released a new album back in the spring and KJEE the local rock station played this 12:00 minute song during release week. A serious driveway moment.
Have a good week!
November 2018
It’s been a minute since I gave NaNoWriMo a whirl.
Goals:
- Voting!
- Read Invisible, Akata Witch, and Hey Ladies.
- Finish the TAZ Mystery Puzzle Box.
- Send some Thanksgiving* gratitude cards.
- Write thru NaNoWriMo.
- Continue half marathon training (I am doing Santa to Sea on December 5).
Looking ahead to:
- Kaytlyn visiting over Thanksgiving! I’ve long put-off having my palm read, but I made a promise with her for this visit to be when that happens and I am going to keep it.
- A local production of Amelie.
- California Library Association Annual Conference November 9 – 11.
*This begins the season that I have dreaded since July 10th. Every day has had a thin coat of terrible since my cousin’s passing, but the time of Thanksgiving – New Year’s highlights and expands. It’s going to be a difficult one, folks.
Have a good month!
What I’ve Been Reading – 10/31/2018
- Yosemite Finally Reckons with Its Discriminatory Past | Outside
- Five Secret Southern Ingredients | Garden & Gun
- This Movie Changed Me: Bend It Like Beckham | On Being
- Design and Implementation of a Study Room Reservation System: Lessons from a Pilot Program Using Google Calendar | College & Research Libraries
- Can Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat Revive the Instructional Cooking Show | Grub Street
What I’ve Been Reading – 10/31/18
Happy Halloween!
- The Unbelievable Story of How 3 Podcasters Trolled Their Way into Trolls 2 | Vanity Fair
- There is a Kind of Feminist Revolution Happening Right Now in Appalachia | The Cut
- ‘426’, ‘Witch’, ‘Not Creative’: How Fires Get Their Names | The New York Times
- I am the One Woman Who Has It All | The New Yorker
- Spoil Them a Little with Homemade French Fries | The New York Times
- Why Are People So Obsessed with LAUSD’s Coffee Cake | The LAist
Love List – 10/28/18
Chekhov’s Hangnail – Martha. Not a new love, but a long-time love. Naturally, the summer after I move to the west coast, Martha does a spring east coast tour. “When it rains, it really fucking pours…”
Two weekends ago I went back to New Jersey for a wedding (pictures to come). I needed to see some friendly faces and to celebrate something beautiful. This weekend I saw an adaptation of Pride & Prejudice which was fascinating.
- Wolverine: The Long Night podcast – A friend’s recommendation. I thought it was going to be cheesy, but it is very well produced. 2 FBI agents are called to Burns, Alaska to investigate the murder of an entire fishing crew — and they get more than they anticipated with a local cult, missing persons’ cases stacking up, and a community-wide bear hunt.
- A simple beef stew recipe – When I visited my family my aunt made this recipe: 3lbs of beef (stew-cut), 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup (~20 oz.), and 1 packet of onion soup mix. Add any vegetables you like (I went with carrots and pearl onions – and some extra garlic) and cook in a crockpot on low for 8 hours. Delicious. Best served with a large, buttery pile of mashed potatoes.
- Santa Barbara Cider Company – A coworker’s husband’s band was playing. The She’s My Cherry Lime and the Tropical Hopical were excellent.
Have a good week!
What I’ve Been Reading – 9/13/18
- Runs in the Family | ESPN
- The Women Who Designed the Pattern for Modern Britain | The Guardian
- Kacey Musgraves has a Surprise for Nashville | Texas Monthly
- Matzo Balls and Chiles? It’s Rosh Hashanah with the Flavors of Mexico | The New York Times
- The Ethnic Studies Kids are Alright | Los Angeles Times
- A Small-Town Couple Left Behind a Stolen Painting Worth over $100 Million and a Big Mystery | Washington Post
- Fresno’s Mason-Dixon Line | The Atlantic
SPBL Coffee Break (Episode 9)
Mentioned in this episode:
Adult Literacy “Fast Track” Training –
http://santabarbaraca.evanced.info/signup/EventDetails?EventId=15402
Anime and Manga Club –
http://santabarbaraca.evanced.info/signup/EventDetails?EventId=16022
MakeSB with Wild Animals –
http://santabarbaraca.evanced.info/signup/EventDetails?EventId=12765
The Flamethrowers –
https://www.blackgold.org/polaris/search/title.aspx?ctx=1.1033.0.0.1&cn=682530
Deadly Class –
https://www.blackgold.org/polaris/search/title.aspx?ctx=1.1033.0.0.1&cn=980405
Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung –
https://www.blackgold.org/polaris/search/title.aspx?ctx=1.1033.0.0.1&cn=322636
Under the Big Black Sun –
https://www.blackgold.org/polaris/search/title.aspx?ctx=1.1033.0.0.1&cn=883816
EPISODE NOTES
Mentioned in this episode:
Adult Literacy “Fast Track” Training –http://santabarbaraca.evanced.info/signup/EventDetails?EventId=15402
Anime and Manga Club –http://santabarbaraca.evanced.info/signup/EventDetails?EventId=16022
MakeSB with Wild Animals –http://santabarbaraca.evanced.info/signup/EventDetails?EventId=12765
The Flamethrowers – https://www.blackgold.org/polaris/search/title.aspx?ctx=1.1033.0.0.1&cn=682530
Deadly Class – https://www.blackgold.org/polaris/search/title.aspx?ctx=1.1033.0.0.1&cn=980405
Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung –https://www.blackgold.org/polaris/search/title.aspx?ctx=1.1033.0.0.1&cn=322636
Under the Big Black Sun – https://www.blackgold.org/polaris/search/title.aspx?ctx=1.1033.0.0.1&cn=883816