I enjoy writing of all types from technical instructional manuals to journal entries to poetry and more. In many cases this is just a way for me to arrange my thoughts, be able to replicate something I’ve done, or work through things. For journal entries, it is a way for me to somewhat reliably remember an event. From what I have heard and read, the human brain does not store memories in a “read-only” fashion, so each time you revisit that memory it may change and that change may perpetuate to the next time it is “remembered” and possibly changed again. That is why some of my journal entries end with a note that too much time has passed since the event so I do not trust that all the details would be true at least to my perception at the time. On the other hand, a memory is more than just facts. Sometimes the feelings around a memory or thought will take hold resulting in a short story or an essay. Those are the sorts of things that you will find here. Please enjoy (or not) these brief glimpses into my mind and accounts of certain days in my and my family’s life.
In my home office I have a window with a warm, wooden roman shade installed on it. As I like to let as much natural light in as possible the shade is usually up during daylight hours. With the days getting shorter now the shade is open less which makes me appreciate the opportunity to […]
Rearranging the Office Read More »
FADE IN: INT. STEIN HOME GREAT ROOM – NIGHT DAD is cooking dinner, chopping vegetables on a countertop facing toward the great room. ANN enters through a hallway on the side between the great room and the kitchen carrying a backpack which she tosses haphazardly on the floor. ANN ALEXA, turn off the downstairs lights.
Every year I struggle with how to set up the tables for Thanksgiving dinner. I like a long table where everyone can see each other and feel included. But I also like for people to have space and be able to get up as needed. This year’s arrangement seemed nice, although due to a few
Thanksgiving Planning Read More »
For a long while the two showers upstairs had been leaking onto the ceiling below. After having a plumber come out a few times he finally managed to stop the leaks from one bathtub by cutting through the ceiling under it and working in tight spaces. But he said that my shower would have to
I am a fairly security-conscience person so it’s a bit of a surprise to me that my credit card number keeps getting stolen. My bank seems to be pretty good at catching fraud as they have always texted or called me to ask about certain charges without me having to catch it on my statement.
Credit Card Fiascos Read More »
In Italy I guess it’s not uncommon to leave for dinner around 8PM. It wasn’t that I was especially hungry, but we had all day meetings starting in the morning and I was hoping to get to bed around 10:30. However, since we didn’t get to the restaurant until 8:30 or so I figured that
My parents bought me an Amazon Echo last Christmas and while I am not a fan of the cloud, I sort of had to set it up. Truth be told I did put it on my wish list as I wanted to play around with one, but didn’t think I would really use it outside
Amazon Echo Lost in Translation Read More »
This morning I awoke from a dream with the strong idea of a hook. In my head I saw some old-fashioned music video shot in black and white that looked like it was played on a VCR. It featured a crowd dressed in hippie clothes swaying back and forth. Then came the hook. The crowd
Wish I Could Remember That Song Read More »
I had never used airline miles and really did not have a firm understanding of what I could do with them. I had a notion that you could use them to purchase airplane tickets, but various commercials that I had seen left me with the impression that there were various restrictions on how the miles
When I picked up my rental car in Brussels the clerk asked where I was heading. I told him Liege and he said, “Oh, you’re going to the French part of Belgium. How’s your French?” I told him that it had been a while, which, as I would soon learn, meant that I had pretty
Parking in Belgium Read More »
