Preservation
Just over a month ago, we spent a week in Italy: a little celebratory trip full of sightseeing, relaxation, and great food. The focus of the trip was, of...
Collecting as meaning-making
Somewhere in my parents’ basement, hidden away by other boxes and crates, is a small box of ephemera from my childhood and youth. My parents didn’t keep much...
Fruit crisp
Over the past few months, I have indulged myself by eating various fruit crisps that L has made. She has made a lot of crisp, using in-season fruits like...
Being alive is a wonderful thing
A few weeks ago, I had a small medical procedure that ended up addressing a relatively major medical issue that I did not know I had until the procedure. I’m...
Driving on the left
Some people love getting behind the wheel of a car, revving up the engine and just going wherever their whims will take them. I am not one of those people. I...
Passing thoughts
In the absence of anything substantial to say, a few passing thoughts: When the rain falls, it means I don’t have to water the herbs in the herb garden in...
Summer vacation, and the messiness of civic life
We are planning a summer vacation. The big plans—flights, accommodation, transport—have been sorted out. What’s left is the smaller things: activities and...
Endless expanse
The thing about being among the mountains is that your gaze is constantly drawn upwards. At first, it is the snow-capped peaks that catch your attention....
When someone cuts down a tree, somebody else has to plant a new one
My favorite conversations with Zoya all seem to happen on our early morning walks to the bus stop. It is during those walks that she is most wide-eyed,...
A few nice things
A few nice things: The weather creeped up to 20°C earlier this week, so Zoya and I took some time after dinner to head to the park, play on the swings, and...
Walk-and-talk
In the winter, the step counter on my wrist reminds me that I'm way too sedentary. I spend most of the day, every work day, sitting in front of a computer,...
A bit of anger, a bit of sadness, a bit of wondering where this is all going
As part of the recent tumult in US politics, Trump/Musk/DOGE recently laid off all the staff at 18F, essentially shuttering the agency and with it destroying...
Forty-three
February is the cruelest month. The snow has been unrelenting; when it hasn’t been snowing, the cold has been frightening. The early morning walks to the...
On the precarious situation of the civil service
I recently read an interesting look at how the stable, impartial civil service was created, and how it was different from the partial, ever-changing system...
Water slide
It had been almost 30 years since I last went on a water slide. There was a water park near us growing up and we would occasionally go there when we’d get...
Demotion
This week, I returned to my job working in employee experience and organizational culture after six months of managing a team of talent and operations...
Re-entering
The holidays ended and everything sped up. We got home on Sunday afternoon and spent the evening unpacking, doing laundry, packing lunches, preparing for the...
Snippets at the end of the year
It has been a long few weeks. My grandmother passed away a few weeks ago. I wrote a short remembrance of her on my blog last week. Hers is a legacy of love...
On the way to the bus stop
On weekday mornings, early enough that the sun is still creeping up past the horizon, we bundle up in our jackets, grab the backpack, and walk to the bus...
Ask me what I am writing
I’ve had the links below sitting in my drafts folder for weeks. By now, you’ve probably read most of them because they’ve made the rounds online. Even still,...