New beginnings, new returns
After almost a year away, I return to work next week. Zoya will be starting daycare early in the week, and both L and I start work shortly after that. My...
No ideas to explore
I have nothing to say. No stories to tell, no insights to share, no ideas to explore. I’ve been sitting on this list of links for weeks now, waiting for...
Five nice things
Five nice things that passed through my mind this morning as I sat in front of my iPad and started to type: We have a magnolia tree in our front yard, and...
People are getting vaccinated
People I know are starting to get vaccinated. Depending on where they live, friends and family are starting to receive their COVID vaccines, and I couldn’t...
An inbox of newsletters
My inbox* is filled with newsletters. There was a time in the not-too-distant past when I was able to stay on top of things using my RSS reader, by following...
"The limits to your ambition were thus expected to be settled."
A few words from the pen of James Baldwin: Letter from a Region in My Mind, 1962: There is nothing new in this merciless formulation except the explicitness...
Out too early?
A bevy of the parenting books that I’m reading all refer to a fourth trimester: that a baby would normally stay in the womb for a few extra months if it was...
Forgiving myself for not being able to focus
The Pomodoro technique isn’t working for me anymore. Just a few months ago, I had no problems getting my work done in 25-minute chunks, and was able to do...
Wednesday afternoon coffee breaks
I think I'd like to try something, and need your help in figuring out if it's a good idea. I'd like to host mini "coffee breaks" every Wednesday afternoon at...
The cities and towns we have around us
When people asked me what I missed most about living in the big city, all of my answers involved access to things outside of the house. I would answer that I...
Words are how I understand how I feel
I don't make things with my hands, that often. Apart from the time I spend in the kitchen crafting meals, I'm not really someone who "makes" things,...
Third places after the pandemic
One of the questions that comes up often when we're having video chats, either at work or in our personal lives, is about the first place where we will go...
The sounds of the tea kettle
I have taken to listening, with conscious intention, to the sound of the kettle as I make my tea. The kettle always starts with a low hum, as if it is...
Finding it hard to write
When the pandemic shutdowns and closures started ramping up two weeks ago—when people were recommended to stay home and only go out for essential services—I...
Pandemic panic
It's hard not to panic when the state of the world is changing by the minute. Even for someone who is notorious for being level-headed and (perhaps too)...
To quiet the racing mind
A few unrelated, miscellaneous things that have been occupying my thoughts recently, in no particular order: 1. Jesse Wente, on our national broadcaster,...
Finding the things that you love
Today is Valentine's Day, and so I'm asking you to write a love letter. Last week, L and I went to a pop-up supper club hosted by a very talented couple who...
That’s okay
Some days, you have nothing to say. And that’s okay. Some days, you have so much on your mind and can’t figure out how to get it all out in a way that makes...
An orchestra outside
I’m not sure when I became someone who wears headphones over his ears every time he ventures out of the house. I’d like to blame audiobooks, or podcasts, or...
Ferry breakfast
Today, on the third day of the new year, I woke up thinking of ferry breakfast. The BC Ferries ships that head to the Southern Gulf Islands all have a small...