Infectious grooves
One of the many soundtracks running through my head after I turn off the radio is an imaginary list of songs from films I’ve seen. There are a number of popular songs that have been used so perfectly, in my opinion, that I can never again hear the song without also thinking of the scene […]
Cockroaches, Truth Telling, and Spalding Gray
Recently I went to a reading of the diaries of Spalding Gray put on by Writers Bloc LA . I became a fan of Spalding Gray over 20 years ago, when I discovered his book Sex and Death to the Age 14. I recently re-read it, and missed his voice all over again. Here’s why […]
Blank Slate
I’ve been very sparse about writing anything lately, but I wanted to take a moment to pat myself on the back for (almost) settling in to my new home. My family and I moved in exactly a year ago, and we’ve been gradually feeling like it’s our home. If you’ve read earlier posts, you might […]
Beginning anew
I’m about to go to a wedding, coming up this weekend during Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. The family member who is getting married is Jewish, but he is marrying a non-Jew and his wedding will be secular. It’s a second marriage for both the bride and groom, and though I don’t spend a […]
Liminal spaces
As long as I’m doing the re-run thing, here’s another story I read at “Spark Off Rose,” last October for the “Supernatural” spoken word show. Thank you to the producers of the show, particularly Mark Betancourt for working long-distance from New York on my story, and to Jessica Tuck and Karin Gutman for their encouragement […]
Expressing (wanna-be Chinese) motherhood
Since I’ve been on the road a lot this summer, I haven’t had enough time to write. So, in the mean time, here’s a personal story I read at the “Expressing Motherhood” spoken word shows at the Lillian Theatre in Hollywood in January 2011. I told a story about my lame attempt at instilling […]
Make new friends, and keep the old
My children had more play dates than usual this summer. Part of this is because my son is entering kindergarten; his school has encouraged parents to have play dates to ease the transition, so that the first day of kindergarten feels is smooth and full of friendly reunions rather than tears. It makes sense, but […]
In Praise of Divorce
Several years ago I wrote an essay called “In Praise of Divorce” on a website that’s no longer active. This is an updated version of that essay. I was reminded of this topic when I read Lisa Belkin’s New York Times piece today on staying in an abusive marriage: http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/23/staying-in-an-abusive-marriage/?src=tp I had just turned 16 […]
Talk talk
About eight years ago, I lost my best friend. I don’t mean that she died. I mean that she and I weren’t friends anymore. How did it happen? I can’t explain it in short form. What I think happened is that we were both slammed with the paradigm shift that is having your first child […]
Bossypants vs the book I can’t name
So I just read two books in the last month, both by 40-ish women authors, both nonfiction, both at least somewhat about what it is like to be a working mother of small children. One was “Bossypants” by Tina Fey. The other I don’t want to name because I have been a fan of the […]
