The question comes from behind me, an unexpected place. “What do you want?” she asks again. The question hits my right shoulder, and bounces off my head. I have been waiting for this question my entire life, but the pain of it shocks me into silence. I turn to see a woman there, asking a child to make … Continue reading Something More
Tag: question
Got Time to Talk?
*cell phone rings* Me: Hi! Caller: "Hi, Jill. Are you busy?" Me: Well now, let me see... I have twenty-five people coming over for dinner in about an hour. I'm half way through cooking them a three course meal and the oven just caught fire. I have to clean the bathroom and fold three loads … Continue reading Got Time to Talk?
Time vs. Money
I have a weird job. My commute usually involves a plane and my 'cubical' is a table in a ballroom of a hotel. I fly somewhere, work four or five 16 hour days, and then I fly home. And that's it: job's over and my time is my own until the next job. I do … Continue reading Time vs. Money
At what age did you feel grown up?
On the occasion of my seventh birthday I told my mother that I'd had enough birthdays. Seven was a very good age, I was happy with it, and I would stay there. (Just as an amusing side note - my youngest sister thought that the age of seven was rather magical as well, but she believed … Continue reading At what age did you feel grown up?
Thorough investigation of truth
My randomly generated writing prompt for the day was a quote from Cicero: "The searching-out and thorough investigation of truth ought to be the primary study of man." But truth is tricky and changeable. You could spend all that time searching it out only to find it changed on you while you were out looking. … Continue reading Thorough investigation of truth
Appreciation
What is appreciation? Is it merely recognition of a job well done or is it deeper than that? I ask because it is, to me, the greatest thing in the world. There are many people, I know, who are content to live in a vacuum, who are able to recognize the value of their own work without … Continue reading Appreciation
Blogging Every Day
Didn't we already decide as a society that it is a bad idea to do any one thing every single day? Isn't that why we invented weekends? I see all this November 'write a book in a month' stuff, and I wonder who it is aimed at. The books that are written can't be very good. But … Continue reading Blogging Every Day
What is your favorite color?
After spending a few days with my four-year-old niece, I started wondering about when and how we start forming legitimate opinions about our world. I use the word legitimate to mean an opinion that we form entirely from our own thoughts without influence from the people whose own opinions we value. My case in point … Continue reading What is your favorite color?
Hyperbole and me
Since my own education wasn't so great, I won’t assume that everyone knows what hyperbole means. It means to exaggerate on purpose. As an example, “Your suitcase weighs a ton!” The suitcase in question probably weighs close to 50 pounds, but certainly does not weigh a ton, and neither the speaker nor the listener actually believes that … Continue reading Hyperbole and me
Over Complication
Why do we need to attribute symbolic meaning to the creations of extinct cultures? I have a picture of a squid, drawn by my five-year-old nephew. It is pink and squiggly but is clearly the thing that it is. Because he is a part of our current culture, and because we inherently understand the artistic thought … Continue reading Over Complication
Mind of a Mouse 