WHAT TIME IS IT ONLINE?
I live on the west coast and do work on the east coast, so I often have conference calls in several time zones. Pretty much every week, I...
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stories
for the information age
These bite-sized stories chronicle my efforts, both pitiful and successful,
to navigate the rapidly-changing world.
My hope is that they help you do the same.
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Oct 1, 20201 min read
THE HOLLOW
Nowadays, around 6pm, I begin to prepare for bed. I cook, I eat what I have cooked, I clean the mess from the cooking and eating. My mind...
Sep 24, 20201 min read
COUNTING SLEEP
It has been one month since I kicked my cellphone out of the bedroom. And since that first evening, I've slept an average of...
Sep 10, 20201 min read
REAL LIVE PEOPLE
I have been trying to look at real live people. It is a particular challenge right now - what with face masks and the general...
Sep 3, 20202 min read
THREE BEDS
1. In Beaulieu, bright, white light came in through the iron-paned hotel window each morning. The view was of the sea, impossibly blue....
Aug 13, 20202 min read
SLOSHING ABOUT
When I was a kid, my family moved from California to Massachusetts during the high heat of summer. It was a trying move - we were two...
Aug 6, 20201 min read
SLEEP TRAINING
One evening before bed, I get up all my strength and kick my phone out of the bedroom. Night, night, I tell my phone, as I place her on a...
May 28, 20201 min read
DREAM LIGHT
Daylight, back-of-eyelid light, bath light, kitchen light, fridge light, desk light, screen light, sunlight, daylight,...
May 21, 20201 min read
MEANING
I am in an unspoken competition with my husband for the affection of the dog. I pretend not to notice when the dog follows me upstairs...
Apr 22, 20201 min read
MAGIC 8 BALL
My smartphone is a Magic 8 Ball. It knows the answers to everything, especially now, with so much uncertainty. I just need to ask. I...
Apr 12, 20201 min read
LIKE WILDFIRE
Some things just catch on. They burn through grassy dales with a speed that is imperceptibly fast. Before we know it, the landscape has...
Apr 10, 20201 min read
BOGGLE
I have begun to play Boggle online up to ten times a day. I am getting pretty good and now routinely beat the computer and earn over 300...
Mar 31, 20201 min read
THE DRUG CALLED SLEEP
A lot of people use it. Some people, lots of women in particular, have a hard time finding it. You have to creep in the darkness to get...
Dec 24, 20191 min read
HATCH A PLAN
I hatch a plan to get my phone out of the bed. I have not slept more than 5 hours in months. I am grumpy and my brain no longer seems to...
Dec 17, 20191 min read
PACKING LIST
Aspirational packing list: Sundress, sandals, beach hat, bathing suit. Pile of books. It is the books that makes the bag so heavy. Actual...
Dec 17, 20191 min read
ONE THING I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT
I’ve been invited to a holiday party in which the hostess has asked guests to bring “one thing you cannot live without” for a gift...
Nov 26, 20191 min read
DO YOU THINK I’M A LOSER?
It’s busy-ness I’m after. So that when I sit in the dentist’s office waiting room, I take out my phone. I’m checking. To avoid just...
Nov 19, 20191 min read
GOOD IN BED
My phone is really good in bed. The lights are off, but she’s all lit up. Oh god, I love her in bed. I really do. I want her. She’s there...
Oct 29, 20191 min read
KEEP CHECKING
I check my social media feed in the dentist office waiting room. A family on a ski trip, hatted and goggled, eyeless and faceless is...
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