General
Based on a true story
I was tired of my workspace being darkened like a cave And of working in the gloaming like a dank and musty grave So I threw my hands into the air and gave a mighty shout And now Gene is in the pantry and he won’t come out. We used to share the table in … Continue reading
Call for novels
I’ve been out of books for about a week now and I’m grouchy as a bear at a baiting. My similes are also suffering. Does anyone have a book to recommend? I don’t care what genre, as long as it’s totally engrossing. And ideally not too gross; no Brief Interviews With Hideous Men. (Side note: … Continue reading
Smile
It’s eight a.m. I just called the Human Rights Watch to try and interview someone there about an upcoming immigrant rights summit, but the office doesn’t open until nine so I got the main voicemail. I listened to the patient, fresh-voiced recording of the receptionist as she carefully listed each name and extension, and I … Continue reading
Pam and Jim leads to Pimm’s
After years of resisting it because it felt too real, I’ve finally come around to The Office. I guess I have enough distance from that life now that I can laugh at it. I recently watched a bunch of episodes (all in one evening but we don’t need to go into that) and now I … Continue reading
Phone interview with politico organization
“…And we’ve been working on the Uniting American Families Act.” “Great name, by the way.” “Yeah?” “Sure. It’s got the words ‘American’ and ‘families’ in it. Hey, I like those things! I’ll vote for it!” “…” “Sorry. That bitterness was directed at the voting public, not at you. I would of course vote for this … Continue reading
Working from home: the recipes
PB&J Burrito Ingredients: 1 flour tortilla (spinach tortilla not recommended) smooth peanut butter blackberry jam Instructions: Spread peanut butter and jam on tortilla. Roll. Eat. Disgustingness stars: three of five Satisfies hunger? Yes. Recommended? No.
The Folk of the Air
I remember once, in high school — it was just after French class, not that that matters — I got in a conversation with two or three other girls who were earnestly trying to convince me that the female orgasm couldn’t have been invented until the Renaissance. No way, they said, were ladies having a … Continue reading
Black tie and a fuckup
Last night I went to an anniversary event for a local charity. I get assigned a lot of these stories (profile pieces, human interest), so I mostly knew what to expect. Or so I thought. The event started at 7:00, so I showed up at 7:20, having learned from experience that if you get to … Continue reading
Blue Latitudes
I just finished reading Blue Latitudes, Tony Horwitz’s nonfiction best seller about Captain Cook. The Pulitzer Prize-winning Horwitz presents a ton of information about Cook, from his globe-encompassing routes to small details about the man (Cook was tall, and did not seem to understand the point of religion). He also travels to many of Cook’s … Continue reading
Fear and Joking in Dolores Park
I’m writing an article about the SFPD’s K-9 unit, which means Wednesday found me standing in Dolores Park taking pictures of a couple of cops and three dogs that are trained to kill me where I stand. I don’t know whether you’ve spent a lot of time around cops. I haven’t myself, and frankly they … Continue reading