I went for a hike this weekend. Actually, I got out quite a bit. On Friday, I met up with a colleague and his girlfriend for dinner – after which we went to his friend’s house for a fire pit (where I quickly befriended a hefty pit bull named Tank). On Saturday I went downtown…
Category: Dear Diary
Old Dog, New Tricks
Today was our first day of dog training – which was probably more about Matt training than it was Kimbrough training. For the pup… well, he did great and got way more treats than he would normally get in an hour. For me, I recognized some of my weaknesses and failures as a human being…
Looking for Third Spaces
The daily struggle continues. It seems silly to call it a struggle (comparatively speaking). First world problems of privilege and comfort – finding time to read, write, exercise… feeling guilty because each evening I let chunks of time slip by. I wrote a little this weekend (mostly what’s below). I’ve exercised a few days in…
Guarding Time
I had just started to exercise when my dad called. I didn’t answer. I saw the little notification that I had a call. Then another one – he left a message. The guilt of not answering, the new obligation to call back…. it ate at me. I tried to focus on exercising and could feel…
Foreign Correspondent
There was something about the pile at the end of the curb that seemed like something more than the usual spring cleaning trash. It looked haphazard and hurried. Maybe it was the size of the pile: four feet high by about ten feet long and a few feet deep or maybe it was the guitar…
Ticking Away…
Throwing stuff away, cleaning the table, deleting spam emails. This is me wanting to sit down and be productive (write) but putting it off. I’d love to say that it’s about trying to make space or clear out… but it feels more like it’s about tackling some easy things instead of the thing staring me…
In Stereo Edition
Last night I hooked up the stereo. I’ve missed the rich sounds of actual speakers (compared to just an Alexa). I haven’t used my stereo since leaving Yardley. There are entire albums (Michael Kiwanuka and Glass Animals) that I’ve listened to a lot, but not through decent speakers. The apartment in Memphis was supposed to…
An Evening Walk
By the time I got home, I wasn’t in the mood for it – any of it. It was a nice day here in central PA. It was probably the warmest it’s been in months. Even the sun was out. When I left the office, I put the windows down a little and turned the…
Temperature and Temperament
While my friends in Memphis are seeing high temperatures in the upper 50s, we’ve had bitter wind chills in the single digits. There have been morning walks with the dog when the wind was so biting that I was certain that this place was evil, or at the very least, intentionally mean-spirited, or perhaps Siberia….
Gus Burnside Kimbrough
Today I adopted a dog. He’s a 3-year-old pit mix. A rescue from Cincinnati who made his way to PA last week. He’s about as sweet as can be. He walks well on the leash, knows how to sit and stay and come, and is very affectionate. His name is Gus, but I’m thinking of…
Now I Wait
I slept in until almost 8. It’s sunny but cold this morning. The car is covered in that white salt dust that accumulates while driving through Pennsylvania’s winters. Earlier, I passed a car wash where the line was seven or eight cars deep. I’m sitting in the parking lot at the emergency pet hospital waiting…