And they are these. — OK, computer-having modern human: you don’t feel like you really need a pen at all. Maybe one, if someone wants you to sign a document; but even then, wouldn’t they bring a pen, since this “ink signature” is so important to them? And hey, man, I get it: I like…

I especially love ‘Through The Ages.’ Here’s why. — Taking inventory of how you spend your hours, auditing and editing, etc., is a lifelong task, at least for most of us. You get a new job with a longer commute, and you have to let go of some of the hours you set aside for gardening. A new relationship…

This year has been hard in a way that no year has ever been hard before. — I teach seniors at a public high school in Chicago, and their last day of school was Friday. Last year, I thought the students in the graduating class of 2021 had the hardest time of any class ever. They hadn’t gotten to set foot in a classroom for their entire…

Why this is the one spring cleaning task you should take on this year — I got a new phone for my birthday, and, although phones now set themselves up through the mysterious sorcery of The Cloud, it felt like the right moment to clear out my contacts. My contact list has transferred over from phone to phone since I was in college. Somehow, some…

We don’t like to talk about disappointment. Here’s to normalizing it. — Do you ever feel disappointed? I mean, of course you do. You live in the world, you have hopes that things will go one way and then they go another, and then there it is! But personally, disappointment is an emotion that I usually try to smother with shame; it’s…

So I propose we come up with nicknames for the warblers (and I need your help!) — (TLDR: A lot of birds are named for white supremacists! I wanted to do a project where we collectively come up with fun nicknames for the warblers of North America so bird-watching season can feel safer and more fun for all people. Jump directly to this project and how it…

Seriously. It could save you tens of thousands of dollars. — I’ve always thought teeth — as individuals, or as a concept — were kind of, I don’t know, hip? Like, a character in a Wes Anderson film might have a little tooth in a little jar that she keeps in a knapsack, along with a manual about toasters, fleece socks…

It’s easier to dislike something than to really miss it. — (A note: this piece was originally written in January of 2020, pre-pandemic. The sentiment remains.) First, two brief anecdotes, separated in time by twelve years. 2004: I lived in Portland, but I was about to leave to go to college. I was going to go to college with my high…