Friday, March 31, 2006
by Amanda.
This week I read Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking, an autobiographical account of the writer’s grief after her husband died of a heart attack. I’d never read Didion or her husband, but I was so smitten at the idea of two creative people creating a life together like that. The book shows how dependent Didion was on her husband - he was an editor, a cheerleader, the ultimate partner. Still, Didion never seems to talk of love too traditionally. She clearly loved her husband, but that’s a given. She focuses so much on their goals as people, as writers, as partners. The relationship seemed really cool. They didn’t love each other, because they needed each other. They needed each other, because they loved each other.
Posted in: Overbooked.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
by Amanda.
HORNS UP:
*A three-day work week. School is so nice without the students. That’s a problem, huh?
Posted in: Horns Up/Down.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
by Amanda.
The subway is more than a ride. It’s a free show.
I love public transportation, because it’s the ultimate multitasking tool. You can literally get ready for work on your way to work. I read, listen to music, and relax on the subway, but mostly, I watch people. New York City really isn’t so anonymous when you get on the train. Your fellow passengers are thisclosetoyou. Smells and paths intersect. Your every move is on display.
Posted in: I Live NY.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
by Amanda.
My exasperation is often your laughter. This is why I write about how I turned all my whites into dreary grays on a catastrophic laundry day. Why I write about my obnoxious neighbors and the crazy school where I work. But yesterday was so trying - at least the first part of it - that upon escape, I still couldn’t sit down and write about it. Langston Hughes called it “laughing to keep from crying.” Today I can laugh about it.
Posted in: Teaching in Harlem, NYC.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
by Amanda.
Cade shook his head when I wrote this down. Am I the only one who can appreciate a good “Julius Caesar” joke? Methinks not.
Posted in: Conserved Conversations.
Monday, March 27, 2006
by Amanda.
It gets hard to write, because in the musculature of my hands, sinews of my arms, pulsing freeways of my brain, and endless “ink” of my keyboard, all is potential. There’s no greater burden, no greater freedom.
Posted in: Writing.
Monday, March 27, 2006
by Amanda.
Memories of the weekend lap the edges of my mind, pushing up the corners of my mouth. Saturday school - a long, tedious commitment since October - is finally over. I’ll miss the money and some of the interactions, but I finally get to sleep in. Hooray!
Posted in: Everyday, Lurve/Luff/Like.
Monday, March 27, 2006
by Amanda.
While descending the stairs to the uptown 1 track at Times Square, Cade decided to remind me he’s a guy. He jumped gibbon-like, grabbed an overhead bar, and casually swung off it.
Posted in: Everyday.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
by Amanda.
Dutch Immigrants Forced To Watch Racy Film
“The camera focuses on two gay men kissing in a park. Later, a topless woman emerges from the sea and walks onto a crowded beach. For would-be immigrants to the Netherlands, this film is a test of their readiness to participate in the liberal Dutch culture. If they can’t stomach it, no need to apply. The test - the first of its kind in the world - became compulsory yesterday, and was made available at 138 Dutch embassies.” -Associated Press
Posted in: Mentionable, Teaching in Harlem, NYC.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
by Amanda.
The week sped by with unrivaled velocity and this blog was left in the dust. On the back burner. [Insert another figure of speech here.]
Posted in: Horns Up/Down.
