Wednesday, November 25, 2009
by Amanda.
Some of our worst problems sneak up on us. They’re freaky little failings no one anticipates. Tiny developments we miss a million times.
My first appointment of 2010 - and the first New Year’s resolution I’ll complete - is a skin cancer screening. I’ll be dressed in a robe and checked from scalp to sole for any suspicious spots.
I’ve needed to do this for awhile. I’m blue-eyed, fair-skinned, and have a family history of skin cancer. I grew up in Texas.
In the last few years, I’ve watched my dad undergo biopsies and chemotherapy to treat his skin cancer. He’s had chunks of his face removed. Pieces of his arms, his nose, his neck.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
by Amanda.
Two of my photos were recently selected for inclusion in Schmap New York and Chicago editions.
Schmap publishes digital, mobile-ready travel guides for 200 destinations throughout the U.S., Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
No more walking around with a map, looking like a doofus with a lot of cash.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
by Amanda.
One of my favorite things about NYC is that people read more here. You need something to do on your way to work, and listening to your iPod gets old. I plow through at least 52 books a year with the help of the subway, where I spend about an hour a day.
Monday, October 12, 2009
by Amanda.
I find myself putting off creative work when it starts to feel like, you know, work.
I love writing when I’m done with it. But it’s work when I’m doing it. It’s quiet and lonely. It hurts my head sometimes.
Then I start thinking of all the other things I need to do before I can work on writing. Usually this involves the sudden, preposterous realization that the world is going to get hit by an asteroid that will wipe out the human race if I don’t organize my hallway closet right now.
Friday, September 18, 2009
by Amanda.
Annie has made her faildogs.com debut!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
by Amanda.
A few weeks ago, quite a few literary people were buzzing about Mary Gaitskill’s essay “Lost Cat” in Granta 107. The piece is about well, a lost cat. Her lost cat. And what it made her realize about other relationships she’s lost.
Some people were calling it a tour de force. Others were like, “Dude, it’s a cat.”
But as a person who has wept over an English bulldog until tears froze on my face, I could relate.
Friday, August 28, 2009
by Amanda.
Back in February 2008, I launched a Tumblr dedicated to Life Coach’s relationship advice. I’d broken up with Cade a month before and was just about to meet a guy who would later be called TBID.
I talk to Life Coach about once a week. He’s given me advice on investments, work, travel, and city life. But we mostly talk about relationships - dating, commitment, passion vs. dedication, and quality time.
A few weeks ago, I thanked him for being there for me, especially through this last breakup.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
by Amanda.
We talk of love like it’s some cosmic destination or black hole. We can fall into or out of it. We can live inside it. It permanently alters our universe.
The endeavor’s only a few spacesuits and freeze-dried sandwiches short of NASA.
I recently read a “Modern Love” column from The New York Times that addressed a question dear to my scarred heart: What do you do when someone falls out of love with you?
Monday, July 13, 2009
by Amanda.
When the going gets tough, the tough don’t go home. Especially when that means giving up on a dream.
In my nearly four years in NYC, there have been a few times when it made fleeting sense to move back to Texas. I was between jobs, listless, scared, unsupported…
I’m so glad I stayed here.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
by Amanda.
The June edition of The Atlantic has this article by Joshua Wolf Shenk called “What Makes Us Happy?” about The Grant Study at Harvard. The point of the study was to thoroughly examine the lives of 106 Harvard graduates (JFK was one participant), see how life unfolded over the years, and then figure out why. What made successful men successful? How did those who lived miserably end up with their lot?
I recommend taking a look at the article when you get the chance. It’s long, but really interesting. This excerpt jumped out at me:
