This is what everyone wants, to belong. To be a part of a community, to be accepted as we are. It doesn't matter what side of the political spectrum we're on, what race we are or what other identity groups we fall into. Everyone wants to be heard and accepted, to belong. But this isn't …
Tag: gratitude
Asynchrony is a Gift
One of the greatest challenges of remote work for some is that you can no longer just walk up to someone's desk and chat them up. There are many instances where quick questions can be resolved with a quick conversation, plus you can share your thoughts about "the game" last night or other pleasantries in …
The Dam Breaks?
I have a confession to make, though loyal readers already know... I have not posted any new writing in this blog for a few weeks now. I broke my writing habit/commitment. I failed to live up to my own ideal. As you may recall, I had set the intention a while ago to publish SOMETHING, …
How Much AM I Capable Of?
I walked 4.5 miles last Sunday. This is not necessarily a great feat or anything, but it is also something I rarely allow myself to take the time for. According to Google, my route "should" have taken 1.5 hours on foot, but I was dawdling quite a bit, stopping to chat with people, petting some …
Four Conversations
I live in one of the more diverse (racially, financially and otherwise) neighborhoods in one of the whitest, most affluent and "liberal" cities in the country. I love my neighborhood. I bought my house for what seemed like a lot of money at the time when I was still single, in my 20s and when …
Imposter Syndrome
Since my autism diagnosis about 2.5 years ago, much of my mental energy has gone into reevaluating and reinterpreting many of my emotions, especially related to work, that I have held my entire adult life. Here are some examples: Other people do not seem to find it difficult to speak up in meetings, but when …
Dog Training
Our house has been a whirlwind of excitement for the last 10 days or so. The first weekend of the month, we adopted a second dog from an excellent shelter here in our city. Just about 3 years ago, when my then elderly baby, lab-dachshund mix finally passed away at 14yo, I lasted in a …
A Holiday Gift for All
Holiday gifts are a source of real stress for me. I'm a natural gift-giver, but my generosity REALLY fights against the pressure cooker that is our American capitalist version of Christmas. (I speak of Christmas over other holidays not due to any type of intentional preference, but due to my family's individual history, which has …
A Blessing Disguised as a Frustrating Imposition
This week has been a real doozy. At work, our "weeks" generally run from Wednesday through Tuesday for our weekly production cycle so I'm now coming to the end of the craziest week of my 17+ years. We had been presented with data feed inputs to enter that were all riddled with errors and in …
Continue reading A Blessing Disguised as a Frustrating Imposition
It’s Thanksgiving Again
Well, it has been a full year since I wrote about what I was thankful for and, having just reread my post from 2020, I can say I should definitely avoid making predictions for the future. Many of the items I noted are still valid this year, but a lot has changed too. As far …