My daughter came home crying from her job as a barista for a local Boba Tea shop. “They don’t like me, Mom! I’m doing the exact same level of work that all the new kids are, and they keep calling ME out cuz I’m not Asian.” Several other barista-type jobs at various local businesses to … Continue reading Racism—Up Close, and Personal
How do you get good at anything? Practice. How do you get great? Obsession — Practice most all the time. Pick any famous author, artist, or musician, and they’ll all have obsession in common. And while we, the public, enjoy the fruits of their creative labors, those closest to these individuals were/are generally left wanting more … Continue reading The Price of Brilliance
My husband and I raised our children without religion. We gave them no religious identity (as in claiming to be Christian or Jewish because of our parentage). We are both devout atheists, and I use the term devout with purpose. We don’t believe in a higher power, or any gods, or even the possibility of one. We are … Continue reading Raising Kids without Religion
I had a conversation with my former financial advisor when the markets were crashing back in ’08. I asked him to give me an estimate, his best, ostensibly educated guess when the market might turn around or at least stabilize. He assured me it would be soon. The credit default scandal had already been exposed. … Continue reading The 5% Factor in Finance
THANKSGIVING 1991 The sweet, cloying scent of death was veiled by the sharpness of cleanser in the antiseptic lobby of the Home. Chrome handrails lined the light pink walls. A hunched elderly man clutched onto the railing as he shuffled along in slow motion. Each step looked pained. Pasty white skin, his eyelids drooped over … Continue reading Scene from an L.A. Thanksgiving
Spent my life looking in at the world I live, but never ‘fitting in’... Ever been with a group of people, and everyone is talking amicably, (or on their cellphones), and you’re sitting there watching and listening, and you feel like an alien? Not a foreign national among a group of natives. More like you’re … Continue reading Outside Looking In
I’m no longer, and will never again be my kids’ demigod... I wanted kids for as long as I can remember. Have 2. Adopt 1. I was absolutely sure I could raise them better than my mom [and dad]. I’d give them ground instead of ripping it away with critical judgments. I’d show my love … Continue reading Empty-Nesting IRL
My husband caught his married CEO kissing an employee, setting the Butterfly Effect in motion... “I’m screwed,” my husband said, calling me from his job at a well-known Silicon Valley startup. He’d entered the stairwell and saw the married CEO of his company sucking face with an employee. He had a right to be upset. The CEO is putting … Continue reading The Butterfly Effect
Ray Bradbury reminded me why I write... I sat on the floor in the back of a bookstore in old-town Pasadena perusing the selections. It was Saturday, late afternoon, another sunny day in L.A. I didn’t notice the store owners hustling everyone out the door and they didn’t see me in the back on the … Continue reading Why Do You Write?
Had some yard work done that required cutting concrete. My gardener gave me a quote of $150 to do the job. I accepted his bid as fair and equitable, and we agreed he’d do the work last Sunday. He arrived promptly at 8:30 Sunday morning and began cutting our concrete patio. He used a small … Continue reading The TRUTH about Immigrants
