I’ve been wrestling with the idea of what it means to be cool. When I was in high school, I looked for cool in unconventional places—not among the “popular” students, but among those who were openly counter-cultural. Even though I didn’t talk to them overly much, I was interested in the goth kids. They seemed kind and interesting, and I liked the aesthetic...
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I’ve been thinking lately about spirals. They are used in media to represent instability—the dizzy spells of injured cartoon characters or dysfunctional people who are “spiraling” out of control. Spirals stand in opposition to their cousin, the circle, which in western metaphors is typically stable, eternal, and complete. We are taught to pursue the...
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I never think of the ocean. Even after having lived near one for a year, I’m such a desert dweller at heart that the idea of an ocean never really crosses my mind. Instead, I think of rivers. I think of western flowing water that hides at the bottoms of canyons as they cut across the arid landscapes. Water is such a powerful and persistent force. It can...
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I love to cook. Taking ingredients and making them into a flavorful, nutritious meal is incredibly engaging for me. It requires me to sync my creativity, my problem-solving skills, and my ability to learn new things in order to produce something great. When I’m at my best, the thing produced is not only delicious, but also useful—combining homegrown foods,...
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This morning, the ground was still soaked with rain water from the previous night’s storm when I went outside to let my goats and chickens out of their enclosures and into their respective yards. The weeds (mostly kochia, an invasive species in this area) have grown tall and hearty with the onset of the seasonal rains, and many plants—now close to my...
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