Tag Archives: ramblings

All of Me

This little blog has existed for almost seven years now. I’ll be honest, that kind of blows my mind. It’s had numerous lulls (most of 2011 comes to mind, as does one of my most recent posts), but I keep coming back to it and I keep going with it. There aren’t a lot of things in my life that I can say that about.

Lions and science in general, as referenced below. Beer? We’re not that far along yet, but I’m still entranced and I think we’re in it for the long haul. Bill? More than double that in time, at this point (if not romantically for about half of it).

I started this post almost two years ago. I’m not sure why or how it fell off my radar, but in looking through my drafts, I came upon it again.… Continue reading →

A Time for Everything

It’s a snow day here in Portland, Oregon. We got somewhere between six and nine inches of snow last night. Maybe even more, but given how bad I am at estimating sizes of things1, I won’t try harder to be sure.

It’s not the first snow day we’ve had, but somehow it feels more like a snow day than any other. Maybe it’s how damn much snow is out there, or maybe it’s how quiet it is inside. I’m not sure. Nor am I sure if I care to figure out the “why” rather than just experience things as they are. In this case, it’s a snow day kind of day. I have tea. I have an urge to write. My tea is in a new, fabulous mug from the fantastic Deb Cooperman, and it’s encouraging my tea-ing and writing.… Continue reading →

At A Loss For Words

Not being able to talk (or write) isn’t terribly normal for me. It’s not a spot I often find myself in; I’m a chatterer and, in case it wasn’t blindingly obvious from previous posts, opinionated. Typically, I have at least SOMETHING to say. Something to post.

Right now, though? I really don’t. I wrote a post about a couple of months ago on sexism in the beer community that I am super proud of, and that got a lot of (largely positive) attention. But it was draining. And a lot of the attention, even though it was positive, was also draining.

How much of my feeling drained was the fact that I wrote that post two days after moving house? Dealt with the aftermath of moving and working while dealing with the aftermath of reactions to that post?… Continue reading →

Random Tidbits

Starting today, I’m trying to go lactose-free for two weeks. Avoiding milk, cheese, yogurt, and milk stouts is no fun, but it’s actually fairly simple in practice. What’s already stymied me (but not yet thwarted me) is butter. I basically have to assume all restaurants use butter in all things, don’t I? So a quick pastry as I dart from place to place is going to be a non-starter for awhile. I have dinner reservations with a friend on Thursday, and I wonder if this is going to be a problem. It’s a little stressful. I’m sure I’ll manage it, but I’m going to be stressing about it until it’s done. Maybe it’ll just help me get into and stay with the habit of carrying nuts or similar as a snack at all times.… Continue reading →

They Say You Can’t Go Home Again.

My friend Ellen, I think1, once insisted on Twitter that your hometown is where you were born, period. No other place could be your hometown.

I viscerally didn’t agree with this, but didn’t say anything because I couldn’t figure out why. Much later, I think sometime in 2012, I realized what I was thinking. Namely, your hometown may or may not be the place you currently reside and it may or may not be the place you were born. Your hometown is the place you know. The rhythms, the roads, the speed traps, the truly unsafe places, the places people think are unsafe that are fine, the upscale places, the hidden gems. You know this place in your bones.

For me, while I deeply love Chicago and could happily live there the rest of my life, my hometown has always been Albuquerque, New Mexico.… Continue reading →