• On Life and Love

    The spook who counted her money

    I finished The Spook Who Sat By the Door yesterday morning. Sam Greenlee has one hell of a knack for sharp writing, and regardless of my not being a proponent for militantism, the book struck a chord with me. Greenlee got at the heart of the loneliness of being black in a nation and profession that both expects you to act white “enough” (but only so much) and simultaneously disdains you for doing so (as you disdain yourself). It was and is a fine line to walk. There are going to be spoilers here, but nothing that actually ruins the novelty of the book, I hope.

  • On Life and Love

    C is for “clutter”

    This week’s lesson in life is to always, always, always read the fine print of your lease, even when renewing. Straight up rookie move on my part, assuming the renewal terms would be the same as the original lease and not familiarizing myself with North Carolina laws on renter/landlord laws (especially graceful early lease termination). So we won’t be moving until the house is sold, and I had to argue for an amendment that would let us terminate the lease gracefully when the house is sold, regardless of whether the new owners want us to move out. I’m kicking myself in the teeth today. I feel like a damn idiot.…

  • On Life and Love

    Help, I’m shrinking…

    Uncluttering and downsizing is all the rave now, I know. I blame Ryan Mitchell of The Tiny Life for my own downsizing interest. Congrats, sir. You have made a convert. Greg and I found out a coupla weeks ago that the owners of the house we rent are short-selling. They offered us a first change at the house, but some of the things that made it a fairly attractive rental make it a subpar buy. Plus, you know, I’m not a big fan of even mortgage debt. Why would I want a $120k gorilla on my back? When we moved into the house last year, I loved having 1400 square…

  • On Life and Love

    Engineering marvel

    Okay, maybe not a “marvel”, but I find this furniture incredible (courtesy of The Tiny Life): If I lived alone, I’d totally get a small apartment and use something like their queen space-saving beds. I especially like the Ulisse Dining set. Unfortunately, they don’t list any prices. From the arduous process described in the video, I’d assume it’d be thousands and thousands of dollars. Several of these thousands, even.

  • On Life and Love

    Lo lo lo, or la la la?

    I hadn’t seen this before Sunday, and it seems there are other folks in my circle who haven’t, either, so here it is. Eduard Khil’s “Trololo” That is all. Well, not really: What He Should Be Saying Eduard Khil Watching Parodies of Himself (Closed captioning is on.) In other news, I spent last weekend in San Antonio. I’ll have a Transhuman Congress story posted very soon relating to my experience, as well as a bunch photos of peeps.