Portfolio of Work
Thank you for perusing my writing portfolio. You will find a variety of works below from my personal blog and other publications.
I enjoy collaborating with passionate change-makers. If that’s you, let’s talk!
Unpopular Opinion: Surviving the Ivory Tower Has Made "Real World" Work a Cakewalk.
That’s when I realized that the rigorousness of my academic training overqualified me for “Real World” work in a good way.
The Impossible Possibility of The Phantom Tollbooth
At that moment in my life, I needed the possibility of the impossible.
Freedom in Constraint: Why the Sonnet Is the Perfect Genre for a Lockdown
In this age of pandemic, the itch to write a sonnet comes on as suddenly as the itches on my face I fight not to scratch. Luckily, I can satisfy the former urge.
The Truth Isn't As Strange As You Think: The Enduring Power Of Roswell
“Did the military conceal the most astounding discovery of the century?” With these portentous words, Robert Stack introduces the mystery of Roswell for his season 2 premiere of Unsolved Mysteries.
Marching Steps Addendum: Unintended Impacts of the Pink Pussy Hats
Perusing my Facebook feed this morning, I came across another post by Tamela J. Gordon, author of one of the critiques of pussy hats to which I linked in my last post. It’s titled “9 Things Other Women Who Love Pussy Hats More Than Black Women Say.” You should read it here.
Marching Steps: An Ever Evolving Journey in Showing Up for Change
A year ago, I tentatively stepped out of the yoga studio where I work in downtown Asheville and walked into a sea of pink hats (including mine), signs, and cheers. That morning, my mother expressed fear that I would be walking into some melee out of the 1999 WTO protests in Seattle.
Oversaturation: True-Crime Fatigue and Searching for That Spark
I didn’t think it was possible for me to reach true-crime fatigue, but I think it’s happened. (Note that this hasn’t stopped me from listening to true crime podcasts or watching true crime shows on YouTube in the slightest; I just do so half-heartedly, my attention wandering as if a fly keeps buzzing around the room.)
Current Music Obsession: 80s Grunge Band, Mother Love Bone, Apple
I’m listening to “This Is Shangri-La” [sic], the first song — and currently my favorite — on Apple, the debut and only album from the flicker of a shooting star that was the late-80’s Seattle glam-grunge band Mother Love Bone.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark: Ghosts Debut on Unsolved Mysteries
When we think of UM’s paranormal segments, the UFO stories are the most notorious. But the show began its lucrative (in the form of ratings) investment in the supernatural with ghosts.
What You Are About to See Is Not a News Broadcast: Unsolved Mysteries
I’m permanently scarred by Unsolved Mysteries, my favorite thing ever committed to film. I mean that literally: thanks to Unsolved Mysteries, I have a scar — a near-perfect circle above my left eyebrow.
Whole Infinity: Stupid Mistakes and Starting Over... and Over
My stomach aches, I’m a little nauseated, and I’m more than a bit depressed at the idea of starting my Whole 30 AIP over from scratch.
Ordered Eating, Whole 30 and Inflammatory Bowel Disease
When I returned from Camp Nerd Fitness in late September, I decided to “level up my life” and try the Whole 30 program, which has special rules, and may be especially beneficial, for people with Inflammatory Bowel Disease, like me.
Camp Nerd Fitness: An Unexpected and Strange New World
Three days ago, I returned home from Camp Nerd Fitness 2016, a 5-day gathering of self-selecting people who care about fitness and diet and who love various “nerdy” things from Star Wars and Lord of the Rings to video games and comics, and more.
Message Received: Long-Term Thoughts on a Shorthanded Shift
Ryan Callahan had a devastating shift tonight in the game against Winnipeg that showed exactly why he was named captain of the New York Rangers: when Callahan broke his stick on a shorthanded shift, he became a stick himself.
The Myth of the Shadow Dragon: A Short Story by Sara Murphy
Shadow Dragon is the name given to Yin Li, an orphan girl who appeared on the steps of the Southern Shaolin temple in the early years of the Tang Dynasty (around 700 AD).