why i run alone

This week, and in many ways bits of the past six months, have shown me how little I like to follow directions when I disagree with them. I believe, at least in print, that good leaders also know how to be good followers. Even in application, it has proved to be useful. [...]

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shakespeare, rowling, and the gre

Every few days, I make a list of about five GRE words that I’ve never heard before or have consistently used incorrectly. Most of them come out of my 500 word flashcard prep book, but some come from articles in the NYTimes Magazine or whatever else I’ve been reading.
I wish that Rowling had used some [...]

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a robert mccloskey week

The second time I went to Boston was the first time that I walked along the Charles River — past the hatchshell and the head of Arthur Fiedler and a very familiar bridge. I was there to examine the couture-priced halls of MIT, attend a conference, and visit my artistic aunt who had moved [...]

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here’s lookin’ at you kid

At half past four, the west side was full. People stood shoulder to shoulder, elbowing their neighbors three people deep, unfurling blankets and shaking them repeatedly. It was like an army of toreadors awaiting a bullfight. The pristine sea of green sat beckoning, but the police stood with their thumbs looped through [...]

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some men are islands

Regardless of what John Donne believed, I have tracked down a collection of men who are very much islands. These are often the men that I’m the most attracted to and I get frustrated when they limit my access to their islands. When I explain why I’m single, I attribute this to the [...]

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contemplating america

In a nation of exploding pipes, flooding tunnels, and collapsing bridges, the dominant bipedal species seems to have forgotten that, by definition, they have two legs. Though it may be uncomfortable to these long, sinuous limbs for transportation in extreme heat or over extended distances, it is not impossible. Technology has advanced us [...]

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is this the underbelly?

New York generally seems like a fresh, clean place considering the 8 million people who live here without alleyways to hide garbage and with tourists tromping about. I feel safe walking around most of it, especially in the daytime. The movies and television shows where people are abducted or injured or shot or [...]

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