For the 2014-15 academic year, my title will be “Visiting Assistant Teaching Professor of Business Communication.” Reading this long title on my contract, I considered how labels and titles, beyond “disabled” and whatnot, shape how people view us. And so, an analysis: Visiting: not expected to remain; a guest; a…
Tag: writing
Until the last year or so, I fought insomnia on a weekly, even nightly, basis. Stumbling into a regular sleep schedule for the last year has been nice. And now it seems to have ended. I’m back to a shifted, annoying, non-sleep schedule. I’ve tried wine, coffee (yes, it puts…
The Autism Hub is the best guide to autism blogs on the Internet. However, it is primarily a way to track the latest posting and topics on blogs. It is not really meant to discuss the nature of blogging or the technology challenges. To help autism bloggers keep in touch…
I officially completed my Ph.D in May, meaning I’m far from joining the “long-term unemployed” statistically. The problem is that I have been unemployed off and on since leaving my undergraduate program at the end of 1990. Writing is an on-going project, certainly, but actual jobs have come and gone.…
I have a long list of things I want to organize. The list dates back to the late 1990s, as some collections never stop expanded. Some of the items I’m trying to organize: Books. Most are shelved by topic and author while others remain in boxes. Books are entered into…
Earlier today someone asked, “Do you really write 100 pages or more a month?” Absolutely. I cannot imagine any serious prose or dramatic writer produces fewer than 15,000 words a month and much closer to 25,000. Most of what I write is for myself, but a substantial amount is intended…
This morning I awoke to Mimi and Alex purring next to me. It is overcast, which I like, and cool. As I was doing the dishes, I thought about how fortunate we are right now. We have a house, incomplete as it is, the yard is looking much better this…
I was watching a television spot that included the line, “She still has hope an employer will call.” Hope is passive. It should never be the only approach to a problem. Hope is not a strategy. I understand the role of hope and optimism. Every time I send a portfolio…
I wander. My original destination is not completely forgotten, but I end up taking a circuitous route. I wander on the page and in my mind. I wander in the physical world, too. My wife complains that when we go anywhere, there’s always the chance I’ll wander away the moment I…
Once I earn my degree and escape Minnesota, I am going to do every thing I can to reset myself and my path in life. Since elementary school, I have wanted to be a full-time writer. While I am interested in different forms, from reporting to dramatic writing, I always…