Our lives continue to be normal middle-class suburban lives. We sometimes feel that there’s too much happening, but then I listen to other couples and friends and realize how rather routine and uncomplicated our daily routines are.<\/p>\n
Many of my friends and neighbors are returning to school in their 30s and 40s. The job market, improving slowly, requires more and more educational achievement to advance. For me, this means considering an MFA<\/a> in Film and Digital Technology<\/strong> to add to my existing MA and PhD.<\/a> My struggles in the academic job market are not only about autism or disability, though there is an element of \u201cYou don\u2019t conform to our norms.\u201d The academic job market is badly broken.<\/p>\n Our house still needs some work, and there are things I like to change. Again, many of our neighbors who have been in this new development for as long as we have don’t have every box unpacked or every room painted. Apparently, it takes more than four years to move into a new house.<\/p>\n I’m writing and editing a lot for myself and clients. Again, that’s what all freelance writers do. My work isn’t special and my efforts to keep writing and bringing in money aren’t unique. That’s what writers do.<\/p>\n My wife is preparing for one of her trips back to the headquarters of her employer. Again, welcome to normalcy in the middle class. I don’t like it when she is gone and I worry about our little orange tabby cat<\/a><\/strong>. He’s old and slow and not eating as much as we’d like. Normal issues.<\/p>\n If you want me to write about something, especially a question you might have, you can contact me on Twitter or Facebook.<\/p>\n Most private questions are about relationship, sexuality, employment, and education. In that order, roughly. I used to believe that order reflected odd priorities, but it turns out that the parents, educators, and disabled people<\/a> emailing me want connections first, followed by good jobs. Education relates to having a stable career.<\/p>\n Let me know what might help visitors. Or what might be interesting to read.<\/p>\n Normal is okay.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Our lives continue to be normal middle-class suburban lives. We sometimes feel that there’s too much happening, but then I listen to other couples and friends and realize how rather routine and uncomplicated our daily routines are. Many of my friends and neighbors are returning to school in their 30s…<\/p>\n\n