Tag: Observation

• Self-Inflicted and Poorly Supervised

  May 24

  I know I don’t need caffeine. That’s the first honest thing I write today, and I almost want to stop there because it already sounds like the kind of sentence… more ›

• The Fine Art of Holding a Grudge

  May 24

  When we were kids, grudges lasted about six minutes.Someone stole your crayon, you cried, your mom intervened, and ten minutes later you were both eating the same bag of chips… more ›

• If Only For A Moment…

  May 11

  On Sunday, Mother’s Day, during the second hour of a four-hour gig, something extraordinary happened. As I stood beneath a tree playing my trumpet, a hummingbird suddenly appeared. It circled… more ›

• The Discipline of Presence

  May 6

  I said this to a group of colleagues the other day. We were talking about the apparent apathy we see in students—and in many adults. “Failing to show up is… more ›

• Mirror, Mirror on My Desk…

  May 6

  We spend a lot of time looking outward. At expectations. At what other people are doing, saying, or thinking. We compare, we react, we adjust. Most of our day is… more ›

• Watching Things Become

  Apr 29

  I stopped by our high school’s main campus today. It wasn’t anything formal—just a few quiet minutes between responsibilities. Long enough to stand off to the side and watch the… more ›

• Alone at the Happiest Place on Earth

  Apr 25

  Most people would say the Disneyland Resort isn’t a place you go alone.That doing so feels equal parts pathetic and depressing. And maybe… on paper, it is. But I did… more ›

• Little-Known Facts About Me

  Apr 8

  If you look back long enough, you start to notice the strange little things that were always there. Not the big milestones. Not the obvious moments. The quieter details— the… more ›

• Pieces of Eight

  Apr 5

  Education has been my formal career for the last twenty-seven years—but teaching? That’s something I’ve been doing since.. geez I can’t even remember. Coaching, community art classes, day camps… if… more ›

• Like Buttered Toast With Jelly and Coffee In The Morning 

  Apr 5

  Sometimes, in my early morning musing with my coffee, I get philosophical.  That sometimes makes me want to kick my own ass.  I mean, why am I complicating a beautiful… more ›

• No Schedule, Just Sunlight and Shortcuts to Nowhere

  Apr 4

  I grew up in the 70s and 80s, in a city that felt like it was still learning its own edges. Streets weren’t lined with development yet, and blank spaces—lots… more ›

• Stories from the Edges

  Apr 3

  On moments that were never meant to be noticed… but never forgotten. We take photos for a lot of reasons.  To remember. To hold onto something before it slips away.… more ›

• Throwing Words Into the Wind

  Apr 1

  Let me tell you a story…something I learned about myself, and only fully recently acknowledged. This won’t be a confession of weakness, nor a tale of courage or inner strength.… more ›

• Out of the Dark to Find Me Again

  Mar 24

  So last night, I had a realization. Not one of those cinematic, lightning-strikes-the-soul kind of realizations. No dramatic music, no sudden gasp into the void. More like… sitting there, minding… more ›

• A Little Bit of Us in Everything

  Mar 23

  I saw this quote today, and it resonated with me deeply:“We are writers, my love. We don’t cry. We bleed on paper.”I have no idea who wrote it, but it… more ›