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When I'm not here, you may find me wandering the pages below. (If I'm a regular visitor to your site and I've left your link off or mislinked to you, please let me know! And likewise, if you've blogrolled me, please check that my link is updated: thisroamanticlife.blogspot.com. The extra (a) makes all the difference!)

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For posts sorted by date or label, see the links below.

For posts on frequently referenced topics, click the buttons to the right.

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Body: in sickness and in health

I won't lie; this body and I have had our issues with each other for many years. Body image -- sure. Physical and mental overextension -- comes with being a Type A kind of girl. I still struggle with these things, so they show up from time to time in my writing.

More recently, illness, pure but not simple, has added itself to the mix in a multi-system sort of way. And the challenges in figuring out exactly what's gone wrong are many. As problems have revealed themselves in the last few years, beginning with reactive hypoglycemia in late 2008, I've documented them here, partly to gain a little clarity on managing complex conditions but mostly to give voice to vulnerabilities I feel but don't normally share with anyone face to face. Better out than in, they say, right? (Oh yes, humor is one way I deal.)

The links below cover the different angles I've examined (and from which I've been examined) within that experience.

Travel: neither here nor there

When the person you're married to lives two time zones away, you log a fair number of frequent flier miles. And if you blog about commuter relationships, you log quite a few posts en route too.

Since we're no longer in separate places, I blog less often from airports. But we do travel -- together now! -- which is much more fun to write about. So in addition to thoughts on our years of commuting, the links below cover the places we've been as a pair and, in some cases, the adventures that have happened on the way.

Writing: the long and short of it

Why do I do it? Good question. Maybe it's not so much that I like to write but that I have to write, even when the words refuse to stick to the page. Believe me, I've tried doing other things like majoring in biochemistry (freshman fall, many semesters ago). Within a year, I'd switched to English with a concentration in creative writing and wasn't looking back.

After graduating, I taught English for a few years and then worked as an editor, which I still do freelance. In 2007, I applied and got into an MFA program at a place I like to call Little U. on the Prairie. I finished my degree in 2011 and have been balancing tutoring and writing on my own ever since.

The following links cover the writing I've done about writing: process, content, obstacles, you name it. It's not always pretty. But some part of me loves it, even when it's hard. And this is the result.

Heart: family and friends

I'd have a hard time explaining who I am without being able to talk about the family I grew up in as well as the people I've met beyond its bounds. But even with such context, it's not easy! In the simplest terms, I'm a first-generation Asian-American who has spent most of this life caught between cultures. That, of course, doesn't even begin to describe what I mean to, but there's my first stab at the heart of it all.

That's what this group of posts is reserved for -- heart. The essential parts of my life whose influences I carry with me, for better or worse. The links below cover what I've written as I've learned how these forces work within me, for me, against me, in spite of me. They anchor me even as they change me, and they keep life interesting.

Recommended reading

What do I do when there's too much on my mind and my words won't stick to the page? I escape into someone else's thoughts. Below is a collection of books and articles that have been sources of information, inspiration, and occasional insight for my own work.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Flight plans

D is coming tomorrow -- or so we had planned.

The latest news on American and its FAA woes suggest that we might have some problems. Oh, inspections. Hopefully D's
flight(s) won't get canceled, but I just booked my tickets to go home at the end of the semester, and the planes for the leg between Seattle and Chicago are MD-80s (the type that have been pulled out of service in recent weeks). Not a good sign.

Since my Boston trip at the beginning of March, I've learned not to travel without basic, basic toiletries in my backpack. No need to traipse around with all the shampoo, conditioner, lotion, etc., but a toothbrush can make an unexpected overnight stranding more bearable. I had nothing on me when I got stuck at O'Hare and wasn't allowed to retrieve my checked bag. Fortunately, United put me up in a hotel that was able to provide everything. Thank goodness they picked up the tab too as it was the shortest stay I've probably ever had anywhere (5 hours)! And yes, it really is 5:19 a.m. in that photo.

We still have a ton of airline tickets to buy for this summer (five weddings to fit in before September, all on Eastern Time to boot). If I make it to Labor Day without getting delayed somewhere (or collapsing from travel fatigue), I will be amazed. August in particular is shaping up to look much like March, with cross-country trips every weekend. Mileage awards, here we come ...
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Thursday, April 10, 2008

Flight plans

D is coming tomorrow -- or so we had planned.

The latest news on American and its FAA woes suggest that we might have some problems. Oh, inspections. Hopefully D's
flight(s) won't get canceled, but I just booked my tickets to go home at the end of the semester, and the planes for the leg between Seattle and Chicago are MD-80s (the type that have been pulled out of service in recent weeks). Not a good sign.

Since my Boston trip at the beginning of March, I've learned not to travel without basic, basic toiletries in my backpack. No need to traipse around with all the shampoo, conditioner, lotion, etc., but a toothbrush can make an unexpected overnight stranding more bearable. I had nothing on me when I got stuck at O'Hare and wasn't allowed to retrieve my checked bag. Fortunately, United put me up in a hotel that was able to provide everything. Thank goodness they picked up the tab too as it was the shortest stay I've probably ever had anywhere (5 hours)! And yes, it really is 5:19 a.m. in that photo.

We still have a ton of airline tickets to buy for this summer (five weddings to fit in before September, all on Eastern Time to boot). If I make it to Labor Day without getting delayed somewhere (or collapsing from travel fatigue), I will be amazed. August in particular is shaping up to look much like March, with cross-country trips every weekend. Mileage awards, here we come ...
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