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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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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.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

On growth

The weekend, at last. It was so good to sleep in and not have to rush around this morning. I took quite a schedule-beating over the last few days -- but it was worth it to get my students situated well for the next few weeks.

Office hours were very good. Everyone came in with interesting paper ideas, and helping people narrow down the things they wanted to focus on in their analyses from the get-go felt rewarding. This will hopefully prevent eleventh-hour panic and students' turning in shoddy work. People seemed appreciative too of the individual time to check in with me, and I got to have some one-on-one conversations with students who are shyer in front of the class. All in all, a good investment of time.

It is such a surprise to me how different this teaching experience has been so far at Little U. on the Prairie, compared to my last stint in New York. Of course, I'm teaching a totally different age group, but I think it's also got something to do with just having had those extra two years under my belt. It gives me some kind of reassurance that I know what I'm doing (at least, with the basics of classroom management, lesson planning, grading, etc.). And that makes a difference in how comfortable I feel in front of my students -- the end result being that I'm more relaxed and therefore more approachable when students need help.

All this is to say that I think I really want to make this some part of my career when I get done here. I never thought I would say that or know that with any amount of conviction, but I think my last year here (writing without teaching) contrasted with just these first few weeks back on campus (writing and teaching) has made it clear to me: teaching is where I'm happier using my creativity. It doesn't mean I won't keep on writing. It just means that I don't want to be on a career path that requires me to pump stuff out for the sake of having publications. I'd rather write when the desire seizes me and channel most of my energy into the classroom. I get such a high from having a class go well, watching students respond to something I've designed to help them engage with what we're studying. It's a first for me. I almost can't believe I'm saying that, after so many years of not knowing what would fulfill me, but this is it. This is what makes me happy. Or at least, it's the beginning of something toward that end.

D finally sent me a picture of our irises, which we intend to plant in the ground when we get our first house. Right now, they're thriving in their pots. Here's a shot from the week I left for school (mid-August):


And here's how tall they are now:


Ah, May. It won't be here for a while, but it's so much closer than it was last year. I can almost taste it.
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Saturday, September 20, 2008

On growth

The weekend, at last. It was so good to sleep in and not have to rush around this morning. I took quite a schedule-beating over the last few days -- but it was worth it to get my students situated well for the next few weeks.

Office hours were very good. Everyone came in with interesting paper ideas, and helping people narrow down the things they wanted to focus on in their analyses from the get-go felt rewarding. This will hopefully prevent eleventh-hour panic and students' turning in shoddy work. People seemed appreciative too of the individual time to check in with me, and I got to have some one-on-one conversations with students who are shyer in front of the class. All in all, a good investment of time.

It is such a surprise to me how different this teaching experience has been so far at Little U. on the Prairie, compared to my last stint in New York. Of course, I'm teaching a totally different age group, but I think it's also got something to do with just having had those extra two years under my belt. It gives me some kind of reassurance that I know what I'm doing (at least, with the basics of classroom management, lesson planning, grading, etc.). And that makes a difference in how comfortable I feel in front of my students -- the end result being that I'm more relaxed and therefore more approachable when students need help.

All this is to say that I think I really want to make this some part of my career when I get done here. I never thought I would say that or know that with any amount of conviction, but I think my last year here (writing without teaching) contrasted with just these first few weeks back on campus (writing and teaching) has made it clear to me: teaching is where I'm happier using my creativity. It doesn't mean I won't keep on writing. It just means that I don't want to be on a career path that requires me to pump stuff out for the sake of having publications. I'd rather write when the desire seizes me and channel most of my energy into the classroom. I get such a high from having a class go well, watching students respond to something I've designed to help them engage with what we're studying. It's a first for me. I almost can't believe I'm saying that, after so many years of not knowing what would fulfill me, but this is it. This is what makes me happy. Or at least, it's the beginning of something toward that end.

D finally sent me a picture of our irises, which we intend to plant in the ground when we get our first house. Right now, they're thriving in their pots. Here's a shot from the week I left for school (mid-August):


And here's how tall they are now:


Ah, May. It won't be here for a while, but it's so much closer than it was last year. I can almost taste it.
Posted by This Ro(a)mantic Life at 10:50 AM
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