Blogroll

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.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Frames of reference

We've been busy this week! D seems to have caught some of my enthusiasm, and he's joined me in the quest to make his office turned walk-in closet back into an office. All the random papers formerly piled up on the desk, chairs, and floor have been filed away; the actual closet's contents have been rearranged and consolidated so the door can be opened and closed; D's art has been framed and mounted on the walls; and a floor lamp has been moved in so the room can have more light. Now D can't help walking in every day after work just to enjoy his new space. There are a few last things that need different homes, but beyond that, the office is complete. Unbelievable.

Our reorganization unearthed some items that have turned into fun little additions elsewhere in our apartment. First, our former Texas license plate (I've blurred out the identifying information):


I work out on this elliptical every day when I'm here -- I originally bought it when I moved to the Lone Star State to be with D back in 2005. Seemed like an appropriate place to display our old plate with all the mileage this machine has racked up since then. It practically needs a name now that it has its own tags.

Next, something a bit naughtier but hopefully amusing. The background: a local frame shop was having a sale (buy one frame, get the second of equal or lesser value for a penny), so we picked up this little cream model when we were getting others for D's art. We had no plans for it -- I just thought it was cute. Then D found a coaster in the office that he'd brought back from a conference a while ago. It was a perfect fit.


Now where to hang it? Well, our guests inevitably have to ask us where the bathroom is as it's not obvious from the long hallway that comes off our living room. What better place to put a sign that says this?


Okay, no more bad jokes today, I promise. Our next exhibit on the tour brings us to the bedroom:


What, you don't know what you're supposed to be looking at? Good! We took a giant piece of whiteboard from the office (no room for it) and turned the white side to the wall, leaving the conveniently mahogany colored backing facing out. It's now our trompe l'oeil headboard until we're ready to buy real bedroom furniture.


Lastly, my favorite project, which was finally made possible once I could access the printer in the office: pictures for our photo coasters. You may recognize some of them from earlier posts or the slideshow in the sidebar.



We took all of the shots ourselves, and they can be changed to suit the season. For now, we have the Seattle and Puget Sound set (top) and the botanical garden flowers set (bottom).

We've also been hard at work in the kitchen testing some new recipes, but I'll save that for another post. Time to add more miles to the Texas steed ...

4 comments:

medieval woman said...

Those coasters are so pretty! And we have almost the exact same bedding as you!

Such a crafty one... ;)

This Ro(a)mantic Life said...

Hooray for Tarzhay! (i.e., Target; that's where the bedding came from.) We love a bargain.

French Fancy... said...

I loved this post - it's great seeing blogger's spaces.

It's always so daunting the thought of clearing out a messy room but isn't it great when it's done - and all the things you were then able to display proved it was worth it.

I love the photo coasters.

medieval woman said...

Just gave you an inspiration award on my blog!

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Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Frames of reference

We've been busy this week! D seems to have caught some of my enthusiasm, and he's joined me in the quest to make his office turned walk-in closet back into an office. All the random papers formerly piled up on the desk, chairs, and floor have been filed away; the actual closet's contents have been rearranged and consolidated so the door can be opened and closed; D's art has been framed and mounted on the walls; and a floor lamp has been moved in so the room can have more light. Now D can't help walking in every day after work just to enjoy his new space. There are a few last things that need different homes, but beyond that, the office is complete. Unbelievable.

Our reorganization unearthed some items that have turned into fun little additions elsewhere in our apartment. First, our former Texas license plate (I've blurred out the identifying information):


I work out on this elliptical every day when I'm here -- I originally bought it when I moved to the Lone Star State to be with D back in 2005. Seemed like an appropriate place to display our old plate with all the mileage this machine has racked up since then. It practically needs a name now that it has its own tags.

Next, something a bit naughtier but hopefully amusing. The background: a local frame shop was having a sale (buy one frame, get the second of equal or lesser value for a penny), so we picked up this little cream model when we were getting others for D's art. We had no plans for it -- I just thought it was cute. Then D found a coaster in the office that he'd brought back from a conference a while ago. It was a perfect fit.


Now where to hang it? Well, our guests inevitably have to ask us where the bathroom is as it's not obvious from the long hallway that comes off our living room. What better place to put a sign that says this?


Okay, no more bad jokes today, I promise. Our next exhibit on the tour brings us to the bedroom:


What, you don't know what you're supposed to be looking at? Good! We took a giant piece of whiteboard from the office (no room for it) and turned the white side to the wall, leaving the conveniently mahogany colored backing facing out. It's now our trompe l'oeil headboard until we're ready to buy real bedroom furniture.


Lastly, my favorite project, which was finally made possible once I could access the printer in the office: pictures for our photo coasters. You may recognize some of them from earlier posts or the slideshow in the sidebar.



We took all of the shots ourselves, and they can be changed to suit the season. For now, we have the Seattle and Puget Sound set (top) and the botanical garden flowers set (bottom).

We've also been hard at work in the kitchen testing some new recipes, but I'll save that for another post. Time to add more miles to the Texas steed ...

4 comments:

medieval woman said...

Those coasters are so pretty! And we have almost the exact same bedding as you!

Such a crafty one... ;)

This Ro(a)mantic Life said...

Hooray for Tarzhay! (i.e., Target; that's where the bedding came from.) We love a bargain.

French Fancy... said...

I loved this post - it's great seeing blogger's spaces.

It's always so daunting the thought of clearing out a messy room but isn't it great when it's done - and all the things you were then able to display proved it was worth it.

I love the photo coasters.

medieval woman said...

Just gave you an inspiration award on my blog!