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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.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Process vs. outcome

Just to show that personality tests can be a source of interesting contradictions, let me direct you to these results from another quiz I came across. Apparently, on the spectrum of famous female icons, I rate as a Marilyn Monroe. I won't quote at length about what that entails -- see the profile for all the specifics -- but I will say that despite my more "masculine" brain, I definitely experience the "constant push and pull involved in trying to make up my mind" and "procrastinating because of fear of failure" that they mention. More often than I'd like! Well, I guess the previous quiz wasn't testing for how I came to my decisions ...

Speaking of choices, if you're ever wondering whether to use low-fat cheese instead of the full-fat kind in soups that call for them, don't skimp. I had my first not-so-great results from a recipe I tried last night for a cauliflower-cheddar soup. After you've puréed the cauliflower (enhanced with onions and fresh garlic), you're supposed to add the cheese and let it melt into the broth and vegetables. Low-fat cheese -- as recommended by the cookbook I got this out of -- doesn't quite melt into those gooey ribbons of comforting deliciousness you expect. It curdles, or something like it. Don't get me wrong; it's entirely edible and tastes absolutely fine. But it looks a lot less palatable. Oh well, something to remember for next time.

Four days and then Seattle! D and I are trying to make plans for our little weekend. We have a Netflix movie all lined up for delivery and a small craft project we want to work on -- we're making something that's a combination Christmas and birthday gift for me, and the first part we need has arrived. Pictures to come, of course.

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2 comments:

French Fancy... said...

Oh I wonder what sort of birthday project you are both going to be working on. 'Both' - doesn't that have a nice ring to it.

I really liked that BBC quiz you linked to the other day - I'll try this other one when I need to relax my brain a bit tomorrow

February 2, 2009 at 12:05 PM
This Ro(a)mantic Life said...

Yes, those quizzes are a fun diversion -- D took it too and is squarely in the average range for "masculine" brains. He was pleased.

February 4, 2009 at 11:12 AM

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Sunday, February 1, 2009

Process vs. outcome

Just to show that personality tests can be a source of interesting contradictions, let me direct you to these results from another quiz I came across. Apparently, on the spectrum of famous female icons, I rate as a Marilyn Monroe. I won't quote at length about what that entails -- see the profile for all the specifics -- but I will say that despite my more "masculine" brain, I definitely experience the "constant push and pull involved in trying to make up my mind" and "procrastinating because of fear of failure" that they mention. More often than I'd like! Well, I guess the previous quiz wasn't testing for how I came to my decisions ...

Speaking of choices, if you're ever wondering whether to use low-fat cheese instead of the full-fat kind in soups that call for them, don't skimp. I had my first not-so-great results from a recipe I tried last night for a cauliflower-cheddar soup. After you've puréed the cauliflower (enhanced with onions and fresh garlic), you're supposed to add the cheese and let it melt into the broth and vegetables. Low-fat cheese -- as recommended by the cookbook I got this out of -- doesn't quite melt into those gooey ribbons of comforting deliciousness you expect. It curdles, or something like it. Don't get me wrong; it's entirely edible and tastes absolutely fine. But it looks a lot less palatable. Oh well, something to remember for next time.

Four days and then Seattle! D and I are trying to make plans for our little weekend. We have a Netflix movie all lined up for delivery and a small craft project we want to work on -- we're making something that's a combination Christmas and birthday gift for me, and the first part we need has arrived. Pictures to come, of course.

Posted by This Ro(a)mantic Life at 4:20 PM
Labels: , , ,

2 comments:

French Fancy... said...

Oh I wonder what sort of birthday project you are both going to be working on. 'Both' - doesn't that have a nice ring to it.

I really liked that BBC quiz you linked to the other day - I'll try this other one when I need to relax my brain a bit tomorrow

February 2, 2009 at 12:05 PM
This Ro(a)mantic Life said...

Yes, those quizzes are a fun diversion -- D took it too and is squarely in the average range for "masculine" brains. He was pleased.

February 4, 2009 at 11:12 AM

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