The Cloffice

When we learned we were expecting another child, our first impulse was to have the young'uns share a room. We arrived at this decision partially because we figured it had been done by millions of others, but also because we'd run out of rooms. "We can always convert the office to another room if it …

American University Puts on its Dancing Shoes

Oh my. Does this mean people outside of the DC/New Jersey corridor will actually know where my alma mater is? "Wait, they won?" came the response from one friend after I sent a celebratory text message following the game. That reply sums up the past eight years, when American has flirted with a bid three …

How We Roll

I kept the inevitable at bay for two years. I'm proud of that record. Polar ice might have melted more slowly thanks to my diligence. That's all over now; last weekend we bought our first car. Renate has been ready since our first Chicago winter, and I have stalled like a champ. Trouble started brewing …

Turf Wars

In the naive days of our marriage, Renate and I purchased two rugs simply because we thought they'd look nice in our apartment. This morning I carried the first rug to the curb. Thirty minutes later it was gone, sucked up into a world of scavengers who might live with cats but long ago accepted …

Losing Weight

I keep "things" for years. I still have a beer bottle cap that was given special meaning at a college party. I have insurance statements for a car I shed five years ago. I've got concert wristbands. Credit card statements. Baseball ticket stubs. Seashells. Grad school loan payment coupon booklets. Postcards. Props from high school …