I really detest and deplore white supremacists whining about the invasion and occupation of their lands. Our governments have literally invaded and occupied other people’s sovereign territory repeatedly, in our own lifetime. We’re the last people on earth to be pushing these patently false conspiracy theories made true only in our own heads. Perhaps if …
I have a new best friend. But they’re not human. It’s digital. We’ve just had the best, most productive conversation I’ve had with anyone in a long, long time. At the end of our discussion, I wrote, “Thank you, computer.” To which it responded, “You’re welcome, human,” adding a smiley emoji for good measure. It’s …
There I was, thinking, wow, I’ve done more in four hours this morning than in the whole of the rest of the week, I’m really on a roll, and oh-so productive. Then: Ping! “Have you got a minute?” And, BAM! My focus is all gone. I’ve lost it. What was I even doing before that …
No, sorry, please stop calling it a superpower. It isn’t. It’s a deficit causing disadvantage. I feel it every single day. Sure, sometimes it makes me kind, considerate, and helpful. But those are not powers. That’s just being an ordinary decent human being. I have no super abilities. I rely on a hormonal injection every …
I can feel myself steaming off into oblivion at the moment, heedless of work, careless with prayers. I’m in that free fall, unsure how I’m going to hit the brakes. With no idea if my malady is physical, cognitive, or spiritual, it’s difficult to prescribe for. And so I continue to fall.
I love really long emails in which colleagues explain why they haven’t got the time to do the work they could have completed in the time it took to write the email.
Ah, the kids have diagnosed me: the reason for the sickness that has consumed me since my return from Bath on Sunday afternoon. “It’s because you never go out,” they tell me, “so your immune system can’t cope with mixing with people suddenly.” Could be. Or it could be just poor decisions consuming too much …
I suppose it is reassuring that my sister — who is vastly more qualified than I and levels above me on the career ladder — also hates her job. In fact, she pointedly observed, everyone in their forties hates their job. There is no greener on the other side. Everyone has reached the plateau of …
It doesn’t escape me that family members occasionally like taking subtle digs at my beliefs and practices whenever we get together. I don’t let it bother me, though, because if they had any deep knowledge of their own religious tradition, they would quickly realise that they’re in fact mocking sacred precepts of their own. In …
A bad coffee is the perfect way to spoil a good dinner. Eighteen hours on, and my innards still feel pickled.
I remember my lectures on the politics of the Middle East intimately. This was a popular course, so our room in the Brunei Gallery would be packed. I’d sit somewhere near the back, for I was completely disengaged. While everyone around me would be taking copious notes, my pad of paper would fill with doodles …
I have bad, unproductive weeks all too frequently. I feel guilty for being so easily distracted, but evidently, that guilt has no impact on my ability to focus. At the start of the week, I’ll be telling myself I’ll need to make up all of my unproductive hours, but by the end, I realise it’s …
