On New Houses

American houses – at least, the American houses I’ve lived in – are oddly laid out. There’s no entrance area, for a start. There’s the front door, and it opens directly out into the living area. I like a transition from outside to in – like a decompression chamber between the outside world to my …

On Narratives

I suspect, although I can’t prove it, that we’re the only species that tells each other stories. I’d love to imagine Mother Wolf telling the cubs tales of great hunts back in the day; one seagull entertaining another with anecdotes of his adventures in the annual migration; one mountain goat getting a cheap laugh among …

Snowpocalypse 2017

Every now and again here in Austin, we get a little snowfall. Sometimes it’s icy and therefore dangerous in a city where a light rain means a significant increase in traffic accidents. But mostly, it’s pretty white shapes drifting down and melting as soon as it hits a hard surface. And yet, still, the schools …

On Moving

Moving furniture for other people is some kind of rite of passage for a certain kind of college student around these parts. Often, when I was younger and helping someone move a couch, say, I’d think it was a viable career option for me. It was not. And now, as I head with increasing speed …