Let’s say you’re a woman. You’re with a male partner (long-term, short-term, very short-term…) and you’re feeling rather, erm, amorous. Having a baby may or may not be part of your bigger picture, but it’s definitely not what you’re looking for right now. So, what do you do? If you’ve planned in advance, perhaps you’re on the pill, or maybe you open the nearest drawer or...
If someone would have given me a dollar for each time that my name has been either mispronounced or misspelled over the years, suffice it to say that I wouldn’t have to toil away at a day job, and could instead be happily living out my life on my own private island somewhere. I’d have one of those trendy eco-friendly homes with the requisite outdoor shower and a wireless...
There was a little girl, wearing little shoes Searching high and low, looking for her muse It wasn’t in the house, or out behind the tree Not up in the mountains, and not down by the sea She sat upon a rock, and stared up at the sky Not knowing what to do, she then began to cry She couldn’t find her muse – it was nowhere to be found The harder that she searched, the more her...
Have you ever read a book that stirred something within you, a book that truly inspired you to act? Against the backdrop of the recent earthquake in Haiti, I found myself reading just such a book – “A Beginner’s Guide to Changing the World: For Tibet with Love“, by London-based writer Isabel Losada. Granted, it was recommended to me by the author herself, so...
I’ve been tagged by my fabulous Dublin-based friend Beth, who blogs over at Shenanigans. To be honest, with the way things have been going lately, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to come up with ten things that make me happy. Much to my surprise, I have. Rules: List 10 things that make you happy, then tag five bloggers who make your day that little bit better...
In the age of Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms, I daresay that most of us – if not all of us – have been there. You know what I’m talking about – virtual friendship. Those friends we make online, often through other friends, but not always. We interact with them on our profiles, we poke and get poked in return. We tag them in notes and we exchange 140...
It’s amazing how memories are frozen in your mind; how specific moments surrounding an incident are remembered so clearly. Eleven years ago tomorrow (January 20th), we lost our first son. While much of that time remains a blur, there are certain things I haven’t forgotten – random acts of kindness, random events, random thoughts that crossed my mind… Random acts of...
Roaring like a fire So intense the flame As fires prone to burning out It never stays the same People come and go Friendships lost and found They enter and they leave a mark Then leave without a sound That’s not to say it’s all for naught For each a lesson brings Of life and love and thoughts unknown And many wondrous things But still a twinge of sadness felt...
I look in the mirror, hoping to see A glimmer, a spark, of the things that you see Don’t think I’m so special – no more so than you It’s not who I am, it’s not what I do That isn’t to say I’m not ok with my lot Ever so grateful for all that I’ve got My talents and gifts, such as they are I never imagined they’d take me so far And that...
One day last winter, shortly after the Israeli military began attacking Gaza, I received an email from a producer at the BBC World Service. Someone there had found my blog, liked what they read, and wondered if I’d be interested in keeping a series of audio diary entries for a radio show called “The World Today“. The answer was, of course, yes. I blogged...