Category - Moments

A Reason to Keep Blogging
Moments

A Reason to Keep Blogging

I've been writing MadeByMark.com posts for almost six years. Lately, I've been thinking it's time to wrap things up. I took the past week off, in fact, with an eye toward closing up shop. Some of my reasons for moving on include: - The pressure of...

July 5, 2006
6 comments
12 views
3 min read
Bird on a Wire
Moments

Bird on a Wire

Between thunderstorms, I take Chelsea for a Friday evening walk. The southern sky still grumbles, and ragged lightning still flickers off to the east. Chelsea doesn't care. The previous hour's storm has erased most of the really good scents from the...

June 24, 2006
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2 min read
In the Stars
Moments

In the Stars

I started a study of astrology today. Most people are surprised to learn that someone who works so intimately with Tarot doesn't know beans about astrology. Fact is, while I've got what I'd call a "basic astrological vocabulary" and can recognize...

June 21, 2006
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2 min read
The Healing Heart
MomentsSpirituality

The Healing Heart

I'm in Birmingham, at a hospital, where my mother's long-time companion is undergoing cancer surgery. Yesterday, Mom called to read off a roster of the other people who will join us in the waiting room, including my brother, a friend of my father's...

June 7, 2006
5 comments
15 views
4 min read
Fourteen
MomentsTravel

Fourteen

With two good friends in tow, we're off to Vancouver to celebrate our fourteenth anniversary. This is our first trip to Vancouver, where stunning sights await around every corner: the water, the mountains, the clouds boiling up out of the Pacific...

May 27, 2006
1 comment
17 views
2 min read
Garden Sunday
Moments

Garden Sunday

Clyde and I hate yard work. Even when we lived in a house with a rambling backyard garden, our major contribution to its upkeep was to hire Yard Man. I don't know what came over us yesterday, then -- Spring Fever, maybe? -- but we found ourselves in...

April 24, 2006
1 comment
26 views
1 min read
Getting Unspeakable Things Done
MomentsWriting

Getting Unspeakable Things Done

What follows is not for the faint of heart. If you're already a little queasy, turn back now. Still with me? Okay, good. This past weekend, I found myself in the bathroom, facing an indelicate dilemma. I should point out, before telling you anything...

April 17, 2006
6 comments
28 views
3 min read
Weight-Loss by Ear Stapling?
Moments

Weight-Loss by Ear Stapling?

Everyone from chiropractors to registered nurses is touting ear stapling as the be-all, end-all New Age weight-loss strategy. Plug your ear with one staple, the story goes, and the fat slides off you like butter on top of a hot yeast roll...

April 4, 2006
16 comments
731 views
2 min read
Avoiding Procrastination
Moments

Avoiding Procrastination

This simple, straightforward article from California Polytechnic State University explores why we procrastinate and provides tips for avoiding procrastination.

April 2, 2006
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1 min read
Gay Marriage: A Change of Heart
MomentsSoapbox

Gay Marriage: A Change of Heart

In two months, Clyde and I will celebrate our fourteenth anniversary. Back when we celebrated our first decade together, I said to my mother, "Clyde and I just celebrated our tenth anniversary!" Mother scowled. "The tenth anniversary of what?" Her...

March 25, 2006
5 comments
16 views
4 min read