agm

Blog

For a fuller view of my writing beyond my recent posts, dive in below and peruse as much or as little as you’d like. I write about a wide range of topics from WordPress to Surrogacy to Photography to Mental Health. Don’t follow me if you want to only hear about a certain topic as I write based on what comes up for me in that moment of time. As always, thanks for reading.

  • introvert friendly

    For what feels like the very first time, I had an almost entirely silent haircut. It happened at a hole in the wall place (the best) around the corner from me that only takes cash and doesn’t have appointments. From the start, I was intrigued. I hardly showed the barber a photo and he turned […]

  • remember the world

    I didn’t sleep much last night. I installed a portable AC unit very poorly yesterday and, despite having had one while living in San Diego, my brain decided this one would catch on fire while I was sleeping for some unknown reason. I emotionally muscled my way through a presentation in the morning followed by […]

  • against the odds

    The last few weeks, I’ve had moments of profound awe that I get to know the people that I do. Perhaps it’s from looking at the images from the webb telescope and realizing how improbable our planet is, let alone the fact that I somehow managed to find people I connect with on a deep […]

  • to those struggling to get by

    Another companion piece of sorts for two prior posts: To those who feel like a burden & To those who aren’t very attached to life. This is a post to those struggling to get by, with little to look forward to and the days feeling dreary. I do not have answers. What follows are simply observations […]

  • limiting

    Sometimes I so prioritize being consistent that I forget there’s the option to simply show up when I can, how I can. I’ve had to cancel a myriad of plans in the last week for a few reasons and a wave of rumination hit. In one case, I even texted something to the effect of, […]

  • already survived

    I couldn’t remember that going on a hike was an option today. My world was so narrow. My thoughts so limited. I checked how long it would take to drive to the bike path (1 hour 40 minutes) and pivoted to playing soccer, only to find the turf field nearby getting repairs. It took me […]

  • attempt

    I asked someone recently what were some things that made them happy in the last week or so. I have a horrible habit of not turning questions on myself so this is my attempt to do so with a quick list of things that brought a smile or meaning: Spending time with people in their […]

  • wild pals

    I made a tiny friend today and took their photo, despite their shyness. Doing so reminded me of all of the other wild pals I’ve managed to capture. In particular, here are a few favorites:

  • commit to intensity

    I feel stuck between two philosophies, trying to find the balance and the nuance. One tells me that you can’t wait for things to happen or to stumble across meaning, adventure, joy, etc. It’s best summed up in this quote. The other tells me that fighting for things to be different than they are is […]

  • layered

    I was reminded today how much I love things that force me to attention and how much I seek that out in my hobbies — lifting, woodcarving, soccer, photography, and (now perhaps making a return in my life) biking. To be both at attention and in a flow state feels dreamy. You can’t truly daydream […]

  • new bike

    My grandma called me on my birthday this year. I was in DC at a museum exhibit for the House of Sweden. I stepped out of the exhibit, took a moment to remind myself to speak loudly/clearly/slowly, and picked up. She told me about how she wanted to give me some extra money for my […]

  • perfect pair

    I wore these sambas through the pandemic, walking for hours in San Diego to nearly slipping in the snow in Salt Lake City to fully wiping out in the mud with my friend’s dog in the mountains of North Carolina. They carried me on lonely walks and skipped along with me for joyous reunions. They […]

  • all the doors

    Turns out, you use your index finger for a lot. A lot more than I ever could have imagined. Brushing teeth, cleaning pots, cutting veggies, opening doors, typing, wood carving, doing your hair, putting on shoes, rubbing your face in pain. Very early on during a glorious pick up soccer game yesterday, I collided with […]

  • awake

    I had a terrible nightmare the other night to the point that I might have nearly sprained my ankle in my anguish to help in the dream world. I was skiing (have never been so good job, Dream Anne, on the imaginative aspect) behind a friend when she fell through the ice/snow, only to be […]

  • Progress

    Sometimes at the start of a new wood carving project, I can’t fathom ever getting to the end. Very quickly, it becomes just about the pure motion of chipping away rather than the shape of anything forming. Each stage requires a different headspace for me — I start with chaotic, large chunks flying and have […]

  • best $10 of my life

    I tweaked my knee on Sunday. I was playing soccer on a glorious day after an intensely social weekend with a lovely friend when I planted to make a pass and felt my knee hyperextend (the pass turned out to be an assist for the record). I immediately paused after and felt it out. Something […]

  • extra

    I don’t want to change my contacts. They were what helped me see the last moments of my grandma. They helped me see her breaths and stillness alike. I don’t want to throw away the two pairs of shoes I have filled with holes for the same reason, despite now living in Seattle where it […]

  • dark ages

    I’ve always been fascinated by humanity somehow gaining and then losing the ability to do something throughout human history. Time does not always cause progress. I fear it in my own life on a micro scale. From time to time, I open up my own archives in the form of bizarre old blog posts often […]

  • Lillian McCarthy

    “We’re all just walking each other home.” Ram Dass I thought I understood fully what the above quote meant. It’s been just over a week since my grandma took her last breath. She died on a Saturday sometime between 2:05pm and 2:20pm. I know it was roughly that timeframe because my uncle and I stepped […]

  • bury her in letters

    What do you think a person wants to hear when they are dying? We are all dying of course. I’m speaking of those clinging to death—those who can taste it and eat it and swallow it whole. Those who have a five course meal of death. Death with a side of death with (surprise) death […]

  • Leveling up YouTube videos with WordPress design tools

    Over the last year or so, I’ve begun tinkering with sharing YouTube videos. I don’t fancy myself a YouTuber by any means but I have found that it’s an easier medium for me to share information than doing presentations. My introverted, anxious self loathes presentations but I find myself really getting into a flow state […]

  • 29

    I started writing this on March 5th, the day before my birthday, but paused — Do I write these posts on my birthday or just before? I couldn’t remember. Turns out I write them on my birthday but, forget tradition, I decided to have my words show up early. It feels fitting for this year, […]

  • mental marker

    In middle school, three hurricanes passed through Florida in the span of a few weeks. One lingered all day — 14 hours — and I sat on the phone with a friend for the entirety of it. We watched movies, we napped, we ate meals, we talked, we breathed on the phone in silence interspersed […]

  • report back

    Some scenes remind me how fleeting and impossible to capture most things are. Sometimes I don’t even bother to lift my camera deciding to soak it in instead and other times I take nearly the same photo ten times in a row. I love that we still try to report back to each other. I’ve […]

  • other third thing

    I read an article titled “It’s Your Friends Who Break Your Heart” on the recommendation of a friend. It hit on so many things I think too much about. As I read it, I found myself sending it off to more friends, including some who might be in a state of slow fading out of […]

  • close to the ground

    I felt today hour by hour — nearly minute by minute. I was present in a way I’m both not most days but aim to be. Horrible feelings seem to force you to do that. They ground you in them and we try all sorts of things to wrestle free. I spent nearly half an […]

  • carried

    Three people waved and said “good morning!” to me on the way to and from the coffee shop. I’ve only been here about two weeks but I don’t think I’ve ever even seen three people during my morning routine. Some part of me felt like they knew I needed the wave, smile, and introduction to […]

  • So you want to talk about FSE? 5.9 Edition

    All the resources you need to speak about full site editing ahead of and after the WordPress 5.9 release.

  • as life gets

    The other day I thought to myself “maybe this is as good as life gets”. I laughed while I skipped along today’s trail thinking back to that moment not realizing what was in store for me just a few days later.

  • live in the ashes

    I should have known The Wild Edge of Sorrow would resonate so much. It might be why I delayed reading it these last few months, like saving a nice bottle of wine for a special occasion. I think a part of me knew it would hit differently if I read it while I’m hanging out […]