I laugh out loud in the strangest places. Yesterday, I was sitting alone in my local coffee shop hangout, reading an essay by David Sedaris, when the impulse overtook me. My initial attempt to stifle the laughter, fueled by a momentary concern of what others might think, gave way to audible laughter. And not a polite little chuckle, but an eye-watering, I-don’t-give-a-damn-who’s-watching, laughing fit. Yes, people stared at me. I didn't care. I laugh when I ride my Vespa. I laugh at ...

Let me get this out of the way: this post is biased. Biased because, well, it's my blog wherein I share my opinion, and dare I say expertise (I just did), on all manner of things and because I am of the particular persuasion of which I am about to write. So here goes: I haven't had a job in more than six years and I couldn't be happier. While people of this fair nation, from one end of the political spectrum to the other, worry about who will ...

Thursday night, July 23, 2010, at 11:15 p.m., in the company of friends and family, I said good-bye to the longest-term live-in companion I have known. Cradling my beautiful Persian cat, Murphy, in my lap, I made the difficult decision to let him pass from this realm to the next. The week leading up to his passing was exhausting for both of us. I took him to the vet—I think it was on Monday—where I awaited a diagnosis. He had lost a lot of weight, and his appetite, and the ...