Common to many a YA novel is a male love interest who’s dark and mysterious and in a position of power. At its most extreme, he’s dark, mysterious and cruel. At its most tame, he’s dark, mysterious and a bit of a loner. Somewhere in the middle, he’s dark, mysterious and troubled. Getting the vibe? Continue reading Teenage girls and their bad boys
One my favourite simple pleasures in life is rediscovering songs from the 90s – and in particular, the one-hit wonders. My most recent nostalgia hit is Pinch Me by the Barenaked Ladies. Remember them? Yeah!
Ten years ago to the day, I posted this brief status update to Facebook (in the third person – I guess that’s how we did it back in the olden days).
Intriguing! So … what was my youth all about again? Continue reading Pinch yourself and hit send
I’ve always thought of myself as a beta kinda gal. Even as a child, it was mostly my younger sister who spearheaded our games and playing.
I was 26 the first time anybody told me I had demonstrated leadership. Continue reading The seed to lead: reflections of a beta girl
I’m halfway through my commitment to match my charitable giving with my alcohol spending.
See how much I’ve paid for booze so far. And see which charities are going to be better off for it! Continue reading Half-time: the benefits of alcohol
I’ve always been a cynic. From the time I was in primary school hearing about French nuclear testing in the Pacific, Aung San Suu Kyi being put under house arrest and the Monica Lewinsky scandal, I didn’t have much faith in people.
Strangely enough, this dark view of the world eventually led me to Jesus, my hope. So now I am this walking paradox, being both a cynic and an optimist.
Two weeks ago, I blogged about democracy and the need for greater participation. On Monday, a bunch of us put that into practice by meeting with over a hundred senators and members of parliament in one day. Continue reading The cynical optimist
I crossed paths with the topic of computer games a surprising number of times in this week just past. I dabble in gaming but there is a very vocal part of me which can’t justify all those hours spent in front of a screen. A bit now and then to switch off and relax, for a bit of distraction, is fine. But anything more is … Continue reading Gaming for a greater good
Since I was a teenager, I’ve wrestled with the complicated truth that when you try to be different and stand out from the crowd, you invariably end up being like everybody else who wants to be different and stand out from the crowd. A few articles I’ve stumbled across lately have reminded me of this. The first two follow a currently trendy blog style (“Don’t … Continue reading Okay, you’ve put me in a box
