July 3, 2026

My poem "Gills" has been published in the second issue of The Veena, "Healing Waters."

  

June 7, 2026

The end of a long, joyful day at Pittsburgh Pride. My knees still aren't speaking to me after I danced thru most of the parade, but my heart is full. Let your love be loud.

 

May 31, 2026

I was flattered to be asked by the organizers of my college class' 40th reunion to read a poem for the dedication of a new tree and bench on the campus. Though I still think "The Inclusivity Tree" is kind of a stupid title, it captures the gist of the piece, which uses my own story as an example of why inclusivity at institutions of higher learning is so important—how it can not only promote growth, but sometimes help foster miracles.

 

 

September 4, 2025

I cooked a big batch of chocolate chip cookies yesterday after my work shift. Some went in the freezer, but the rest on top of the fridge are the most evil sirens you can imagine.

  

August 18, 2025

I walked into my kitchen a few minutes ago to make myself a drink, and asked the pothos plants on the window sill, aka my monsters, where all the dishes in the sink had come from. They didn't look guilty, exactly... 

August 2, 2025

This is the first time I've ever entered a contest like this, and I did so only because the press is located in Pgh. Not the result I was hoping for, but I'll take the kudos.

  

July 17, 2025

My poem "The Rivers in Me" is out in The Rowayat, a journal that asks contributors to submit work that is "in dialogue with the transnational social realities of the Afro/Arab regions and their diaspora communities," if they themselves are not of Arab/SWANA descent. I was tickled that a piece by a WASPy AF middle aged queer woman taking a famous Langston Hughes poem as its point of departure fit the bill.

July 16, 2025

Just heard "Pink Pony Club," or most of it anyway, for the first time, and I expect the scars will heal in a couple of weeks. 

June 27, 2025

Hey Pgh, dial up the humidity, I'm not quite feeling waterboarded yet. 🤢 

June 27, 2025

I just sold my spare copy of a 1980 7" EP by Jim Bob & the Leisure Suits. Today's gonna be a good day. 

June 22, 2025

I dropped by an Asian market yesterday morning to pick up dried shrimp for a Brazilian dish I'm cooking for dinner for the coming week (chicken vatapá), and decided I needed some fun fruit for breakfast. So I picked up some muppet berries (aka rambutans). 😋

 

June 21, 2025

I just leaned that the WNBA has a new team in California, the Golden State Valkyries, and a small part of me hopes that they play "Kill the wabbit" while the starting lineup is being introduced.
 

May 27, 2025

I participated again in the Hemingway Poetry Series this year. I read five pieces, all but one of which was written over the past six months; one was published in 2022, and a second is forthcoming. I also got my Mainer on for the occasion (L.L. Bean sweater and jeans, and excruciatingly practical Clarks shoes). Clicking on the link above will take you to series' blog page for our reading. Five of us participated, and the audio for each of our bits is under our bios. We read in alphabetical order by last name, so you'll need to scroll down the page for mine. Word was that I did alright. 

  

May 12, 2025

There's a member of the maintenance staff/grounds crew at my apartment complex who is friends with my downstairs neighbor. He's a nice young guy, but a bit of a hot mess. Anyway, it's been really nice out today and I've had my windows open all day, and earlier this afternoon I overheard the two of them talking. The maintenance dude said at one point a propos of allergy season that after he arrived home a few days back, he sneezed about ten times in a row and at the end of that, "My balls were shaking." So now on top of everything else, I have to cope with having that image in my head. 😫

May 4, 2025

Sunday night adventures in Stas's kitchen:

(1) My woke AF dinner entree for the coming week: pork chops with raspberry-orange sauce (what red blooded American eats pork chops with freshly squozed OJ and raspberry jam???)

(2) While I was cooking, I listened to Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA LP for the first time in a while, and noticed a great couplet in the song "Darlington County": "Little girl, you're so pretty / Come with me and you can have your way." So contrary to the usual pickup lines, and coming from the Boss, I believe it. Not enough to turn me straight, but I was tempted.

 

April 18, 2025

That moment when you're almost done transferring your clothes from the washing machine to the dryer and you realize you forgot to add detergent. 👯 

April 16, 2025

 

April 13, 2025

Roast lamb for dinner this week, and I decided to pair it with turnip greens (bc they were on sale) and mashed Japanese sweet potatoes (boil 'em, mash 'em, add some sauteed onion, butter, and salt *chef's kiss*). This was one of the potatoes, which looks like my nickname initial, and I confess that the decision to slice into it felt like a mild ethical dilemma.

 

April 13, 2025

Another wonderful concert by the PSO this afternoon. I'd never heard Tchaikovsky's first piano concerto (beyond the iconic first several measures), and both soloist and orchestra did it justice: a breathtaking performance that left me in tears. Along with Stravinsky's Rite of Spring a few years back, it was the most exhilarating performance of a classical piece that I've ever witnessed. The program closed with an old favorite, Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe (two suites), which was also wonderful. Even the first piece by Italian composer (I almost typed "composter") Victor de Sabata, Plato's Night, which for the most part didn't grab me, ended with a quiet, shimmering progression that filled me with light. And then there was the guest conductor, Daniele Rustioni, who was a full-on diva from his gymnastic style to his thick dome of hair, but so much fun to watch. All in all, a much appreciated and needed soul cleansing.

 

March 14, 2025

A pair of mourning doves has been scoping out the nest on my balcony that robins have used the past two summers. Since it's supposed to be warm the next few days, I'll have the door to the balcony open in the afternoons. Let's see how badly they want it...