Tom Cruise and Scientology and More About a Man I Like to Dislike
I can’t accept Tom Cruise and Scientology any more than I can accept the Ku Klux Klan. Okay, a dot or more more.
Worried About Too Many Advisors
What am I to do about too many advisors? I began preparing for the 2-minute pitch of my memoir 60 days in advance, an average of 1 day for every 3 seconds.
Name Dyslexia
Given my name dyslexia, every time I go outside, I have to rehearse all four names beforehand in case I run into any of them.
Explosions at Boston Marathon Finish Line
In light of the Boston tragedy, how can I publish my trifle of a post, which—on a day when we felt safer and less heart-heavy—might make some readers smile?
LIVING IN CHINA: HIBISCUS BULBS, ALAN DERSHOWITZ, AND PEAS
In 1980, while living in China, I insisted on speaking Mandarin when planning a dinner for Alan Dershowitz and other Harvard professors. Oops.
Antidote to Worry: Easy Dinners of Adobo Chicken (and Sharing)
As easy dinners go, this is the easiest. All you need is 4 ingredients.
Tip Day or Is it Enough Just to Entertain?
Is it enough just to entertain? Or do I need to make a point, share a reflection?
Now I have set myself up for failure in two ways:
Worried About Outliving Friends, My Junior High School Boyfriend and Not-so-Subtle Self-Promotion
All this fed into my recurring imaginings of how to celebrate my death, and whether to do so after or before it occurs . . .
What Can You Do?
Back to another beau, who could say words backwards and so can I, except someone once stumped me in the Say This Backwards game with “onomatopoeia.”
Cute Guy in Van: A Washington Story
A Washington Story: What if he’s a terrorist? He’ll know where I live. Better to remain inconspicuous.
Worried About Upbeat
Does this rah rah for winter months raise questions about my worrywart creds? Should I worry that my upbeat tendencies will discred my worrywart brand?
Healthy Sexual Relationships: Q and A with Author of Wanting Sex Again
Valentine sex will be an issue for many couples. This manufactured day of romance offers men and women an opportunity to examine their sexual relationship.
Successful Marriage and Marital Problems: How to be Happily Married, Part III
What makes for a successful marriage? What can be done about marital problems? My two previous posts highlighted Betsy’s story and Harry’s story; below is Victoria’s story. Victoria is 58 years old and a retired history professor living in Chicago: The biggest challenge I faced in my marriage was when my …
Successful Marriage and Marital Problems: How to be Happily Married, Part II
Yesterday we heard from Victoria about her recipe for a successful marriage and avoiding marital problems. Today, a man shares how to be happily married.
How Do I Sign My Book? Oy!
Most daunting of all, how to sign my book for close friends? A writer ought to be clever, even on short notice.
Confessions of a Campaign Wife
I never prayed for Steve to win the election, only to keep our sanity intact.
I’m Fine! . . . What, not Great?
I can’t remember why I was only fine, rather than the usual great, but this makes an important point:
Confessions of a Worrywart: Husbands, Lovers, Mothers, and Others
“Susan Orlins is America’s funniest neurotic since Woody Allen. Just be careful you don’t crack a rib reading her memoir, Confessions of a Worrywart.”
Sticky: 13 New Year’s Resolutions for 2013
For a worrywart, it is challenging to come up with just one resolution when there are so many choices. So I have selected several from my 2012 grab bag to inspire you to worry less and indulge more in 2013.
Sad
But why isn’t anyone talking about campaign finance reform?
Biking in Beijing: LING LING!
I didn’t see why that was so funny, until they caught their breath and told me . . .
On Noise and Amtrak’s Quiet Car
I am a fan of Amtrak’s quiet car, yet I harbor love-hate emotions toward the sub-culture of those who journey in this vessel of alleged silence.
Three Questions
Why do we type
The addressee’s address
Above the salutation?
Does he or she
Need this information?
Dog Shaming
I got into our new box of SOS and shredded the pads and discovered how good the soap tasted. When Mommy came in and shrieked and I ran away. She scolded me. I pretended to be ashamed.
Two Falls and One Worrywart
Suddenly a skinny, little girl—of perhaps seven years—broke free from her family and darted in front of my bicycle.
Tip Day: Have a Plan & Have a Roll of Bubble Wrap
Even before 9-11 I wondered what I would do if confronted with the terrifying choice to either jump or burn. Ideas came to me this morning before I opened my eyes.
Breakfast Club Envy
Recently, after reading about a breakfast club, my breakfast club envy flared up.
Worried About Sponges
“Mom! That’s exactly why I’m terrified of sponges!” my daughter cried.
Worried About Emily’s Shoes
Like a bicycle tire that has just rolled over a shard of glass, the air began seeping out of my buoyant mood.
Chasing a Veal Chop
On a Sunday evening in New York I enjoyed a lovely dinner at the Union Square Café with my friend Jessica. I was happy with my pappardelle until two thirds of the way through my meal, at the next table, a waitperson placed in front of a trim young woman …