Author Archives: mathdreads
Who Are You
For the 82nd continuous Strange Family Reunion, I joined the planning committee and was voluntold that I would make a presentation about the twelve second generation freeborn Strange legacies of which my mother is one. Sounds easy enough…until I started working on it. To get the ball rolling, I designed an easy-to-use form, inviting extended … Continue reading
Bored White Housewives
On two different levels, I knew better. I did it anyway. Someone else stepped up onto the higher moral ground and corrected me, sharing a few of the economic reasons feminism started in the US, along with the fact that not all those women were married. To be fair, that discussion group acknowledged, yes, racism … Continue reading
Philly Visit
A much deserved vacation coincided with my niece’s joyous grad school graduation from her prestigious genetic counseling program. Although I only took a few days off, I felt refreshed rather than drained by the time I returned home. Barbershop Speakeasy On my first day of vacation, which was Friday morning, I took my time before … Continue reading
Another Reason to Celebrate
On days like these, the most authentic restaurants don’t care about cultural appropriation. Not that I attempted to dress or act like anything else that who I was: a hungry person who also drinks. My Mango Margarita We stood outside with the rest of the customers who waited for tables. The restaurant had placed all … Continue reading
Take Flight
My father, a nephew, a niece and a sister all have April birthdays. Following Dad’s lead, my sister believes in celebrating the entire month for her birthday. As a matter of fact, our paternal grandmother started celebrating her birthday twice a year. When she filed for social security, she saw her birth certificate and realized … Continue reading
How Convenient
When my sister announced she was planning to take a road trip to a convenience store, I laughed. Not that I doubted her motivation, but because the convenience store was a Texan chain, which I never visited the entire 14 years I’d lived in Austin. So here was my chance. Not that it was on … Continue reading
A Week’s Difference
Christmas 2022, I observed a nonmaterialistic practice for my family. For everyone except my parents, I gifted an indoor skydiving experience. Since I’d heard Mom gush about going to an out-of-town dinner theatre for several years, I made that experience their gift. Due to their weekend schedule, the soonest we could make it was the … Continue reading
Everything But Guac
For Sunday dinner, my family either goes out to eat or some combination of Mom, my sister and I make dinner. OK, so I’m not often part of that cooking combo, but at the same time, I’m the only one of us who works full time and happily orders takeout on the weekends and shares … Continue reading
Filmmaking Funding Research
Looking for filmmaking grants is as time-consuming as job hunting. I am attempting to replace my day job with something more creative than what I’m currently doing in exchange for income. Since my idea is to make a short documentary, I want to know upfront what the funding parameters are. I already knew there were … Continue reading
Self-Funded Filmmaking
Since being priced out of Austin, TX, I relocated to one of the dramatically less hipper cities in NC. It’s so unhip that it’s hours away from the nearest NC city with either a film school or even a modest film industry. Even Wilmington is known as “Wilmywood” and “Hollywood East.” After recovering from my … Continue reading