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Systemic Denials: revised

this is a revised edition of my archived essay on Les Misérables.  this revision was more difficult than I expected! It’s been a while since I read the book and I had to brush up on a lot of things I forgot. It’s also difficult to describe abstract

From the archives: Systemic Denials

I really enjoy rewriting. I actually think that's my favorite stage of the writing process, which I know is kind of an unpopular take. But rewriting, when it's going well, is when everything clicks, when you can take the time to think about the specific phrasing

Reviewing *nearly* every station on metro line 1: pt 2

I realized I was overly ambitious with my last goal of reviewing every single metro line on line 1. People did warn me it was unrealistic, and I did not listen to them. Sorry, guys. I did make an effort, but it is a lot of miles to cover and

On cathedrals

As one does in while a tourist in Europe, I've seen a lot of cathedrals lately. By a lot, I mean just two, the Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela, and the Cathedral de Toledo. But that's two more than my usual rate of cathedrals-per-month back home.

Cooking journal nov & dec '25

risotto, pollo milanesa, chickpeas with pasta, lentil soup

Breogán and the Tower of Hercules

I am writing this from the living room of my cousin's friend's mom's house in a village in the province of Galicia. We're here for a New Year's Eve party my cousin was invited to. And I can't

Reviewing every station on metro line 1: part 1

The title is pretty self explanatory.  This is the map of the Madrid metro system. I was going to review either the red line, the blue line, or the brown line, because those are the ones that run near my apartment.  I chose the blue line. I wanted a north-south

Cooking journal october '25

white bean stew, flautas for the piso

Attention and writing: why writing makes my life better

This is the third in a three part series on attention I am writing in response to "The Siren's Call: How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource" by Chris Hayes

Getting settled, pastries, kilograms, long walks

I'm still getting used to everything, but I feel like in the past few weeks I've finally been able to actually experience being here instead of spending all my time dealing with housing and paperwork and stress. This is my room. Isn't it great?

I am so tired

I'm in Madrid!! Got here on the 26th. The fact that I was going here really truly didn’t set in until I was in the taxi on my way into the city. Like truly up until then it didn’t feel real at all. That was the