An Expat Lenten Calendar

Over last couple days, I have been thinking about different genres of writing. After the recent mass shooting tragedy in New Zealand, I spent some time exploring the genre and history of the manifesto, which led me to an interesting article in The Atlantic entitled "Manifestos: A Manifesto". Subsequently, I toyed with the idea of… Continue reading An Expat Lenten Calendar

10 of My Core Values

The other day at work, I attended a professional development session, which I thought was going to give me explicit instruction in how to design items for my appraisal action plan. Instead, participants at the session were asked to consider the things that brought meaning to their life and to create a vision for the… Continue reading 10 of My Core Values

Death and Taxes While Living Abroad (More about the Latter)

Disclaimer: I am not a tax advisor with advanced training and knowledge of tax law. Do not assume that any information shared in this post constitutes tax advice. Please consult the IRS or a licensed US tax advisor for up-to-date expat tax information and laws.Now that it is nearing the end of January, many Americans… Continue reading Death and Taxes While Living Abroad (More about the Latter)

My Days in Doha (with My Sons)

A log of the two weeks my boys spent with me in Doha, Qatar over the 2018-19 winter break. 25 December – Christmas Day 5 minutes into the start of Christmas Day, my sons were scheduled to arrive at Hamad International Airport in Qatar. About 30-40 minutes after their plane touched down, they both emerged… Continue reading My Days in Doha (with My Sons)

Three Christmases

Christmas Past  After my sons’ mother and I separated, she became a Jevohah’s Witness, which meant it would be entirely up to me to celebrate all future birthdays and Christmases with them. That first Christmas I took my boys to my hometown of Ironwood, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula. My plan was to take them… Continue reading Three Christmases

8 Ways of Saying Qatar

This week's blog post was influenced by three things: me lying in bed musing about the different ways of pronouncing Qatar (see NPR newscast); me learning about the Nabati Poetry tradition and the subject matters for the form; and my love for Wallace Stevens' "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird." Catara Before the start of class, a student tells me… Continue reading 8 Ways of Saying Qatar