The good news is that your career is about to take a very exciting turn.
Self reads the above horoscope a few seconds after powering up her laptop. Really? Then, let’s have at it!
Self has spent the early morning hours looking through her humongous pile of stuff and picking out the things that interest her. At this very moment, she has in front of her a Harper’s from five years ago. Perhaps by now it is clear to loyal blog readers that self is what her husband likes to refer to as “a pack rat.” But there is a reason why she has hung on to this particular issue for so long: she is trying to see if she can eventually finish the story by Mona Simpson, the one told from the point of view of a Filipino maid.
A month or so after returning from VCCA, self found herself thinking about this story, for the first time in years. Having departed Virginia with a fund of explosive energy, self felt that this would be a propitious time to confront her demons and give Mona’s story the balanced and objective scrutiny it deserved. But, alas, after reading only a few paragraphs, self had to stop. When at a loss, self always calls her cousin in Virginia. She then hit on the brilliant idea of asking cousin if she wouldn’t mind reading a copy of the story, which self would mail to her forthwith. And cousin (who self always imagines as having so much time on her hands, as she has never had to work, not since getting married) agreed.
So, self mailed a copy of the story and waited. And, eventually, cousin did reply in an e-mail. She pronounced the story wonderful, so true to life, so correct in its depiction of Filipina maids.