Me, now.

Every few weeks, I update this /now page with a few things that have the majority of my time and attention right now.

(You can learn more about /now pages here.)

2025

April 12: It continues to be cold and snowy despite being midway into April. There is an election happening at the end of the month; we voted early as we will be out of town on Election Day. We had another re-org at work and sometimes it feels like the changes at work won’t ever stop. Reminding myself that in times of tumult, always think of restoration and rebuilding.

March 25: The weather is still cold here after a couple of freakishly warm days. We are still bundling up, despite the fact that spring is officially here. Celebrated Navroz last week and having friends over for Eid dinner this weekend. Reconnected with three people I hadn’t talked to in a decade this week too.

March 10: Got some response to my letter to council, had a friend come visit so we took her to the sugar shack and went out for Turkish food, and now about to spend a few days in Toronto with my parents during Zoya’s March break. Read an incredible article about children’s books.

February 28: After realizing that my city was still using X/Twitter as an official communications channel, I wrote a letter to my city councillor and mayor to ask them to stop. I’m starting to get excited by the prospect of the spring because I heard a cacophony of birdsong on the way to the bus stop this morning.

February 21: In just a few days, I’ll be 43 years old. I feel like your forties, when you have a young child, is a lot about getting things in order—just this past week we replaced our car and did some maintenance on the house and sorted out some of our finances—but I’m also starting to think that the “getting things in order” is just what life is all about from now, too. We’re still shovelling snow from our driveway a few times a week; I’ll be glad for the spring to bring with it some respite from snowfall, and maybe some warmer temperatures too.

February 9: Heading back home today after a week of sunshine, warmth, water slides, pools, ocean swimming, sandcastle-making, morning espressos by the seaside, and periodic torrents of rain, family photos, and long meanders in the garden. It is snowing and freezing at home — the juxtaposition will be jarring.

February 4: It has rained every day since we arrived in Punta Cana, but it is the kind of rain that comes hard for 3-4 minutes and then disappears, leaving behind it a humid air that eventually gets broken by the intense sunshine that follows. Overall, we have enjoyed the heat and sun, and I haven’t done anything productive or of consequence (other than childcare) while I have been here. There is something freeing about forgetting about life’s obligations just for a little while.

January 24: I wrote an email to a professor I had in undergrad, whom I haven’t seen or corresponded with in over twenty years, to say thanks for helping set the stage for my current career interests; he responded that he not only remembered me, but was curious what I was working on and how my studies with him had prepared me for now. A reminder of the impact others have on us, and that we have on others—and a delightful correspondence.

January 23: The cough refuses to go away and has perhaps intensified over the past few days. I’ve finally gotten the demotion I was asking for, and am feeling more at peace with my work in the weeks and months to come. We’re going to see Disney on Ice this weekend, and we hosted a chili party last weekend, so we are keeping busy despite the cold and snow—and our trip to sunshine is just over a week away.

January 9: I’m thinking a lot about reentry and creating space for reflection. I’m digging out from under the immense amount of snow we’ve had and getting used to the cold after a few weeks away. I’m still fighting a cough that doesn’t seem to want to go away. I’m daydreaming about our upcoming trip to somewhere hot and sunny, to escape this vicious winter, even if only for a short while.

(Feel free to visit my ‘Me, now’ archives: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024.)