Every once in a while I request a book because someone I follow on social media but don’t know in real life recommends it. Every word in this brief novella is perfect.

It is officially flowers-fall-into-my-bike-basket season.

We were second and third in line at the advance poll this afternoon. 4pm on Easter Sunday is a pretty good time to vote!

Today, the day after my 7-month anniversary at my job, I finally posted payroll to the G/L on payday. To say it has been a struggle is an understatement. I am so tired.

I almost missed this one last night - this morning, it had already wilted.

And a second bloom on my no-longer-office hibiscus!

My no-longer-office hibiscus has bloomed for the first time since it moved indoors last fall!

For the first time in a good long while, I tried a new recipe. With modifications, of course.

When it became clear that my new job was going to be more demanding than expected, I abandoned all thoughts of knitting gifts this year. However, I did finish one gift - but it’s not a Christmas gift.

New lights for my lid. Can’t wait for the next late-night ride home from work. Which will likely be tomorrow.

For the first time in a couple of years, it was cold enough to wear my warmest coat to bike to work. I happened to pass a person wearing cloth grocery bags on their feet. I really hope there were shoes under those bags.

While frustratingly waiting for the bus on Monday, the Love Wins sticker caught my eye, but I am curious about the “I am an IKEA table” sticky note.

I see beauty where some people see blah.

My new job is supposed to be 35 hours a week, with the occasional evening and weekend work required. So far this week, I’ve put in 52.75 hours which is more than I worked as a baby accountant in audit season. I know I was looking for a challenge, but this is a bit much.

There is something incredibly peaceful about biking through a park in the snow.

I was feeling sorry for myself, biking home in the rain, but then I was stopped and asked for directions by someone not wearing shoes.

This was my last Costco run with Madame McBikeface. I’ve ordered a hitch for Bikehilda. I normally go home via Talbot because I don’t want to do the bridges with a full trailer, but the number of close passes was terrifying.

I spent enough time in my growing-up years listening to David Frum’s mother Barbara, to know that she would be horrified that her child sunk to this?

Exactly 12 years ago today, a Taliban gunman pointed his gun at my head and shot me for daring to speak up for girls’ right to go to school. I want to thank every person for your solidarity and support, from praying for my recovery to helping me in my work for girls’ access to education, both in my home country of Pakistan and around the world. Most years, I spend October 9th like any other day, with gratitude for having lived another year. But today, I am in New York to address the American Society of International Law (ASIL), a prestigious group of legal experts who have chosen to honour @MalalaFund and its work alongside Afghan activists fighting to protect the right to education for girls in Afghanistan. These women worked tirelessly before the fall of Kabul in 2021, and fearlessly since, to keep girls learning under the most impossible circumstances. It is humbling to stand alongside them and gratifying to see them receive the recognition they deserve. The Taliban continue to point literal and metaphoric weapons at girls and women in Afghanistan every day, from public beatings to ruthless edicts that ban them from learning, working and living freely. The brutality of the Taliban’s oppressive system against women is so extreme that Afghan activists and human rights defenders are calling it gender apartheid. Right now, Afghan women and girls need more than words of sympathy. I call on governments and influential institutions to leverage their power, and through international law, hold the Taliban accountable. I especially call on Muslim leaders and institutions to play a leading role in challenging the Taliban’s misuse of religion and culture. Just as people stood with me and my friends more than a decade ago, I hope people will stand in solidarity with Afghan girls and women now. ❤️ @Hmosadiq @zarqayaftali @deemahiram @metra_mehran @RahelaHSidiqi @SHalaimzai

For a moment there, I thought the trees across the street were on fire.