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Maria Shimizu Christensen
Maria Shimizu Christensen

1.2K Followers

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The Radicalization of Old Women
The Radicalization of Old Women

We suffer, we learn, we grow, we change. These are poems for anyone who doesn't have time for nonsense any more.

2022

·
Maria Shimizu Christensen
Maria Shimizu Christensen

Stories

Published in

About Me Stories

·Pinned

About Me — Maria Shimizu Christensen

Mostly sunny to partly cloudy. Occasional thunderstorms. — I surprise people all the time. I don’t mean that I throw surprise parties or lurk behind doorways waiting to jump out creepily and unexpectedly, hoping to make people scream. Well, there was that one time… Anyway. Moving on. What I mean is that revealing some aspects of myself to…

About Me

3 min read

About Me — Maria Shimizu Christensen
About Me — Maria Shimizu Christensen
About Me

3 min read


Sep 17

I Bought a New Car After 22 Years of Driving the Old One

and it was a huge fucking deal — Gratitude, terror, relief, worry, joy, embarrassment: I spent 22 years on an emotional rollercoaster in a car that could fly off the rails at any moment. I was always grateful for the ride, but it was exhausting. 22 years ago we were all living the emotional aftermath of 9/11. That…

Poverty

4 min read

I Bought a New Car After 22 Years of Driving the Old One
I Bought a New Car After 22 Years of Driving the Old One
Poverty

4 min read


Aug 18

73 Years Old and Delivering Food

No, not me. Not yet. — The buzzer to my apartment gave off its deafening fire alarm roar and I answered with my usual chipper “Hello?” I always want the people who deliver stuff to me to know that I appreciate them. A lot. Someone even more chipper let me know that my sushi had arrived. …

Aging

3 min read

73 Years Old and Delivering Food
73 Years Old and Delivering Food
Aging

3 min read


Published in

Fanfare

·Aug 14

Star Trek, Christine Chapel, and Women Scientists, Then and Now

Times change — I’m rewatching the original Star Trek series for the eleventy-billionth time — as Trekkies do — and something is wrong. I think a dart from out of the past has pierced my heart and it’s now doing a slow bleed onto my modern sensibilities. I still love the show, but…

Star Trek

5 min read

Star Trek, Christine Chapel, and Women Scientists, Then and Now
Star Trek, Christine Chapel, and Women Scientists, Then and Now
Star Trek

5 min read


Published in

The Shortform

·Aug 13

The Shirky Principle and Credit Monitoring Companies

The Shirky Principle tells us that companies sell solutions to problems that they’re invested in perpetuating. Credit monitoring companies have perfected this principle. Many of us are signed up with one or more for all the obvious reasons. They offer credit reports, alerts about credit rating changes, valuable educational information…

Credit

1 min read

The Shirky Principle and Credit Monitoring Companies
The Shirky Principle and Credit Monitoring Companies
Credit

1 min read


Aug 8

Why You Should Have More Hobbies Than You Have Time For

And unfinished projects — I’m a crafter. That encompasses a wide variety of crafts. So many that I had to open an Etsy shop to get some of the many things I make out of my house because I need the room for my books — another hobby. I have an insanely large personal…

Hobby

3 min read

Why You Should Have More Hobbies Than You Have Time For
Why You Should Have More Hobbies Than You Have Time For
Hobby

3 min read


Jul 4

The Utter Joy of Not Being a Snob

Love what you love — I’m listening to a music playlist I created called All Time Favorites. It’s over 7 hours long. I’ve been consciously and deliberately listening to music since I was nine years old and a friend played Elton John’s “Crocodile Rock” for me on her glittery pink portable turntable. That song didn’t…

Joy

3 min read

The Utter Joy of Not Being a Snob
The Utter Joy of Not Being a Snob
Joy

3 min read


Jun 24

59 Years Old and In the Spring of My Life

It’s never too late, but you gotta start — I am in flux. In transition. In the beginning of reinvention. A friend calls it my “scheming, dreaming, and planning” phase. I like that. But because we often know very little, next to nothing, of a person’s inner life, you would never know just looking at my outward face. It’s…

Aging

2 min read

59 Years Old and In the Spring of My Life
59 Years Old and In the Spring of My Life
Aging

2 min read


Jun 4

Why Am I Still Wearing a Bra?

It’s not what you think — I wear a bra three days a week. Those are the days I work in the office. If I’m at home it’s guaranteed I’m not wearing one. I’ll put one on for vigorous workouts. If I go out somewhere, I may or may not be wearing a bra. It just…

Women

2 min read

Why Am I Still Wearing a Bra?
Why Am I Still Wearing a Bra?
Women

2 min read


May 29

What Would It Take to Get Workers Back in the Office?

You’re asking the wrong questions — I drink a lot of coffee. Copious, stupid amounts of coffee. That leads to popping into the lunchroom at work quite often. Which means I end up seeing many more people than I would if I didn’t drink as much coffee. This helps justify my caffeine habit, as it leads…

Work

6 min read

What Would It Take to Get Workers Back in the Office?
What Would It Take to Get Workers Back in the Office?
Work

6 min read

Maria Shimizu Christensen

Maria Shimizu Christensen

1.2K Followers

Book Author

Writer. Maker. Featured in Medium’s 2021 list of Stories That Started Conversations. I write about life. https://www.mariashimizuchristensen.com

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