It turns out that my memory is just not that great, so for specific scenes with people doing stuff, sometimes I'd have the details all wrong or I couldn't remember what happened exactly, so I just let that be.

But that incessant drive to be out there in the literary universe that was important to me when I was in my twenties, like going to a Paris Review party or whatever, that seems totally irrelevant now.

What genre it falls under is only of interest later.

I turned forty, and I'm finally going to get married and maybe have a kid.

I don't want to be married to someone who feels inferior to my success or because I make more money than he does.

Always remember that striving and struggle precede success, even in the dictionary.

You want to make sure you're aware of who's dealing with your money, what it's doing, and how you can save.

Generally, if you're a baker who's still learning the ropes, substitutions can be risky. It's always best to make a recipe the first time as written, and only after that initial success should you make substitutions.