Welcome to a website. I like to write about whatever floats around inside in my head. I write to relieve it. For now, look about! Or don't. Your choice. The name of this website comes from two places: a moment in my childhood and Shakespeare’s fastidiousness.

Throughout 2026, I'll be reading all of Shakespeare's 38* plays, in a somewhat defined order. I'll also write about each book I read throughout the year (Arts). And lastly, I aim to share recipes and wine worth noting (Food & Wine).

ENJOY!

When I was nine, a teacher called me conceited. I didn’t know what it meant, so I asked. She handed me a dictionary and told me to read the definition aloud: having an excessively high opinion of oneself.” — Cue the laughter. I sat at my desk, stunned. "Me? Excessive?"

Yet something clicked. My eyes caught the word conceit directly above, and I couldn’t stop kneading the letters. The word had viscosity—a venomous rhythm. It wasn’t an insult; it was an idea? a metaphor? a connection? A word that begged for the microscope.

A word not often heard yet it exudes an elegance, like a jazz riff: unexpected, layered, and worth listening to. Which brings me to my favorite 16th century improvisational jazz artist and his piece As You Like It (Act V, Scene II). Rosalind, disguised as a man, meets Orlando in the forest. Orlando, unaware he’s speaking to Rosalind, confesses his desire to marry Rosalind. She, playing along, calls him a "gentleman of good conceit" before prompting his vows. The humor, the wordplay, and the clever compliment hidden in plain sight. What notions we possess!

*Folger Library

Shakespeare

Food & Wine

Arts