Joanne Tombrakos

And so it begins…my first Substack

I have a habit. I am not sure exactly when I started it but if I had to guess it was sometime after I started teaching. When I am done explaining something, I will finish my statement with this question. Does this make sense? It doesn’t just happen when I’m teaching. I have caught myself doing […]

Advice On What To Do If (Or When) You Get Fired From Someone Who’s Been There

Laid off. Downsized out of your job. Fired. Call it what you like, it’s all the same thing. One day you have a job and a paycheck to go with it and the next day the alarm goes off at 6 AM and you have nowhere to go. I’ve been there. More than once. The […]

A Death Reminded Me Of What Is Lost When We WFH

I lost a friend last week. It should not have come as a surprise. Just over a year ago, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Still, when I got the news I sat clouded in shock and disbelief, the kind that happens when you learn of someone’s death and even when you know the news is […]

The Subway May Not Be Safe – But Where Is Safe Anymore?

I ride the subway. I’ve been riding it since I was a kid growing up in the sixties. Even then, when my memories lead me to believe the world was a safer place to live, I was taught to be on high alert. My mother showed me the proper way to hold my handbag and […]

It’s Time To Start Looking Up From Our Phones And Pay Attention

The Leaked Draft Overturning A Woman’s Right To Choose Is One Of The Reasons Why Early Monday morning my sleep was disturbed by my window slamming, a torrential downpour, and thunder that made me question whether my hi-rise building was about to tumble to the ground in a heap of rubble. I never fully got […]