Aurora Rey's Blog

It seems as though my poor neglected blog has been reduced to little more than my annual New Year’s Eve/Pride and Prejudice introspection. I’d say I’m resolved to do something about that, but I’m resisting the idea that my New Year’s resolutions amount to little more than yet another to-do list that will make me more productive, accomplished, etc. (See Resolution Reboot for more on this.)

So, in the spirit of big, bold dreams, I watched Lizzy and company with a renewed sense of optimism a...

So, I got banned from Facebook. And not that 30-day Facebook jail nonsense. I’m talking permanently-disabled, black-balled, can’t-even-create-a-new-account banned. And not to be cheesy or overwrought, but I’m kind of devastated.

The thing is, you don’t get to plead your case. There are no humans you get to talk to. You’re not the customer. You’re the product. And if the robots think you’re damaged goods, out you go.

I think my downfall was a fraudulent login on my old, barely used, leg...

It’s become a bit of a tradition for me to spend New Year’s Eve with a bottle of wine and yet another screening of Pride and Prejudice. The result is an emotional cocktail blended with varying ratios of romantic hopefulness and hand-wringing melancholy. So much self-reflection, so little time. Eh, who am I kidding? I’ve got all night.

Often, the fretting takes the shape of wondering if I’m a Charlotte after all, who should stop pining for a Darcy already and settle for a stable if uninspired ...

Do you daydream? Wait. Let me be more specific. Do you daydream about what would happen if you, say, won the lottery? Not buy-a-private-island or solve-poverty sort of money. More like, if you had the means to live where you wanted and do exactly what you wanted with your time, what would you do?

Maybe you imagine your dream home or taking care of family and friends. What animals you might adopt. Where you’d like to travel. What it would be like to leave work behind. Nothing too extravaga...

I promise this is not a post about developing a thicker skin or giving fewer fucks…

You Again came out last month and I’m not hesitant to say it’s one of my favorites. The femme character is stronger and more confident than I can even pretend to be. There’s a precocious kid. A trans brother (who I’m pretty sure is going to get his own book). All set in a fictional (progressive!) south Louisiana town that allowed me to indulge the things I love and miss about the south.

It’s also a sec...

So, 2020, huh?

I was thinking about writing a post today and wondering how I could capture the essence of the last year and realized that I probably couldn’t do it justice. Or, rather, that others would do so more eloquently than I could.

But here I am, less because 2020 was so…2020… and more because I always get reflective at the end of the year. Usually something along the lines of what am I doing with my life? Or, more specifically, is what I’m doing with my life what I’m supposed to b...

Have you ever had the experience of a single theme or idea bubbling up in seemingly unrelated parts of your life, creating the most lovely emotional resonance? I have. I did recently, as a matter of fact. And since that’s how I roll, I’m going to tell you about it.

First things first. Have you seen Chimamanda Adichie’s TED Talk on the danger of a single story? It is one of my favorite TEDs of all time. It’s also my go-to reference when talking about the importance of diversity in literature,...

It’s New Year’s Eve and I’m curled up with Oliver and a glass of red, watching Pride and Prejudice. By all accounts, it’s a cozy and lovely way to spend the evening, especially as an introvert who isn’t entirely ready to go back to peopling in a couple of days.

But Charlotte just invoked Lizzy not to judge her over her choice to marry Mr. Collins and I’m reminded of questions that plague me more often than I care to admit. What if I want too much? What if I’m supposed to settle? What if, for...

Are you bi?

I get this question a lot. It surprises me still.

Maybe it isn’t the question that surprises me. Maybe I’m thrown because my answer is no. Like, a resounding no. And people are surprised by that. And then it’s a thing where I feel the need to explain and we end up in TMIville.

I’m pretty open about being attracted to masculine of center women and trans guys. I’ve been with both and am actively dating both during this wild and crazy singledom thing I’m doing. To some people, that p...

I recently got it into my head that I should build the bed for my guest room/office/barre studio. And once I get an idea in my head, well, look out.

I went online and found some super simple plans (love you, Ana White!) that only required tools I already have. I tweaked them a tad because I wanted a full-size day bed (it’s a long story). I went to Lowe’s, I got all the supplies (love you, Ruby!), and I got to it.

I measured and cut. I got the whole frame and headboard assembled in one day. I...