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Only two weeks into 2021, let me count all the breaches of my new year’s resolutions. I know it is a little too soon, isn’t it? What can I do? #1 breach: I won’t watch any show about cooking or eating in 2021. That was my resolution, but in the … Continue reading Breach Of Resolution

I’ve tried every possible way to make at home exercise more pleasant, or rather less painful, but to no avail. I still haven’t exercised despite trying to get myself to do it the entire week. DVD, online videos, Fitness Marshall series, book reading while throwing limbs back and forth, making … Continue reading No Exercise

Every time I drive pass Roosevelt Park, I think about forgetting you. In that long forgotten corner not far from the parking lot, the basketball courts, and the lake, we had our picnic. I forget exactly what I did and didn’t do– eating, chatting, sitting, walking, but what I really … Continue reading Every Time I Drive By

No concentration today. I have a lot to do, but my mind just seems not interested in the goal anymore. Probably because yesterday I wrote something about politics, and I did it in the mildest way possible, but still somehow I feel somebody is annoyed at my post. However I … Continue reading Without Concentration

To call or not to call, it’s a dilemma since the invention of telephone. For years, no contact; for ages, only ten miles apart. I want to call you, to hear you say you are OK, not sick, not forgetting me, not attached. Well, I am not too ambitious– just … Continue reading To Call or Not to Call

“Aria Da Capo” is a very short play by Edna St. Vincent Millay. I somehow suspect that this one act play with an incomprehensible title is based on the infamous Stanford psychology experiment. Once people get into a situation, in this case an artificial wall and in Stanford’s case an … Continue reading Misbehavior

There are no good books about Asia in English. I just can’t find any good books. If anybody read a good one, please let me know. I am so desperate for some good books in this direction that I have to read books about the Pacific Theater of WWII. I … Continue reading Good, Bad And Things In Between

Click Here For Difference And Similarity (1) Lulu didn’t know why Cindy wants to Iowa. Can’t she just find a writer’s workshop in New Jersey or somewhere close by? Lulu doesn’t want to ask in case it is a common knowledge and the very inquiry reveals her ignorance. Lulu’s proud … Continue reading Difference And Similarity (2)

Lulu wants to scream, “How could you do that?” But she checks herself and produces a smile instead. Cindy, in the meantime, digs into her fried rice with a spoon. Cindy asked for a spoon when they ordered their entries, and Lulu, observing the raised eyebrows of the waiter above … Continue reading Difference And Similarity (1)

The TV show “Alpha House”(of eight years ago) has one episode about the chaotic scenes after an overenthusiastic republican senator pulls out a gun to assert her rights to bear firearms in the hallway of the Capital. She is a beauty with straight blonde hair, sweet smile and a true … Continue reading Predictions

Armei: “Every long term customer can choose a free gift pack for 2021. Pammy, the biggest gift pack is for you.” Armei is the shop assistant of a popular cosmetic store in Edison, New Jersey, which sells Asian cosmetic items. It used to specialize in Shiseido, the overpriced Japanese brand, … Continue reading Battle For Gift

I need to start throwing away things because there are just too much stuff. I actually made a rule in 2019 that if I buy one item, I will make sure to throw away one item. Of course this is a rule that has no teeth and no claw to … Continue reading Throwing Away

has been practiced by Pammy quite successfully for years until Lulu spoils it. Lulu, the unemployed anthropologist who can’t land a job anywhere except in the local tutoring school, arguably the best after school program in Asian immigrant communities in New Jersey. It’s a place where anxious parents send their … Continue reading Compartmentalization

The scene opens to the interior of a restaurant, all tables and chairs piled up to one corner, except one table with a white table cloth and scattered mahjong tiles on top. Mr. Wei, the owner of the restaurant “Pacific Palace”, is playing mahjong with Chef Li and two waiters. … Continue reading The Beginning Of 2021

Armei says when she’s applying a fresh coat of paint on her nails, “Lulu, dear, can’t you write something more interesting? Like a romantic story that women like to read? I mean you are so intelligent and I hate to see you like this–writing things that nobody wants to read.” … Continue reading Not Crying Wolf

Susan the director: “Nora Dickinson, you look exactly like Jane Millay I interviewed yesterday.” Lan the actress: “My name is actually Lanlan Wong, but I have to change it. Otherwise I can’t get any interview for any part in Hollywood. You know Nora Ephron, Emily Dickinson, Jane Austen and Edna … Continue reading Jack Of All Trade

Avoid carbohydrate as much as possible. I know this is impossible to achieve. I’ve been trying to do this for years, only succeeding in making carbohydrate more appealing to me. It’s with great self restraint that rivals the most lauded stoic figure in history that I stopped myself today from … Continue reading New Year’s Resolutions

“The History of Sexuality, Vol. 1: An Introduction” By Michel Foucault. The first two chapters are exhilarating, but for the rest I just can’t understand. Maybe philosophy is just not my thing. I have to re-read it one day when I have the energy. I miss my days as a … Continue reading Finished And Unfinished In December

Inverbalization is not a valid word, but it should be. It means one wants to verbally express something but can’t even though there’s no obstacle to stop one from expressing. It could be the force of habit. If a person grow up in an environment that doesn’t encourage him to … Continue reading Express Yourself

“Red nose” is a hereditary trait, passing from fathers to sons. One day, Richard, the red nosed brother of Rudolph, comes knocking at the door of Rudolph’s office. “Hello, Rudie, how’s going? Long time no see.” Richard says. “Hello, there, Rich, what are you up to? You are gaining weight, … Continue reading Richard The Red Nosed Brother