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Photo by Serghei Savchiuc on Unsplash When Apei was a little girl, her mother–for the sake of the family economy–would never buy chocolate for her. Thirty years ago in Penang–a tropical island off the coast of Malaysia– chocolate was very expensive. Other candies made of coconut and durian are readily … Continue reading The Taste Of Chocolate (Flash Fiction #35) →

I’ve been complained about the sheer number of English words for a long time, especially when a lot of words can be used to describe one thing, each representing a slightly different shade of it, the subtlety of which can be easily detectable by native speakers but often escape notice … Continue reading New Word #32: Humor →

“Oh, you are so naive. You have no idea of the numerous little things. New Jersey has a unique party line politics.” Dodo says. “What is party line?” Pammy asks. “It’s too complicated to explain to you. If you participate in our meetings, gradually you will know. You’ve never come … Continue reading Local Politics (Flash Fiction #34) →

Image by FelixMittermeier from Pixabay A List Or A Collection anthology: a published collection of poems or other pieces of writing. repertoire: a stock of plays, dances, or pieces that a company or a performer knows or is prepared to perform. portfolio: a collection of financial investments; a collection of … Continue reading New Word #31: Different Collections →

I’ve never known the difference between the word freedom and the word liberty–I think the two are interchangeable but most likely they are not. However I am too lazy to look it up. It’s like watching all the seasons of “Frasier”, but never really figuring out the difference between a … Continue reading Life And Existence →

Arjian is a local hairdresser and a regular gambler at Atlantic City–a casino town at the southern end of New Jersey. There’s a previous story about him here. On Saturday morning, when Arjian’s wife Mei goes to the drive-by ATM machine, she finds that the balance is increased by about … Continue reading A Happy Accident (Flash Fiction #33) →

Image by My Luu from Pixabay Have some doubts misgiving: a feeling of doubt or apprehension about the outcome or consequences of something. qualm: an uneasy feeling of doubt, worry, or fear, especially about one’s own conduct; a misgiving. Disagree silently acquiesce: accept something reluctantly but without protest. Disagree mildly … Continue reading New Word #30: Varying Degrees Of Disagreement →

Photo by Providence Doucet on Unsplash “There’s an ancient fable about a vendor selling spears and shields by the road. A bunch of spears are displayed tidily on his left with a sign that says,’the world’s best spears that can puncture any shield.’ On his right, there is a pile … Continue reading The Controversy (Flash Fiction #32) →

Image by Stefan Keller from Pixabay “I love this house when it’s in my dream and it’s being built. Once I live here, it’s a very different story.” Armei says at the dinner table. Armei and Pammy and Lulu are good friends and also their husbands get along with each … Continue reading How To Talk (Flash Fiction #31) →

Image by Ylanite Koppens from Pixabay Love is a blind leap from the quietness of our frozen presumption. Suddenly the hushed order we proudly immure ourselves becomes laughable and absurd– from a lover’s eye. All the mistakes we made– casually construed, clumsily carried out. Then it abruptly ended when you … Continue reading Poem Of The Day #15 →

Image by Comfreak from Pixabay chortle: laugh in a breathy, gleeful way; chuckle.The word is from Clayjonz’s post here. gyration: a rapid movement in a circle or spiral; a whirling motion.skanky: dirty and unpleasant.This is from Bonnywood’s post here. bumptious: self-assertive or proud to an irritating degree.This is from Pooja’s … Continue reading New Word #29: Recently Learned →

KPhoto by Greg Rosenke on Unsplash Kyi-sook has this continuous feud with her neighbor Joe. Kyi-sook’s husband Kai is a very laid-back guy and doesn’t want to make a fuss at all. After prodding her husband numerous times without seeing any results, Kyi-sook realizes that she is the one who … Continue reading The Neighbors (Flash Fiction #30) →

This book is so easy to read and so good that I can’t tell you how much I love it. It’s almost beyond my power of praise, just like “Notes From Underground” by Dostoevsky and “Words” by Sartre, which I love to read and hopefully to reread sometime. You don’t … Continue reading Quote And Review–“An Introduction To Existentialism” →

There are countless confusing pairs in English that it is very easy to mistake one for the other. Here I list a few that I encountered recently. wreck and wrack wreck: a vehicle or ship that has been destroyed or badly damaged wrack: 1 : ruin, destruction. 2 : a … Continue reading New Word #28: More Confusing Pairs →

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash “You know Armei tells me that her daughter Lily says she wants to be a YouTube star. Armei is furious. All those tuition fees Armei has to pay, only to see her wasting her time…” Pammy says as the whole family sits down to … Continue reading A Book Of Ancient Tales (Flash Fiction #29) →

Image by Karolina Grabowska from Pixabay angst: a feeling of deep anxiety or dread, typically an unfocused one about the human condition or the state of the world in general.from Bonnywood’s post here rogue: This word is most often used in “to be a rogue” or “to go rogue”, which … Continue reading New Word #27 Recently Learned →

Photo by Susanna Marsiglia on Unsplash “I am so bored.” I hear myself saying. Nalan and I have evolved from talking on phone to talking on Zoom. “I am more bored than you are.” Nalan says. That’s just typical of Nalan. Whenever I say something, she will say she is … Continue reading Energy (Flash Fiction #28) →