Image by StockSnap from Pixabay The Swede was a star athlete in his high school's football, basketball, and baseball team. He could go on to be a member of the sports teams like Yankees or Giants in New York, but as a dutiful son he gave up his own dream to serve as an apprentice … Continue reading The Swede’s Perfect Life
Month: July 2022
The Best Grandma (Flash Fiction)
Image by Hans from Pixabay Flash Fiction #129 "My Grandma Is The Best" --That's the title of her first composition in middle school when it was required of her, in her writing class, to describe a family member. Even those boys and girls who had the crazy version of dysfunctional families painted a rosy picture … Continue reading The Best Grandma (Flash Fiction)
Weekend Thoughts
Image by John Hain from Pixabay Today, I drove past "Wonder Seafood", one of the best Asian restaurants in town and found that the parking lot was empty. Just one or two months ago, the business was picking up, but now it seemed in steep decline again, either because Rutgers University students are gone for … Continue reading Weekend Thoughts
Make It More Interesting
The local grocery stores have free newspapers that one can pick up after one's shopping. The most popular one is this newspaper "El Españolito", which one can only get on Saturdays. On Sundays, it's all gone. Sigh. Language learning is a marathon and it is too slow. After a year of learning Spanish for 30 … Continue reading Make It More Interesting
New Word: Run
Image by Pexels from Pixabay New Word #114 Runaway: Runaway means a person who runs away, an animal out of control, or an event happening too quickly. For example, runaway inflation, runaway bull, or a runaway success Runner: Runner has many meanings. The two meanings I have encountered is: a person who runs, or a … Continue reading New Word: Run
Zina’s Game Plan (Flash Fiction Part 3)
Image by AnjaGh from Pixabay This is the third and last part of the story. The first part is here and the second part is here. The end of June sees Chris starting his summer break and the family having sold their house in Mount Oak. Zina is still searching for a private school for … Continue reading Zina’s Game Plan (Flash Fiction Part 3)
Quote Of The Day: Predestined
Image by Pexels from Pixabay Quote Of The Day #53 Arthur was in love with Sybil. He was about to propose. Then he went to a party and met a palm reader, who told him that his palm showed that he was going to be a murderer. Arthur was devastated at first. Then he got … Continue reading Quote Of The Day: Predestined
Can I Take The Heat?
Image by Pexels from Pixabay Remember I have been talking about a friend who refuses to listen or discuss about narcissism? Remember I said that I talked about my own narcissistic parents, and she tried to defend them as normal parental weaknesses or misunderstandings? Remember this friend? Let's just say her name is Aya--a fictitious … Continue reading Can I Take The Heat?
Zina’s Game Plan (Flash Fiction Part 2)
Image by AnjaGh from Pixabay This is the 2nd half of the story. The first half can be found here. Soon after they settle down in the Mount Oak Township, Zina starts to feel that something is happening to her son Chris. He's not as chirpy and happy as before. When his mother asks him … Continue reading Zina’s Game Plan (Flash Fiction Part 2)
New Word: The Heat
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay New Word #113 I don't know where the birds have gone? Maybe they've flown to Canada to seek some cool air since I don't hear birds chirping as much in the morning anymore. For the entire week, temperature hovers around 100ºF (about 38ºC) each day, which will last until … Continue reading New Word: The Heat
Rethinking Of An Old Story
Image by dmytro_R from Pixabay This was long time ago when I was in college and I lived in a house for international students. She was my housemate and she told me this story. By the way, she's from an European country, but it really doesn't matter where she's from. The story can happen anywhere … Continue reading Rethinking Of An Old Story
Quote Of The Day: Long Time Ago
Image by Maurygraf from Pixabay Quote of the day #52 I usually read history books that I can relate a little bit, but this book is on sale on Audible and you know me--I am like a moth attracted to fire whenever I hear the word "sale". So I bought this book named "S.P.Q.R"--whatever that … Continue reading Quote Of The Day: Long Time Ago
Zina’s Game Plan (Flash Fiction)
Image by AnjaGh from Pixabay Flash Fiction #128 "What am I going to do? Help! Help!" Zina talks to her friends Pammy and Lulan. Zina and her husband Kit Lee run a small business, which after years of struggle finally starts to turn a profit. They have three stores in New Jersey, one in Central … Continue reading Zina’s Game Plan (Flash Fiction)
The Secret Of Vegan Stir Fry
Image by kakuko from Pixabay Here are some of the common misunderstandings of stir fry dishes: Stir fry is always oily. This is not true. You can add as little oil as possible. It doesn't have to be oily. Although vegetables love oil and absorb oil, we can cook very tasty vegetable dishes without adding … Continue reading The Secret Of Vegan Stir Fry
New Word: Trees
Image by Simi Luft from Pixabay New Word #112 sequoia tree According to Wikipedia, sequoia usually refers to giant redwood trees, which occur naturally only in groves on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California. Each can grow to 30 feet (9 meters) in diameter and 250 feet (76 meters) high. … Continue reading New Word: Trees
I Want To Be A Monk (Flash Fiction Part 2)
Image by Judith Scharnowski from Pixabay This is the second half of the story. The first half can be found here. "To live with your mother?" Aryin stares at her husband with a bitterness that's more bitter than the herb medicine she has brewed for her weight loss and indigestion. "Remember last time your mother … Continue reading I Want To Be A Monk (Flash Fiction Part 2)
The Haunted House
Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay Japan is well know for its orderliness, cleanness, safety, strict gun control, and its best lost-and-found program in every public place. However its politics is not so peaceful and uneventful as it seems. The prime minister's official residence (called Kantei) is a famous haunted house--haunted by bloody incidences in … Continue reading The Haunted House
For The Longest Time
Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay port and pot: For the longest time, I thought pot and port have the same pronunciation. Until one day somebody asked me, "are you talking about a pot or a port?" I can't remember the topic we were talking about at the time, but I remember the confusion I … Continue reading For The Longest Time
For Better Or Worse
Image by Pexels from Pixabay Maggie was a beautiful and capable woman. Since she grew up in a poor and dysfunctional family, she got married very young just to get out. Several years later, with two children in tow, she divorced her husband and left. Since she didn't have any income, the judge ruled that … Continue reading For Better Or Worse
Future Is A Tool
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay I talked with my friend L today. We unleashed our complaints about inflation and the hot weather etc. for an hour. Then the conversation inevitably veered towards family issues. "You know my mother-in-law had said that she would raise our kid for us. Seriously. Raise our kid for us. … Continue reading Future Is A Tool
Quote Of The Day: On The Road
Image by Tayyab Bashir from Pixabay Quote Of The Day #52 About 10 years ago, I read Gloria Steinem's "Moving Beyond Words" and it was a very good read. I can't remember the particulars, but I remember it talks about the train wreck kind of life many women have experienced. It inspired me to reflect … Continue reading Quote Of The Day: On The Road
New Word: Games
Image by Rick Brown from Pixabay New Word #111 I haven't watched the South Korean TV show "Squid Game" on Netflix--maybe I will do so during the holiday season. According to google, "Squid Game" depicts people in dire financial straits who sign up to play children's games in the hopes of winning an enormous cash … Continue reading New Word: Games
The Battle For Water (Flash Fiction Part 3)
Flash Fiction #126 This is the last part of the story. The first part can be found here and the second part is here. I've tried to come up with a better ending, but so far I have been unsuccessful. Now I have no choice but to just describe the real life ending. It was … Continue reading The Battle For Water (Flash Fiction Part 3)
Haoyan Do 