I've often seen the phrase "old news", but never seen the phrase "new news", which is obviously considered as redundancy, pleonasm, tautology or whatever other pedantic words available. However in the age of frantic pace of various media, there should be a phrase "new news" to distinguish the news within two or three hours, from … Continue reading Old News and New News →

When I first came to America, I was surprised to learn that autumn is commonly called "fall" here, probably due to the falling leaves. The autumn foliage of red and yellow and orange in Pennsylvania is spectacular. Nothing characterizes the autumn better than the word "fall" of these beautiful leaves in such a scale. Though … Continue reading Fall Is My Favorite Season →

I ordered the book "The Barbarians Are Coming", borrowed the book "Pangs Of Love" from Archive.org, and are planning to proceed to Chang-rae Lee's books sometime later. I haven't read any books by Asian American authors for a long time, all because of "Joy Luck Club". It's not that I don't like the book. On … Continue reading The Year Of Change →

is not a real word (I've checked the dictionary. As a non-native speaker, I'm never completely at east with English), but I think the word is self explanatory when it comes to its meaning. I am a disillusionist, sadly. Whenever I like something and get into that fluffy feeling of being illusioned, I am always … Continue reading Disillusionist →

Too lazy to tidy up. Remember my grandmother who has nine children, but still keep the place so clean and things so in order. Where did she get so much energy for repetitive work? Can't imagine I have nine children. My friend told me that when I have nine children, I will be working harder … Continue reading Aimless Mind →

I can't even remember when I started to watch Monkey Doo and how I started to watch. It probably came to me as a random recommendation since I love to watch animals--big cats of Africa, little cats going to vets, lemurs of Madagascar etc. I have to say once I started with Doo, I can't … Continue reading Videos I Like →

Last night I felt that familiar chill--the autumn is approaching. Just knowing it from the calendar doesn't feel real. One has to sense it. However the grass is as green as ever, the leaves as abundant as the summer time. The heat and the humidity during the day are still there, but one feels the … Continue reading The Autumn →

My friend sent me a text message that the resigned Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is suffering from colitis, the same chronic illness I've been dealing with for more than ten years. None of my friends understand this malady of mine. Whenever I tell them that I have to observe strict diet and can't touch … Continue reading From A Text Message →

Whenever I chat with Amazon or WordPress for assistance of one kind or another, I receive an email afterwards to ask me to evaluate my experience. I hate evaluations in general, and also in principle--giving or receiving--but I know evaluation is necessary for a functional business or society. Surely without holding ourselves to a standard, … Continue reading Evaluations →

I am not a computer expert, but my friends will come to me with their little computer issues, for example virus issues, attachment problem etc. I am flattered with the vote of confidence, but I have to say their confidence is rather misplaced. I think the misunderstanding comes from the fact that I like to … Continue reading So Easy →

The concept of neighbor has somehow changed, for me at least. I mean it is different in the States than in my hometown where I grew up. The dynamics between neighbors are completely different. When I was young, we lived in places with communal restrooms and communal kitchens. When I was in middle school, my … Continue reading Neighbors →

My friend L once said that sometimes you wake up in the morning with a craving for ramen noodles, the kind with a dangerously high level of salt, combined with the flavor of scallion and dried seaweed. I've never had such an urge like L, who's so good at cooking that she could serve as … Continue reading Noodles and Salt and Vinegar →

Finally, after setting up the lamp for a week, I got four light bulbs from Shoprite, but it turns out not the kind I want. The light is obviously yellow or even orange-ish, but it says "soft white" on the package. I can't return them. Even if they don't have a "Pandemic No Return" policy, … Continue reading Idle Evening →

It takes me a little while to get used to the phrase "can't complain" as a common greeting. I am still a little puzzled, but not as puzzled as before. It probably means "can complain, but if complain, you will be considered selfish, rude, inconsiderate, or ignorant." That's my current understanding that it means I … Continue reading Can’t Complain →

My friend insists that he should queue for one day at the DMV to renew his driver license. He's unwilling to wait and no amount of my advice can persuade him otherwise. I tried. I told him police won't care for the next two months whether his license is expired or not, but he refuses … Continue reading How To Persuade A Friend →

After rearrange the living room, I find it's necessary to buy another light for the corner. Why? There's no such need for the previous setting where the sofa was close to the window. I had not realized it until this year when I had to work from home that the sunlight is too much for … Continue reading Unexciting Shopping Trip →

Waking up at 8:30 but not feeling rested. Why? It's not like I was escaping a tiger in my dream and running breathlessly. I can't even remember having a dream, just sleep without the air-conditioning on for the first time in many days. Why feeling so tired? Hope I am not contracting the virus. I … Continue reading Listless Sunday →

It is arguably the best Asian restaurant in our area. Whenever I drive past it now, I feel such a sadness that the parking lot is almost empty, no outside sitting area is available, and sometimes I could see one or two lonely figures, probably the owner, chef, or one of the waiters, smoking at … Continue reading A Restaurant In Trouble →

My friend L is obsessed with watching TikTok videos. More than once he showed me some bizarre clips of unbelievable feats, which I was not interested, causing him to accuse me of not paying enough attention to friends in general. I think that's an unfair criticism. I am very interested in my friends and actually … Continue reading Otter, Monkey, Cat →

My friend needs to renew his license and I have to be there to translate for him. I thought 8:30AM is a pretty early hour to be at DMV, but when I arrived there I was shocked to find a line starting from the entrance of the one story bungalow type of building, winding its … Continue reading Such A Long Line →

Once I was having lunch with a friend. I can't remember which symphony by which composer that I said I really liked when I was back in college, but I do remember what this friend said in reply, not her exact words, but the fact that when one says one like a symphony by a … Continue reading Political Symbol →

She lived two blocks from me, at a corner of a quiet street with a church not far away. I can't remember the church's name, but I remember it's a female saint of some sort, not very English though, but rather of those people of Mediterranean. Somehow I've always imagined she and her husband are … Continue reading The Italian Garden →

I went to the 7-Elevan on Woodbridge Avenue to pick up my food grade gypsum for my tofu project. Amazon said it's going to deliver on Saturday, but it arrives one day sooner. Also the wall clock stopped ticking and I had to order a wall clock too. Amazon gives you a six number code … Continue reading A Vietnam Veteran →

It's so hot that I just have to have a popsicle, which is probably fit for retirement in the realm of frozen treats. I can't remember when I bought it--probably three months ago or even longer. However eating expired food or taking expired pills has never been a problem for me. How wasteful it is … Continue reading What A Joke →

I cannot understand the debate of using present tense vs. using past tense in writing a story. It doesn't make any difference to me, but since I am not a native speaker of English, I thought I could learn something from the debate and how other people feel about this issue. So far I haven't … Continue reading Past and Present →

My fire tablet has been behaving strangely. One morning, the time was wrong and couldn't be reset manually. I checked online and somebody said that it's because of the synchronization error between the tablet and the wifi router. I didn't even know there's any communication between the tablet and the wifi beyond the internet connection. … Continue reading Help Desk →

Sloth or turtle? I ask myself. Probably turtle, since sloths only exist in South America, not Asia. Turtles are a different story--they are everywhere. I will call myself a turtle then, though I still need to become more patient to be worthy of the name. Turtle is my grandma's favorite animal. Not that she kept … Continue reading Turtle Or Sloth →

It takes five minutes to get the soup to boil in the microwave--no stove for me until the weather cools. Five minutes. I have to stand there, staring blankly at nothing, counting each second while the machine whirred, the lighted interior fogging up, the bowl making familiar turnaround. It feels a long time, like those … Continue reading Only Five Minutes →

I didn't know the word "coagulation" before my plan of making tofu myself. I could have encountered it in a description of a blood clot, but no, I haven't. I am not very interested in books with gory details and probably that's why I've missed a whole pile of words concerning the behavior of blood. … Continue reading Coagulation →

I saw her again yesterday, the Asian girl in her dark Aldi shirt, her pretty round face with a perpetual frown, her aversion thinly veiled behind tepid greetings, her young limbs tired of the grocery routine. Her colleagues are more resigned and even good humored, but she is bitter. Her bitterness is conspicuous, but it's … Continue reading A Girl In Aldi Grocery Store →

“The Winslow Case” is the best of the three, better than “The Browning Version” or “The Deep Blue Sea”, not only due to its optimistic ending, but also owing to the fact that it has more twists in the plot, more hope in its characters no matter how vague, and more cheerful furniture in the … Continue reading Impasses →

In such a hot day, business must be up for the ice cream truck. That's what I thought when the ice cream truck came circling our neighborhood. Then again, I thought in such a hot day, this person, who could have relaxed at home with a cold beer in hand, has to come out to … Continue reading Ice Cream Truck →

Tips show up in my WordPress home every day, but I'm so used to it that it becomes a familiar landscape I don't see, a background noise I don't hear, a recurrence I don't notice. Am I obtuse and stubborn? I wouldn't say yes before but now I am not so sure. Now I know … Continue reading Don’t Know How In WordPress →

My awkwardness at swimming awakened me to something I had not realized before, something blatantly obvious yet hiding in plain sight. I really can't swim, my limbs not coordinating, my movement either too much or not enough, my eyes not opening in water, my body more prone to sinking. I'm just too awkward to swim. … Continue reading Awkward Awakening →

I got there at 8:30AM. I tried to be there at 8, but my usual sloth habits are rather incompatible with a morning scramble. In my rush out of the door, I forgot to put on sunscreen, gave up the task of taking out the garbage, and refrained from checking messages on the phone. The … Continue reading Quick Inspection →

What's the extenuated way of saying, "I have no idea?" I don't know what's "cancel culture", what is "cis or trans", what is this perceived infringement on justice and freedom. I just read "A Letter on Justice and Open Debate" and the much longer rebuttal "A More Specific Letter on Justice and Open Debate". All … Continue reading I Have No Idea →

I was getting ready to go to the store for some red beans, which is something one should always keep plenty of at home. I thought I have them until I realize that I have run out. The kind I want is not always in stock in the Asian stores around here--each bean bigger, more … Continue reading The Stormy Weather →

Whenever I read something about certain symptoms of a disease, I feel that I have the disease, though with symptoms in a milder, less perceptible form. For example, stomach ailments, Alzheimer's, amnesia, anxiety, and many different kinds of phobias. I have them all. The only thing I am sure I don't have is skin cancer. … Continue reading Don’t Panic →

"Are you busy?" K called and that's his usual greeting. I want to tell him that as a sloth I am not busy even if I am busy-- that's the trait of a sloth, against all odds of this world. But I won't say that to him. He won't understand a sloth, let alone a … Continue reading A Phone Call →

There are so much more fireworks this year and my friend even called me about it. How would I know? Probably more fireworks are manufactured and sold this year? People become more willing to display fireworks? A more likely scenario is--the law about fireworks has been changed. Several days ago, when driving along Route 18 … Continue reading Fireworks →

One thing I've never learned to do is using a planner or an organizer. I tried, but using it is almost as difficult for me as counting in English. I think among all the things that an immigrant cannot learn easily, counting in one's second language claims the crown of all inabilities. Using an organizer … Continue reading Organize And Disorganize →

I tried to read aloud some poems so that I can listen to the recording later when I do chores. I was shocked to discover that my voice sounds terrible. It is a little throaty, a little whiny, a little diffident, a little apologizing, with that typical unwillingness in exertion. I love myself as a … Continue reading My Voice →

My friend's refrigerator died just when the refrigerator is most needed in this 90 degree (Fahrenheit not Celsius) weather. Not completely dead. Just the freezer part. He blames his bad luck, considers the manufacture unreliable, and opts to buy a new one of a different brand instead of calling for a repair man. At the … Continue reading Too Much Distancing →

A sloth doesn't want to exercise when she doesn't have to, but as time goes by, the sloth wants to be a healthy sloth. So she starts to exercise, in addition to buying grocery at Trader Joe's, reducing nocturnal activities, reconciling to the fact that not every book is worth to be read cover to … Continue reading Exercise Or Not Exercise →

What is Juneteenth? What did Thomas Jefferson and George Washington do--I mean what did they do other than being a proper founding father? Now suddenly there come new terms to be learned from the news, new facts about famous figures to be revealed to ignorant people like me. History seems no longer a boring dogmatic … Continue reading The Views Of The Beholders →

I got up late today. Almost 9 o'clock when I woke up from a vague dream about something happened in the sitcom "Frasier", which I watched before going to sleep. There's no time to lose since I had to be at "Trader Joe's" before shoppers as ravenous as me emptying the shelves of my favorite … Continue reading Indispensable →

The year, the model, the trend, the size, the color, the brand. I have a friend who knows a lot about these things. He pays attention to them. I don't. How people defer! He has a seven-year-old BMW. It is an admirable brand, but it makes trouble at least three or four times a year … Continue reading Conversation About Cars →

I can't believe I discovered Trader Joe's only three days ago. Not that I didn't know its existence. I heard about it for years. Then a couple of years back, when I drove past Barnes & Noble on Route 1, I saw, at the place where the bookstore used to stand and show off its … Continue reading The Name Of The Store →

The impact of this new virus is not restricted to all the regular perils and sufferings of a lockdown. The travel between the U.S. and many Asian destinations are completely thrown into chaos. Stories and rumors abound. A college student couldn't fly back home from Newark Airport directly and had to resort to an outrageous … Continue reading The Impact →

The recent protests have brought me perspectives that I really haven't thought much about before. I've read something about Christopher Columbus in "The Half Has Never Been Told", but the book is written in a less entertaining way than what I prefer that I only have a very vague memory of what it says. Learning … Continue reading Perspectives Old And New →

“A serious piece of work—the expression of your convictions. I tell you there’s nothing the public likes as much as convictions—they’ll always follow a man who believes in his own ideas." I highlighted it but I have no recollection of it. Actually I read half of "The Descent of Man" already--when did I do that?--but … Continue reading The Descent Of Memory →

I don't know how to use the word "vicariously", but it's a word I have always wanted to use and never got to do it, until now. Even though I've never used it, it's a word I can never forget after the first encounter since it describes modern life, modern love, modern enjoyment so aptly. … Continue reading Eating Vicariously →

I watched the news of the toppling of the statue of Edward Colston in Bristol, UK and the statue of Leopold II in Brussels, but I don't connect the dots. I don't know these two people and I don't much care of the significance of their statues. Of course I want to care, I am … Continue reading A Video and A Statue →

I can't help feeling seriously inadequate right now that all me and my friends can talk about is keeping away from the street and hoping that no Asian stories getting looted or set on fire. The immigrants community is a little out of loop from the surrounding society. We take stricter caution for coronavirus and … Continue reading What I think →

It doesn't taste like the real Japanese rice ball--onigiri--I had before. Something is off but I don't know what it is. My enthusiasm for cooking has waned to the point that I don't mind it is real onigiri or not as long as it is eatable. I admit it is eatable. How can it not … Continue reading Not Quite Like Onigiri →

I found myself explaining what idiosyncrasy is to a friend. Now I can't even remember how it came up and why I was doing it, but I remember that it suddenly dawned on me that I don't know this word so well to differentiate it from words like eccentricity, temperament, characteristics, antics, missteps. For example, … Continue reading Idiosyncrasy →

I have to contrive a way to exercise in this heat. Actually it is not much of a heat at all. 89 degrees, not even 90 degrees. Still, it is a struggle to find a good way to do daily exercises in this temperature. Gym is not opening; shopping mall not opening; early rise before … Continue reading Exercise →

I haven't seen her for five years. Flushing, New York is not so far away, but I've never gathered enough energy to go there. I know I should, but as a self proclaimed sloth, I'm true to my indolent self. She's nice, girlish, sweet, and polite. In contrast, I'm awkward, impetuous, pensive, impertinent. She's very … Continue reading Another Phone Call →

One of my friends suddenly fell listless and unwell. He will be in bed today and he said he didn't know what's wrong with him. A friend's indisposition will usually put us in a mild gloom. There are news that many Asian stores in New York City are smashed and goods looted. It is said … Continue reading News And More News →

"W's painting was made into a poster displayed at Time Square this week." My friend told me excitedly. W is a relative of my friend who has been a wandering artist for years. Not that he has a preference for perambulation, but rather he's wandering between feeding himself and starving himself, between hope and despair, … Continue reading Poster At Time Square →

My friend sent me a video of a popular video telling the story of Dean Lung or Ding Long using a different romanization. He was a servant living around the time of one hundred years ago, but somehow he managed to save some money and donated to a well known college which can afford to … Continue reading What Happened? →

I've tried many different ways to eat turmeric, but so far without any success. I suspect that the only good way of eating it is to make curry first and cook a pot of curry chicken. I envy my Indian American neighbors who have the habit of eating curry frequently and receiving the health benefit … Continue reading Turmeric (Continued) →

Years ago I first encountered turmeric when I grew an abscess about the size of a half ping pong ball. It's all because of napa cabbage, my favorite. In the northern part of Asia where I grew up, napa cabbage has been something we eat frequently, the only vegetable abundantly available during the winter time … Continue reading Turmeric →

I never know how to do time management. I record important things that I shouldn't forget in Google calendar and that's the only time management effort I've ever made. Not that I've never tried to manage my time. I did try before but failed miserably each time. Think about it. If I was doing something … Continue reading Time Management →

The free trial period of HBO will end in two days, and I have watched all six seasons of "Silicon Valley". Now I will be waiting for the launch of HBO Max to finish all the "Big Bang Theory" that I missed before, and all the "Friends" episodes that I didn't watch when I had … Continue reading New Plan →

HBO suddenly descends on me for free and I wonder why? To take full advantage of it, I watched "Curb Your Enthusiasm" day and night, nonstop, neglecting all other daily activities. Other than comparing it with "Seinfeld", other than enjoying Sussie's combative language, other than admiring Larry David's way of describing the life as he … Continue reading Alternative Views →