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 that she's read a lot … Continue reading Difference And Similarity (2)
Category: Short Story
Difference And Similarity (1)
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 his face mask, felt faintly … Continue reading Difference And Similarity (1)
Battle For Gift
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, but in recent years, due … Continue reading Battle For Gift
Compartmentalization
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 unwilling offspring for extra lessons. … Continue reading Compartmentalization
The Beginning Of 2021
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. On one side of the … Continue reading The Beginning Of 2021
Not Crying Wolf
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." Lulu says, "Armei, I'm not … Continue reading Not Crying Wolf
Jack Of All Trade
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 St. Vincent Millay are my … Continue reading Jack Of All Trade
Express Yourself
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 speak up--actually it could be … Continue reading Express Yourself
Richard The Red Nosed Brother
"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, aren't you? Last week when … Continue reading Richard The Red Nosed Brother
Santa Travels
Santa is going to travel to Penang, a popular tropical island off the coast of Malaysia, but his entourage of reindeer are reluctant to accompany him. "That's not our natural habitat. I sweat too much." One says. "The sleigh doesn't work well in tropical climate." Says another. "Look, I have a list here of all … Continue reading Santa Travels
A Tragicomic Love Story
Armei said, "Look, I've got two more lines at the corner of my right eye. Time is very cruel. The majority of our life is spent on watching ourselves getting older gradually." Lu said, "Are you seriously counting those lines? I know a tragicomic love story in which a girl grows from a 17-year-old girl … Continue reading A Tragicomic Love Story
Stories We Tell During A Snow Storm
They are stuck in the house, a snow storm raging outside. "Why don't we tell our love stories. One each." Pammy says, looking at her husband Pan, her friend Armei, and her friend Lu. "I am not going to be part of your girl talk. Leave me alone. I will go watch my favorite show … Continue reading Stories We Tell During A Snow Storm
Mini Story: Before The Storm
Pan, the husband:"Are you sure we need so much bread? By the way, I eat my sticky rice balls and rice noodles. I am not a bread person." Pammy, the wife:"We can be stuck at home for a week. It's a big storm with two feet of snow in some parts of New Jersey. Rice … Continue reading Mini Story: Before The Storm
Mini Story: The White Haired Man
Pammy is the first to spot him, the white haired man who's sitting on a bench, which is obviously placed there by the restaurant "Tofu House" for waiting customers. If New Jersey is a state known for the number of diners, Edison should be a township known for its strip malls since it has so … Continue reading Mini Story: The White Haired Man
Mini Story: After The Thanksgiving Dinner
The prolonged leave taking is finally done. Pammy and her husband Pan get in the car, which sputters at first, as if it too is stuffed with endless flow of holiday food, too full to exert its engine. Pan had a great time, but even when he's talking with Lau effusively about whether to get … Continue reading Mini Story: After The Thanksgiving Dinner
Mini Story List
Stories about Armei, Pammy and Lu Trouble With LanguageThree Women On PoliticsThe Manager Of The Bamboo PalaceThe Sales TrainingAfter The Thanksgiving DinnerThe White Haired ManBefore The Storm The Thrill And Peril Of Love The Driving LessonA Non-Greek TragedyChul And JoolThe Battle Of Love Stories From Memory A Cat And A Train RideAn Awkward PortraitMy Cousin's … Continue reading Mini Story List
Mini Story: The Bamboo Palace
The Bamboo Palace is owned by Victor and his wife Mai. Victor is the owner's English nickname, which was chosen when he first arrived in America more than thirty years ago, obviously for its victorious meaning. Since then, people have gradually started to call him Brother Vi due to his rising reputation in the immigrant … Continue reading Mini Story: The Bamboo Palace
Mini Story: Three Women (Part 2)
Click Here For Part 1 "I don't understand why Democrats are so happy? I mean the election is so close even if there's a pandemic and there's a big unemployment number. Four years later, I bet it's going to be Republican again. Probably somebody more extreme." Lu said. Armei and Pammy paused their conversation and … Continue reading Mini Story: Three Women (Part 2)
Mini Story: Three Women (Part 1)
It's Nov. 9, 2020, a Monday. Every Monday afternoon, Lu, Pammy, and Armei met at Armei's little cosmetic store, specializing in Asian cosmetic brands. It's not really Armei's store. She's just a shop assistant. Monday is slow and a perfect time to meet her friends. If the owner of the store happened to come in, … Continue reading Mini Story: Three Women (Part 1)
Mini Story: Chul And Jool
My friend H told me this story and H heard this story from her colleague Chung, who grew up in a town in the Midwest, somewhere within 200 mile radius of Chicago. Chung's parents run the only Asian restaurant in town, which serves a range of items from Vietnamese rice roll, Mongolian BBQ, to General … Continue reading Mini Story: Chul And Jool
Mini Story: A Non-Greek Tragedy
My friend H told me this story, and I have since changed the location and the background setting of the original story to make this a fiction of fictional characters. It's about the neighbor of my friend H, an Asian immigrant couple, both engineers, which are not uncommon among Asian immigrants in New Jersey. They … Continue reading Mini Story: A Non-Greek Tragedy
Mini Story: The Battle Of Love
"Yesterday I threw all his books out the window." Lulu says to me."Really?" I feign surprise but I'm not really surprised."I made sure the car is not parked in the driveway first and the screens were taken down for the winter." Lulu and her husband Tun live in a tenement style townhouse and the driveway … Continue reading Mini Story: The Battle Of Love
A Mini Love Story
G is my distant cousin and he is always considered, by my parents and my relatives, to be the most intelligent and most unfortunate among all my cousins. His life started well--a cute kid, indulged by his parents, growing up to be a handsome teenager. He's half Mongolian, just like me, but he looks more … Continue reading A Mini Love Story
Mini Story: An Awkward Picture
This awkward picture is an oil painting of me when I was about 11 years old. Every painting has a story behind it, and here it is. I remember this today only because that's the first time I felt a strong sympathy towards a man--the artist painting this--who totally despised me and detested his job … Continue reading Mini Story: An Awkward Picture
Mini Story: The Sales Training
Pammy is a fictional character but the event is something that really happens, not as infrequently as we tend to imagine. The idea of this story is based on my talk with my friends on the sales training they had been to. It goes like this: Pammy lives with her husband Pan and their son … Continue reading Mini Story: The Sales Training
Mini Story: The Driving Lesson
There's a stereotype in America that Asians don't know how to drive and I have no wish to add another piece on that pile of cliche here. However I've witnessed more than a handful of couples who squabble incessantly about driving--how to drive, how to drive better, road signs to watch for, how many miles … Continue reading Mini Story: The Driving Lesson
Short Story: A Cat And A Train Ride (Part 1)
Armi was a beautiful cat with shining black and white furs, fierce eyes. He was discovered as a starving kitten, about several weeks old, by my grandmother's neighbor, lying next to a ditch after a rainstorm. It's said Armi was discovered too late by humans and couldn't establish the kind of bonding a normal pet … Continue reading Short Story: A Cat And A Train Ride (Part 1)
Short Story: A Cat And A Train Ride (Part 2)
Click Here For Part 1 After a while my mother and I dozed off again, and my mother's tight hold on the cat was loosened. So Armi jumped off once again. This time, he attacked a person sitting right behind us, who is young and tall. He must have sausage or beef jerky or boiled … Continue reading Short Story: A Cat And A Train Ride (Part 2)
Short Story: Trouble With Language (Part 2)
Click Here For Part 1 One week later, they met again. Pammy looked haggard, her under eye circles darkened, her eyes more guileless and fierce than usual. "My old man (her term of endearment for her husband which sounds more of a term of respect in her native tongue than in English) and my father-in-law … Continue reading Short Story: Trouble With Language (Part 2)
Short Story: Trouble With Language (Part 1)
Lu, Pammy, and Armei met at Armei's little cosmetic store, specializing in Asian cosmetic brands, every Monday afternoon. It's not really Armei's store. She's just a shop assistant. Monday is slow and a perfect time to meet her friends. If the owner of the store happened to come in, which she never did on a … Continue reading Short Story: Trouble With Language (Part 1)
