Flash Fiction #179 It is said that there are two kinds of Asian restaurants in America—one kind caters to Americans and the other caters to Asian immigrants. The food choices, the food presentation, the management, the waiters or waitresses, and the price can be slightly different or significantly different, depending on who you ask. Yue … Continue reading The Managing Style (Flash Fiction)
The price of ginseng has stayed flat, not affected at all by the current inflation. How strange. Just when I think everything is up and up, ginseng comes out and displays its steady price exactly like before, as if to mock my misconception. The autumn and the coming winter are the appropriate time to take … Continue reading My Mother & Ginseng
I am satisfied and disappointed at the same time, satisfied with the passages of descriptions that are subdued and suggestive exactly to my liking, but disappointed with them due to the same reason. I actually go back to reread some of the lines, “I had believed that my simple presence could keep my family safe, … Continue reading Satisfaction & Disappointment
Flash Fiction #178 Many years ago, I attended a boarding high school hundreds of miles away from home. My parents didn’t want me to go, but I insisted on it. The school was well known for its bad food, worn out dorms, rigid rules, and indifferent teachers. It would have discouraged any normal people from … Continue reading My First Relationship Heartache (Flash Fiction Part 1)
The first time I felt that there might be something wrong with my father was when I was eight-years-old, or probably nine-years-old, standing right outside of the three-story apartment building where we lived. The snowstorm of the night before was gone, bringing a brilliant morning of sunshine and cloudless sky. The wind had died down; … Continue reading The Beginning Of My Story
This is the 9th part of the story. The previous parts are here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. At length, Alotus comes back to the living room. What will she do next? She can call the police and turn herself in. It is an accident and it will not be counted as … Continue reading The Professor’s Wife (Flash Fiction Part 9)
This is the 8th part of the story. The previous parts are here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Alotus waits until the dinner is over and the table is cleared. Her mother-in-law starts to watch a K-drama in the living room, and the two children go upstairs. Alotus steps into the small home … Continue reading The Professor’s Wife (Flash Fiction Part 8)
Image by kiquebg from Pixaba This is the 15th part of the story. The previous parts are here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. Koi's second wife Malia was a graduate student of the same department and an Eastern European immigrant. As a professor, Koi has never … Continue reading The Robot Translator (Flash Fiction #15)
Image by kiquebg from Pixaba This is the 14th part of the story. The previous parts are here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. Thanks to Fifi's amazing organizing skills, the dinner party goes on smoothly. Fifi arranges the dinner menu, prints out recipes for the cooking machine, … Continue reading The Robot Translator (Flash Fiction #14)
This is the 7th part of the story. The previous parts are here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Alotus refuses to let her family ignore her. She demands their love and respect and attention. If something in the house needs to be fixed, she would ask her husband to do it first before calling … Continue reading The Professor’s Wife (Flash Fiction Part 7)
This is the 6th part of the story. The previous parts are here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Alotus' revenge is weaved into everyday life. She doesn't have a plan or a plot with an up-and-down like a Broadway play, or a twisted surprise of a suspense movie. Actually what she is doing is not … Continue reading The Professor’s Wife (Flash Fiction Part 6)
This is the 2nd half of the story. The 1st half is here. "What? What are you talking about? What got us together?" Jong asks. "It's an epiphany today. Thank you for enlightening me. I can't believe I didn't realize it before. It's hiding in plain sight but I just can't see it for what … Continue reading Love Makes Us Blind Or Perceptive? (Flash Fiction Continued)
Flash Fiction #169 "Love makes one blind or perceptive?" Shia says to her boyfriend Jong. "Probably blind." Jong answers absentmindedly. They are sitting in Bamboo Palace, finishing their dinner. Shia's animated expressions and eager communication are in direct contrast to Jong's nonchalant politeness. Their relationship has always been like this--Shia is anxious while Jong is … Continue reading Love Makes Us Blind Or Perceptive? (Flash Fiction)
Image by kiquebg from Pixaba This is the 13th part of the story. The previous parts are here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. "Can you believe it? Last week Tram bought this all-in-one multi-layer electric cooking machine, that can make dough, bake bread, churn ice cream, grill meat, … Continue reading The Robot Translator (Flash Fiction Part 13)
Image by kiquebg from Pixaba This is the 12th part of the story. The previous 11 parts are here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. The annual office dinner is usually held at a mid-town restaurant with white table cloths, liquor license, and spotless counters, which is very different from … Continue reading The Robot Translator (Flash Fiction Part 12)
Image by kiquebg from Pixaba This is the 11th part of the story. The previous 10 parts are here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Ayun is cooking while thinking of a way to broach the topic of communication with her husband Tram. She is throwing packages of pre-seasoned veggie and … Continue reading The Robot Translator (Flash Fiction Part 11)
Image by Almeida from Pixabay This is the second part of the post. The first part is here. Many normal people and parents like zoos too and like to bring their children to zoos, but narcissists like zoos for different reasons, most of which are not normal and most have a hidden sadistic twist. A … Continue reading Zoos And Animals (Continued)
Image by kiquebg from Pixaba This is the 10th part of the story. The previous 9 parts are here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. "Well, my husband is very different from other men. You know I'm an anthropologist. An unemployed anthropologist is still an anthropologist. If he had agreed to accompany … Continue reading The Robot Translator (Flash Fiction Part 10)
This is a canva.com stock photo. I tried to add two words to it, but it doesn't look as I expected it to be. Sports It has been easy for me to recognize my parents' narcissism because they were extreme cases on the narcissism spectrum, to the point that they were normal but barely functional, … Continue reading Too Mild To Be Acknowledged
Image by callmetak on Freepik Quote Of The Day #79 I was trying to publish this post last night, but I realized that I didn't feel like doing it after all. If one has been reading for the night, one often feels disinclined towards writing, as if the two activities are mutually exclusive somehow. Anyway, … Continue reading Quote Of The Day: A Lighthouse
Image by ShonEjai from Pixabay She really didn't want my advice, which was unsolicited in her unexpressed opinion towards me. However her mother insisted that I talk to her about how to improve her English and how to incorporate new methods of learning. So I was obliged to share with her methods like "comprehensive input", … Continue reading Unsolicited Advice
Image by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay Quote Of The Day #74 Every journalist...knows that what he does is morally indefensible. He is a kind of confidence man, preying on people's vanity, ignorance, or loneliness, gaining their trust and betraying them without remorse. Like the credulous widow who wakes up one day to find … Continue reading Quote Of The Day: The Double-Faced Reporter
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay Flash Fiction #166 "Computer modeling can calculate the success rate of a pharmaceutical experiment before the lab work is done. My work has just improved the efficiency of identifying transporter protein by 10 fold." Arlong says to his friends. It is Arlong's 40th birthday and his wife Jasmine throws … Continue reading How To Improve The Efficiency? (Flash Fiction)
Image by Karolina Grabowska from Pixabay I have nothing to write about today. I've had another "same old same old" day with my mind often occupied by mundane concerns I had to deal with. Both the immediacy of the issues and the expediency of the solutions made me feel like a problem solving servant who … Continue reading Nothing To Write About Monday
Image by Gosia K. from Pixabay (This is the second half of the story. The first half can be found here.) I have been reflecting on Uncle D's life for the purpose of explaining what have been puzzled me for so many years. Why is fate so unkind to Uncle D? Why do people always … Continue reading An Old Story Retold (Flash Fiction Continued)
Image by StockSnap from Pixabay Flash Fiction #152 Lea and I have been acquaintances for years, and then about two years ago, I started to talk with her about narcissism. At first she laughed and brushed my idea aside, but then she started to tell me about her mother-in-law Sandi who's a super sized narcissist … Continue reading The Sacred Myth (Flash Fiction)
Image by StockSnap from Pixabay Flash Fiction #151 Pammy, her husband Pan, and their son Sam, who's a sophomore in high school, are having their first breakfast of the new year. Sam: This homemade soy milk is a little ... Pan: You are right, Sam. It is diluted. I've told your mom several times. Pammy: … Continue reading The First Breakfast 2023 (Flash Fiction)
Image by Annie Le from Pixabay This is the 3rd and last part of the story. The 1st part is here, and the 2nd part is here. Daughter: OK, you can tell me. So you had an affair and I am not Dad's daughter then. That's OK. I can take that. I guess Dad doesn't … Continue reading A Love Story With A Twist (Flash Fiction Part 3)
Image by Reimund Bertrams from Pixabay Flash Fiction #150 Aila and Nali have been long time friends since their high school days. Nali and her family just come back from a trip to California where they visited places in LA, and drove along the coastal Highway 1 up north until they reached San Francisco. "Oh, … Continue reading The Beautiful Mountain (Flash Fiction)
Image by Annie Le from Pixabay Flash Fiction #149 Mother: It's the story of my life, but I've never told you about it for fear that you were too young to understand. Now I think you are old enough to digest the information... It all happened in America twenty years ago. Daughter: Is it a … Continue reading A Love Story With A Twist (Flash Fiction Part 1)
Image by James from Pixabay Flash Fiction #147 I have known King Lee for more than ten years. I've always wanted to write about him, but have never come around to do it. It is not that I don't want to write about it, but rather that I've always felt that I'm not ready. The … Continue reading King Lee (Flash Fiction)
Image by S. Hermann / F. Richter from Pixabay I have done a lot of thinking and reflection on the history of narcissism in my family. Since I am too much a coward to broach this topic with my relatives, I can only rely on recollections, stories I heard, my own logical deduction, and certain … Continue reading The History Of Narcissism
Image by yamabon from Pixabay Serial Fiction Part 3. The first part of this story is here and the second part of this story is here. I want to say something here before I proceed with the main story. I wrote about my grandpa Zili from my mother's side who blamed my father for my … Continue reading A Real Life Romance (Part 3)
Image by yamabon from Pixabay Serial Fiction Part 2. The first part of this story is here. While my father was engaging in a correspondence with his future second wife living in a faraway big city, he also attracted the attention of several single women who lived locally. After all, my father earned a good … Continue reading A Real Life Romance (Part 2)
Image by Gerhard from Pixabay I had a very strange dream this morning right before waking up and running to the bathroom. Actually it was so strange that one hour after that, I was still thinking of it while drinking soy milk for breakfast. I dreamed that I was with two friends and we were … Continue reading The Gossiping Dream
from my cell phone This is the second half of the post and the first half is here. I read this book because I heard that this book is based on the author's marriage to Clara, his second wife, who's a famous actress. The author grew up admiring her movies. It is said the two … Continue reading Quote Of The Day: Fiction & Reality (Continued)
from my cell phone Quote Of The Day #62 Ira never graduated from high school and he worked in a factory after WWII. However he had a gift in talking and was quite active in labor unions. He became a well known radio actor in New York area, where he met Eve, who was ten … Continue reading Quote Of The Day: Fiction & Reality
Image by Alexa from Pixabay Flash Fiction #140 "Oh, my beautiful cousin Alia again. Every time my mother posts a family photo with Alia in it, she has to mention that Alia was in competition for Miss Malaysia in 2007. She just has to. And if I don't give a star or click 'like', she … Continue reading My Beautiful Cousin (Flash Fiction)
Image by Mystic Art Design from Pixabay This is a story I heard when I was a student of a university not too far away from Philadelphia. I lived in an international house with a rule -- no more than two people from each country. And in this house, most students are doing humanity science, … Continue reading Different Opinions
Image by yamabon from Pixabay Serial Fiction Part 1 I want to talk about my step sister and her husband. Since her name means ocean, I will call her Oshina and her husband Oland for the sake of the story. I liked her and her husband a lot, and still like them, but due to … Continue reading A Real Life Romance (Part 1)
Image by Anemone123 from Pixabay It is said every year, there are about 9% of teenagers running away, among whom 20% come back within 24 hours and 20% will disappear forever. And in the Asian immigrant community I'm living in, I've heard several incidents of it. People probably tend to think that boys are more … Continue reading News Of A Runaway
Image by Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay Arton always speaks with his daughter in a tone that is a mixture of politeness, humor, and whining. Yilan has always enjoyed conversing with her father, basically following her father's train of thoughts and agreeing to his ideas. However recently Yilan has started to see a psychiatrist and has … Continue reading The Village Psychic (Flash Fiction Part 2)
floating river market Image by rajukale119 from Pixabay Years ago, I was a saleswoman for company X for a short period of time. Since it is a big company in New York and the surrounding area, I don't want to name the name--I guess it will not really look good for the company. Our targets … Continue reading I Think I Know But I Don’t
Image by Annie Le from Pixabay My friend told me last month that a lesbian couple moved into her street close to her home. And she is a little surprised to find that they are very normal, just like everybody else. She is almost a little disappointed that they are so normal. And this reminds … Continue reading I Can’t Believe I Believed It
Image by k-e-k-u-l-é from Pixabay Armei has had relatively good relationship with her mother-in-law Nana, who has been living with them in New Jersey for seven months for the purpose of taking care of the grandson. However Nana is about to leave, flying across the Pacific and going back home, where her other son and … Continue reading The Lunar New Year Party (Flash Fiction #102)
Ming is a poor artist who does online videos, creates cartoons and posters. He wants to marry Lily for years, but Lily's father Dun won't allow it. Dun looks down upon artists and poor artists especially annoy him. Ming and Lily could get married without Dun's blessing, but they are looking forward to some financial … Continue reading The Old Fox (Flash Fiction #75)
Image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay This is based on a true story. Let's just say her name was Arong. She worked as a team manager for a big energy company that provides electricity to a big Asian city about four decades ago. As in many developing countries, the energy company is … Continue reading Life And Love
Image by justraveling from Pixabay I went to the grocery store this morning. As I was pulling in the parking lot, I saw a woman sitting in the car next to me--she is crying while talking on the phone. I felt the urge to go comfort her, but I knew this couldn't be done since … Continue reading Sunday’s Story
Image by Jamie Nakamura from Pixabay Pammy: "I've never seen Armei and Arhu quarreling this much before. Almost everything Arhu said, his wife Armei objected. I wonder what has happened to the two. I observed them at the party. Glad the party is over and we are home now." Pammy's husband Pan: "Really? I hardly … Continue reading A Relationship Speculator (Flash Fiction #45)
Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash Here is another story of the family of Nita, her husband Lian, and her son Kevin. There's a previous story about the family here on the topic of superfluity--the two stories are not related and there's no need to read the previous story to understand the current story. Nita's … Continue reading Romance And Pandemic (Flash Fiction #40)
Image by Antony Trivet from Pixabay This is a corresponding post for "All The Loving Mothers" written on Mother's day in May. Laid Back Fathers Laid back fathers are usually nice and fun loving, leaving most of the domestic decisions to their spouses. They will step up to take charge when their wife nag them … Continue reading All The Loving Fathers
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 dinner. Armei's husband Pan just … Continue reading A Book Of Ancient Tales (Flash Fiction #29)
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 more than me. If I … Continue reading Energy (Flash Fiction #28)
After reading Herb's blog about Walmart protester who is eager to buy Walmart merchandise, I can think of people in my life who are unaware of the contradiction in their behavior. Even if one points it out to them, they still don't see it. The Crazy Lovers Or Haters This happened many years ago among … Continue reading Don’t See The Contradiction
Image by marcelkessler from Pixabay It's an weekend afternoon at Pammy's place. "What am I going to do?" Lil asks, staring at her friend Pammy and then Armei. "Just confront him. Just be straightforward and open about it. Of course you want to have solid evidence first." Pammy says. "OK, let's go then." Lil says. … Continue reading Good Or Bad Suggestions (Flash Fiction #27)
Photo by Sascha Bosshard on Unsplash When Tony Tung suddenly announces at the dinner table that he is going to be a vegan starting the following week, his parents are totally confused what he's talking about. They've never heard the word before and have to consult the online dictionary. "It means a person who does … Continue reading The Vegan (Flash Fiction #24)
The grandpa is the king of his modest castle, where the mother and the newborn come to live after the father dies. The grandpa is proud of the family longevity-- anybody who dies young is an abnormality and an affront to him. The mother--his daughter--is treated as an unpromising child. Her passivity is considered burdensome; … Continue reading Poem Of The Day #11
Lulu has finished a long day's work at the Ivy Training Center, which has established classes from 4PM to 9PM every weekday, and all day weekend to cater to students of all grades. She calls it Ivy, never using the full name, just like everybody else. Before 4PM, Ivy also helps translate, fill forms, make … Continue reading Knowing Yourself And Others
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)
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
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
Haoyan Do 