Published inANMLY·May 9What My Dad Carried to AmericaA daughter takes inventory of her father’s luggage — unpacking what the objects he brought (in an aluminum suitcase made in Taiwan) say about the man he was at 25 and today. My dad and I have always been close since I was a child, but like many Chinese immigrants…Aapi6 min readAapi6 min read
Published inGay Mag·Mar 30, 2020Member-onlyMy Father, Bàba, in ProverbsRemembering our roots — 1. 人不可忘本。 One should not forget one’s roots. My father, Bàba 爸爸, is an electrical engineer by training, a precise man who wore neatly pressed suits and silk ties to work for thirty years at a phone company. He taught me, an only child, to be careful and methodical. Read manuals…Power16 min readPower16 min read
Published inGay Mag·Jul 2, 2019Member-onlyMother: A DictionaryI look at my reflection in the mirror and repeat a mantra: “I am not my mother. I am not my mother.” — 1. 媽 mā — mother. If you pronounce mother in a slightly different tone in Chinese, the word becomes 罵 mà, which means to scold or to curse. To me, they represent the same thing. “Why don’t you like your mother?” …Essay14 min readEssay14 min read
Mar 31, 2017Flying HighHow my father’s love of kites followed him from China to America. When I was a kid growing up in a small town in New Jersey, my dad, a Chinese immigrant and engineer, used to call me from work and say, “Let’s go fly a kite!” “O-kayyyy,” I’d say, mostly…Travel6 min readTravel6 min read
Nov 8, 2016I AM AMERICAI am America. As the daughter of Chinese immigrants, I was raised in suburban New Jersey, amidst manicured lawns and shopping malls, to be polite, not ‘rock the boat’ and speak only when spoken to. …Politics2 min readPolitics2 min read
Oct 6, 2016BFF RevisitedA trip down memory lane triggered by notes from my childhood bestie.Best Friend3 min readBest Friend3 min read
Mar 10, 2016hourglassterritorial squawks warnings, perhaps jet-black raven clutching a juicy fruit wrapper in his beak. washed up pufferfish inches from the water thin blue-gray horizon stretching out her arms life hanging in the balance. one shell collector hunting for rare specimens thousands of grains of sand leave nothing behind but footprints, says the sign. bubblegum pink tube floating lost, then found tiny mermaid in a navy suit with white polka dots shivering with happiness.Poem1 min readPoem1 min read
Nov 17, 2015Chasing a Tiny DreamDream big. Or in this case, dream tiny. Sometimes the biggest dreams start small. Or in this case, tiny. I’ve been fascinated with the tiny house movement and recently started exploring building a tiny house that could be part getaway, part artist studio. Started mentioning it to a few people…Tiny House3 min readTiny House3 min read
Oct 19, 2015Find Your TribeMaking friends, stepping out of your comfort zone and connecting again. — Growing up, I was a shy kid with a pair of coke-bottle glasses and my head usually buried in books. I had the same circle of friends from elementary through junior high. …Entrepreneurship3 min readEntrepreneurship3 min read
Aug 16, 2015Taking a 7-Day SabbaticalSometimes when you’re trying to carve out alone time, you find room for unexpected encounters. — For one week, I rented a room (thanks, Airbnb) in Savannah for what I dubbed a creative retreat. People asked, “Who are you doing this with?” Me, just me. A solo sabbatical. To daydream. To ponder. To plot. I brought with me a hefty stack of books for company. The…Savannah4 min readSavannah4 min read