observations, humor, nonsense
As an Asian American in Asia, I’m mistaken for either the local population or a Chinese tourist. This even happened in Ecuador! I was seen as an Asian Latin American, and not even having a fellow gringo as a sidekick changed their perceptions. But I think this incident best summarizes my experiences (because I’ve had plenty as an…
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In the 6th grade, we took a statewide test that assessed our writing abilities, and I scored high under having a strong opinion. But in college, I received papers back that said “too idiosyncratic”. Looking back, I feel those two moments define the evolution of my writer’s voice. And I like that. I like my voice.…
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I wish I knew how to climb into storybooks and try on different life. Could I be like Nora in The Midnight Library and see what would have happened if I had made different choices. What if I had stayed in archaeology? What if I stayed in Durango, Colorado? What if I had had children?…
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Australia was never on my radar. After all, I left Hawaii to get away from island life (sounds absurd now, doesn’t it?). My first brush with Australia was through the 1986 hit movie Crocodile Dundee, and while it was entertaining, it didn’t exactly make me want to hop on a plane. No, throughout my childhood…
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None. She wouldn’t have listened anyway. Because:a) teenagers always know bestand have all the answersb) words can change lives, but would it have made a difference?and would I have wanted it to?c) the older we get, the more regrets we harbor, so it’s best to let those ships sail out to sead) nowadays, I remind…
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Did the pandemic change the way we read? You bet it did. Physical, electronic, and audio books sales all increased. And just like everyone else, I read widely, deeply, to escape, and find comfort, too. This became particularly noticeable after I started working full-time. Dark and depressing could no longer hold my interest. [Too close…
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It has been known to happen, although, like this month’s solar eclipse, it’s rare. Nothing will hold my attention, but what’s super annoying is I’ve read several books halfway before giving up on them. Even my gal, Agatha Christie, couldn’t satisfy me, and in the past, she was ‘ol reliable. Like people, I want to…
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How fast is this year flying by? The witch’s broomstick is already in the distance, past Halloween’s moon. This month I read another long book and a children’s story that I read to my third grade class. That counts too, doesn’t it? First up, The Widow Queen by Elzbieta Cherezinska, translated from Polish to English…
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Another one-book month, but it was over 400 pages! That counts for something, right? After a string of serious books, I needed something different. But like a lot of things, we don’t know what we need until we go looking for it. Somehow I found this list The Best Science Fiction of 2021: The Arthur…
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A busy month = just one book and a trail of abandoned books. Do you give up on novels? As a child of the 80s, I grew up during the Cold War, which sounds dramatic, but this simply meant that the enemy in films and television were almost always the Russians. I’m not sure if…
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This month I read Australian, American, and British. Breath by Tim Winton was recommended by my husband who remembers reading it many years ago. Since my 14-year old student, Mark likes surfing he thought it would be a good read. But what he forgot was that the story has some very inappropriate sex descriptions (and…
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This month I finished four books and share a big announcement. My student, Mark, and I read this together, and boy howdy, am I glad I had a reading buddy because this is a long book. There were times when I wanted to give up because it’s not a conventional novel. It’s not chronological. It’s…
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Many Thais have this uncanny ability to sleep anywhere and at anytime. On piles of rocks in the middle of a construction site. On a straw mat over a bundle of bamboo poles under a tree. Between loud speakers at a party. Or on a motorbike perfectly balanced and relaxed despite the tilt of the…
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Just two books, but updates, and a couple of scams to be aware of are included in this month’s roundup. Books read in May At the recommendation of Jeremy (who at this point should be receiving a commission) I read Shadow and Bone in 2019 and then binge-read almost all of Leigh Bardugo’s books on…
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According to this study, it has. What I know, as we endure our third lockdown in Thailand, is that cooperation and progress is slow in an internet age of fiber optics. The strengths and weaknesses of cultures feels like it’s been on high-res display during the pandemic because while Thais are comfortable wearing masks, it’s…
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Thanks Rebecca at Rust Belt Girl for this fun idea, who got it from other groovy bloggers. I hope you find the prompts as amusing and thought-provoking as I did. And please share your answers, too! Author You’ve Read the Most From: Probably Agatha Christie. I started reading her in high school, and she’s my…
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Whoa. April is almost over. The year is 2021, the coronavirus is still outwitting governments, and AI has juuust about taken over people’s abilities to think independently. What’s a girl to do? Well, you do what you’ve been doing ever since you were 13 and realized the world was going to do its thing regardless…
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A groovy month of beautiful books, my StoryGraph, and how to get out of your literary echo chamber. In January’s Reading Roundup, I shared StoryGraph, an alternative to Goodreads that puts your reading into these colorful and interesting graphs and charts. Now that the first quarter has passed, I thought I’d share what mine looks…
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I used to work for a management company as an administrative assistant. There were a bunch of us, underlings, who were assigned to different managers (who were in charge of fancy condos and gated communities). I started off as a temp downstairs, but as often was the case, after head honchos figured out I could…
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Short month means short books! Ha! I read four books this month. Three were fairly short, under 300 pages while one was over. Two of the books I read with my teenage students, who are studying literature with me online, which means the other two were for my nighttime reading. First up was Out of…
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Current status: reading obsessed! Since I enjoyed reading about other people’s reading lists from 2020, but reading challenges are a bit too much to commit to, I thought it would be fun to start a monthly reading roundup (let’s see how this goes). I’ve also signed up for The Story Graph which is a Goodreads…
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[or how to eat more fruits and veggies!] It’s actually pretty easy and fun, but I enjoy cooking, being creative, and learning new recipes. Trust me though, you can be a lazy vegan — oh, and I hardly eat salads. For some out-of-character reason, I recorded what I ate for an entire month, early on…
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Anyone else being forced to adapt and change during these times? Days before we closed 2020 and pulled out 2021, our apt manager announced that the pool and gym were closed due to a new wave of COVID. We howled over the lack of logic. Never mind the chances of COVID surviving in a chlorinated…
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My colleagues joked that we had to get all of our COVID conversations out of the way before our Christmas dinner due to an anti-vaxxer coworker. But I had already decided I didn’t want to talk about work, politics, or the virus. And after we said good-night to everybody, my partner told me that it…
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A year ago my partner and I decided to become vegan. We did it for health reasons even though neither of us have any obvious health problems. While I can’t speak for others, it’s been a positive change for us. We feel better, it’s good for the planet, and I no longer fear food. When…
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November was the month that technology and I battled it out. Not exactly to the death, but it came to blows. The fieriest dogfight was over my OS or operating system. When I bought my Aspire All-In-One, I thought this one looks good enough and it’s cheap. (It’s how I chose my men…) But as…
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My friend Kathy’s husband HATES small talk. We all got a giggle out of it, but I did try to have more meaningful conversations with him during social gatherings. And recently, I read an essay by David Sedaris on a scathing conversation he had with a taxi driver because he was sick of small talk…
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The Social Dilemma was not what I expected. Therefore, I put off watching it because I thought I knew what it was going to be about – how social media harvests and controls our populations. It is, however, much more. How do you wake up from the Matrix when you don’t know you’re in the…
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One of the advantages of being disorganized is that one is always having surprising discoveries. ― A.A. Milne October was a month of discoveries. When we moved here about two years ago we were disappointed that transportation was challenging. In other words, there weren’t any Grab cars. But with the surge of food delivery options…
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“They’re saying you need your passport.” “Don’t you have a copy?” “Yeah, but they need your visa page.” “Why?” “Some stupid COVID thing.” I turned away from talking to the BF, back to the front desk clerk. “I promise you he hasn’t left the country in three years.” “Sorry, it’s the policy of the government.”…
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The combination of my partner playing ELO in the gym and reading The Seven Sisters series by Lucinda Riley made me think of one of my childhood favorites, Xanadu. Considered a truly awful movie by many, but a cult classic by Oliva Newton-John fans like me. While the soundtrack went double-platinum in the US, the…
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The challenge. I didn’t go anywhere. What do I take photographs of? I’ve exhausted my little neighborhood, haven’t I? My world has shrunk, and like many, I don’t really venture beyond a small area. Yes, yes, COVID and all that, but the problem still needs to be solved. Ah, ha! What’s on your desk? Here’s…
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I try. I really do. After all, there’s no shortage of horrible news that makes you want to suck your thumb, strap on an adult diaper, and lose yourself in a tub of tears and ice cream. Salty! Happy Panda did a ‘Happiness is…’ photo series which is such a good idea. Here’s one of…
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Falling in love with reading has been one of my biggest influences. I can’t imagine my life without a good book or even a shampoo bottle for me to read. I was thirteen when I walked into Waldenbooks out of utter desperation to do something with my time after I had no friends, no outside…
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Hello, again. I’m back! Sorry about missing June and July, needed a break, but I’m ending the month with a holiday so I’ve got time and sanity back (momentarily). Most of August was tough though. I was juggling two jobs, teaching online and in the classroom. We went back into the classroom at the end…
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Life, the Universe, and Lani 
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