Life, the Universe, and Lani

Discover Prompt, Day 10 + 11: Orchestrate & Bite

It was the morning after Superbowl Sunday. The guys were about to get to their job sites, but they were lingering outside by their trucks with hot cups of coffee, talking about yesterday’s game in pairs or small groups. Usually their trucks would be idling, usually they would be scrambling for their hard hats, tool…

08/04

Discover Prompts, Day 6+7: Hands & Below

I am a giant tending to my plants on my apartment deck. Sometimes I start the morning by giving my plant children a stern look over. Is everyone okay? Who’s thirsty? I pick up dead or dying leaves. It’s important to make sure your little forest doesn’t have any fires. During this ritual I noticed…

06/0406/04

Discover Prompts, Day 5: Dish

It was American Thanksgiving, and like many other years, I was far from home. I was living in Eugene, Oregon, working part-time at a non-profit ISP, training to be a Waldorf teacher, and living in a house with a divorcee, Jo, who seemed angry at the world. Her best friend, who also was one of…

05/0405/04

Discover Prompts, Day 4: Street

Take me back to Hawaii On Anania Circle Where you could feel the light, laughter, and sun Bouncing off the black pavement, On many afternoon. After long school days We played in the parks, Climbed the walls, trees, and dug into the ground. Across Kamehameha Highway In the enclosure As we wished In the warmth…

04/04

Discover Prompts, Day 3: Song

Dear Dangerous Kitchen, We had a lot of laughs, didn’t we? Who would have thought that a song would describe my childhood kitchen? Sure, maybe a heartbreak, a rekindled romance, or a perfect summer’s day, but a kitchen? At this point in my life, I’ve seen a fair share of kitchens, messy, minimalist, modern, but…

03/0403/04

Discover Prompts, Day 2: Open

// When I thought of today’s prompt, this photo came to mind. Angkor Wat was much more impressive than I expected, and I deliberately stayed away from looking at photos of the park before visiting because I wanted it to be a new experience. Has anyone else done this with a major tourist attraction?…

02/04

Discover Prompts: Day 1, Joke

I know I’ve lived in Thailand too long when the first image that comes to mind when I hear the word ‘joke’ is the rice porridge dish that makes for a great breakfast here. You can add a soft boiled egg, green onions, soy sauce, and other bits like ground pork for a sustaining meal.…

30/0302/04

The Changing Seasons – March 2020

March was a f***ing dickhead, is what it was. Now, to be fair, it started off innocently enough. Oh sure, we were in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, but March is when COVID-19 gained the kind of speed and tenacity that woke up the Western world. It was also when I went to the…

05/0309/03

Hair: a braided essay

Once upon a time, there was a king and a queen who desperately wanted a child. It seemed like an eternity, but then one perfect day, the queen became pregnant. During the height of her term, she craved a particular kind of vegetable that happened to be growing in their neighbor’s yard. (Do kings…

28/0203/03

The Changing Seasons – February 2020

Hiya! I’m back again for another Changing Seasons photo challenge, hosted by Su. How is everybody? I hope the month of love treated you right! For most of February I wasn’t myself because I lost the momentum that I had in January. I’m also fairly certain I’m pre-menopausal (fun!), so I can’t be sure how…

12/0218/02

Being Wrong is the New Right: a man’s guide to living with a woman

Hi, my name’s Lumberjack Dan, and I’m here to help you fellas get your balls in a row. Whether you’re at the starting gate (you’ve decided to move in with your long term girlfriend) or have been running the track nonstop (married with kids), I’ve got the answers to your needs. But first, some qualifications.…

03/0203/02

Why you might NOT like Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai, Thailand has been touted as the “Rose of the North”. It’s the Hail Mary pass for tourists, English teachers, digital nomads, and barefoot hippies. But in recent years, it has changed a great deal which is causing a bit of a commotion. First of all, I’ve written about CM a lot: (2017) Chiang…

30/0130/01

The Changing Seasons – January 2020

Welcome back for another monthly recap/photo challenge, thanks to Su. I hope this post finds you well. January was an unusual month because I traveled, got to spend time with old friends, and enjoyed a better work-life balance. Although, I’m hoping to commit to the latter for the rest of the year. Rayong…

14/01

The battle for your body – Diet Wars

Not only are we more politically divided than ever, we are in regards to our diets as well. There’s the Keto Diet (high fat, low carbs), the Dubrow Diet (intermittent fasting), the Carnivore/Paleo Diet (meat only, or mostly meat), the Mediterranean Diet (healthy fats and whole grains), the Flexitarian (mostly veg, with meat when you…

01/01

Let’s wrap up 2019, so we can move on to 2020!

What a year, eh? Holy cannoli, I don’t want to do that again. I’m recapping the 2019 year of blog posts, and looking back through photos from a decade of living abroad. Whoa. January 2019 started off with taking a look at my relationship with money. I’m proud that I posted it, cause, you…

31/12

The Changing Seasons – December

What a month. What a year. 2019 was a hard working year, and December was no exception. The first half of the month was all about finishing up work, getting our scholarship kids graduated, and wishing the holiday break would hurry up and get here already. But now that I’m in the middle of my…

21/1211/02

Outwit, outplay, surviving the holidays as an introvert

You can’t get out of these. You’ve already tried. You’ve bailed before, Haley’s birthday, Tom and Peter’s housewarming, your grandma’s 90th, so you’re stuck. You’ve ranted and raved to your stuffed animal collection (family), drank it off but stopped after two glasses of wine (wuss), and passed out in a fear-induced stupor (typical).

09/12

How the Thai diet has changed for the worse

When I first started working in Thailand back in 2010, I remember listening to a casual debate among my fellow teachers whether or not the Thai diet was a healthy one. Upon first glance it certainly appears so, as meals were smaller (farangs would joke about ordering two plates of food), and the people were…

30/11

The Changing Seasons – November

This month I’ve decided I’m celebrating 10 years of consistent blogging which coincides with how many years I’ve lived abroad. Technically, I should have made a fuss in late August, but like so many milestones, I forgot. My first post was called Ground Control. I reflect on how often I have to look at the…

08/1105/02

Left-handedness: some stories and some science

I am left-handed. Although, my younger brother was originally left-handed, he was corrected in grade school. He likes to joke that he’s been robbed of his true self as a result. But since he ended up in the U.S. military, I think that being right-handed served him better. It turns out that being left-handed makes…

01/11

The Changing Seasons – October

Hello, lovelies! It’s another month of participating in Su’s “The Changing Seasons” photo challenge. Head over to her blog for the details.

25/1012/11

What no one ever tells you about eating out in Thailand

Eating out in Thailand requires a bit of patience, and knowledge regarding how things work (or don’t).

12/1012/10

Is it harder for Asians to love themselves?

Believe it or not ‘why is it so hard for Asians to love themselves’ was a search term that I found on my blog one morning. I’m usually amused or curious what folks are looking for, and I don’t make it a habit to turn them into blog posts (see exception), but this one piqued…

01/1012/10

The Changing Seasons – September

Hello again! I’m back for another monthly photo recap hosted by Su at Zimmerbitch. Click on over for the guidelines.

10/0911/02

How to be an Edgy and Thought-Provoking Asian American

// Own the Bowl Haircut – Why should childhood trauma still haunt you? Bring a bowl to the salon and tell them to do it. Bonus points if you are a woman or you do it at home. Post on social media. #iamthebowl

01/0912/10

The Changing Seasons – August

After July, August felt like I had something to prove. I plowed into teaching and writing projects as if all my New Year’s Resolutions depended on only this month. So, naturally, I got sick. It’s okay, I’ll live… (*flings herself on to the bed face down, and starts howling*)

21/0811/02

Notes from afield: (humorous) classroom observations

If my mental math isn’t failing me, I’ve been teaching for about 12 years, which means I haven’t had the good sense to hook, reel, and catch a ‘sugar daddy’. Nor have I been able to launch my misplaced passion for writing into any lucrative side hustle or ‘cash cow’.

06/0812/10

The Changing Seasons – July

Hello all y’all! I’m participating in The Changing Seasons Challenge which is basically a monthly recap that I heard about through Sarah, who got it from Su.

29/0729/07

My reaction to “Want to be Less Racist? Move to Hawaii”

In 1991 Spike Lee released ‘Jungle Fever’, a movie about an interracial couple. When it came out, it was making the news, but I only remember it because my brother looked at me and said, “What’s the big deal?” I shrugged, “I have no idea.” Fast forward to 2019, he sent me a New York…

01/0712/10

Skip the vacation (or the ugly side of traveling)

Hey, people who travel with their bed pillow. You look insane. – Jim Gaffigan Is everyone on holiday but me? Even though my vacation is later this month, I’m still burning with jealousy at everyone else’s Instagram feed. I’m convinced everyone’s loaded with unlimited cash – and having a great time. *sobs into monogram handkerchief*

14/0614/06

From tourist to non-tourist towns (six months in Rayong)

The other day I went to a tourist information booth and asked, ‘Tell me about some of the people who were here last year. – Steven Wright Until recently, I’ve pretty much lived in tourist towns.

21/0502/03