Author: lastchancetobreathe

Melancholy

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Ma’s Donuts.

The picture sat in my inbox. A picture of an old recipe, brown with age, short on detail, ending with an abrupt: Roll out 1/4 inch think Fry.

Comical spelling error aside, there was only one short message sent with the image: It’s cold here!

Sent December 22, 2024. Not from my ma. Nor indeed from her ma. But from my dad’s ma, my Nana.

A donut recipe passed down through generations and one that we – my extended family and I – were all keen to make sure was passed down to us. Nothing was quite like the simple potato donuts, spiced with nutmeg, and fried to a golden brown.

And we all knew, though we didn’t say, the one who made these magical treats wouldn’t be around much longer.

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Chronicles of a Wannabe Author

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It’s been a while. 

I’ve been….um….recuperating? 

I got hit by a drunk driver, broke four bones, landed in the hospital for five days, was bedridden for six weeks, packed up and left Malaysia, flew home to Texas, and am now preparing for a move to Korea.

It’s been a lot.

One day, when I’ve processed more, I may write about it, but for now these last two months are going to go on the back burner of “Things to Think About Later Because It’s Too Much Right Now.”

And then I thought, why not add something else, like publishing a book?

Just kidding, this venture has actually been underway for the last year and was supposed to be completed in June, but, uh, see the last few paragraphs. 

Anywho, I’m excited to announce my collection of short stories, Chronicles of the Supernaturally Inept, is coming out July 14th and, if you’d like to read more of the process and backstory behind it all, feel free to keep reading!

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Teach Them How to Say Goodbye

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“It’s like they were building you a little shrine, even though you’re still alive,” my friend commented in the aftermath of my telling 2nd grade that I was leaving the school. 

And it really was – I’ve never said goodbye to so many little people at once and their reactions were so heartbreakingly touching. 2nd grade took it upon themselves to start giving me whatever precious treasures they happened to have on hand. This included half-finished bags of candy, a handful of crunchy noodles, some stickers, a piece of cardboard with a drawing on it, and a rock. 

They were just one of the eight classes I visited to tell them that I was leaving Malaysia. And then there was the aftermath of the middle schoolers finding out and forming a circle around me as they chanted “Don’t leave!” – one girl asking, “What in the summoning circle?” while another responded, “We are casting a spell so that she can’t leave!”

Have you ever said goodbye to 100+ students in one day? It is exhausting – I think I went to bed at 8:30 that night. 

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Avatar Live Action: The Bad

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It is now time for the negative portion of my review. I want to be thoughtful about it though – there’s no use in hating on a show just to hate on it, but constructive criticism can always be beneficial (like they’ll listen to me, but a girl can dream, right?) Anywho, as I said in my previous post, I think this show has good potential, but it’s not being used correctly. That failing is no more obvious than in their character development. 

There is one glaring flaw with most if not all of the younger characters: they are not allowed to have any significant failings or able to make any disastrous choices. No, those have to be saved for the adults. There’s no chance for the kids to ask for forgiveness or work through the consequences of their poor decisions and actually learn from them. And because the show refuses to let the young ones have any failures or flaws, it significantly nerfs their character development and arcs. 

Let me explain.

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Avatar Live Action: The Good

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As promised, I watched Avatar: The Last Airbender live action on Netflix and gave it a fair shot. As much as possible, I tried to keep an open mind and to look at it objectively. I know some people think it’s unfair to evaluate films and tv shows by comparing them to the originals, but if you create a show based on something else, then I think it is fair to judge accordingly. The remake wouldn’t exist without the original, so you can’t fairly say that it is wrong to compare the two. 

That being said, this post will focus on the positives of this show. (And of course, here thar be spoilers!)

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The Importance of Character Development

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“Everything changed, when Hollywood attacked….”

If you know me well, you know that I love Avatar: The Last Airbender. It is one of the few shows, regardless of whether it is animated or not, that I can watch again and again and get something new out of every time. It has layers and doesn’t shrink back from difficult themes, complex characterization, and meaningful life lessons. 

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A Not-So-Definitive and Completely Biased Ranking of Korean Shows

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So…I’ve been trying to write more. Write a little every day. And guess what? I’ve been fairly successful, hitting my goal of writing at least 200 words a day. (Not nearly what I used to write every day, but hey, I’ll take what I can get at this point). But of course, in succeeding in writing my fiction stuff, my blog dropped off the radar….so yeah. Here I am again.

This time I thought I’d just start off with something fun and easy: a totally biased ranking of Korean shows I’ve watched….’cause I do love a good Korean show. Plus, I just got back from an amazing trip to Korea, so I’m super pumped to share some of my favorites with you all. A little caveat, if you’re looking for some recommendations for Kdrama romance shows, I’m afraid I’m not going to be much help to you. I’m not a romance fan and have watched very few romantic ones. I’m also not one for “slice of life” or sitcom-y type shows. I like action and crime ones, so….here we are.

Anywho, here we go. Going from my least to most favorite (with titles linked to the trailers if you’re curious):

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