Life

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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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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The Words of Eternal Life

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St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Hanoi, Vietnam

“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68-69).

This is one of my absolute favorite Scripture verses and one I find myself returning to again and again.

I recently returned from an amazing vacation to Vietnam (known now in my mind as “The Great Food and Coffee Tour of Vietnam”) and mixed in with all of the delicious food, beautiful sites, and grand adventures, one of the most precious memories of this trip is getting to have deep, meaningful conversations with some friends that I haven’t gotten to know very well up until this point.

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Delight 16: Introversion vs. Isolation

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Some people are surprised to find out that I’m an introvert. And granted, I’m a little surprised at how much I’ve changed too.

I used to be much more outwardly visible as an introvert – didn’t speak up much, was shy around strangers, vanished at parties after a while.

Lately, I’m much more likely to speak up and meet new people (though inwardly a lot of the time I’m still cringing about how much I don’t like doing these kinds of things). But honestly, I am getting better at it. I’m not quite the awkward turtleduck in conversation that I used to be – I even, dare I say it, enjoy it sometimes?

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Delight 15: “Noise”

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Stray Kids brew up a storm in Thunderous new music video [WATCH]

Warning: Nerd Post Alert.

With that out of the way, to no one’s great surprise, I love music (I mean, don’t we all love some form of music?). But more than that, I like “noisy” music. And I like learning about the writing/producing process behind albums.

So you can imagine my delight when my favorite kpop group, Stray Kids (yes, they’ve replaced BTS), came out with a new album named Noi(ea)sy. Even better when I found out they made it as a response to criticism that their music was “noise.”

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