hot toddies, rooftop films, popcorn at the Brooklyn grange 

good morning

“Everyone underestimates their own life. Funny thing is, in the end, all our stories…they’re the same. In fact, no matter where you go in the world, there is only one important story: of youth, loss and yearning for redemption. So we tell the same story, over and over. Only the details are different.”

- Rohinton Mistry, Family Matters

breakfast and lunch. 

my frozen spinach and strawberries made a gloopy mess of a smoothie, so I treated it as soft serve topped with cranberries and pecans and cinnamon. It was enough for two glassfuls and I finished it all. Perfect for my first 80 degree day here.

it's raining lightly outside.
today's lunch.

walked over to meet with M for a supremely late lunch.  we discussed healthy eating, addiction to sugar, my experience in China, politics of Taiwan, approaching living in New York City with deliberate-ness daily, 1000-item bucket lists, whether religion and faith can increase tolerance to risk, rooftop films (I can't wait for this), "why wouldn't you want more of this??", vinyasa yoga, running, jackson heights, his experience living in Japan, soba noodles, the variations of necessary caloric intake for our body types, changing careers, and the risk tolerance of Millennials. 

walked home in the rain, blinking. 

brightened my morning :) illustrations by jaco hassbroek (via ignant)!

things that happened on this morning's walk:

- Asked a girl at the cafe if her muffin tasted good, and she offered me half to taste

- Pet a beautiful dog named play doh which at first I confused with Plato

- Sat in the sun

What are you going to do? Everything, is my guess. It will be a little messy, but embrace the mess. It will be complicated, but rejoice in the complications. 

Nora Ephron

weekend picnics. 

T sent this to me over the weekend. perfect timing.




your life is your life
don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission.
be on the watch.
there are ways out.
there is a light somewhere.
it may not be much light but
it beats the darkness.
be on the watch.
the gods will offer you chances.
know them.
take them.
you can’t beat death but
you can beat death in life, sometimes.
and the more often you learn to do it,
the more light there will be.
your life is your life.
know it while you have it.
you are marvelous
the gods wait to delight
in you.


(bukowski)

i love spring, the way the sunlight lingers past 8pm.
i woke up this morning and all i could hear was stillness. this weekend morning, the city was surprisingly deafening. no street sweepers. no roaring garbage trucks.
i bathed myself in silence. made myself breakfast, waltzed barefoot around the apartment, and went outside into the glorious quiet.

a New York City sunset.

from behind my window screen

meandered through the city, stopped at the park for an impromptu one-on-one lesson on street kali. learned how to take an attacker's eyes out, and also some choke holds. but of course, practical application is... uncertain.

spent the evening at a new lounge listening and dancing to live salsa music played by a full salsa band, i mean, full 11 pieces, with all the fixin's. my knee throbbed a bit as we danced, but it was worth it. who knew that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Alabama Shakes, and Arcade Fire could be turned into full-on hip-swinging latin-rhythm covers? yeah, it was like that.

the look that people get on their faces when they dance. it is worth it just for that.

also, i cannot tell you how much i look forward to avocado toast lunches?!

lunch. toast in oven because you don't have a toaster. smash avocado on top. red pepper flakes and garlic. green tea and a good book.