Category: Musings
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What the machine finds, and what it cannot
The prologue of my memoir is five sentences long. Two paragraph-sized fragments, separated by a row of dots. A family in a restaurant turns to look at us. I hold the woman’s eyes for a moment and look away. I wish I could tell them our story. Then a section break. Then: That is the…
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The Folder Named Essays
The folder on my desktop is named Essays. Two decades of a blog, poured into one container and set in front of me to be judged. I opened it sometime last month with the intention of finding a book. What I found instead was a woman I had mostly forgotten: twenty-five, new to Pennsylvania, writing…
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I Timed This Deliberately
BTS releases Arirang today. Their first full album in nearly four years. The comeback the fandom has been waiting for. My novel, A Star Keeps Its Distance, is free on Kindle today through March 24. In June 2023, I wrote a post here called “Baby ARMY Steps.” I was a middle-aged woman walking around her…
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Agency in a Restricted World: A Deep Dive into Love Story in the 1970s
On the surface, Love Story in the 1970s is a simple tale: Fei Ni is hell-bent on attending college, and Mu Yang is ready to support the love of his life through every detour. Set in China beginning in 1975, the series follows these two protagonists as they navigate their early twenties in a country…
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Felix And His Leaves
I step out into the wind and cold, suitably armed. I have a sage green zip up jacket with a heavy hood. A black puffer jacket over it, also with the hood on, gloves on my hands and boots on my feet. Felix has his blue harness on and he zips right past me the…
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The Inevitability Of AI
My social media feed is filled with pictures of V (BTS member) with a fan. Comments range from “how lucky!?” to “this is AI”. I peer closely at the picture as if I can discern the difference. I conclude it is not and move on. Also on my feed are screenshots from the Epstein files.…
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Loosening The Grip
I had Happiness by Taylor Swift crooning in my ear as I walked past the kitchen island where all three of my children were huddled, each on their own phones and headphones. My middle child stopped me, holding out a berry colored lip gloss in her hand. It was one of my birthday gifts. I…
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A Birthday To Remember
We met at a local Indian restaurant for dinner, my family, my siblings, my sibling like cousin and their families. As thirteen of us ordered more than enough to go around, the conversation flowed. Nieces shared college experiences, my twins offered up high school experiences, my youngest regaled us oldies with her Gen Alpha terms.…
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Good Endings, New Beginnings
Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash 2025 has been a year of intentionality. I started the year with a book. For a brief while I enjoyed watching the Chinese make fun of us Americans on Xiaohongsu. Superbowl and the halftime show was a master class in subversive art, one I took great pleasure in…
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Marking A Milestone Birthday
I peel an orange standing by the sink. The snow is all but gone from our backyard. The house is quiet despite being full, each of us immersed in our own devices. I eat the orange and dutifully pop a Move Free tablet right after. The red and white bottle reminds me of my age.…