Category — Life

Goodbye, Vancouver. I hardly knew ya.

This is what I was thinking of writing:

I had a pretty decent view of self in high school, even if it was affected by general malaise. I knew who I was, what I wanted to be. Now, I know less and less of what is in store for me or what I’ll be doing.

But I like this more:

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about my own path to happiness it’s that I need to shatter the world around me and to create it anew; at the core of my survival and self-discovery is an inevitable process of creation.

The leaves are being emo. It happens.

I’ve been holed up in my room for the better part of the month now, trying to get ahead in all my work but feeling all my momentum slowly fading everyday before the hours of noon and I find myself wondering where my day went.

For the past 6 weeks or so, I’ve been teaching some music and yoga classes at an afterschool program for at-risk youth, grades 1-4. They are absolutely adorable. And complete monsters, each and every single one. They made me lose my temper once, which, unless you’re my family, is pretty hard to do. It’s kind of awkward giving someone a time out in the middle of a yoga flow.

I’ve been particularly crafty this fall. Let’s just say I have way too much yarn (and no, knitting is not my plan for them).

I think this year, I’ll make a turkey for Thanksgiving. I’ve got a new recipe to try, courtesy of Alton Brown.

Yes.

 And maybe carve a pumpkin? 

It’s been another month being a Youth Development Professional, creating opportunities for children to access learning moments in a safe, structured environment that’s as educational as it is fun and play.

And this is the point of the timeline where we need to kick it up a notch and turn these kids’ worlds upside-down and lead them to believe that the previous weeks’ amazements were only a prelude of what is yet to come.

Even in the midst of a tornado - Experts: Tornado Tore Through 9 New Hampshire Towns

It was 20 minutes from the camp. It was a particularly scary day with kids running around but it only left rain for us.

Side Note: Drive-in movie theatres are the best thing ever!

I’m re-re-reading The Alchemist so I can remember my Personal Legend and how to listen to the wind.

That and I’m prepping and planning all sorts of educational activities that are fun enough for kids at camp.

On the list include yoga and music time.

And this.

TED 2008:

A Stroke of Insight

In the Beginning…
Ever since we started learning how to play recorders in the third grade I knew that music would be a part of my life.

I remember telling my parents that I wanted to do music in college and the look of loss and abandon that they gave me. Growing up as an ABC (American-Born Chinese) put me in that transitional generation of kids who often live in two different worlds - I had my suburban New England school life with my suburban New England friends and cafeteria food during the day, and my working-class Hong Kong family and my mother’s rice cooker at night.

Being the first one in my family to go to college, I might as well have told my parents I was running away and joining the circus.

So I don’t have an aversion to Valentine’s Day because I think it’s great that we devote an entire day to Love. And while it’s always marketed in the U.S. (and thereby perpetuated) as an escapist holiday with overtly romantic overtones, I can look beyond the gift wrap and long-stemmed roses to something deeper beyond the gloss.

So I figured I’d kick off this blog with an introductory series of posts for the month of love and give a narrative on the many ways it shapes and contours my every waking moment and thought.

And it all starts with One.

This is home to the musings and ruminations of a soon-to-be quarter-lifer detailed in lifestreams and article posts that will cover a wide range of topics that are my life pursuits, hobbies, passions, and incidental loves. Part autobiographical, part research, I’m looking to find how and where these seemingly disparate life-spheres intersect and play out. Hopefully you’ll enjoy the ride as much as I will!

peace + <3