Category: Uncategorized

Indifferent Decisions (A Short Story)

Photo Credit: ali vaghefi

(Here is a reading of the story if audio is more your thing)

“So, what should we put?” I asked, pen in hand, staring overwhelmed at the piece of paper. 

“Maybe Christmas?” My girlfriend answered. 

“What?” My other friend interjected. 

“Like Christmas would be nice.” 

“That strange creature came to us and bestowed on us the choice of what will survive the apocalypse tomorrow, and the first thing you think of is Christmas?!” 

“Sure. It’s a start.” 

“What other ideas do you have?” I intervened, as my other friend furled her brow at me. I wrote down Christmas for now. 

“What are the most important things that our nation has to offer? Like democracy, our Constitution.” My friend shouted. 

“But look what democracy got us now…” She quipped. 

There was silence for several seconds. 

“I don’t know,” he finally broached the silence. “We are bound to have some kind of legacy. Our culture must have built something great that we can bestow to future people to enjoy.” 

I sat there. I thought about the incredible promise we once had: human rights, the dream that everyone would get a house, the Civil Rights movements. “We squandered everything we once had,” I finally lamented out loud. “It all turned out to be lies and false promises.”  

“I know what happened, but there must be something in all that that is true and lasting, that future generations need to learn,” my friend almost begged. He so wanted this to be true. 

I thought of how chaotic the last several years had been. Always, another disaster after another. A fanatical lunatic in charge. My mind hurt from thinking through all that happened. I could have survived so many mini-apocalypses, but the idea that something truly horrid befell us tomorrow only made me feel drained and depleted. Just let it be quick to get it over with. 

“Maybe all we have left is our warning,” I finally concluded. “Maybe if we included the story of how we failed, others could avoid our mistakes and not become us.” 

“I don’t think any future human would listen,” my girlfriend objected. 

“They might,” I replied. 

“We wouldn’t have listened.” 

The truth of this hit me for a few seconds. 

“It’s our only hope.”

Our City Is a Womb (A Short Story)

Visiting OHD Museum, an art museum in Magelang, Indonesia, I saw this piece of art: “Reflion” by Meretas Solusi. This story popped into my head to explain the piece. I am not sure if it’s anywhere near what the artist was originally going for, however.

What even is this place? I sit drinking my glass of wine on the edge of my window overlooking the drop-off. Before me is a vast forest, and in the horizon, I can make out the nearest city. It looks like another big blob in the sky. Tons of houses facing the edge of a human-made cliff, just like mine. 

Our city is a womb. Are we a society that never truly left its home? We are too afraid of what our people did to the world when we did venture out. Maybe it’s better to stay inside. 

This endless forest, this is what we created. I can see the trees swaying in the wind. I am a little too high up to see the forest floor, but I see the occasional perched bird in the trees fly away. The forest looks green. I still remember when the trees were an unholy orange. It took us decades to grow it back, and if staying inside the confines of the city is what is necessary to keep safe, then so be it. 

I am old, though, so this is much easier for me to say. The youth are the ones who want to venture back out. They feel confined by the city. Yes, we have paths leading to the other cities, but these are not enough. They yearn to explore the world of the trees, birds, and mountains. I can’t blame them. I lived in a time when this was common. I wish we could venture back out without creating the same problems we did before. 

They will send scientists and filmmakers into the world, trained in how to leave no trace in the wilderness to take videos and pictures. Our city consumes clips of strange animals and majestic landscapes with the same carnivorous energy we once hunted each other with. Many youth want to be on their crew of adventurers, but only a handful get selected. They become the new celebrities in our cloistered world. 

I wish there was a way to send more out without creating the same consumptive craving that plagued humanity for centuries. The Council seems skeptical. Being older, like me, they all saw the perils humanity could unleash. They treat them like a fallen piece of wood to be rehammered back into place. That isn’t fair to them. They are just curious and want adventure. Every generation is like that when they are young. They see beauty and want to live in it up-close. If only we could. 

I take another sip of wine. 

Haikus as a Three Line Story: One Way to Write a Haiku (Part 1 of a New Series)

Photo Credit: Pexels

This is the first chapter in a four part series about my friend and my experience writing a haiku a day for six years. In each part, I outline a different type of haiku we often write. Other parts of the series: Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

As I have already discussed in a previous article [], my friend and I have written a haiku a day for the last six years. This has been an incredibly transformative experience, and here I will focus on how we use the haiku format to tell stories. 

At the end of the day, haikus are a way to use three lines to tell a story. Each new line provides an opportunity to transform the previous line, whether that be a twist or punchline breaking an already established pattern, continuation or intensification of the theme in the previous line, or something else entirely. At the same time, different haikus emphasize the first, second, or third line as the most important line in that story. The opportunities are truly endless. 

Over the next few articles, I will discuss different forms of stories we might tell. This article will start with telling a story through the continued revelation of a theme. 

Haiku Type 1: Continued Revelation of a Theme

The most obvious style or narrative to tell in a three-line haiku is one of continuation: introduce the theme in the first line and in each subsequent line reveal further details to make the theme clearer. This forms the most basic or bedrock version of a haiku that you compare the other styles against. 

Sometimes, the new lines can further reveal the details of the theme or topic being explored. For example, the later lines could abstract the tangible observation in the first line. If the first line is itself abstract, later lines might instead provide specific examples or imagery of that theme. Or, it could provide the context in which the writer (or at least the narrator) was thinking of the items established in the first two lines. Here are a few examples of each:

Going from detailed to Abstract

The lone seagull fades

Into the vast thundercloud’s 

Forceful harmony

(Originally published here. These first two lines provide specific imagery, and the final line connects the seagull’s moment with the concept of harmony.)

This winding dirt road

What wonders I must go see

To explore the world

(Originally published here. The first line starts with a vivid image of being on a road, and the second two lines connect it to a theme of exploration.)

All this background noise

Droning all around to sell

Yet another myth

(The second line provides more context for the scene, establishing that the noise is caused by sellers, and the third line connects the theme to the abstract idea advertisement as a form of mythmaking.)

New job, new projects

New toolkits, new people with

New idols they serve

(As a list poem, the final line is a continuation of items on the list, but it also establishes and summarizes the poem’s theme of work as a form of idolatry.) 

Drop the heavy box

Shards of glass fly everywhere 

Hope is laid to rest. 

(The first two lines describe a moment, and the final line connects that imagery to broken hope. This summarizes the key theme of the poem.) 

From Abstract to Specific Examples

In this type of poem, the final lines that provide specific examples or imagery of an already abstract initial lines:

I lie in the shade

Of your blistering haiku

No rest from the heat

(Originally published here. This haiku’s final line concludes with a new piece of imagery; this time about the feeling of heat.)

Always bursting through

The cracks of your perspective,

The light will shine through

(Originally published here. The second two lines add visual imagery of what is bursting through from the first line.)

My thoughts could kill me:

The sea of despair tugs me;

They hold me under…

(This final line concludes with the vivid image of despairing thoughts drowning the narrator.) 

Emotional case

But I can’t talk about it

A weight inside me

(Originally published here. This final line also concludes with what it feels like to have such intense emotions that one cannot talk about.) 

Reflecting on the Experience

In these poems, the later lines that provides the context in which the narrator or author is thinking about the earlier lines:

The half moon window

Betrays the glow of night sky 

Comforting my thoughts.

(Here the final line shows the narrator’s perspective on and relationship with the moon they have been looking at.)

A blink of an eye

Everything can change so fast 

For the good or bad

(In the final line, the narrator evaluates their stance on the sudden change described in the first two lines.)

Joys of sleeplessness:

You get to marinate in

Every useless thought

(The final two lines demonstrate the narrator’s stance on sleeplessness.) 

These are all different techniques where the final lines continue to reveal the theme of the first line or lines, whether that be by broadening or abstracting the theme, narrowing it, providing rich imagery, or providing a type of reflection. 

Taking a Few Weeks off from Posting

I am going to be traveling throughout the countryside until May 28th, 2025, so I will not have consistent internet access. Thus, I will be taking a break from my weekly blog posts every Wednesday. I plan to resume them once I get back.

I will also not likely post my daily haikus. I will still write haikus everyday. I not can but love writing these while traveling, but I will not usually have the internet to upload them here every day like I normally day. Once I get back, I hope to bulk upload all the haikus I wrote as I traveling.

Thank you for your patience and support. I hope you have an amazing April and May.

Reflection on Living in New York City for the Last 5 Years

Photo Credit: cristigrigore94

I wrote this reflection during my last day in New York City: 

Today is my last day in New York City. I have lived here in Brooklyn for five long years. New York has meant a lot to me. It has been my single favorite place to live out of all the places I have lived in. Here are some of the things that New York has meant to me or that I learned during my time here: 

1) Many jobs, most frustrating: I worked many jobs while there. I developed my professional capacity as a data scientist there. I had many jobs I loved and many frustrations. Many annoying bosses and many great people to work with. 

2) Many relationships: I went on a lot of dates during this time. I went from someone pretty inexperienced with dating to doing it all the time. Some were good relationships, but for whatever reason, most turned out to be okay or bad. Finding someone often felt nearly impossible in New York, especially through dating apps. It had the problems of too many options, leading to difficulties finding which ones were the best fit for you. 

3) Many new societies, cultures, people: New York throws a lot at you, and I loved that. I loved seeing the many different parts of the world represented here. Visiting all the restaurants. Seeing all the museums Learning about different facets of history and society. I learned so much about the world here. 

4) Pandemic and foot injury: About half my time here was during the pandemic, during a partial or complete lockdown, and during that time, I was further handicapped by a debilitating foot injury for about a year and a half to two of my five years here. That was awful. 

5) Transitioning stages in life: I transitioned from young adulthood to the starting of middle-life here: I arrived in my late twenties and am leaving at 33. During my time here, I transitioned from my youthful energy to what may be the beginning of my middle adulthood. I noticed my energy level, preference for routine over adventure, and desire for things like alcohol changed pretty drastically over time. 

6) Changing life priorities: I arrived here burnout from graduate school but still in love with learning. I was connected very much with academia and out there intellectual pursuits. During my time here, my passions transitioned towards a career focus, which then bottomed out, leaving me to whatever I will find passion in next. 

Over these five years, my career and building my resume I think slowly became my driving force. I built a career in data science and juggled multiple passion projects (writing poetry, an animated sitcom, a blog, etc.) In contrast to previous stages in my life, I read less intellectual material, spent less time socializing with peers, and tended to focus on what would build my resume or on the “crux” or intricacies of getting my projects done. I think this was a necessary stage for me as it grew my skills and my capacity to get things done efficiently. 

At the same time, I think my interests are changing, and I am slowly moving away from that during my next stage in that. In the last year, I started to realize how truly pointless all such career ventures ultimately were. I got shaken out of the trance and decided to move on, focusing on what makes me happy. 

7) Fewer relationships: I made less close friends here than during previous places I have lived and felt less connected community-wise. Maybe that was partially because New York is a big city, maybe partially because the pandemic and my foot injury stifled some of this, but mostly I think it was because I was focusing on my career. 

Despite the fact that my time in New York felt like back-to-back life crises and stress, living here was still a joy. I will always cherish my time here.

(For more about life in New York City, click here.)

Awoken from Her Afternoon Nap (A Short Story)

The knocking jolts the Thai nurse from her nap. She pushed aside the Thai comic book she had been reading on her couch before she drifted into her afternoon siesta. This was her day off, and all she wanted to do was relax at home. Who would come knocking at her door?

“Hello, I need your help!” The voice called from the other side.

At first, she tried ignoring it, but the man wouldn’t go away. She was off the clock: this was her day to not help anyone. Eventually, though, she walked over to the door to figure out how to politely send him away.

“Hello?” she answered.

“Please help me!”

“Help you with what?”

“My foot! My foot hurts,” the man cried.

She looked through the peephole and saw it was her neighbor. She barely knew him, but he lived across the hallway in their apartment complex.

“I need someone to check it out,” he implored.

She is hesitant, but she decides the easiest way to send him away would be to look at it real quickly.

“Ok,” she replied, opening the door. “Let me see.”

He limped her over to his apartment, where he reclined on his couch, his right foot sticking up towards her.

“It’s the sole. The sole really hurts!” is all he could say.

She conducted a brief examination. She started poking the soul along key pressure points to see whether anything was the matter and then moved up along the ankle.

“You should be fine,” she explained. “You just have some swelling along the ankle that is pinching your nerves and causing pain in your sole. Rest for today, but tomorrow, go see the doctor. There’s a small chance it might constrict your blood flow and cause a blood clot. Those can be life threatening.”

“Ok,” he replied, relieved.

“You are going to be okay. I’m going to go back home, but if you have any more pain or soreness take some aspirin.”

With that, she left. She didn’t want to say anything because she didn’t want to stay long, but something was off. His foot was cold, and she couldn’t feel a pulse. He also didn’t respond to the normal nerve pinches or tickling that would usually cause any foot to flinch. If it was not attached to her moving, screaming neighbor, she’d have assumed it was a dead foot.

She walked back to her apartment. Had she done the right thing ignoring the anomaly? Or should she have investigated it further? She couldn’t help but feel like she had seen a case like this before, but she couldn’t remember any details. As a matter of fact, all of this felt vaguely familiar.

She entered her apartment. Her cat was staring at the screen door of her balcony, gazing outside. She walked over to her balcony too. It was a sunny afternoon, and its warm glow beckoned her. She couldn’t help but see a part of herself in her cat, the part of her that longed to head out and have an adventure.

She opened the screen door to take in the sun, but her cat immediately took this as an opportunity to try to bolt outside. She caught him just in time.

“No, no, no,” she cooed. “You can’t climb out there. You might fall off the ledge and get hurt.”

She carried him back to her couch, but when she sat down, he immediately jumped out of her lap and perched right back up on the windowsill to plan another opportunity to escape.

She checked the status of her nursing certification application for New York. Everyday, she was waiting, waiting, waiting. She felt like her life had been stuck in limbo.

She put that aside and picked up her Thai comic book. It satirized the latest developments in Thai politics, how the current military-backed government had bamboozled democracy to maintain their iron grip like always. She also felt like this was the same old song and dance. Like she had been reading about this same story happening again and again.

This all struck her as odd. Like her world was on repeat. All this intense thought made her sleepy, though, and she slowly drifted off to sleep.

She jolted awake suddenly to someone pounding on her door crying that he needed help. This was her day off, and all she wanted to do was relax at home. Who would come knocking at her door now of all times?

(If you would like to read more short stories, you can browse them here.)

How Do You Come Across in Other Cultures?

As I was walking through the Changdeokgung Palace in Seoul, South Korea, I overheard a very interesting conversation. 

A Chinese tourist and a Dutch tourist were walking in front of me talking (in English). The Chinese tourist was explaining the different types of tourists he sees from around the world: 

“Koreans, they are often silent. They may not say much the whole conversation, unless they have something very important to say. For example, they may say one thing in the conversation: something you should do. They’ll phrase it like a suggestion, ‘You might want to consider doing this.’ Absolutely do it. Don’t let that confuse you. It’s a complete necessity. That’s why they are bringing it up.

“Americans, on the other hand, never shut up. They will constantly ask you questions, like they are interrogating you. It’s their way to connect with you as a person and get to know you. They’re trying to be friendly, but it can take some time to get used to. They love long conversations where they ask you tons of questions about their life.” 

When I heard this, I was trying not to laugh out loud because as an American it is so true for me: I love asking lots of questions as a way to get to know someone. 

At the end of the day, this is only one person’s take on American vs Korean styles of interactions, but as an American, I found it helpful to hear the perspectives of US culture from others around the world. They shed new light on my styles of communicating that I often take for granted. We can become so used to our way of doing things that we can easily forget to see it for what it is: one way among many. 

Thus, when you talk with others around the world, feel free to think about how they might see you, and if you are feeling particularly adventurous, you can even ask how you come across. It makes a fantastic edition to add to your long list of questions. 

(If you find discussions of people’s experiences in other cultures around the world like this interesting, please let me know, and I will be sure to keep writing these.)

4 Things that Surprised Me about Living in Brooklyn

I lived in Brooklyn for 5 years. Here are a few small things that continue to surprise me about this place: 

1) How affordable some parts of Brooklyn are

New York City – Brooklyn in particular – has a reputation for being expensive, which is usually true, but I was surprised to discover some parts (like South Brooklyn) that are pretty cheap. Too often people only consider the popular or standard neighborhoods instead of finding a place that is a good fit for them. These neighborhoods, in my experience, are often more expensive, more crowded, and otherwise less enjoyable to live in. 

My rent of $1,500 a month for a single bedroom was below the average for the country overall, and I have never seen cheaper groceries than in the stores around me. I averaged $219 per month on groceries. On top of that, I did not need a car, meaning no car payments, car insurance fees, gas expenses, or trips to the car mechanic. 

Thus, Brooklyn has cost me about the same as or been cheaper than most other parts of the US I have lived in. The trick is to find the right part of the borough to live in. 

2) Its ethnic quilt

Brooklyn is a hodgepodge of races and ethnicities. Each group is surprisingly concentrated into distinct neighborhoods (often based on historical waves of immigration) that transition suddenly. In a few blocks walk, you may pass through several very distinct ethnic enclaves with different feels. If you walk only a few yards, for example, you may shift from a predominantly Chinese or Yemeni neighborhood. More than say Manhattan, this gives the borough the feeling of a quilt with distinct feels in each section. 

3) How helpful people are

New York City has a reputation for being stand-offish, but that has not been my experience here. People – in both Brooklyn and other parts of the city – may prefer quick interactions, but they are really helpful. You often have to get straight to the point rather than exchange long touchy-feely pleasantries and will keep the interaction short, but Brooklynites and New Yorkers, in general, will give the shirt off their backs if that is what you need.

4) How alive yet reclusive Brooklyn can be

I am the type of person who needs stimulation, yet I feared that living in Brooklyn, the constant churn of traffic and people would slowly drive me insane. Maybe some parts of the borough have this issue, but I was surprised by how quiet it can feel. I can have activity when that is what I want or I can retreat into my quiet apartment when I need to relax. It’s been a great balance of adventure and tranquility. 

(For more a fuller personal reflection on what my time living in New York City meant for me, click here.)