I wandered around Lima, Peru when I came upon two ladies selling arepas on the street.

I had always wanted to try an arepa (it’s like a Venezuelan version of a dumpling, maybe).

I went to their cart and bought one.

The two ladies smiled wide.

Millions of people stand by their food carts every day on the streets to sell to customers for hours.

I don’t know how those two ladies could still somehow be happy in their impoverished situation (it’s obvious that anyone better off wouldn’t choose to sell food on the street. …

I have a photo of my family in my mind:

I tell my sister, “I don’t want your 5AM walk to die.”

I tell my mother, “I don’t want your Sunday dumplings to die.”

I tell my favorite cousin, “I don’t want your mid-morning, mid-afternoon, and after-dinner snacks to die.”

I tell my best friend from 2nd grade, “I don’t want your Saturday morning Skype chat conversations to die.”

I tell my father, “I don’t want your habit of buying your daily paper to die.”

I tell my step-brother, “ don’t want your eagerness to play PC games everyday to…

I’m unhappy.

I’m unhappy.

I’m unhappy.
I’m unhappy.
I’m unhappy.
I’m unhappy.
I’m unhappy.
I’m unhappy.
I’m unhappy.
I’m unhappy.
I’m unhappy.
I’m unhappy.
I’m unhappy.
I’m unhappy.
I’m unhappy.
I’m unhappy.
I’m unhappy.
I’m unhappy.

During this pandemic, I am very aware of the millions of evictions that are taking place, the millions who are in really dark places becoming darker and darker, the hundreds of thousands who have lost loved ones, the millions who are so anxious that they remain sleepless throughout the night, and the millions who see no path leading to anywhere in their lives from…

I like to think that when I hope for the best for a celebrity then that person’s life may turn out for the better.

There are many famous people that we can somehow support emotionally.

I don’t follow celebrities’ whereabouts but I know that they’d appreciate getting compliments and are certainly not immune to put-downs.

I tire of noticing people bash famous people on Twitter and other social media accounts.

Why do some people think (or not think much) it’s okay to lash out at complete strangers who only happen to likely have a substantially higher salary and a wider…

One workplace memory I have is of a colleague who brought a pomelo and showed it to everyone and said, ‘I bought this for inspiration’.

The pomelo came from the Chinese supermarket just one block away.

No one knew what it was until I excitedly said, ‘Pomelo!’ upon noticing that huge Asian version of an American grapefruit.

It delighted me to hear that that co-worker felt inspired to buy that pomelo: dry inside yet full of juice, well-protected by whitish, transparent skin meant to be removed before the pink flesh (or occasionally yellow) can be eaten.

That same colleague loved…

I don’t know how long I can continue to live with the swearing several hours in a row with hardly a break until another set of hours of cursing begins.

I understand about not being selfish.

I think of you so I stay.

I look into your black shining eyes, though, and (I know it’s too much for your young little body too keep inside)I hope you feel that the longer I remain living an undignified life with such phrases cruelly dancing around me: ‘Kill yourself!’ ‘Every penny you make is mine, you’re nobody!’ ‘You’re why I can’t make any…