End of the Road 9 Dec 2012 | 03:02 pm

Reasons why I’m ending this blog: 1. I’m tired. I’m bored. Have you noticed how infrequently I’ve been posting? It’s like torture trying to get myself to write a post—I’ll start one, write a few hundr...

Not Making It, In Manhattan and Hanoi 23 Nov 2012 | 04:12 pm

AC, bedspread, feet stretched out in front of me, laptop on my lap just the way it’s supposed to be. Picture in the box in the screen; I smile and he smiles — “It’s good to see you!” we both say and l...

Til Your Money Runs Out: In Tai O, In Old Clothes 6 Nov 2012 | 04:39 pm

I could live here, I thought. I could stay here til my money runs out. I don’t need to go back; I don’t even know where “back” is. I thought this as I walked through Tai O last night, down the narrow ...

A Small Kind of Gift: Dancers Behind the Glass 31 Oct 2012 | 08:06 pm

Skyline, sunset, nine stories up. Sitting in a glass room that doesn’t feel entirely dissimilar to a cage. An antiseptic cage, with floor-to-ceiling glass windows, white crisp lines, a little terrace ...

“You Don’t Have To Like It But…”: A West Oakland Story About Vietnamese Culture 28 Oct 2012 | 07:46 am

When I moved to Hanoi, there was this refrain I kept hearing the long-term expats say: “You don’t have to like Vietnamese culture, but you have to respect it.” Which makes sense, you know; you don’t h...

“It’s a Real City!”: Hanoi Through Cambodia Goggles 22 Oct 2012 | 11:27 am

“Hanoi: Refreshingly Free of Prostitutes” This was the tagline that ran through my head my first few weeks living in Hanoi. Which perhaps isn’t most people’s dominant first impression of the city. Whi...

Today I Spent $9 on Muesli 19 Oct 2012 | 12:08 pm

It Takes A Village (Or At Least Two Teachers and a Slew of Advice Givers) 11 Oct 2012 | 02:29 pm

They say it takes a village to raise a child. But how many people does it take to teach one giant terrified Westerner to drive a motorbike? So I’m back to trying to learn to drive. I hope people readi...

A Year and Counting 4 Oct 2012 | 12:53 pm

A year ago today, I laced up my running shoes and walked down the steep cement slant of my parents’ block for one final run around Lake Merritt. It was a drizzly cold day, nothing like Indian Summer i...

The Xe Om Saga, Part Two: Exactly 100% Like Dating 1 Oct 2012 | 09:28 pm

Remember that humorous, uplifting and vaguely life-affirming post I did a few months ago about finding the dream xe om driver? Yeah well, that shit blew up. The funny thing was I kept relating the sea...