Reality, Made-up Memories and Memoir Writing

This summer, I have plans to work on a new book. This one will be centering on my experiences living in Hong Kong, my life as a tai tai (a largely literal, yet somehow derogatory, term for a wife), and the demise of my so-called marriage.
In the past, I have frequently thought about writing a [...]

The 10 Things that Track Running Can Teach You about Life

After having spent two weeks on the road, eating and drinking whatever I wanted, I came home only to find that my digital scale had turned on me. Perhaps, I thought, I shouldn’t have had all those sticks of beef jerky. Or that McDonald’s strawberry milkshake. Or those biscuits and gravy. Or all of those [...]

The Negative Side of Having “Potential”

Summer is stretching its long arms out in a near mind-crushing expanse of potential. Classes are over, the days are longer, and I have a summer stipend which means I have nothing but time and sunshine in which to write. I have no deadlines and no one expects me to show up for work at [...]

How to Survive a Road Trip

Having just completed the long journey from New York City to Berkeley, California, in a car, I can tell you that road trips are difficult. You see a lot, you do a lot, you are stuck in a space that is four feet by four feet for hours at a time. Some of it is [...]

Roadtrip Americana Style

My roadtrip has officially begun, although I haven’t actually driven anywhere yet. For the next two weeks, I will be writing daily, but posting less frequently. Unless there’s an update on the pig situation in Guangdong or I feel the need to share some reflections on Edward Said’s Orientalism, in which case I’ll post from [...]

Perception is Reality (and other tales from the trenches)

Humankind cannot stand very much reality.
T. S. Eliot
Everything is a dangerous drug except reality, which is unendurable.
Cyril Connolly, “The Unquiet Grave”, 1945
(1903 - 1974)
 
The Chinese philosopher Lao-Tse famously wrote that there are three truths: my truth, your truth, and the truth. In today’s political arena, the same might now be said of reality. Reality is [...]