Rama plays Sungka in Mom & Dad’s lovely backyard, this lazy 4th of July weekend Other weekend indulgences: Reading comics in Griffith Park, a delicious afternoon nap, an IKEA shopping spree, barbecued ribs and mini ice cream sandwiches, Shrek 2 at the local theater (courtesy of free movie passes) and Pass the Pigs, a new […]

This time, I tried to see everything with new eyes. I’ve been back to the Philippines at least a dozen times since we left in 1976. It’s less like a vacation, I tried to explain to co-workers and friends, and more like going to Grandma’s house. Grandma’s house just happens to be 7,000 miles away. […]

26 May 2004 | A roadtrip arm-out-the-van-window shot of the Pacific Ocean as we drive south of Manila to Grandma’s house in Bicol. The roads were rough, but the sea looked calm. * * * I’m back, refreshed and recharged, slightly changed and hugely inspired, and mostly, oh mostly, incredibly moved — whether to tears […]

The trees in my backyard are in full bloom. “All my life — so far — I have loved best how the flowers rise and open, how the pink lungs of their bodies enter the fore of the world and stand there shining and willing…” –Mary Oliver

Media-savvy, non-profit worker bees on a Sunday afternoon

Several inches of my hair got lopped off this weekend. I’d let my hair go long the past couple months just to see what it would look like. It was the longest it’s been since junior high. It was fun to wear ponytails, pigtails and buns, but soon that was all I was wearing. My […]

Dad and me, ca. 1979 When I was little, I used to sing a song to my dad. “Daddy Cool, Daddy Cool, Cool, Cool Daddy!” My mom would lead and I’d follow along. I thought it was something we wrote together, until this year, when I saw it on a Karaoke playlist. Still, my dad […]

Mom, Tom, Ricky and me, Griffith Park, ca. 1977 Today is my mom’s birthday, and I am showering her with telepathic hugs and kisses. She’s in Florida right now, spending time with girlfriends. My mom is a fox, an angel, a princess and a superhero all rolled up in one, and I love her like […]

I met Miha on a job interview–hers, not mine. I was hiring freelancers for a web project I was heading, and she was one of the interviewees. After talking to her for a couple minutes, I knew I liked her. The New Yorker was sweet, funny and ridiculously talented. Although fashion photography clearly her passion, […]

Mom and me, Big Bear Mountain, ca. 1980 I know I don’t know what cold really is. I’ve lived in Southern California most of my life, and I can probably count the times I’ve seen the snow on my fingertips. I don’t know how it feels to bundle up head to toe. I have never […]