if i had your addresses, enough postage and a hand that never cramps, i’d send each and every one of you a postcard from my vacation1. but since i don’t, i’ll write it here: darling, it’s rainy and cloudy and lovely here in the pacific northwest. the sun is playing hide and seek–mostly hide. it’s […]

i am learning the difference between confidence and delusion. confidence: yes, i can do it. delusion: yes, i can do it all. i have been fooling myself into believing that i can be everything for everyone. i have been forgetting what i need to be for myself. i feel awkward and ridiculous. i feel worried […]

frankly, i’m a little overwhelmed. it’s almost as if i have been hiding behind this project for so long and now that it’s done i don’t know what to do with myself. i am faced with everyone’s expectations of me combined with my own expectations of me, when what i really wish i could stare […]

“did you notice i cleaned the car?” said the mother to her three kids, piling into the SUV. “did you notice i need braces?” the eldest daughter replied. –parking lot, outside my office

while rolling sushi last night, i dipped my finger in the vinegar water, traced the edge of the nori and suddenly felt like i was making lumpia with mom. i remembered the big plastic bowl from where i’d spoon out the pork, shrimp, vegetable mixture; pulling the eggroll wrappers apart slowly and carefully so i […]

does anyone know why i can’t find cinnamon extra gum anywhere? no, i don’t want winterfresh, spearmint, or polar ice. no, dentyne, big red, and trident don’t cut it. i want my cinnamon extra, damnit.

i am not used to being called an artist. for so long, i avoided the title–not because i didn’t want it but because i didn’t think i deserved it. ricky was the artist in the family. he was the one who spent hours at his desk drawing, who won award after award for his work, […]

“so, jen, do you know what your hair needs?” “what?” “it just needs more time to become jen hair.” –clearance rack, american eagle outfitters

this aimee mann album is really growing on me. it's one of those albums that fell through the cracks when it came out. i love her stuff, but i just hadn't been paying attention to release dates or spending money on new music. it wasn't until i was doing research on seth, after reading his […]

descending the 101 freeway, i saw him again. it was the second time in two weeks that he was walking the sidewalk with his right hand clutching a book and his left hand snuggled in his pocket. i recognized him because he had short legs. where was he going at exactly 5:43pm on a thursday […]

jeff veen is famous as one of the founding fathers of the web and an expert in design, but did you know he's also a big ol' sap like many of us? i didn't. reading his story about meeting leslie, his wife of 10 years, was so touching.

at the last minute this morning, i stepped out of my jeans and sneakers and into a skirt and blouse because i remembered i had a lunch date and had to look presentable. my dad and my cousin, lindy, were coming to meet me. lindy lives in bicol, the province where my mom grew up, […]

01. it’s fashion week. the term “fashionably late” never made so much sense. 02. some women can wear birdhouses as hats and look perfectly normal. 03. some men can wear pressed pink oxford shirts and look like psycho killers. 04. my world’s walls are closing in on me and there is nowhere to hide. as […]

ingredients: 2 slices of orowheat oatnut 3-seed bread 2 slices of american cheese instructions 1. lay the slices of bread flat on a paper towel. 2. lay the slices of cheese on one of the pieces of bread. you may have to overlap them. that’s okay; it just means that bite will be extra cheesy! […]