It’s the end of 2022, and the past three years have been a long and windy road. I have hope that things are going to be pretty good in some different ways in 2023. I prepare to say goodbye to the Water Tiger and hello to the Black Rabbit.

It’s 8:30 pm, Tuesday, November 8, and Xiaolin and I leave the school to walk after dinner. We’ve been eating light for dinner, so tonight was a few steamed sweet potatoes and some fried broccoli in garlic. As we leave the school gates, Xiaolin overhears something odd — a woman…

It’s Halloween! My favorite day from childhood until today. I used to shop fabric stores with my mom, running my fingers along bolts of fabric like a designer — before I was ten years old. My mom sewed me Batman, Star Trek uniforms…and some spookier ones too, but it wasn’t…

We’ve had a heatwave this summer — often topping 44 C daily and 35–38 through the night. This kind of heat, without relief, has been tough to take in the city. Hard on us, the animals, and our plants. In the mountains, we spent ten days in Simianshan, relaxing under…

I’ve found that luck is quite predictable. If you want more luck, take more chances. Be more active. You have to get out of bed, show up to work, and be ready for that opportunity. The amount of good luck coming your way depends on your willingness to act. Sometimes…

I found the best, most authentic spicy Mexican-style tacos at the local Paradise Walk mall by chance because my very busy friend was an hour late to come to dinner. We never know what incredible fortunes may come out of what seems like hassles and bad luck. I hope I…

“What is pride? A rocket that emulates the stars” said esteemed English poet William Wordsworth. These days just picking up your phone to tweet puts us on DEFCON 2, creating a fight or flight response in most social media users that can easily escalate into full-blown war. A single tweet…

April 14, 1912, 12:25 am — Yes, the boat hit the iceberg, but putting the children in lifeboats is the most destructive thing imaginable…

Omicron already? Kai still has his Delta decorations up, but that might be ok. (Kai’s Diary, Dec 15, day 693 of the COVID pandemic) It’s been about two weeks since we heard Omicron, the newest COVID-19/SARSCOV2 variant of concern is primed to take over the world. Almost two years into…