Having one Qtip jammed up into my brain and then another one scraped against my esophagus by a stranger dressed in a hazmat suit while I am locked inside a hotel room was decidedly not how I expected to celebrate my four year anniversary of moving to Hong Kong, but here we are. Thanks, Covid.
Last summer, the two weeks quarantine upon arrival were in my apartment, which was hard for a laundry list of reasons, but I gotta hand it to the HK gov’t - they know how to make things much, MUCH harder! Luckily (I guess), after a year of going nowhere, even with the mandated hotel quarantine, I was desperate to get home so I took the plunge. In a way, I was almost looking forward to the adventure of returning to Hong Kong and trying out the new system. If nothing else, some character building and a good story, right?
I took myself out on a date.* “We” (me and my many opinions, appetites, fictional lives, etc.) went down to the promenade where I normally go at night to run and make weird faces while my lungs try to draw... Continue Reading →
100 percent you don't have to count the last year of your life if you don't feel like getting older. The pandemic has stolen a lot from us: I'm inclined to agree that it was a wash of a year,... Continue Reading →
We saw dolphins in the surf on the second night, and I sprinted into the ocean to try and make friends (if I recall correctly, I did an Ace Ventura impression. It did not work but by golly, I felt alive). I shivered on the walk back to the dining commons, made two trips to the pasta bar, and then by silent, mutual consent, the group decided running was hard and pasta was good, and sporadic dolphin chasing missions were more fun and probably counted as cardio.
Updating the 20-something tips I wrote a year ago about surviving the "new normal." (honestly, if I never hear that phrase again . . . )
Press play. Simply to see something different than the 150 square feet of studio I call home, I booked a hotel. I wanted to soak in a bubble bath and order room service and wear nothing but a robe for... Continue Reading →
had i known a year ago that i was boarding my last flight to a foreign land i would have eaten the terrible plane food and enjoyed the indigestion
sometimes we cope by going to a Harry Potter cafe. We all have different ways of getting through life in the time of Corona. There should be grace for whatever methods you’re choosing, because times is hard (note: mounting a... Continue Reading →
my first picture living in a foreign country. Rio. I’ve lived abroad for seven years now, and have usually made it home to California once or twice each year during that time. During my brief annual returns to my old... Continue Reading →
I woke up last Monday morning how I usually do - hit my snooze two times, checked social media and emails, and then got up at the last possible second to turn on the coffee. I had had to knock... Continue Reading →
From the same virus that brought me sourdough bread and tortillas, 12 plants I didn’t need, a wardrobe whittled down to leggings, crushing anxiety, a 7lb food baby named “Carbito,” an endless supply of glass bottles I wish I could... Continue Reading →
