Just a small town girl. Living in a lonely world. She took a minibus going anywhere. It ripped off her toenail.* That's not where I meant to go when I started writing that sentence but there it is. I sing... Continue Reading →
Few things can make or break a friendship like travel. Like realizing we’re all getting charged 400HKD we hadn’t planned on to check one bag, or the suitcase zipper breaking open in the trunk of an unmarked “taxi,” or the... Continue Reading →
Not a day goes by where I don’t wonder at where I live. Out my window, I see apartment buildings higher than anything I’ve been in in California, and the earthquake-ometer all Bay Area natives have installed at birth goes... Continue Reading →
Birthday months are fun for mail, although living abroad makes pieces few and far between. It only makes me loves the ones that make the effort more. But I certainly had not been expecting to receive a request via post... Continue Reading →
For the last few years, I have written birthday blog posts filling out the same set of questions each time, so I can look back each year and feel what it was to be me in that moment. A time... Continue Reading →
Ten years ago I was going through a thing - I was working at an awesome weekly newspaper in my college town, waiting tables, living the dream. I danced downtown Tuesday through Saturday and in drum circles and at sunsets... Continue Reading →
I freaking love cheesy tourist things. I used to scoff at tourist traps; thinking I was so cool in my backpacking cheapskate ways, always winging it, hoping to find something local and have a more authentic experience. But when I... Continue Reading →
Like all good travel stories, this one starts with pollution, pirates, and a flu epidemic. Teaching in Brazil taught me to choose countries with good public holidays (I miss you, Carnaval), and I was très excited to see a 10... Continue Reading →
I’ve asked Google many a thing - “how do you bake chicken” “which one is cabbage and which is lettuce” “what does an eclipse mean.” But perhaps the most humbling thing I’ve ever thrown out to the universe was what... Continue Reading →
Captain’s Log: Day 21 of no social media* and I am slowly becoming accustomed to waiting in line with no meme-induced chuckling. Somehow I am getting by without daily briefings on the end of the world from Amy Siskind. My... Continue Reading →
"Love Actually" is a terrible movie. There. I said it. (This person here said it much better.) It is, however, undeniably quotable. Its opening scene is the best part - "Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world,... Continue Reading →
“So, something I didn’t mention before is that I actually hate birds. I think they are stupid and I am scared of birds. Anyway, let’s go look at about a million of them.” That was my opening line as I... Continue Reading →
