#47 What Life Story You Have to Tell Today?

Yesterday, Jason and I watched a MasterClass by David Sedaris about story telling and humor. David "It is such a privilege to be a writer. To an average person, if something bad happened, he can do nothing about it… other than feeling bad… to a writer, you can write about it. And that's great." "Many...

#26 The Bright Side: Having In-laws from the Other Side of the World

Happy Fourth of July! This past weekend, I met Jason’s dad Jack and step mom Lizzie for the first time. They are from Midwest, and have never really talked to anyone from China. Jason once told me that he is a little worried if we will all get along. Day two, four of us went...

#19 Two Cents on: Wisdom

The other day, I listened to TED Radio Hour on Wisdom. In this podcast, a teenager speaker, on stage, said something like this, “If the only things you ask us are ‘How’s school?’ ‘What did you do today?’, you only understand the tip of an iceberg of us.” It hit me. Jason has two children....

#15 Make a List: 15 Things to Remember about Our Courthouse Wedding

Last week Jason and myself were married at Seattle Courthouse. It was a small but wonderful ceremony, with Mom, Dad and our friends Tina, Mike, Antoinette and Pranoy. We will have a bigger wedding next year. I’d like to dedicate this week’s blog to our courthouse ceremony. Here are the 15 things that I want...

#04 What I Have Learned: About Love

1. The Question One day we were walking down a quiet street, digesting our big Indian food lunch. Jason goes, “Here is a hard question. Feel free to not answer. What if Michelle dies tomorrow?” Me: “Not hard at all. Your kids will live with us. I will treat them as my own.” He looked relieved...

Episode 63 Step Mother

Last week, I went back to China to visit my families with Jason. Yesterday I told Jason, “I absolutely don’t need any more pajamas but my step mother got me pajamas again, the fifth set! — well I actually kinda like them.” That conversation sits me down for this post. I grow up in a traditional Chinese...

Episode 54 Love, Fear and Impossible Dreams

Last week, I was in a friend’s home. Someone raised a question: “What is the opposite of love?” I had an answer. I didn’t say it. Someone else said, “Fear.” I couldn’t fully understand it at the time. But now I understand. Have you loved someone deeply but eventually have to end that relationship? What...

Episode 49 Will This Work? (A 100-Word Novel)

The other day, a friend asked me: "Do you write novel?" Me: "What scene?" Him: "Love. Doubt. Courage." Me: "Any other constraints?" Him: "100 words. Exact." So here you go. This novel is dedicated to the people who are unsure about love, or people who are unsure whether their personal passion can turn into a...

Episode 48 Christmas Series One: Do you know who are wandering on the street on Christmas Eve?

I have written a series of six blogs related to the happenings in Christmas 2017. This is the first one. ***Christmas is a holiday meant to be spent with loved ones. It can be hard for people who are not surrounded by them, and didn't plan the travel in advance. On Christmas Eve, I didn't...

Episode 46 An Ask That Nobody Would Say No To

Last week, I went to the Microsoft Redmond campus for the annual AI and Machine Learning Conference. It was a fantastic conference! But in the afternoon, I had a serious information overflow. I can't intake and process any more info. So I hopped on a Lyft. Driver's name is Jeff. When I was on the...