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Asian-ize Your Christmas Tree
Whenever winter comes along, there is no question that I will get obsessed with Christmas ornaments. I’m genuinely shocked by people who don’t put up Christmas trees. Putting one up has always been my year’s highlight. It’s not a Gather ’round, family, let us put this tree up together in the spirit of joy and…
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Recordings
It’s a Tuesday morning, and with nothing else on my agenda I’m going through every file in an old hard drive’s folder labelled “Old iPhone” when I find a video that’s 15:24 minutes long. The preview icon is a blur; I don’t know what it is, and what needed to be recorded for 15 minutes.…
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Consumables
So the first episode of HBOMax’s White Lotus is out and I am chuffed! Although I do miss the douchiness of Jake Lacy from Season 1, the view’s not so bad over here in Season 2. Theo James? Aubrey Plaza? Will Sharpe? The Queen of Awesomeness Jennifer Coolidge? I’m there. + Why aren’t more people…
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Autumn of Our Discontent
I miss the days when we had pop-up food trucks instead of pop-up lockdowns. The October holidays – much anticipated by the Chinese, being one of the two major holidays in a year – ended on a sour note. To be fair things were sour from the beginning. But now it’s just a science experiment…
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Great Expat Exodus
Shanghai these days, man. It’s no secret I absolutely love this city, but ever since the 2-month lockdown ended — and I’m using the term ‘ended’ loosely, because let’s face it, it hasn’t really ended yet — it’s really been tough trying to keep the love intact. The ambiance is strange. Energy levels, down. There…
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Attempts at Being Healthy
1. At 10 years old I’m constantly teased for being short. This of course doesn’t bother me now, but at that age it’s an earth-shattering, hide-under-the-sheets kind of shame. My mother finds me sulking in a corner one summer afternoon. Most probably she had seen my cousins teasing me, a situation I had extricated myself…
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A War of Sorts
Some stories can be shared immediately, and some have to wait to be told. I will reserve my posts about the 2-month lockdown that Shanghai went through last April to June 2022 for obvious reasons. They’ll see the light of day once we are away from China for good. Know, though, that my heart goes…
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Day Before Lockdown (In 2022, If You Can Believe It)
Like the title says. Jeezums, we’re all preparing for a “4 day lockdown”. Pudong, the newer area of Shanghai east of Huangpu River, locked down four days ago without any warning. My friends got wind of the news in the evening. According to them, they spent hours lining up at the local stores, trying to…