Sometime during the trip to Mexico last December, I went up the hill to look at my grandparents' house. The house was still standing, but it had been abandoned some years ago because of an earthquake that left the walls cracked and several pillars shaky. My grandmother moved three or four houses down to the house my dad had built, and has been ( Read more... )

Old typewriters make me sad. They remind me of my late grandfather, the one from Mexico. When he was alive, he used to send me typewritten letters, because he had Parkinson's Disease, and he didn't have the motor-skills to write the letters by hand. He'd spend hours rocking over his ancient typewriter, his tongue sticking out of his mouth, ( Read more... )

A couple of weeks ago I was surfing around on a forum for people of mixed heritage, when I came across a post from a guy who was asking if anybody shared his ethnic makeup - Mexican Chinese. Now, while Mexican Chinese aren't terribly rare, particularly in Mexico, we are rare enough for me to get just short of hysterically excited about finding ( Read more... )

When Wally and I were in Manzanillo, we ate frequently at this taco stand called Tacos Bigotes (Mustache Tacos). I guess it refers to the owner, who in all likelihood has a lush mustache. Unfortunately we never saw him. Or maybe he shaved it off.


( Read more... )

As a kid I was a notorious daydreamer. I'd just find a spot in mid-distance, fix my gaze there, and be off. If I was eating a meal, I'd just stop chewing and... stare. Meanwhile, the enzymes in my spit would slowly break down the food in my mouth into its elementary components. My mother would confine me to the kitchen table until I was done with ( Read more... )

Me and a neighbour, age 8 or so, and playing at the void deck under our block of flats.

Ami: Hey, lets pretend we're fairies!

Friend: Yeah!

Ami: I am a good fairy! You be the bad fairy, hahaha!

Friend: *shrug* Sure, bad fairies get to do anything they want anyway.

Ami: ... I... want to be a bad fairy too.

( Read more... )

Looks like the plans are in motion - we're going to be in Melbourne 17 April til 25 April! I'm so excited - I studied in Melbourne for a year (2002), and while I never, ever had the urge to settle there, I miss the people, the weather, the laidback lifestyle and the little dorm room I used to live in. And the food, OH THE FOOD. (All Asian, btw.) ( Read more... )

I was talking on the phone with my friend S, whose wedding I recently attended. In addition to being my classmate in Poly, we were also relatively close (in a strictly platonic sense), so he was one of the unfortunate few (besides dontlikeyou) who witnessed my psychological growth spurt. According to him, in my 3 years of Poly I whipped between ( Read more... )