Though I have continued to not update this blog, I have been tracking every day since COVID-induced shelter-in-place started in San Francisco. Today is Day 215. It's the third day of another heatwave, temperatures up to 95 degrees. I don't remember it ever being this hot in San Francisco for this many days in a … Continue reading Day 215
writing
Why I Haven't Been Blogging
I have been blogging on and off for 16 years. Before settling on this WordPress site, I cycled through Xanga, Livejournal, Tumblr, and Blogger, among other blogging platforms. Reading and writing have always been my window into the greater world & my way of finding community. The first poem I remember writing was a persona … Continue reading Why I Haven't Been Blogging
Immortality, lost and not quite found
Yesterday, I spent over two hours injecting cancer cells into mice, looking through a glass barrier in full, identity-erasing protective gear. As I did this, I listened to a Longform interview with Wesley Yang, of "Paper Tigers" fame. When the Longform hosts introduced him, they noted how unique he is among their interviewees in his … Continue reading Immortality, lost and not quite found
Love and light at the end of the tunnel
My essay is out in The New York Times, and in the process, I got to talk to Daniel Jones on the phone, after years of reading his words and edits. Since then, I have been on the receiving end of so much love from friends, acquaintances, and kind strangers. That has filled at least a few … Continue reading Love and light at the end of the tunnel
Update: The Bone Lab + forthcoming publications
Woohoo! Our podcast The Bone Lab is listed as "New and Noteworthy" on iTunes! Check out the first episode here. This past weekend, we also went to Mission Science Workshop, and I interviewed some really smart and interesting people, including a 9-year-old who was unwittingly telling me about circuits. As for my creative writing projects, … Continue reading Update: The Bone Lab + forthcoming publications
Update: Rattle acceptance!
Writer friends, all the mice in the (lab) world can't dampen my excitement today! I awoke to an email from Tim Green, the Editor of the poetry journal Rattle, telling me that my poem "Dissonance" had been accepted for publication in their "Feminist Poets" issue! I had to check my email multiple times throughout the day … Continue reading Update: Rattle acceptance!
Update: publications and writing residencies
A bit late, but I am pleased to report that my poem "Writing Elegies Like Robert Hass" appears in the current issue of the Intima, a lovely journal of narrative medicine, which is sort of a running theme of this first manuscript. I've buckled down and started submitting a lot more, so hopefully I will have … Continue reading Update: publications and writing residencies
The Improbable American Dream: Independence Day reflections
"You were born with [an American passport]," my cousin said over WeChat yesterday, "So you will never understand those who desire it so much." I will point out that my cousin was born in Australia and now lives in Makati, the wealthy district in Manila, with two live-in maids. His father, my uncle, is a tenured professor … Continue reading The Improbable American Dream: Independence Day reflections
