Posts tagged "california"
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Intersections
For an all hands meeting at work, I was asked if I wanted to share a story about my life and how I got here. It has not been the easiest, holding all of these identities and selves, often in places that did not welcome me. I think sometimes of Merantau: of finding a home away from home. All of my parts and…
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Gulls at Alcatraz
Nikon D810, 200-500mm lens. Alcatraz Island, just off San Francisco In the early days of Covid-19, a friend said 'we're getting old let's do old people things', so we picked 'birding'. Looks like it stuck. Here, a photo of some baby Western gulls on Alcatraz island, which has many types of birds, including falcons, and…
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Postcard from Monterey
I have a new job, which also means new views! Million dollar views, in fact. I so love this part of the world: when Sabrena and I first moved to California back in 2018, we were so excited to finally be somewhere where we could travel with our dog, Cookie. We booked a trip and came to Monterey for my birthday that…
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The One About Scallion Pancakes
I have a weird story about scallion pancakes. It goes like this. Around this time last year, I was walking down my street in San Francisco when a woman waved something at me. I thought she needed help with something, so I went closer. Instead, she clicked something (she was waving a torch, the kind you ignite gas…
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Waiting for dimsum
Whenever I can, I make the 45 minute walk to Chinatown in San Francisco to Dim Sum Bistro, my favorite 'cheap dimsum' spot. Sometimes, I take photos too. I say this every chance I get: dimsum isn't always 'cheap' food. Dimsum can be fancy, and should be fancy, because to make large amounts of high quality dimsum you…
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Chasing the Light
As a person from the literal equator, I struggle a lot with winter. Not the cold, since it's not really that cold here in northern California, but with the increasingly shorter days. The best way I can describe it is that I feel as though my brain, happiness, and overall health is powered by the sun. The sun is my…
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Chinatown Comforts
I find myself spending more and more time in SF and Oakland Chinatowns. I love Chinese bakeries, so those are obviously the best places for me to get my fix. In SF Chinatown, check out Yummy Bakery and Stockton Bakery. In Oakland Chinatown I am partial to Napoleon Super Bakery. In all of those spots, pork floss bun,…
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Alameda Americana
It is only in my thirties that I have started to think this: growing up in a city-state where the 'capital of Singapore is Singapore' (from an Alfian Sa'at poem) is a unique experience not understood by many globally. That when nationalistic people in city-states say 'if you don't like it, leave', it's really about…
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Wives and Lives
Some thoughts on being a gaysian immigrant to California A scan of a black and white photograph of some Chinese calligraphy writing on a wall in a Chinese restaurant in Oakland, California Two weeks ago, I helped to plan and organize a Lunar New Year dinner for 120 queer and trans Asian people. It's a tradition that…
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Drag Up, Fight Back
I had a drag-filled weekend that was full of trans joy. For that, I am grateful. On Saturday, I went to the Drag Up, Fight Back march for drag and trans rights. Unless you've been living under a rock, trans people are under attack all over the world including in many parts of the US. California is not immune. It would…
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Fill Your Life with Music (And Fairies)
Photo taken on Minolta Hi-Matic 7S II, Fuji Superia 400, developed and scanned at Underdog Film Lab, Oakland Another photo from another concert I walked to from home. We were invited to attend a gala concert for the New Century Chamber Orchestra. I'd gone to a show some time ago, really liked it, wrote about it, and…
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Chinese Bakeries of San Francisco
Photo taken on Leica M3, 50mm Summilux, Ektar 100. Developed and scanned by The Darkroom. When you think of bakeries in San Francisco, perhaps you think of sourdough. Certainly, there are some well known bakeries in the city known for their sourdough, but that's not a style or type of bread I enjoy at all. I don't…
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Black and White: Three Photos Outside
This is one of the photos that made me very glad I had a film camera in my pocket. I was able to jog alongside these friends, who were having so much fun on a Segway tour of San Francisco's Crissy Fields area near the Golden Gate Bridge, and they were very kind to pose for a photo for me. Ever since I got my Olympus…
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All of my wildest dreams
Scrambling down Alamere Falls (which is now dry) on the rock face I spent the past weekend hiking. Some of it was on a dried out waterfall, such as this one. For a long time now I have wanted to lead a wilder life than the one I had. Earlier in my youth, wild meant something else altogether. Today, it means:…
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Letter to my Eighteen Year Old Self
In my younger years, meaning when I was a tween, I became acutely aware that my life would be different. I dated boys because I was supposed to, but whenever they said they loved me or that they wanted to marry me, I just shuddered. I don't like it when men sweat, I told them. In hindsight, that was a big, red sign. I…
15 posts tagged "california"