It was a throwaway remark our host in New York made, something to the effect of how growing up in Vancouver, there wasn’t any question about being Asian, the Asian population being as large as it is here; but having relocated to the States, she’s encountered markedly more of the Asian identity crisis or overt Asian-ness.
I wanted to turn that into a discussion because I think I can agree having lived in Vancouver, Toronto, and Halifax – high, medium, and low in Asian content – run with all sorts of …

I can’t help jumping the gun because some days (not today), there are 13 straight hours of brilliant sunshine.
I fantasize spreading out a blanket at the local park and reading something lightweight with oversized glasses but the reality is something usually comes up! I will, however, be able to sneak bites at the following novels I’ve got lined up for guilty girly reading pleasure….
The Guy Not Taken: Stories: This is my first Jennifer Weiner book but I have seen, and enjoyed, In Her Shoes, however faithful to the novel that …

It’s been a million years, okay just 6 years, since I was treated to immersion in the warm company of the Halifax Vietnamese community. I seeked and did not find the Chinese equivalent and that I found to be a tad saddening.
It’s hard to believe that I was away and in the midst of my friend’s wedding dreamland less than a week ago. I’m already plotting and scheming my next Toronto layover for my people-to-visit in that city has suddenly increased several-fold. ~Rubs hands together with glee.~

I was making fun of NPY on account of his Chinese dollar store slippers when he explained how he came to acquire them.
Me: Those are such dorky slippers. You’re such a dork.
Him: Do you know why I got them? It’s got your name on it.
Me: Wha? It says… uhm… feng. Wha?
Him: Yeah. In English, “wind”. Wynd.
Me: Aww! You’re so sweet. And still a dork!
You might see me posting more in this fashion because NPY got me a pretty little present for our two-year anniversary. To protect it, of course I …

With last month’s travel*, I managed to blaze through two memoir-like books taking place in times and places I wouldn’t personally know. Yet with my upbringing, the Chinese and Buddhist cultural aspects are somewhat familiar.
I couldn’t quite suspend my disbelief when reading Xinran’s Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet. That is, I wasn’t entirely convinced that Xinran met the woman, Shu Wen, who lived for 30 years in Tibet. At one point, Shu Wen, well on the way to having a large and convoluted story, recaps the epic …

Within 18 pages of Xinran’s Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet, I yearn to travel to Tibet, seemingly the best place on earth to have all materialism stripped from your soul by the vast emptiness and harsh weather.
I am also rooting for the protagonist who told her 30-year epic story to the author. It’s odd to read about a passionate relationship involving Chinese people of my parents’ or grandparents’ generation and I can imagine that the protagonist, Shu Wen, felt how Juliet felt when newly wed and …

Yeah, I’m on a roll.
Polished off Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures shortly after taking a whole week to read The Birth House. The latter novel was very good and rich with Maritime (province) essence. I don’t know this essence very personally for my family is the first and only one to settle there but I recognized it immediately. More than the traditional vs. modern medicine conflict I expected, I was impressed with the tale of the survival of women and their triumphs.
Miss Chopsticks is another novel about women. …

I kind of noticed that there was increased activity at my 2-year-old Flickr picture of lucky red packets. Why now?
It turns out that it was selected to appear on a Flickr blog entry about Chinese New Year, a blog to which, obviously, I do not subscribe. It’s still their most recent entry! :D

I wrote 16,278 words during the last month. Lest you think that my daily output is only 542, you should know that I spent the first half of the month writing, pouring out my brain according to outlines I fleshed out in October. Then I spent the last half of the month editing the brain dump so it resembled eight essays you would read if (1) you were truly fascinated by me, (2) confused as heck about your Chinese identity, and/or (3) you were bored or at work and wanted …

The Vancouver Asian Film Festival starts on November 1st* and I’ve perused their 7-day schedule to identify the day that is chockful of movies and shorts I want to watch.
It starts off at 7 p.m. with the “Chick Flick Mix” that includes Falling For Grace, an adorable play on the common expression.** I can’t resist a movie that bears the name my mother selected for herself and features a story of cross-cultural misunderstanding that gets happily resolved. Then, at 9:45 p.m., I want to hop over to catch the set …