Nhớ Nguồn

 I cook, and I eat kale, granola, and Greek yogurt, and drink craft beer. I pay money to go on runs that can be hours long just for the hell of it. I attend an Ivy League school, and before that the world's leading public university. I listen to podcasts and read the NYT, the Atlantic, the Economist, and NPR. I traveled to over a dozen countries and lived in some of them long term. I invest towards retirement. I have parents who have been married for some 30 years. I have insensitively used words that mock the homeless. I don't carry cash so that I have a reason for not giving people money on the street. I feel good about the $3 I've "donated" through my Amazon purchases. I purposely avoid walking by people canvassing for a cause on the street. I make the excuse that I'm too busy to volunteer anymore.  I have used my position of power as an expat to enjoy frivolous spending. I am a member of the "aspirational"...

Let's start with the obvious: 2017's been a hell of a year. This time last year, I was still prepping for my final take of the GRE. Amidst all that, my applications for graduate school. When the smoke finally cleared from all of that and I was able to move on, I packed my things and moved yet again. The destination this time: San Francisco, finally. It was fortunate that it didn't take long for things to settle there. A job, a room to sleep in, and ideas about how to continue making progress helped with the transition. Eventually, I went from looking for a sense of stability to enjoying myself fully being back in the Bay. Marathon training was going strong again, I caught up with old friends, I was just close enough to family again, and most importantly, I was close by the woman I love. But it didn't take long again before things were shaken up. In the first week of May, in the middle of teaching class, I got my letter, the one I'd been waiting for for about t...

43rd and 8th Ave., just 2 blocks north of the explosion . Thank you to all the first responders including the police officers, firefighters, and EMTs who came this morning. I'm thankful they were able to evacuate everyone quickly and relatively calmly. It's sad to think that they're so good at this...because they have so much experience.

I will know I've "made it" when I can meaningfully contribute to and support all of the producers of news, media, and information that I routinely go through.

The other day I had a conversation with a career counselor who had recently visited San Francisco. He asked me if I liked living there, and I told him I absolutely loved it. He couldn't believe it. After only 2 days into his trip and with 5 days to go, he felt bored because there was nothing else to do. I was shocked. You just don't understand what it means to live in a place like San Francisco, I thought, let alone California. This...this is the cultural divide that separates people from New York City and people from SF/LA. 18. Allow Yourself to Be Bored "For many of us, our lives are so filled with stimuli, not to mention responsibilities, that it's almost impossible for us to sit still and do nothing, much less relax - even for a few minutes. A friend of mine said to me, "People are no longer human beings. We should be called human doings." ... Much of our anxiety and inner struggle stems from our busy, overactive minds always needing something t...