Nhớ Nguồn

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...

It's been a little over a year ago since I came back from a near four-year journey, traveling around the world, looking for that thing to give a damn about. Eight new countries and a lot of long nights of working later, I came back from all of that, mission accomplished, and ready to rejoin friends, family, and loved ones. And now, I'm far away from them again. Pictures, videos, text messages, phone calls...all reminders of how far away I am. How many nights did I spend standing out on my balcony in Vietnam looking up into the sky, imagining the time when I would finally get to go back home?  Here I am. Same sky. Different lights.

It's only been a couple days. Among the list of weird things I've done are: made a 6-hour trip to IKEA to get a mattress bought a frame for said mattress, carried it down 3 floors, across 1 mile in the rain, and up another 4 floors to assemble it in my room woke up at the crack of dawn to go grocery shopping because I was afraid of crowds I imagine that's only the tip of the iceberg, but I've been so grateful to have learned the life skills I need to live here in more comfortable environments. And with such great people (yes you, A and B). Maybe now that I'm back in school, I'll have the time (or patience) to reflect on all those experiences.