A long-term couple meets for the final time — She asked for a last date. I agreed. She had three requests. “Can we have our last date for an entire day?” She asked. I said we could. We’ll spend the day together, present in the moment. “Can we act like we’re still together?” It was her second request. I…

The world changes at 2 a.m. — The world changes at 2 a.m. There are fewer people and less noise. The light is different. Most buildings shut down their garish bulbs, and hazy street lamps stand out more. In a small, mountain town like mine, the streets turn foggy in the early hours. The air changes. It’s…

Working man blues — In late 2019, I returned to my hometown after a year of working in the big city. I had to visit my father because he had a stroke, again, and this time, he spent several days in the ICU. He was barely able to move half of his body when…

Attaining childhood wishes as an adult — The first time I bought a Game Boy Advance, I was 27 years old. Alone, inside my apartment, I stared at the Gameboy and the old sensations came back. 12-year-old me once spent several days going from one public market hawker stall to another, searching for cheaper knock-offs of the…

A list of “useful” fiction books — “Popular fiction nowadays is not useful.” This is what my friend said when I asked why she stopped reading fiction books. She took an MFA and has published several books (fiction books, ironically) through a relatively large traditional publisher. …

Ambiguity can be a good thing. — I’ve been openly polyamorous since mid-2020 (though I could sense I was poly since high school). Usually, I have 3–4 ethically non-monogamous partners at a time. …

“How to fix a failed career at age 30… 40… 50…” — One summer afternoon, five years ago, I came across a group of university students wearing preppy summer dresses. Their outfits were so brightly colored that they reminded me of how dark my career prospects looked. The “summer girls” were on one side of the pedestrian lane, and I was on…

Imagining utopias to build a better world: Barbie, Herland, The World of Moral Reverse — Warning: This post contains spoilers for the Barbie movie, the novel Herland, and the manga World of Moral Reverse. In her essay, “What if Women Were In Charge?” — author and The Elysian newsletter writer Elle Griffin examines the film, Barbie, and the utopian novel, Herland (published in 1915), and…

Tired of meeting superficial people online? Me too. — I’ve lost count of all the imaginative folks on Bumble who send hand-wave emojis to start a conversation. Not even a, “Hi” or “Hello” because who’s got time and energy for those right? And then there was this girl who made me pay for the whole tab on a first…