On grieving from a distance
Learning to speak the language of loss
“Can you make a short video for 爷爷? Just a few lines to cheer him up.” I received this text from my mother on the evening of October 12, 2020. My paternal grandpa (爷爷, pronounced “yeh yeh”) had been transferred to a hospital several months ago, and his prognosis wasn’t looking good. Thankfully, 爷爷 hadn’t […]
Ode to crosswords
Are you down for a cross?
(If you are interested in listening along to me reading the poem aloud, click here) Eighteen across, “Ponzi scheme”: fraud. Twenty-four down, “Heap kudos on”: laud. “Opening word”, “Deli stock seed”, Two clues, one key, The word: sesame. “Catcher’s spot?” “With pastrami it’s bought?” As the hints would imply, The answer is […]
A week in the life: Food edition
Building community by breaking bread
I love to cook. I picked up most of my culinary know-how during my junior year of college, through a combination of YouTube videos and scrappily assembled family recipes. That year, my housemates and I would go shopping together every weekend and designate one day a week for each of us to cook a family […]
An Open Letter to My Future Self
Thoughts from my last first day of school
Dear future Ming, The date is August 26, 2019 – today is your/my/our first day at MIT. When you next read this after/if you graduate, it may well be the year 2025. How’s life at 27 treating you? In the year 2025, your younger brothers, currently high school freshmen, will be halfway done with college. […]
