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Concrete roads, take me home
I am back living amidst the chaos of an urban lifestyle, with its ceaseless soundscape, topsy-turvy traffic, and the far-from-ideal graciousness of people when interacting with strangers. There is a certain comfort in blending into all this chaos – only the truly extraordinary will stand out. Most things just get submerged into the hectic, overstimulating,…
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So… how do you live?
I just finished a book titled How Do You Live?, written by Genzaburo Yoshino almost a century ago. It’s a heart-warming and humane story published in the midst of one of the ugliest, most brutal eras of Japan. The coming-of-age story of fifteen-year-old Copper and his friends and uncle was dedicated to a generation of…
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Writing style
I once read a piece of advice about writing the same way one talks. Essentially, the simplicity of spoken language not only feels more natural and genuine, but also appears to be more effective in reaching a broad audience. I understand the appeal of this advice, because I occasionally can only tolerate simple writing that…
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Recuperation
I have taken some time off from being active online and engaging in digital correspondence with friends for a few weeks now. Somehow, it has felt both like a condensation and an expansion of time. During this period, I have stopped some activities I used to spend much more time doing (reading books, writing this…
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Owning stuff
I was a teenager who would eat up all the contents about minimalism and decluttering. Over ten years ago, when I was barely out of middle school, I made it a point to only possess a certain number of items, to eliminate the “inessentials” from my life, and to not buy things I didn’t need…
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Books I want to read this year
At the start of every year, I usually sit down and draw up a list of fifty or so books that I would like to get through during the year. Even though I have never managed to read even half this list, the mere idea of planning my read list in advance helps me push…
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To write is to thrive
I recently read the Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath and her private reflections sparked some thoughts about the writing process. I’ve always sort of known that talented and established writers still “struggle” with the craft of writing. It’s an eternal challenge to feel fully immersed in and/or capable at whichever profession you are in, no…
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Pretense and façade
Have you ever thought about how much time and energy humans exerted on the act of pretending? Perhaps if we seriously ask and study this question, we may arrive at a shocking answer that discreetly turns our existence into that of miserable fraudsters rather than decent, gratified human beings. My estimate is that most of…
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UNESCO Zero Waste Campaign
This is a submission to the UNESCO Vietnam Office for a communications (& design) intern position. I didn’t get hired in the end but still quite like these graphics that I made. So why not keep them here? 🙂 A Sight to Lose Have you seen an image of plastic waste in the ocean, or…
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Don’t let the good life pass you by
The first time I listened to the song Don’t Let the Good Life Pass You By by Cass Elliot (Mama Cass!), I audibly cheered to the lyrics. This feel-good folksy tune sends a remarkably simple message: life can be wonderful and we shall cherish the little pleasures of it while we can. It sounds cheesy…