Among all the unfamiliarities of the new job - an actual title, a job at a corporation where I get my own cubicle, attendance being recorded - the biggest joke is the fact that I now work for a fashion business. Acquaintances, especially female ones, would congratulate me on landing such a cool gig, but … Continue reading Going Native →

http://waiterrant.net/2005/05/145/ Reading this, I had to smile to offset the tickle in my belly. I get that this is written to discourage the practice, but the multiple instances I've overstayed my time at an establishment has been suffused with lovely - just lovely - memories. The fact is, reasonable adults don't linger without a reason. … Continue reading Get Out →

A dipping point is that remarkable instance where, almost magically, life is devoid of bliss. Meaning is yanked out of your hands before you realized what you were in possession of. Gone. It's remarkable because it can literally happen in an instance. Here you are minding your own business, when all of a sudden, a … Continue reading Dipping Point →

There was an old man today, by the riverside. He stopped his bike to stroke a yellow furry cat. I looked down, scribbled on my notes, and when I looked up, he was still stroking the cat, using both his hands, scratching behind the cat's ears. The yellow cat obliged. He was smiling. Without realizing … Continue reading Notes from Singapore →

How would you know if you have arrived? I was browsing old files today and found my video interview about the rise of civil society in Indonesia. I hadn't known about the interview until about an hour prior, but I had been looking forward to deliver a message in the angle I wanted, which is this: to … Continue reading Upon Arrival →