"Now here you go again, 

you say,

you want your freedom."

From the song Dreams by Fleetwood Mac.

Why’d I.
Wide eyed.

Nonchalant.

"According to the American market research firm Datassential, Korean ingredients like kimchi, which is traditionally buried underground and left to ferment for months, now appear on 5.5 percent of menus in the United States, a jump of 59 percent in the past five years — particularly noteworthy since Americans of Korean descent constitute less than two-thirds of a percent of the total population."

From the May 14, 2019, New York Times article "How Sourness Has Come to Dominate Our Dining Habits, and Our Discourse." By Ligaya Mishan.

"Making lists of ideas, reading novels, scheduling time to sit down at your computer, researching new coffee shops at which to work, and establishing weekly word goals may seem like parts of writing, but they are not. They are procrastination, which, if you think about it, is actually writing in its purest form."

From the May 8, 2019, Daily Shouts of The New Yorker titled "What Is Writing and Does This Count as It?" By Mia Mercado.

"But for the first time, I don’t have a plan, besides to take care of myself."

From the May 3, 2019, Healthyish article "Christina Lecki On Leaving Reynard and What She's Doing Next." By Priya Krishna.

Impact.

"When you look to successful people you admire, study them not only for their victories and achievements, but also for how they overcame failures and changed as a result of them."

From the April 21, 2019, New York Times article "Why ‘Find Your Passion’ Is Such Terrible Advice." By Stephanie Lee.

Write what you want.
Eat what you want.

Word of the week: JOY

Still got it.

"Your love is holding on and it won't let go,
I feel it breaking out like an echo."

From the song Echo by Elevation Worship.

"I've decided I'm not giving up."

From the song Echo by Elevation Worship.

Plead.
Please.

"We were raised to really respect all religions and all peaceful people."

Said by Patricia Arquette in her April 29, 2019 episode of WHYY-FM's Fresh Air.

Food family.

I just discovered the Focus button on the bottom of Microsoft Word docs. And wow, my mind is blown.

"In the coming weeks, thousands of college students will walk across a stage and proudly accept their diplomas. Many of them will be hungry.

A senior at Lehman College in the Bronx dreams of starting her day with breakfast. An undergraduate at New York University said he has been so delirious from hunger, he’s caught himself walking down the street not realizing where he’s going. A health sciences student at Stony Brook University on Long Island describes 'poverty naps,' where she decides to go to sleep rather than deal with her hunger pangs.

These are all examples of food insecurity, the state of having limited or uncertain access to food. Stories about college hunger have been largely anecdotal, cemented by ramen and macaroni and cheese jokes. But recent data indicate the problem is more serious and widespread, affecting almost half of the student population at community and public colleges."

From the May 2, 2019, New York Times story Tuition or Dinner? Nearly Half of College Students Surveyed in a New Report Are Going Hungry. By Kaya Laterman.

This is how things happen.

Write like someone wants to read it.

It's not about that.

Cordless? What’s a cord?

"Our culture teaches us to focus on personal uniqueness, but at a deeper level we barely exist as individual organisms. Our brains are built to help us function as members of a tribe. We are part of that tribe even when we are by ourselves, whether listening to music (that other people created), watching a basketball game on television (our own muscles tensing as the players run and jump), or preparing a spreadsheet for a sales meeting (anticipating the boss's reactions). Most of our energy is devoted to connecting with others."

From the book The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van Der Kolk, M.D. Page 80.

Paying.
Pain.

"I was alone a lot, but I was never lonely. You hear that? It's quiet. You can hear your thoughts. You can hear what it is that's so important."

Said by Robin Roberts in her episode of Oprah's Master Class.

"I pull up to Coachella,

in boots with the goose feathers."

From the song Before I Let Go by Beyoncé.

If an elephant never forgets + Maya Angelou's quote about always remembering how people made you feel = Girl, bye

Daunt.
Don't.

Being an adult is running into someone on the street you haven't seen in a while and saying hi, but not once suggesting to hang out to catch up.

You sound old and out of touch.

"And no matter what I do,
I feel the pain,
with or without you."

From the song Tearin' Up My Heart by *NSYNC.

Frozen vegetables sold at supermarkets now commonly come in bags that can be directly steamed in the microwave.

This has been an absolute game changer for me. It's technology at its finest, folks, and I'm totally here for it.

The weather outside right now is perfection. It's 63° here in New York, which is warm enough to feel great without it feeling too hot out. I just came from sitting for a bit in the NYC AIDS Memorial Park at St. Vincent's Triangle, and people are definitely out basking in the sun. The park was filled with revelers, from a guy staring directly at the sun as he squinted and ate his bagel with cream cheese cut in half, to an older woman parading around in a mammoth black fur coat with a sable hat to match. It was glorious all around. Happy Friday!

Do you ever feel like you're just scrolling your life away?

"11:30pm in New York and people are leaving the party. Honey, they must be depressed."

Said by Grace Jones in her documentary Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami.

ADD. VICE.
Add vice.
Advice.

The past few weeks or so.

Word.

World.

Tidy.

"How do you control yourself in front of all this stuff?"

Asked by Action Bronson in the show F*ck, that's Delicious. Season 3, Episode 7.

Real moments.

Always have episodes of Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa downloaded and ready to watch on your phone for emergencies.

Corner piece.

"We're on a night flight.
Set the controls to star light."

From the song Night Flight by Franc Moody.

Yes, I'll play the game.

The weather here in New York has gotten warmer, and winter now is officially dunzo. I definitely won't miss feeling smothered in the subway by everyone's large coats and puffy jackets, so goodbye freezing temperatures and hello spring.

I recently just got a Spotify account and my world has been turned upside down from it. I also just got my hair permed after more than a decade of always having a short fade, and that's been a much needed change as well. I stopped getting hair cuts back in November and just let it grow for a few months. It felt funny to feel it down to the tops of my ears, but for the first time in my adult life it didn't bother me. It was nice though to get a trim this past weekend when I got my perm. The perming solution smell from the salon is faint but still there.

"I may know the word,
but not say it."

From the song I May Know the Word by Natalie Merchant.

Give me a life without the bells and whistles, for even its proclamation brings a commitment I no longer see having value.

Is it 2031 yet?

"I don't think clay has any nationality, right? Because it's a material that has been used for thousands of years by people before there were even nations."

Said by ceramic artist Carlomagno Pedro Martínez in the show Craft in America. Episode Neighbors.

"My work came out of a question of, 'what are you bringing to the table?'"

Said by ceramic artist Gerardo Monterrubio in the show Craft in America. Episode Neighbors.

That's so funny.

It doesn't have to be anything.

Discussed.
Disgust.

"You were,
all I could see."

From the song Seven Years by Natalie Merchant.

"How did I love you?
There was no measuring."

From the song Seven Years by Natalie Merchant.

Numbers numb.

I was on the front end of the subway platform early yesterday evening waiting for the train, when two baby rats closely following a parent suddenly appeared on the lower track. They were so cute, and while seeing a rat by itself is no big deal, something about the three of them together made me think aww. It also became the conversation starter from the only other person there who saw it, a friendly grandpa nearby. He eventually ended up saying how much he regretted not taking a photo of it.

I'd like to write a 6,000 word profile on that person, please.

Self-help vs Motivational

Thrown.

Spring in March

AC on the Subway is the first of the season,

like hotels near the seas in,

tropical weather that gives a good reason,

to be somewhere you won't freeze in.

Because on the train there's no ease in,

just make room and squeeze in!

It's gorgeous at 5:30pm on a Sunday.

Cure. Rage.
Courage.

"With love, with patience, and with faith,
she'll make her way."

From the song Wonder by Natalie Merchant.

"Girl, you are rich,
even with nothing."

From the song It's Only Love That Gets You Through by Sade.

Give me a NO, and I will turn it into something beautiful and electrifying.

Write now.

Write on!

Keep writing x 100.