Category: Life
Updated on July 12, 2015
In honor of the best person I know
I wrote this piece on June 29. Nine days later, mom had a stroke. She is doing great — amazing, actually. I mention it here as a historical footnote of sorts. The timing of the original writing was…uncanny. …
Updated on January 15, 2016
Visual processing
People process difficult situations in different ways. I am mostly a visual processor. When I don’t have words, I photograph. What I can’t verbalize, I write. I could tell you about spending hours in a bustling Emergency Room, …
Updated on January 15, 2016
Vanquish your fear, take the risk
Last night I wrote this on my personal Facebook page: For years I circled my Cook Islands inheritance with trepidation. I was afraid I’d be told I didn’t belong. I let the fear that I’d never measure up …
Updated on April 17, 2015
On the tension between virtual and real work
I posted this photo and caption to Instagram this morning: Most of my daily work takes place in a digital space–website things, video, graphic design, etc. These might just be fliers and tickets to you, but to me …
Posted on February 28, 2015
On turning 30
I’ve been 30 for a whole week. Thirty. Years. Old. Thir-ty. There’s something about the number 30 in relation to years lived that makes a lot of people squirm (mostly people under the age of 30). It is a milestone …
Updated on February 9, 2015
Balancing two communities
It’s a strange thing, belonging to two communities. Growing up in California with my mom’s family meant the pacific half of my blood had a minimal impact on my upbringing. Partly because my dad grew up a member of the generation …
Posted on January 20, 2015
Gray sky day
Everyone knows that life in Southern California is an endless parade of sunny skies and mild winters that are the envy of every snow-bound resident in the country. Lately I’ve been wishing for a cold gray sky. Just …
Updated on October 17, 2014
Garden Grove Open Streets
Last Sunday the City of Garden Grove hosted their first Re:Imagine Garden Grove Open Streets event. Three miles of main streets in the downtown area of Garden Grove were closed to cars, leaving them open for the community …
Updated on January 15, 2016
Bandette: a review
Written by Paul Tobin, with art by Colleen Coover, Bandette Volume 1: Presto! was exactly the kind of light hearted romp I needed to shake off the excessive busyness of the summer. The first couple of issues are …
Posted on August 12, 2014
Heiva San Diego 2014
I had such a lovely time learning to sew tifaifai at Heiva San Diego last weekend. Auntie Yvette is such a gem, it was an honor to learn from her. She is not just an accomplished seamstress with …