Published inHuman Parts·PinnedMember-onlyWhy I Secretly Miss Being a SmokerI made the life-saving choice to quit, but man I could use a smoke break — It’s been 10 years since I quit smoking. I didn’t stop because I wanted to, but because my fiancé quit smoking and asked for my support in the form of solidarity. I agreed to quit but after finishing my last cigarette, I couldn’t sleep. Desperate for a hit of nicotine…Smoking7 min readSmoking7 min read
May 6, 2022Member-onlyWriter’s JoyFriend: I got that job I wanted with that Fortune 500 company I applied to! Writer: I have this amazing story idea and it’s shaping up nicely. Friend: I’m getting married! Writer: I got a rejection letter from “Tin House”…but it’s a really encouraging one, they told me to ‘keep…Humour2 min readHumour2 min read
Published inHuman Parts·Mar 22, 2022Member-onlyPreemptive GriefSilly sadness, anxiety, or a means of living and loving more fully? — I have a 10-month-old kitten who I named Sayang — this means “love,” “sweetheart,” or “darling” in the Malay language. I adopted her from a shelter when she was four months old. I have more than 200 photos and videos of her on my iPhone and my husband tells me…Grief6 min readGrief6 min read
Published inHuman Parts·Oct 25, 2021Member-onlyLast Night, I Saved My Husband’s Life. Again.Illness and spousal caregiving inevitably challenge a marriage — Last night, we came home from a grocery shop at Safeway and my husband had offered to make us shrimp bucatini. But it was 5:45 p.m., a little too early for dinner, so he decided he’d head outdoors for a quick 30-minute bike ride before returning home to cook. While…Caregiving8 min readCaregiving8 min read
Oct 19, 2021Member-onlyMe Too Killed James BondWhy Bond can no longer hack it as a hero for our age. *spoiler alert Growing up, my dad wasn’t a big cinemagoer, but he was always first in line at the box office whenever a James Bond movie came out. The first Bond film I watched was “Octopussy” with…James Bond6 min readJames Bond6 min read
Oct 12, 2021Member-onlyGood Autobiographical Writing Should Be Like A StripteaseHow to craft personal essays that don’t put your readers to sleep. Medium recently informed me that I was a top writer in the topic of “Life Lessons”. I felt almost embarrassed that I had written so much autobiographical content but was nonetheless thrilled that my stories got read. I…Personal Essay4 min readPersonal Essay4 min read
Oct 12, 2021Member-onlyGuacamoleA self-satisfied wife sees her husband talking to her friend’s teenage daughter. “He doesn’t even realise he’s being inappropriate, that’s how thick he is! The idiot sends out all the wrong signals cos he’s so eager to be liked,” Janet was complaining about her husband Dan. Grace noticed how much…Short Story11 min readShort Story11 min read
Oct 1, 2021Member-onlyPurpose: Blessing and CurseWhy knowing your calling in life can be both a good and bad thing. My 52-year-old husband is in transition. Like so many pandemic casualties, he got laid off earlier this year from the company he was with for 21 years. He’s been feeling overwhelmed and is finding job-hunting to…Life Lessons5 min readLife Lessons5 min read
Sep 20, 2021Member-onlyNormal Is BoringHow I got over my hankering for the conventional life. “So, what’s going on with you?” My therapist asked me. “I don’t really know. I’m just a little unhappy. Not like depressed or miserable, but a little agitated and ill at ease.” “Why do you think that is?” She said. …Psychology5 min readPsychology5 min read
Sep 15, 2021Member-onlyRowan LodgeA story about art, love and ghosts. Daisy Taylor spent most days in her painting studio on the top floor of a Mayfair townhouse where she lived with her husband Felix Reginald Taylor. Felix owned a small gallery called The Faeger, which had an impressive collection of post-war Japanese abstracts…Fiction20 min readFiction20 min read
