Happy 2023! As I type this, I realize the last time I wrote a “hello new year” post was when we entered 2020 (here it is). What a whirlwind swept us all— all of humanity— shortly after those days. I’m not sure how to measure the stretch of time from one January to the next, other than to notice the strangeness that all of us are alive, right now, having endured immense difficulty in the last several years, and are looking ahead to immense possibilities before us. Without years of graduate school to mark the passage of time (Aaron and I both finished our degrees in 2020), we lean deeper into ..read more

My mom tells a story of how there was a period in my infancy when I refused to eat anything but peach-flavored baby food. Worried about my nutrition, she took my pediatrician’s advice and mixed in a bit of cooked egg yolk, hoping I would not notice (apparently most babies in this predicament do not). Unfortunately I noticed immediately and refused to eat my adulterated peach-egg slop. I’ve always loved (tasty) food, but my understanding of food sourcing, sustainability and sovereignty are growing. One of the beautiful things about living in California is that we have an incredibly long growi ..read more

Between mid-June and late July this year, I started to really feel it: an incoherent, rootless bone-tiredness that settled in and couldn’t be lifted. 15 months of pandemic endurance, and my defenses had finally crashed. I felt entirely depleted.  And I’m embarrassed to say that I essentially did nothing about it. We had hoped to go on a relaxing international vacation at the end of this month, only to renege with caution as the news cycle changed. We’re now re-evaluating our options of travel within the United States, but somewhat slow in making decisions.  The truth is, everything ..read more

Expansive bluffs that tumble into rich turquoise waters. Nearby ancient forests that tell stories of old. This is Mendocino, a wild and tranquil retreat from the Bay Area. It’s an absolute delight. It’s no secret that I’m in love with the California coast. Growing up near San Jose, it was a frequent weekend trip to Monterey where we would visit the aquarium and walk along the beach in Carmel. But Mendocino always felt slightly out of reach, and it took me until college to finally visit with my mom. Recently I went back again— this time, with Aaron— for a socially-distanced retreat after ..read more

“I had always thought that I would read more if I had the time but I’ve discovered that I would not.” These are the words of a meme comedian (I don’t remember whose), posted on Instagram shortly after the world shut down in March of last year. Those were the early, naive days of the pandemic— we thought it would be over in 2 weeks, we started baking banana bread, we fought over toilet paper, and we posted our Zoom screenshots. Now a year in, even as cases fall in the US and vaccines roll out, some of us have not reaped as many benefits as we thought we would from the reduction of our pre-covid ..read more

The beauty of California’s coast is no secret. People have lived between its rocky bluffs and wild forests for centuries, drawing life from this stunning edge of the continent.  Growing up in Silicon Valley, I can hardly remember when I started coming here. Just 1.5 hours south of San Jose, the coastal area that begins at the Monterey Peninsula is one of the most accessible destinations you can find— and thrillingly beautiful if you know where to look.  Our new pandemic road trip orientation As I write this, the popularity of local roadtrips is increasing due to a lack of cross-cou ..read more

Many of us think of the great outdoors as a place to be active— complete with gear from REI. National parks are for hiking, rockclimbing, fishing, mountaineering, and sleeping only if you can manage to carry your belongings on your back. For some (and sometimes for me), these activities are exactly what we need in order to experience rejuvenation. At other times, what we need is to soak up the beauty of our surroundings, without an obligation to strenuous activity. This is why I love the idea of forest bathing: the Japanese concept of shinrin-yoku, which means “taking in the f ..read more

There are myriad labels we can use to describe the events of this year, but “pleasant” is not one of them. A global pandemic that has taken too many lives. Destructive natural disasters that point to our climate crisis. The exposure of systemic racism in the US, and massive human rights abuses worldwide. The collective loss of livelihoods, homes, stability, education. The loss of culture with the closure of precious businesses and institutions, while the way we interact with each other has been changed, possibly forever. And while some enter 2021 with optimism, there is plenty of clarity tha ..read more

“When will we be able to travel again?” I used to think this question had a clear answer. But considering how this pandemic has unfolded, I’ve realized that maybe it’s no longer the right question to ask. Maybe a better question to ask is— what makes travel so unique and why do I miss it so much? This is a question I can answer, at least for myself: I want to return to that feeling of touching ground somewhere different from our own towns, hearing new languages and tasting new flavors, navigating unfamiliar streets with an unquenchable sense of adventure. I want lifestyle inspirati ..read more

As I write this, I’m coming off of a week that felt particularly catastrophic. We’re in a global pandemic. The US west coast, where we live, is ablaze like never before. People are missing, the air is dangerous to breathe. Massive injustices plague our communities here in the US and everywhere. International travel is on hold, making it increasingly more difficult to run the young mental health organization we started two years ago. Additionally, Aaron and I are in the midst of a cross-country move that has taken numerous stressful twists and turns. And I’m turning 30 today. Perhaps the hard ..read more