Category: question

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Busride Observations Chinese Culture funny My San Francisco Chronicles observation question reflection

Children Growing Up in San Francisco

There were a couple of ABC (American-born Chinese) teens on the bus this afternoon, and I felt more than amused by their conversation:

Girl 1: Did you know that New Zealand is a part of Australia?
Girl 2: Everyone knew that except you.
Boy 1: May I sit here?
Girl 1: *rolls eyes* Sure, maybe…*sets her backpack down in the seat*
Boy 2: I have to go to my tutoring session today.
Girl 2: Tutoring, as in for what? Sylvan Learning Center?!
Boy 1: Hooked on Phonics? *laughs*
Girl 1: Here, sit down!
Boy 1: On your backpack? Okay, but it’s going to have some butt stains on it…*laughs*
Girl 1: Did you know that New Zealand is a part of Australia?
Boy 1: I think you already said that.
Girl 1: I thought it was all the way by Hawaii!

Eavesdropping and observing their behavior, I felt like I was seeing an image of what my life could have been like if I had grown up in San Francisco. These teenagers and their lives here in San Francisco are very different from what I experienced as a teenager. However, will they end up with different perspectives in adulthood as me, or will they end up with the same perspective somehow?

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#amwriting Novel 1 question short works Work in Progress

New Story Post; Characters & Settings and Tangibility

It’s safe to say that I can breathe again after a less-than-fruitful week. For the past two weeks, I haven’t had much time to devote to my writing; in general, I haven’t had much time to myself due to festivities for Chinese New Year and my birthday over the past two weekends. Don’t get me wrong: I love celebrations, I love time with family and friends, but like any other person, I also love time spent alone.

I feel like I can’t fully function/be alert with tasks/work when I do not have at least one full day to myself to do whatever I want to do. Even though on certain days of the week I still have time before and after work to myself, it’s never enough for me to have those pockets of time. I need a full day.

So, because of the lack of time lately, my updates to my website and my short works had been suffering; only today was I able to get around to adding another short story to my website (called “Riches to Rags” under Other Works); it’s slightly longer than my other work, and the POV is from a man instead. As always, please feel free to leave feedback/reviews on my comments post.

I’ve been working hard on developing more about my characters from Writing the Past, but I’m having trouble with a couple of elements; in general, I feel like this is a weak point in my writing at this stage. The question goes–

When writing non-Science Fiction/Fantasy, is it important/mandatory to have real location names (i.e., names of real cities like New York, San Francisco, Fairfax, etc.)? Also, is it necessary to directly address characters’ ethnicities/cultural backgrounds?

The reason why I struggle with these aspects of writing is because I do not want to box my characters into the stereotypes or “familiar” things akin to familiar locations, cultures, etc. It may be a controversial matter, but I don’t want to feel like I am limited to only writing about Asians, Asian-Americans, etc. and their plight of living in certain conditions/cultural conflicts/etc. What exactly is accepted/not accepted though? What makes a storyline tangible, easy-to-relate?

Any insight is appreciated.

Categories
change life question

Question:

When do you know when to “move on”?

It does not matter what you are thinking about moving on from; just in general, when and how do you know?

When things stop feeling like they are so wonderful?

When you no longer feel happy and safe?

I am beginning to feel this way, which upsets me. I know nothing can stay the same ever, but I was hoping there would be some stability at some point.

I suppose I cannot make myself feel sad over this for too long though, since life goes on with or without my worries about change.

Life just happens.

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Hot Dog Days My San Francisco Chronicles question weather Work Diaries

Fog Rolls On In.

Well, the warm temperatures are gone from the city as of today: when I woke up, there was fog (typical of San Francisco), and the temperatures were chillier, around 50 degrees in the morning. The afternoon did not seem to change much, staying around upper 50s/lower 60s.

This type of weather seemed to keep the crowds in today since the carts were all very slow with business; I actually only worked 3 hours today since the second vendor had already come in at noon and we definitely did not need two vendors at the cart. We made measly tips as well.

This got me wondering: What is the “perfect hot dog weather”? When do people feel the most in the mood to eat a hot dog? The warmer temperatures did not seem to draw the crowds in, at least not to the hot dogs; people more so ordered drinks or the soft frozen lemonade. The cooler temperatures do not bring in the customers as much as we’d like, either. So I don’t understand–when is the best time (weather-wise) to have a hot dog?

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customers Hot Dog Days My San Francisco Chronicles question tourists

FAQs at the Carts.

Frequently Asked Questions (depends on location of the hot dog cart):

– “Where is Union Square?”

– “Where do I catch the ‘Hop on, Hop off’ tour bus?”

– “Where is the Apple Store?”

– “Can you give me change in quarters?”

– “Where is the Hilton Hotel?”

– “Where is Market Street?”

– “Where do I catch the cable car?”

– “Where is O’Farrell Street?”

As you can see, none of these questions pertain to the cart itself. Since when did the hot dog carts become information booths?