Seasons of life

My grandfather passed away at the age of 96. Five months have passed and I think of him often. Little things remind me of him and my eyes water and my heart aches a bit. It is the end of an era. As author Joan Didion once wrote, “I don’t know what I think until […]

Impressions of Busan, Part 2 – Gamcheon Culture Village

April 23, 2016, late afternoon. I’m sitting on a rooftop cafe savouring a bowl of red bean soup. It’s thick, sweet and more filling than I expected. The sun is setting and the wind is getting a bit cold. I’m writing about the day as I overlook pastel-coloured buildings of Gamcheon Culture Village, fishing ports and ocean. To the west, a rooster is […]

Good Helen, Bad Helen, and the Evolving Self

I sometimes feel like there are two versions of myself. Good Helen and Bad Helen. Good Helen is kind to others, appreciates beauty in the everyday, is immensely curious, hopeful, self-disciplined and likes to ponder the state of the world and how she can contribute to make it better. Bad Helen, on the other hand […]

Aikido Nara

Week 2 in Nara, Japan. January. Wednesday night, 6:40pm: My stomach is rumbling. I’m a bit nervous. I’m wearing two layers of pants, and my big winter parka. Its 10°C but I’ve never felt as cold as I do here, even compared to the depths of Canadian winter. I dawdle a bit, delaying the short […]

Impressions of Busan – Part 1

Korean drama playing on the TV. An old man watching beside me, seven little empty plates and metal chopsticks on his table. She comes over and I point to the first item on the menu, characters I can’t read. Soon, this charming little hole-in-the-wall restaurant run by my new favourite two ladies becomes a nightly routine […]

Introducing Nara artist, Satoshi Tatsumi

February 11 was National Foundation Day in Japan. I had the day off work and wandered around the small streets of Nara again. It was one of those slow, carefree days where I walked around with gratitude and no expectations of the world. The sun was shining and everyone was out. Doesn’t get much better […]

This creative life

Doing a PhD (or any kind of creative endeavour, really) is like signing up for a continual ass-kicking. Yup, you’re gonna get your butt whomped. Hard. You pour your heart, your ideas, your energy and your time into this project which spans months or years, which frankly, in the end, may or may not pan out […]

The enchantment of Nara

Day 0: It’s 5pm and the sun is setting. The blue sky that I arrived to is now fading to light hues of purple and pink. I’m on the bus leaving KIX (Osaka) airport, looking out the window at ocean and highway. Eventually all I see is my own reflection. Two hours later, I get […]

Beijing 2015

Beijing. A whirlwind of colours, contradictions and engraved memories. Here, I feel both at home and far away from home. I blend in and stand out. All at the same time. The development here moves at a dizzying pace. Shiny new marble buildings. Air-conditioned shopping malls. Entire areas torn down, renovated, rebuilt. Seas of luxury […]

Hot off the press! The PhD student revealed

The PhD student is a mysterious breed. Seemingly normal on the outside, the PhD student functions effectively in daily life, though secretly suffers from a variety of odd and somewhat peculiar symptoms, including (but not limited) to the following: 1) Short-lived waves of euphoria (e.g. “Hooooly shit, I’m f*&S*ing brilliant!!!”), followed by an all-encompassing self-doubt and loathing (e.g. “What is this crap?!! What crazy idiot came up with this???”). Rigorous […]