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A Recipe for Life

I came across this passage in one of the last chapters of An Everlasting Meal. I love the reminder to make dinner guests a part of the process, consciously leaving your list unfinished and putting the connection gained through combined effort first.

The recipes in this book are secondary. (I mostly skimmed over them.) They’re not an after thought, but they’re also not the point. Learning how to feed ourselves well and intuitively from whatever’s around is the author’s point. The writing is beautifully layered, and it evokes so much more than just cooking and eating.

Why I Travel

There’s a fine line between scary and exciting. The first feeling that starts to bubble up in the pit of your stomach is the same, but it can easily go either way from there.

I say that I travel to see and learn about new places, immerse myself in a new culture, and meet interesting new people. That’s all true. I’d happily travel around the world just to see a beautiful piece of art or to try a specific dish in the region where it’s originally made, but my real motivations are much deeper than that.

Looking Forward

I love solid, actionable advice, the kind I read and excitedly think to myself, “This is great. I can use this!” That’s exactly what I thought when I came across a blog post by Jeff Goins called The Secret to Having a Marriage That Never Goes Stale. While I’m not married or currently in a…

A Summer Weekend in Tahoe

After two failed attempts, I finally made it to Tahoe last weekend. It was beginning to get embarrassing to have to admit that I hadn’t been yet, after two full years of living in San Francisco. The disbelief in people’s eyes was genuine (a bit ridiculous, but genuine), and I was excited to finally see…

My Portland Favorites

It’s not hard to like Portland. It’s almost automatic actually. Even if you never leave downtown, the people are incredibly friendly, the food is great (more on that), and there’s never a dull moment. If you do happen to leave the city and venture out to enjoy some of the beautiful scenery nearby, you may never want to…

Encountering My Future Self in Portland

This year before heading to WDS 2014 I was bound and determined to see more of Portland and at least a couple of the beautiful spots nearby. So I arrived a couple days early to explore on my own. After my painfully early flight touched down, I picked up my rental car and headed directly…

Thoughts on Living a Remarkable Life #WDS2014

For the last four years, I’ve been going to Portland, Oregon at the beginning of July for an event called the World Domination Summit (WDS). The weekend event is designed around the values of “community, adventure, and service” and challenges attendees to live a remarkable life, even in light of our conventional world. All jokes about…

Pan American Unity Mural by Diego Rivera

If you’ve been following along, you’ll remember that there are four murals painted by Diego Rivera in the Bay Area and seeing some of Rivera’s murals has been on my personal bucket list since I studied his work in college. I set out to see all four of the murals in the Bay Area, and this…

I’m Probably Not Going to be President

Or Secretary of State or Speaker of the House. There was a time when I harbored grand political aspirations, but that was a long time ago, when cable news was still new and still news. My life has taken a very different path since then. I don’t usually spend much time looking back, but last…

Struggling with the Meaning of Home

Standing over my cellphone, I’m at a loss for words despite the utter simplicity of the concept I’m trying to convey. All my mom wants to know is that I’m at my apartment safely after flying back to San Francisco from Dallas. Otherwise, she’ll worry. It’s a simple request, and I’m happy to comply. “I’m…