No better feeling than getting on a bus at an off peak time with a driver who is motivated to - and there truly isn't a better way to put it - haul ass.

愿逝者安息，愿生者珍重 Alice Wong. May we cherish ourselves as much as she showed us we should.

In terms of personal impact, the worst part of my 30+ hour airline travel saga this past weekend was having to wear compression socks the entire time.

Can we agree that November 1 is far too early for Christmas music?

Happy to mainstream the most complex of all kinship systems, the Chinese 亲属系统 in which there is a specific designation for almost every member's kin based on their generation, lineage, relative age, and gender. Family gatherings are a memorization exercise. Auntie/Uncle works just fine, y'all. 🙄

Feeding America has a page where you can input your zip code and it'll show you all of the food banks near you overlaid on a map. If you need it, it's there. If you don't need it, think about donating money if you have it and your time if you don't. www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-lo...

I already see shoppers in my area WinCo putting items back at the register they can't afford on SNAP allocations. I already have dolled out dollars from my own wallet when this happens. I fear empty markets and no Sunday evening rush at the check out line when folks lose SNAP and are going without.

757,000 Oregon residents who receive assistance through SNAP could lose this needed resource for November if the federal government shutdown persists. This would impact over 143,000 SNAP participants in Multnomah County, and the shoppers at my neighborhood market.

Soggy neighborhood farmers market this morning, overhearing more than one conversation amongst shoppers about the impending loss of SNAP benefits and how they were strategically spending their dollars accordingly. This market offers a SNAP cash match, doubling shoppers bucks.

I can always recall having enough food at home but it wasn't until I was much older that I learned how many times my parents went without a meal during the toughest times.

Many of our neighbors will be facing food insecurity this winter. Money can be more useful for food banks than food, but there are many tasks to fill like delivering meals and boxes, serving hot meals and making bagged sandwiches. Ask around and see how you can help.

Gen Z door kid at the new underground music venue just told me my jacket is 'so sick' so basically I'll be riding on that confidence boost for a few days.

If anyone asks me for my papers, I'll show my birth certificate which lists my mother's nationality as "Remainder World" because geopolitical contexts are not arbitrary but borders are.

Mariners really capsized, eh?

St Vincent re-recorded her most recent album in Spanish, Todos Nacen Gritando, to pay tribute to her fan base in Latin America. It's fantastic and I can't believe I'm a year late from its release to enjoy it.

In a world flooded with useless camping and outdoor gear, I propose yet another one. Hear me out .. belay glasses but for stargazing.

Once again reupping WIRED's many guides for those heading to the No Kings protests this weekend. We also made a zine that you can print out and share if you need something small and light. www.wired.com/story/downlo...

One noticable difference in my workplace going from majority POC environmental justice nonprofit to local municipal government: I hear 'alrighty' and 'okie dokie' used way more in the office.

What The Hell Is Going On, a thread: I’ve seen some thinkpieces and posts about Portland protests that fail to understand the long-term hyperspecificity of Portland culture/humor, and frame it as a sort of shitposting meme-pilled ironic thing. Which is wrong. So I’m gonna give you my breakdown.

And this is why I will always be proud to be not just a Chicagoan, but to have been born, raised and shaped by the people and streets of Rogers Park, Chicago. Stand on it!

Similar to the discomfort I had around USians referring to early covid closures as 'lockdown', any use of Tiananmen images to describe current resistance actions in Portland is a total miss for me (especially as a first gen Chinese American, wtf).

Every single live show I've attended this week has artists sharing so much love for Portlanders and this beautiful landscape. Across genres, musicians understand their role in resistance art and creating joyful spaces.

I'm so proud of everyone from my old neighborhood of Rogers Park in Chicago. I see what you have been and are doing. I am so proud of how organized the community is and how much more so everyone is becoming. It is inspiring. Just one example... And this is something EVERYONE can do. Everyone.

Going to hardcore shows at 40: okay, you can hurt your neck by headbanging.

I am saddened by this news. Justin Woodward, a former Castagna alum Matthew DuBois, and my dear friend Justin Buri, all Portland industry workers and my contemporaries who didn't live to see middle age.

Burgerville prayer < SuperDeluxe invocation

If you have a better idea, you can just execute it.

Does anyone have a reasonable explanation for why nail trimming on public transit is a thing? Because it is a thing, unfortunately.

The Friday news drop has been incredibly informative and on point today. Sharing links mostly to bookmark for myself, but also support indie journalists and outlets already:

I know we've ceded all kinds of space to phone usage but do y'all really need to have a conversation while in the locker room or shared bathrooms?

"Our power isn’t in making one of the choices that are presented to us. Our power is in shaping the choices available to us." www.nytimes.com/2025/10/01/o...

"We have to reject the idea that our only, best power is our pocketbooks. That’s a desecration of civics, as corrosive as the idea that debate is the pinnacle of civil discourse. It cheapens our actions by degrading what we believe is possible." - @tressiemcphd.bsky.social in today's NYT

My immigrant parent delivered white glove hospitality during visitor stays at a five star hotel, ran a restaurant where business deals were closed, and worked late into the night to start it all over again the next day. How this labor is viewed as a drain on US resources and culture is beyond me.

As the first generation in both my family lineages to not have to pick up arms and experience combat, I find it deeply troubling that so many are itching to have that very profoundly traumatizing experience.

Spent this lovely Sunday in Old Town, Portland working on a strategic plan and being in community with a favorite nonprofit organization. There's no better cure for apathy and fear than building a stronger analysis, getting clearer on strategy, and doing it alongside dedicated, determined people.

Super telling what stage of the political decline we are in when the mainstream response to authoritarianism is 'go spend money (locally tho!)' and 'contribute now to my campaign'.

Unsubscribing from every single dong dong politicians newsletter who is using the news of federal troops being deployed to Portland under "full force" directives to fundraise for their own re-election campaign.

Got too friendly and now my social calendar is overwhelming when I just wanna ride my bicycle and motorcycle in this perfect autumnal season. Sorry in advance for cancelling! I'm an introvert at heart.

Coffeeshop flirt Cutie's boss pointed out that I look like their sister, so that kills it entirely now.

Today's deep thoughts while bike commuting: when will a local drag queen take on the Big Pink moniker?

Today was new bike day for me AND the return of Sunday Parkways to downtown Portland. A serendipitous and most delightful coincidence, and what fun to show off my new ride. Bikes are truly the best!

If the store has non-toxic crayons and other crayons, should I assume the other ones are toxic? Asking for the kids coloring book station I offered to set up for this weekend's Portland Criterium.

Was taking a little social media scroll break and just got legit teary-eyed watching a video of @coachbalto.bsky.social leading a bike bus to Crazy Train. Nothing better than bikes and Ozzy, man.

Overheard in the workplace: "The Chipotle help hotline is the least helpful I've ever experienced."

NEW: Greystar, which manages nearly 950,000 apartments, has agreed to stop using “anti-competitive” algorithms to suggest rents. ProPublica previously showed how such software lets landlords set rents in a way that could result in cartel-like behavior. By @heathervogell.bsky.social

I will always miss KEXP and Johnny Horn's Preaching the Blues programming on Sundays. It was made for us true blues believers and my mornings ain't ever been the same.

My neighborhood soiree may be smaller in scale than others in Portland but I do in fact find it to be superior because I got to encounter this stroller full of perfect, precious, pittie puppies.

Salvaged the midweek play day despite the rain by bringing a sandwich and a friend with me to the top of Tom, Dick and Harry mountain. Didn't get any of the great views typically afforded up here but did wonders for my mental health.

For a few different reasons got the summer bummer this year, and figured the cure would be a midweek play day. So with no great ease, scheduled the date in advance with a friend and moved lots of work things around and the forecast now calls for rain. RAIN on my summer play day. For fucks sake.

Sweaty bike commuting in the summer is well rewarded by a dip in the river, a cool shower after arriving home, and a cold beer in the backyard.