Climate & Joy

As climate change wreaks even more havoc this summer, I keep thinking about the importance of climate resilience–and not just in terms of people’s ability to physically survive. Climate resilience also includes mental, emotional, and psychological resilience to the changes and the work ahead.

The reality is, even if we were to exceed anybody’s most optimistic expectations and bring our greenhouse gas emissions down to a pre-industrial level next week, we’d still have several years of heatwaves, tropical storms, wildfires, and droughts.

I’ve spent this week around smallholder farmers solving environmental issues in Mexico. I spend most of my weeks around people working tirelessly towards climate solutions. Know what I keep seeing? People are saddened and enraged by recent events, but not surprised. And they sure aren’t giving up.

We’ve gotta invest in our ability to find joy before the work is complete, to experience gratitude alongside grief, and to still soak in the moments along the way that make the process feel worthwhile.

July 2021

#182 Mision Integral

01 July 2021 // Oaxaca, Mexico

“The soil has life,” Alier motioned. “Well, of course, we know about the microorganisms and things living in the soil, but it also has the components of our lives. This is how we eat. How we grow sustenance.”

Manos a la Tierra is a more experienced group that @plantwpurpose works with in the mountains of Nuxiño.

I spent a whole afternoon with Alier, Esperanza, and Sra. Perez watching them demonstrate their process of growing saplings in a nursery from a small seed bed, to planting trees across a whole hillside, to seeing the flourishing crop diversity that comes further down the line. This group was dedicated- they worked knowing that those lines drawn by Alier between the quality of their soil and the quality of their life was all too real.

I arrived in Oaxaca on a rainy night and it rained pretty much every day since. The region is hopefully coming off of a five year drought which only increases the urgency around this current planting season.

The way they still took the time to invite me into their process throughout all that was extremely generous. Their soil tells the story of their lives.

#183 Oaxaca

02 July 2021 // Oaxaca, Mexico

Good morning from El Zocalo, the beating heart of Oaxaca. At any hour of the day you can come and find the sidewalk restaurants, the street performers playing Mixtec windpipes, vendors showing impressive woven shirts, and people just being here because it’s the place to be.

I love getting to know the soul of a city and I think Oaxaca is a pure artisan. Not the brooding, cryptically sensitive artist we know in the Global North. In Southern Mexico, there’s more awareness of the connection between artisanship and ancestry, craftsmanship and community. It’s why every element of Oaxacan style both goes way back while feeling completely fresh.

At every level, this place is committed to its craft. The locals tell me that there’s no food like Oaxacan food, and it seems like every one of them can give me a taxonomy of mole. The bright colored textiles reflect the sun kissed earth’s materials used to make the dye. The shapes on the sides of buildings harken back to Zapotec legends.

Have you ever been to Oaxaca? How would you sum up its personality?

#184 La Ruta de Mezcal

03 July 2021 // Oaxaca, Mexico

My mezcal video is now live!

I knew this was going to be a fun outing, but I didn’t expect:
• to learn so much about the Filipino contribution to the history of mezcal
• agave to be so wildly diverse
• so many possible distillates of agave- from puntas with its 80% alcohol volume to the kombucha-like pulque
• the romantic tragedy of ancient Mexico’s agave goddess
• to discover the best at-home bar ever

Among other things!

This was a really fun video to make- and definitely a fun one to go out and shoot. Big thanks to @ramblingspirits for the adventure… be sure to reach out to them when in Oaxaca!

#185 Trebol Halls

04 July 2021 // Oaxaca, Mexico

When I lived in Eugene, Oregon, there were a ton of Thai restaurants around. At least a couple dozen in a city that really wasn’t that big. Strangely, however, I don’t think I met a single Thai person. Not even in the restaurants.

Turns out, this trend is consistent in Santa Barbara, Arizona, Alaska, and all over the U.S.- not to mention several other countries. In most places you won’t have a hard time finding Thai food. But Thai people? That’s a different story.

What’s going on here? It turns out there’s a reason Thai food is so much more prevalent than the Thai population, and it’s fascinating. It’s all part of Thailand’s global strategy to assert itself in the world by means of noodles, fish sauce, and lemongrass.

#186 Don Carlos

05 July 2021 // Oaxaca, Mexico

I’ve decided to try and make a mini travel guide of the places I visit from here on out. The things you’ve got to eat, the absolute must do’s, the overrated tourist traps, and so on. The twist? I’ll try and make them in the form of one minute videos.

One minute? How am I going to do some of the world’s most fascinating places justice in a minute?

I won’t.

But the truth is that even a three hour documentary or 500 page travel guide will leave stuff out. There is no all-comprehensive way to capture life in a place because the moment you’ve gotten some of it written down, it evolves again.

So instead, here’s what I would say if I had just one minute to transmit to you as much info as I could in order to enjoy your time in… Oaxaca.

#187 El Carrizal

06 July 2021 // Oaxaca, Mexico

Astonishing hospitality.

I have no words to adequately describe what it’s like to be welcomed into a community with open arms and a full fledged feast, except to say that it’s something I hope everybody can experience at least once. I’m endlessly grateful that this is something I’ve ran into a few times but each of them left a profound impact.

El Carrizal is up in the mountains. It’s a small community of about 300 people. And they wanted to have a feast. They’ve been wanting to for a year.

Barbacoa- the kind where you prepare a goat underground and overnight takes effort. The goats are precious. The labor that goes into this is communal. So it’s usually reserved for when dignitaries or governors pass through, which isn’t all that often, especially in the last year.

This kind of feast is a big deal, so when they prepared one for us while we came to visit? I felt so undeserving but grateful for every bit. They made sure we were stuffed!

My belief is that this kind of hospitality radically makes the world better. It’s impossible for me to have gotten such a reception without wanting to welcome others with all the warmth of an underground barbacoa pit.

#188 Señora Gregorio

07 July 2021 // Oaxaca, Mexico

One of my favorite food discoveries lately, huitlacoche. Esperanza, a Oaxaqueña farmer introduced me to it.

It’s an edible fungus that grows underneath certain corn husks.

Tastes like a mushroom (I mean, duh) but with a bitter, garlicky edge.

#189 pLANTING FOR kIRSTIE

08 July 2021 // Oaxaca, Mexico

After my friend Kirstie suddenly passed away in an accident, a bunch of loved ones rallied together to donate trees to be planted in her honor.

Friends, family members, people I’d never met, coworkers, vendors, and interns we managed all pitched in.

In the end, over 30,000 trees were donated- to be planted in the communities she got to visit in Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

When I learned that my trip to Mexico might coincide with the planting of these trees, I really hoped to see it in person. But this was no guarantee. Oaxaca finally had a good rainy season after a five year drought, and the planting window was slim.

But this moment was meant to happen.

Our @plantwpurpose team in Mexico went above and beyond to make the event a ceremony, complete with banners and they invited me to share a few words, alongside our Country Director, a farmer from a group Kirstie had met, and the gentleman who owned the hillside we were planting on.

Then they invited me to plant the first tree.

Everything seemed to swirl around that spot on the hillside where I put that sapling into the ground. The warmth of the sun. The sweeping view of the watershed. The hospitable spirit of the staff and community gathering the rest of the tree starters.

Healing is a remarkable thing. Healing is a real thing.

#190 Oaxaca to Tijuana

09 July 2021 // Oaxaca, Mexico

As it’s my first time traveling outside the U.S. post-pandemic*, thought I’d share some observations and thoughts so far.

*post-pandemic is gonna have to wear that asterisk for a while since the world is at very different & unequal stages.

Mexico is somewhere in between. Vaccines are being rolled out fairly widely and most restrictions are loosening up. Case counts are low, including in Oaxaca, where I am.

I’ve been told that the sense of ease is a pretty recent shift.

Currently, the vaccine roll-out has reached most people 50+, with rollout to the 40-somethings coming soon. With a few other provisions, age brackets have been the main consideration for distribution.

I’m also pleased to see that rural areas are having vaccine access. My first morning I got breakfast with these villages agents who were about to pick up some adults from the mountain areas to get vaccinated in a nearby municipality.

For the most part, I’ve been able to do a lot of things that wouldn’t have happened 3-4 months ago. Walk through fairly crowded marketplaces, some indoor dining and coffee shops, more relaxed mask use.

That said, on the whole, people are still being very conscientious. Around the center of town, mask usage is around 80%. A bit more lax in rural parts, but you’ll also spend more time outdoors and in less crowded areas there.

Masking is still obligatory in most shops. Wait staff will wear masks, though diners are uncovered, even indoors. Again, a recent shift and a sign that masks are almost as much a social courtesy than a safeguard for many.

I’m trying to be courteous and aware of my privilege and early access to the vaccine. I mostly wear masks around crowds or when indoors, though dining is an exception and I’ve been doing a lot of that here.

#191 Church Meeting

10 July 2021 // Oaxaca, Mexico

Just started an artist residency with Inheritance Magazine and so far I’ve been loving the work.

Being in an Asian American progressive faith community sharing creative projects has been right up my alley.

I’m ever grateful for the ways I’ve been able to take so many things I love doing and turn them into full on endeavors. Happy to have another example.

#192 Silver Strand Beach

11 July 2021 // Coronado, California

That’s right… Lazaro, party of five.

Six if you’re dog friendly.

#193 Yellow Blooms

12 July 2021 // San Diego, California

I’d never made it to Olympic National Park before this year and fell in love with my first visit. I love that this park has so many different types of spots- from snow capped mountain ridges, to waterfalls, to thick-mossed rainforests.

This easily makes a shortlist of my favorite National Parks.

In the meantime there’s a more complex conversation about our National Parks to be had.

#194 sLIDERY

13 July 2021 // San Diego, California

Thank you all so much for the congrats and well wishes! Life is gonna be very, very, very, very full.

Growing up as an only child, I always wanted to have a large family. My mental image of joy was a bunch of people all packed into a big house- think of the breakfast scene from Muppets in Space. Never thought I would get there quite so overnight!

There are so many thoughts and humongous questions looming! We gotta find a new place to live that can fit us all, stat. Does living in a Top 10 cost-of-living city make sense anymore? What does our babysitter lineup look like? I’m gonna have to manage them like a bullpen. And you’re telling me Rhys is gonna be the BIG brother? Yoooo. And how do we integrate this into our values of adventure, service, travel, sustainability, creativity, etc. when every minute is triple booked?

I’m a stubborn optimist who tends to think nearly anything can work out with enough creativity and persistence, but sho ‘nuff, we’re about to put it all to the test! And I don’t want all the chaos of having three-under-three (possibly three-under-two) make me lose sight of this simple fact:

I’ve had dreams come true on top of dreams come true. And this is about to be possibly the sweetest season of my life. One I thought might not be possible, not long ago.

#195 Teralta Grass

14 July 2021 // San Diego, California

Some books that make feel like traveling:

Factfulness, Hans Rosling

Beautiful Ruins, Jess Walter

The Geography of Bliss, Eric Weiner

A Tale for the Time Being, Ruth Ozeki

State of Wonder, Ann Patchett

Forever the Road, Anthony St Clair

Can’t wait to grow this list more!

#196 Red Sea Work Lunch

15 July 2021 // San Diego, California

We just shared the fact that we’re expecting twins with the world.

I love being able to bask in the anticipation of it all. A few people noted that this added some much needed joy back into their worlds at a challenging time.

I wouldn’t mind that being the impact of our family. Restoring joy and justice at a time where it feels far or forgotten.

#197 Marlborough & Polk

16 July 2021 // San Diego, California

Holding my Haitian friends close right now.

The assassination of President Moise puts Haiti in a very concerning place. This has less to do with his politics or effectiveness as a leader and more to do with the reality that a situation which was already extremely fragile just got a whole lot more uncertain.

To properly Haiti’s current situation, one needs the context of white supremacy, French and American imperialism, and the environment since the 1700s. However this current moment of uncertainty really worsened about two years ago.

An economic crisis converged with a spike in gas prices, triggering riots, crackdowns, and a constitutional referendum attempting to greatly expand presidential power. (There’s a lot more, but the basic picture is a domino effect of stressors)

By the time COVID came around, it could only rank so high on a list of concerns amidst everything else going on. But it too contributed to the chaos. As leadership became a lot more fragile, people tried filling the power vacuum. Both politically and in the streets via gangs.

Due to the pandemic, ongoing political crisis, and now the assassination, a large number of high government positions are vacant.

Roadside kidnappings became common. To the point where many Haitians were taking small boats around the perimeter of the island to deliver goods.

Now the uncertainty has reached new levels. With a vacancy in power, there will likely be many efforts to claim authority and it would be naive not to prepare for some of those struggles to turn violent.

My teammates in Haiti’s cities are sheltering at home for now.

I hate that these are the things people know about Haiti. It’s important to pay attention, but the Haiti I know is more. It’s Nael and Dieula and Messoyel and Ramon and Gernita…

…in 2018, just before things went downhill, I paid a visit to Haiti. It was after a long stretch of trying to become parents, realizing health concerns might prevent that, and feeling very discouraged.

These people shared so openly with me their hardest moments. The earthquake. Losing a brother in a car crash. Losing control over alcohol. Yet they didn’t give up. Their stories were the dose of hope I needed. Sending hope back.

#198 fESTIVE dEAD eND

17 July 2021 // San Diego, California

Ever wonder how art theft works? I often do. Like, let’s say you manage to steal the Mona Lisa, something famous, well recognized, and extremely valuable. What’s your next move?

The next day every headline is gonna be about how the Mona Lisa was stolen. The fine art community, who would typically be your consumer market, can’t stop talking about this. There’s a big reward out for your capture. So how do you sell this thing? You can’t go list it on eBay or anything.

I know illicit trading happens often, but art that you can’t really display seems to lose a ton of its value. And a product that you can’t properly market because you have to hide from 99% of its potential buyers loses a ton of value too.

After all, isn’t that how NFT’s work? Everyone knows who the rightful owner is even though we can all right click or screenshot jpegs?

I suppose someone who steals art just might not be money motivated. But even vanity isn’t fully satisfied when you can’t put your loot on display. It kind of leaves you with only one possible motivation.

To impress a girl.

#199 Survivor’s Gazebo

18 July 2021 // San Diego, California

“The more places I see and experience the bigger I realize the world to be… the more I realize how relatively little I know about it, how many places I still have to go, how much more there is to learn.”

This is one of my favorite Bourdain quotes. Actually, it’s one of my favorite quotes ever, because I think it so perfectly speaks to the true spirit of being a humbled explorer and a grateful adventurer.

I saw Roadrunner the other weekend and no surprise, I loved it. Morgan Neville’s got such a gift at digging into complex lives.

Three things in particular stood out.

I was struck by how old Bourdain was when he did, well, just about everything. Becoming a dad in his early 50s, taking up jiu-jitsu at 58. But most of all, he never really traveled much until 43. And his name is kind of synonymous with adventurous travel. A helpful reminder for someone who often feels like a lot of life’s early innings went by fast.

I also felt a deep sense of gratitude for every place I’ve been. I don’t have Anthony Bourdain’s passport stamps, but mine definitely put me in one of the most privileged groups of people. All the eye opening conversations and experiences that bring you to life are so valuable. And what a gift to find ways to bring others with you.

I also thought appreciated the human empathy they brought to discussing the troubles of his final years. It’s true that sometimes you never know what someone’s going through, but it’s also true that a large portion of the time you see signs that things aren’t going okay. Always reach out. Check in. Look out for your people.

#200 Mad at Sis

19 July 2021 // San Diego, California

You know the thing about anger and outrage?

It’s super powerful when channeled in the right direction.

It’s super profitable (to someone else) when indulged mindlessly.

Scroll with that in mind.

#201 Stories aRE tHE sPARK

20 July 2021 // San Diego, California

Okay… this isn’t a diss track against National Parks. I’m pretty sure I’ve thoroughly enjoyed 100% of the minutes I’ve spent on our public lands.

But- truly loving a place also means owning up to the injustices that shaped them and figuring out how to right past wrongs. Pretty much every line on a map is an opportunity to do just that, and our National Parks are no exception.

Zion, Yosemite, Glacier, etc. are wonderful, but they raise big questions about who we consider human, how we define nature, and how the two are interrelated.

#202 bASEBALL bOOKS

21 July 2021 // San Diego, California

Decided to hit a lighter note with my reading over the past month and go with a trio of books revolving around baseball! And even though they were “lighter” in theory, the three I read still dove in deeper to focus on parts of the game that go unseen.

Stealing Home dives into the story of how Dodger Stadium displaced hundreds of LA’s Mexican American families living in what is now Chavez Ravine, and all the crossing paths and personalities that led to their displacement. This book was so well researched and personal, and very much an LA book.

Doc was all about one of my favorite players to watch, Roy Halladay- and the way I read it, it shared so much about the human behind the hero, what happens when we make it hard for our heroes to be fully human, and how much of the sport and what happens beyond it is a mental game.

The Wax Pack had a real fun premise- opening a random pack of baseball cards from 1986 then taking a cross country road trip to find all those players and see what they’re up to now. Beyond all the fun, it’s also a good look at having a dream after a dream, and navigating a restart in life.

#203 pROUD fRIDGE aRT

22 July 2021 // San Diego, California

Rhys’ preschool has him doing more arts and crafts- usually meaning having him make a handprint or footprint with paint and turning it into an animal.

That means we wind up with a lot of take home art, and I get the treat of being a proud fridge dad.

#204 sTEALING hOME liNES

23 July 2021 // San Diego, California

One of the things I like a lot about baseball is how multicultural the game is. I mean, definitely not as global as soccer, but if you play baseball you’re going to have a lot of different cultural interactions, there’s no way around that.

For the Dodgers, it’s hard for me to think of another team with as solid of a Chicano fan base. From the iconic LA hats around Boyle Heights to the makeup of the stands during a game. I love it.

It’s easy to think of the Dodgers as the team on the right side of history, a lot of the time. Going back to Jackie Robinson. It’s easy to think about how its multicultural roots might go back that far. But the weird thing is that it wasn’t always that way.

Fernando comes from rural Mexico. He has this crazy pitch- a screwball. It’s like a curveball that moves in reverse. And it’s nasty. He’s striking guys out. He starts the season by winning eight games in a row. 

It’s easy to forget that it wasn’t always like this. These days, half the fans at Dodger Stadium are Latino. But prior to Fernando Valenzuela, that number would’ve been like 10%. And many LA Latinos were actually pretty opposed to supporting the Dodgers.

So why would Latino families in LA, who today make up a large bulk of the Dodger fanbase have been so against the team?

It was because the Dodgers kicked a number of them out of their houses.

Taking on this subject in an upcoming video.

#205 pLAYGROUND bRIDGE

24 July 2021 // San Diego, California

It took one month for all the COVID optimism from this year to head in the opposite direction.

One of the things that the saga of these past two years has shifted in me is seeing personal responsibility as the be all, end all answer to everything.

On paper, it seems fine to say, I don’t care you… get vaccinated, take climate seriously, vote, etc. You do you, let’s be at peace with each other, and avoid conflict.

Thing is, we share the same planet. We breathe each others’ air. And that means our actions and choices affect each other. There are limits to simply hoping we all make the right choices and leaving it at that.

A strong belief in personal responsibility seems like a way to have it both. Total freedom and autonomy make for great talking points.

But we are far too interconnected to be using this as a canned response each and every time. I know you also don’t want a scenario where every behavior is forced, where mandates for every beneficial thing become the norm. We’ve seen past efforts for this go terribly wrong.

But I refuse to think we aren’t creative enough to do anything other than these either/or scenarios. This is probably a tension worth always working through.

#206 golden Meetup

25 July 2021 // San Diego, California

Hip hop has lost some ICONS lately. Especially sad to hear about Biz Markie.

Also really proud of my 1 year old for having a Biz Markie song as his first ever favorite song. And yes it’s this one: Pancakes & Syrup.

#207 Rhys at the Wheel

26 July 2021 // San Diego, California

I’m hoping to find somebody who does batek tattooing. Preferably in Southern California.

Looking for something minimalish- but need some help w/ incorporating storytelling motifs. Looking for someone who gets the cultural history & significance.

Also- I don’t necessarily need or even want the bamboo style of batek. Just an understanding of the visual symbols.

#208 Studio WALLS

27 July 2021 // San Diego, California

Ever since our apparent "racial reckoning" in the summer of 2020, it seems like so much has happened yet so little has changed. That brings a whole bunch of mixed feelings, from disappointment and frustration, to resolve, and even hope.

There's also a whole lot of noise that happens in discussions around race in the U.S. and globally lately, and it can get real easy to get caught up in the noise.

#209 We’re Listed

28 July 2021 // San Diego, California

House hunting in San Diego in this marketscape and with the time pressure of twins 15ish weeks away is not much fun. 

Feeling pretty priced out of this city- esp at a time where we need all the extra funds for daycare, babysitters, etc.

#210 Digital Didal Drawing

29 July 2021 // San Diego, California

The Olympics this year have been complicated to say the least.

Double standards over cannabis and mental health, discrimination against Black bodies, sexual abuse in fencing team and ableism in swimming. Then there’s the whole fact that the host city largely doesn’t want this happening during a pandemic and is hearing the burden.

But, as in life, there are also all kinds of moments of triumph, joy, and breaking down barriers to celebrate. Most things come with both flavors.

The thing that got me hyped this round were the real memorable performances by #TeamPHI.

From @hidilyndiaz working her way from not finishing in 2012 to bringing home the Philippines’ first gold medal…

…to @margielyndidal apparently having more fun than anybody else, despite hailing from a country where skate parks are real hard to come by…

…to @knottyourcheese making me excited to see her future in the world of running…

…to @neshpetecio dedicating her W to the LGBT community.

And with more time, Eumir Marcial’s skill and sportsmanship are worthy of note. And Lee Kiefer and Kayla Sanchez turning out for the US and Canada.

Growing up, the sports fan in me and my Filipino heritage used to seem worlds apart. Love seeing that gap dismantled year after year.

#211 San Diego Belching Beaver

30 July 2021 // San Diego, California

It’s been a weird and difficult time, but I think it’s worth it to celebrate the things I feel good about getting through right now.

A very big one is that I’ve managed to keep up with it all: the creative projects, the climate communications, and most of all, looking after Rhys and the family throughout this whole housing hunt.

I think I appreciate the way I’ve learned to show up in the world with more empathy, curbing my natural optimism to first meet people where they are.

#212 Torta Shop

31 July 2021 // San Diego, California

I don’t want to be known as a hot takes guy. I don’t want to be the kind of person people turn to when they want confirmation bias. I do, however, want to be someone people can turn to in search of clarity, hope, and healing. I do think responsive comments to moments of crisis can do just that.

I also remember that because of my lot in life, I can speak up in ways others can’t. I won’t be a perfect amplifier, but I do my best to remember that my voice has access to freedoms and opportunities that others don’t. Must steward that well.

Oaxaca Bound

You will travel again.

You will set foot on soils with microorganisms unlike any you’ve ever encountered. You’ll sit in front of a menu full of the unfamiliar. You’ll take in all the sounds and smells of a village, feeling alive and not taking it for granted.

I’m thinking of all the times I told myself this over the past year, and now… it’s happening! Out of the country! By plane!

Traveling fills my bucket, so I never expected to see the point where I’d have to spend two whole years with very minimal travel. But I’m fortunate and privileged. To have traveled so much already, and to be traveling again.

This time, it’s a new place for me… Oaxaca. I’ve never been to this part of Mexico before. It has rich indigenous traditions, colorful craftsmanship, some of the country’s highest poverty rates, and an incredible local cuisine.

I’ll be going to work on multiple video projects that capture the stories of farming families in rural Oaxaca. So many of their stories sit at the intersection of climate change, migration, and indigenous rights. I can’t wait to discover what I discover.

The world at large is at very different places when it comes to the pandemic and travel, and I want to move mindfully of that. But I’m undeniably happy to be reconnected with this thing I do that brings me a lot of joy.

Sixth Anniversary

“A happy family is but an earlier heaven.”
– George Bernard Shaw

2015: We got married!
2016: We survived a scary hospitalization and took home a Beignet.
2017: Moved to San Diego, worked on our dreams.
2018: A challenging year of trying, waiting, hoping, praying to become parents.
2019: Rhys entered our lives.
2020: We put family first, looked out for each other, and stayed safe amidst a global pandemic and other chaotic events.
2021: The adventure continues!

Eventually we’ll be at a point where these recaps don’t fit, and already these condensed bullets don’t do the whole story justice.

But the point is- these past six years have been a bigger adventure than I would’ve ever predicted… and we made adventure the theme of our wedding so we anticipated a fair amount of it!

There’s no one else I would’ve loved doing all this with. Deanna- I love being married to you, going places with you, parenting with you, and all the little bits and pieces that make up our life together. You’re a phenomenal mom, a dedicated fighter for people, and my best friend.

Great New Kids Books

Some of the most exciting creative stuff happens in kids’ books. At their best- they speak to both current kids and everyone’s inner child.

The past month or two have been incredible in terms of newly released kids books. One right after the other.

The Circles All Around Us by @bradmontague and @kristimontague is a beautiful book about making the whole world your community. Pro-tip: Check out some of the recent videos Brad has been putting out to go alongside the message of this book!

What Is God Like by @rachelheldevans & @matthewpaulturner is an absolutely beautiful book. You can read each page or look at each of @_yhtan_’s illustrations and see something true and beautiful- then look again and see deeper layers of meaning and art. I love that it invites wonder and curiosity and reverence into some of those early God conversations, rather than oversimplified dogmatic takeaways.

And while it has a totally different tone but I absolutely love reading A Pizza With Everything On It by @kylescheele & @andyjpizza to Rhys in the most over the top voices. It’s an absurdist father-and-son book and that’s totally my jam.

When’s the last time a kids’ book stopped you in your tracks?

Midpoint 2021

Next week brings the exact midpoint of 2021. It’s a time of feeling halfway through a year who’s whole theme seems to be halfway through.

We’ve got one foot in hardship and one in hope. I know I’ll look back at this year- and probably this whole stretch of my life- as a plate full of contrasting flavors. Lots of undeniably beautiful things right alongside atrocity. A constant teetering between saying ‘I can’t believe we’re still doing this’ and ‘I can’t believe it’s already…’

Right when I remembered it was the half-way point, my natural instincts were to think “whoa- half a year already. What have I even done?” I thought that right away, even though it really doesn’t make sense at all.

This year, I’ve unlocked new opportunities to do what I love in the realm of climate communications and promoting environmental solutions. I’ve spent unforgettable quality moments with Rhys at an extremely fun age. I’m proud of my art. I’m proud of the videos I’ve been making, meeting my own aspiration of releasing two a month and trying out different approaches to storytelling. I’ve even managed to go a few places, pandemic be damned.

I’ve been up to a lot, and even if I weren’t, that would still be fine. This reflex points towards something I’m still trying to unlearn. But hey. It’s all about the process.

Fatherhooding

What can I say, I always wanted to be a dad and it’s everything I could’ve ever dreamed up. Getting to explore the world alongside Rhys makes everything feels like it’s right where it should be.

Father’s Day can be so complicated for so many, and I wish it weren’t like that but I know that it is because that’s how it was for me for the majority of my life.

But today was so uncomplicated. And good. I got to be a dad, we got to see a camel for the first time, and I got to read him a new book.

Feeling grateful that this is something possible in life… something complicated can in time become something simple and good.

Love you Rhys! Like you hear me say every day, I love getting to be your dad.

PNW Roadtrip, Pt. 2

Camera happy in the Pacific Northwest. A little more highlight reel from last month’s adventure.

Pulling over somewhere in the Olympic Peninsula for a photo opp because the whole thing looks like this.

A lunch break in the underappreciated Quilcenes State Park.

A full on waterfall on the side of Seattle’s REI.

Rhys digging nature. Kinda literally.

@pipsoriginal run in the morning with Rhys.

Kinokinuya- I think this is the largest Japanese/East Asian bookstore in the U.S., right on the side of the Uwajimaya Village in Seattle’s International District.

Rhys outside the fifthwheel where we spent a trio of nights in Sequim.

A walk through the Heart of the Hills Campground… this was an incredible campground that I might have to come back to sometime to spend some nights.

Trees everywhere.

Rhys outside the tiny home we stayed at in Medford for scale.

The Hall of Mosses

All this moss!!

“The mutuality of moss and water. Isn’t this the way we love, the way love propels our unfolding? We are shaped by our affinity for love, expanded by its presence and shrunken by its lack.”

–Robin Wall Kimmerer

Some of you may already know this, but I think moss is wonderful- ecologically and visually!

So I went to the place that should be at the top of any moss lover’s list… the Hoh Rainforest on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.

The place is on Hoh tribal land and within Olympic National Park. You’ll find tree species from red cedars to bigleaf maples to sitka spruce… but they’re all seemingly upstaged by their fur coats.

I absolutely loved the walk through the Hall of Mosses and couldn’t slow down enough to take this all in. Most incredible place I’ve been in a long time!

Nine Years, Huh?

Nine years already, huh?

Deanna and I didn’t start dating until we’d been close friends for three years. It was the classic storyline you’d see on a TV series, where you can tell the writers were ramping up to it for a few seasons.

Actually, there were many reasons the start of our dating felt scripted, down to me asking her out not knowing it was just days before the deadline she told herself she’d move on if I didn’t make a move... the deadline was literally crossing the finish line at a marathon and this was all a couple weeks before we graduated.

Back then, I would’ve said it was like a movie. And all that was before the globetrotting, the hospitalization, the miracle baby, the medical breakthroughs, and survival moves. At this point we’ve probably hit cinematic universe status.

So glad I beat that finish line.

Love you so much Deanna - life keeps our hands full these days but it’s still even better than anything I could’ve imagined in 2012.

June 2021

#152 First Day of Daycare

01 June 2021 // San Diego, California

Kind of a big week for us...

Rhys started daycare this week!

It kind of marks the end of a year-plus of working from home while juggling baby chasing, getting an absurd amount of things done during nap times and early in the morning to make up for the rest of the day, and random midweek dad dates of scouting out the best playgrounds or walking spots.

The whole time we knew that wasn’t sustainable but if soldiers bond in trenches, so can new dads and one year olds. I knew while it was happening that the day would come that I look back at it nostalgically. Thursday afternoon playground visits. Bluey episodes to buy me time to send emails. Just watching him grow up!

I’m proud of us, for doing what it takes to pull off this past year and putting our family first. And I love this guy so, so much. Not even in the way that I’m “supposed to” being his dad and all. I just straight up think Rhys is great. I love all this personality that’s emerging, the strength of will, and the adaptable spirit.

You’re gonna light up that 6 months to two years caterpillar room!

#153 Ethiopia Office Book

02 June 2021 // San Diego, California

Remembering is resistance.

I liked Colson Whitehead’s book The Underground Railroad. I saw it was being adapted for a series by Barry Jenkins, and was intrigued. I haven’t seen it yet, but it sparked a conversation around how to depict traumatic events throughout history.

To be honest, there’s a real tension between wanting to commemorate these events with a never-forget kind of energy, and the reality that the communities who’ve been hit by them directly don’t need to be retraumatized over and over.

Then two things happened in the past week that added further layers to that discussion.

The 100-year-anniversary of the Tulsa Massacre on Black Wall Street. The outright destruction of a thriving Black district because of white supremacy. It’s an event that only started receiving a spike of media attention in the past 2-3 years. Three survivors- Mother Randle, Viola Fletcher, and Hughes Van Ellis made recent appearances in a commemorative event, a reminder of the lives upended that never received justice.

Then there was the discovery of the remains of 215 children at a residential school in Kamloops British Columbia. Residential Schools were a practice by Catholic and Protestant churches in Canada, and the Canadian government where children were removed from their families and sent to ‘boarding schools’ intended to separate them from their cultural identity. Over 90% experienced some form of abuse and the schools had a 40-60% mortality rate. This was not long ago.

Honestly I don’t think there can be a totally “right” response to events so far removed from any notion of the way things should be. Concerns over the consumption of shared trauma are valid. But I have learned two things lately:

Nothing heals that isn’t grieved.

Rememberance can be resistance in a world that would rather have you forget and move on.

#154 Shallot Noodle

03 June 2021 // San Diego, California

Stories are important no matter our age but...

...the first stories we encounter will shape us for good in ways we’ll never totally understand.

Two of my biggest values include the following:

Looking at the ordinary, the mundane, the small, and seeing an entire world of wonder and possibility.

Making room for the people who often don’t see themselves represented in certain spaces, inviting others to the table.

This year, we said goodbye to two remarkable children’s authors who embodied these two things well and did so for a long, long time. Beverly Cleary wrote books for the ones who didn’t fit in, the slightly different, the neurodiverse. Eric Carle- and I love the full quote in this drawing- wrote so that others could see the bigger world beyond the one most people take for granted.

#155 Craft Highball

04 June 2021 // San Diego, California

“Do not try to satisfy your vanity by teaching a great many things. Awaken people’s curiosity. It is enough to open minds, do not overload them. Put there just a spark. If there is some flammable stuff, it will catch fire.”

–Anatole France

This quote challenges and confronts me, and I love it for that.

Right now, most of my creative opportunities are blended with opportunities to educate people. To enlighten and hopefully rally people towards a cause. To prioritize justice and realign life around it.

With all that said, it’s an easy temptation to make my work entirely pedagogical- to make it all about teaching. It’s always easier to script a lesson plan rather than a storyboard.

But the more I work on stories rather than seminars, the better my work is. Whenever I take the extra effort to make sure I’m not just connecting linear facts, but also playing the instrument of people’s imagination, the work shines for itself.

It usually takes more effort. It takes writing a whole script then going back and asking about how it leaves a blank for the viewer to fill in themselves. It takes doing more than drawing a picture, but hopefully a picture that unlocks new vision. 

#156 Unit 7

05 June 2021 // San Diego, California

Today launches the United Nations Decade of Ecosystem Restoration!

I used to gloss over events like these, under the impression that they were more ambitious than strategic, and not very enforceable.

Working in the world of international development, the environment, etc. has totally changed that opinion…

These initiatives help create common language, goals, and opportunities for NGOs, partner organizations, governments, and funders. Giving each of these stakeholders a shared framework leads to effective partnerships and knowledge sharing.

I'm also quite fond of this framework.

The focus on ecosystem restoration feels far more holistic than focusing on a single problem- as important as topics like climate or biodiversity are. Also... I love that it's not playing defense. It's not just about stopping destruction, but restoring eco-health.

#157 Oak Shade

06 June 2021 // San Diego, California

Beignet’s an Oregon gal.

It’s a great place to be a dog. All the weekend outings we used to take together up buttes and around waterfalls. Her life these days is just a bit too urban.

Ever since we moved to San Diego four years ago, I’ve been intent on bringing Beignet back to her old stomping grounds. I’ve wanted to lead her around some of her old favorite trails and parks around Eugene to see how much of it was familiar.

On our Northwest roadtrip, we took her back to her old favorite dog park. At four years older than she was the last time she was here, she’s no longer the fastest one, but it was so good to be back.

#158 Sick Rhys

07 June 2021 // San Diego, California

We’ve made it to a year and a half without Rhys getting sick, but that streak ended this week.

It’s no fun having a sick kid. It’d be so much easier to be the one who’s sick. I don’t just mean that in the noble, mushy way of wishing I could take it from him, although that’s true. But also, selfishly, it’s so much easier to take care of myself than a eighteen month old who has no context for feeling miserable.

He hasn’t had much exposure to other kids and is now suddenly getting it. I’m not surprised by this, really, and while I don’t think our lives will have such a thing as a “convenient time” to get sick ever again, I guess it could be worse. I’m not out of the country. We’re not travelling. We’re not mid-move.

It looks like we’ve started to turn a corner with the fever gone and more of his energy reemerging. Let’s hope we’re back to 100% fast.

#159 Planting Sweetgrass

08 June 2021 // San Diego, California

Nine years already, huh?

Deanna and I didn’t start dating until we’d been close friends for three years. It was the classic storyline you’d see on a TV series, where you can tell the writers were ramping up to it for a few seasons.

Actually, there were many reasons the start of our dating felt scripted, down to me asking her out not knowing it was just days before the deadline she told herself she’d move on if I didn’t make a move... the deadline was literally crossing the finish line at a marathon and this was all a couple weeks before we graduated.

Back then, I would’ve said it was like a movie. And all that was before the globetrotting, the hospitalization, the miracle baby, the medical breakthroughs, and survival moves. At this point we’ve probably hit cinematic universe status.

So glad I beat that finish line.

Love you so much Deanna - life keeps our hands full these days but it’s still even better than anything I could’ve imagined in 2012.

#160 Media Training

09 June 2021 // San Diego, California

"Maybe that's enlightenment enough: to know that there is no final resting place of the mind, no moment of smug clarity. Perhaps wisdom ... is realizing how small I am, and unwise, and how far I have yet to go."

–Anthony Bourdain

I am 100% ready for Morgan Neville’s film on his life. A whole lot of Fred Rogers’ complexity was just beneath his outward gentleness, and he did a great job with that. I think in a very different way there was more to love about Bourdain than the apparent.

#161 ENTER THE Jolibee

10 June 2021 // San Diego, California

I’ve been playing this minimalist version of fantasy baseball where I just have to pick a player I think will get a hit that night.

I’m amazingly terrible at this- somehow I keep managing to pick great players having bad days.

Fernando Tatis Jr., Shohei Ohtani, Ronald Acuña Jr., Will Smith, and Nolan Arenado all managed to have totally hitless days for me.

#162 Teralta Stroll

11 June 2021 // San Diego, California

It’ll always be funny to me how much of building a platform and a voice revolves around luck and opportune timing. By this point, I’ve been working on building brands, thought leaders, and making media content perpetually for a decade, and I think I have a generally strong sense for all the best practices and big ideas out there.

But of 4100 posts to Instagram so far, it was one that brought in 5,000 of my 5,500 followers. And nearly every YouTube subscriber can be traced to my one video on Raya and the Last Dragon.

Showing up and continuing to make the work is important, because none of those windfalls happen without showing up to each of those 4100 posts. But also, timing seems to make the biggest difference- over content and quality and anything else. Popularity isn’t to be taken too seriously as a stand in for quality.

#163 House Hunt Scramble

12 June 2021 // San Diego, California

“The mutuality of moss and water. Isn’t this the way we love, the way love propels our unfolding? We are shaped by our affinity for love, expanded by its presence and shrunken by its lack.”

–Robin Wall Kimmerer

Some of you may already know this, but I think moss is wonderful- ecologically and visually!

So I went to the place that should be at the top of any moss lover’s list… the Hoh Rainforest on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.

The place is on Hoh tribal land and within Olympic National Park. You’ll find tree species from red cedars to bigleaf maples to sitka spruce… but they’re all seemingly upstaged by their fur coats.

I absolutely loved the walk through the Hall of Mosses and couldn’t slow down enough to take this all in. Most incredible place I’ve been in a long time!

#164 Piecer’s Beach Day

13 June 2021 // San Diego, California

In very recent events, a surge in public awareness has been met by the censorship of education. A historic Black voter turnout has been met by voter suppression.

This can be discouraging- feeling like it’s ten steps forward, nine back. But with history as an indicator, it’s a sign that things are dynamic. The status quo has been challenged.

In one of his recent newsletters, Andre Henry shared that “The current hysteria in the U.S. about the growing influence of anti-racist ideas in the white world is a good sign in the struggle for racial progress. It suggests that last year’s uprisings for Black lives successfully knocked America’s white supremacist sensibilities off balance.”

It just isn’t the time to get complacent, but quite the opposite. While these institutions are off-balance, do not let them regain footing.

The question isn’t whether or not we’ll change the world in our lifetime, our world constantly changes and our very existence influences that. The bigger question is how will it change. How will we contribute?

#165 Pocket Play

14 June 2021 // San Diego, California

Two years ago I joined a group of high school students during their Climate Strike and school walkout.

🌎🌍🌏

It wasn’t the “main” one in town. Just the one closest to me. Still there were a lot of kids. And adults. I had the sense that this would be the start of something.

At the time, not everyone was convinced. There were adults along their route telling them they were being controlled by the media. There were supporters who had a hard time seeing it as another thing that would simply get lost in the stubborn persistence of the status quo.

Hearing one 16 year old after another, however, speak about what mattered to them confirmed my suspicion that this really was a turning point. At 16, I hardly ever thought about the environment, let alone how it was connected to refugees from the Pacific, marginalized urban communities, or disproportionate challenges faced by women and girls.

🗞📰🗞

Last week, we saw a string of headlines. On the same day, Stakeholders at Exxon and Chevron demanded a climate-responsive board and emissions cuts. The Netherlands tightened the deadline for Shell to cut emissions in half. And a week later the Keystone Pipeline was cancelled.

Half these headlines came from direct investors and the other half from popularly elected officials. I don’t think that those moves happen without the groundswell of pressure that had been building since 2019.

It’s easy to think of the status quo as stuck and to be frustrated when protests go seemingly nowhere. But pressure plus strategy can create change. Discouragement is common but don’t let it create another obstacle for yourself.

#166 Cafeina Comeback

15 June 2021 // San Diego, California

As we start looking -pretty actively- for our next home, I’m hopeful we can get in there soon as possible. Among the many, many problems I’m hoping a new space takes care of:

• Space for Rhys to run around

• Air conditioning, not to mention a place that doesn’t relentlessly trap heat

• Being able to have my mom more quickly accessible

• Having a more designated workspace that isn’t so easily interruptible

• Space to put these large boxes that accumulate in the living room too quickly

• Something equivalent to Rhys’ rice box but one that can live outside or in a garage

• A backyard for Rhys and Beignet

• A refrigerator that doesn’t break down so often for one reason or another… and that hopefully has more space

• A neighborhood that doesn’t set the fireworks off and make Beignet hide in the worst places

• Being able to just open a door to let Beignet out, without her protesting

#167 Goodmoments Meetup

16 June 2021 // National City, California

I heard a really good podcast conversation where a dad noted the three things he hoped to develop in his kids were resilience, presence, and empathy. At first, those three things sounded nice, if not somewhat randomly assembled, but the longer I sat with that the more I really liked this combination.

Each of these traits, fully realized, could turn into practical superpowers.

Somebody who is fiercely resilient can recover quickly or consistently from all the surprising and unpredictable parts of life that strike inevitably.

Somebody who is radically present will get a lot out of life, to put it simply. But they’ll also give a lot to others. So many people go unseen, or feel simply rushed from one person’s agenda to the next. Radical presence changes this.

Empathy and somebody who can truly understand what others are going through and every hope, dream, and insecurity, can offer something few can.

These are incredible traits that I hope to develop in both myself and my own family.

#168 Reopening Week

17 June 2021 // San Diego, California

There's one person in particular who has done the most as far as getting recognition for Juneteenth as a public holiday- Opal Lee, a 94 year old woman who walked from Fort Worth to D.C. in 2016 to collect signatures to instate the holiday. She also happens to be quite passionate about climate change.

 From her conversation with Brittany Packnett Cunningham:

"I really believe that we should be able to work together to dispel the disparities that exist now, and I’m talking about homelessness. Everybody needs a decent place to stay. Joblessness, and even if you got a job and I’m paid one thing and you paid another, that’s not cool. Healthcare, I can get treatment and you can’t. Climate change, I’m adamant about climate change. The scientists have told us that we are committing the worst things on our Earth and I truly believe if we don’t do something about it, that we’re all going to be annihilated, but we can work together as opposed to what is happening now. I firmly believe that, and I believe Juneteenth is the catalyst to make that come true."

#169 Marlborough Corners

18 June 2021 // San Diego, California

We've been stuck at home in a pandemic for months and NOW is the time they decide to release a final season of Kims Convenience, Lupin s2, Ted Lasso s2, Luca, High on the Hog, Loki…

...I went with Luca tonight and that flick was dec-a-dent! *chef’s kiss*

“There will always be those who do not accept him. But there will be those who do. And he always manages to find the good ones.”

I get excited thinking about how this film could find its way to some kids out there who really need to hear that, while going right over the heads of those who stand in the way.

#170 Black Mountain Open Space

19 June 2021 // San Diego, California 

Juneteenth! Creating culture, in part, happens through what you celebrate.

#Juneteenth is a celebration. Not a finish line, but a celebration.

“The slow work of emancipation is a daily project.”

–Kimberly Drew

#171 Fathers Day at the Zoo

20 June 2021 // San Diego, California 

What can I say, I always wanted to be a dad and it’s everything I could’ve ever dreamed up. Getting to explore the world alongside Rhys makes everything feels like it’s right where it should be.

Father’s Day can be so complicated for so many, and I wish it weren’t like that but I know that it is because that’s how it was for me for the majority of my life.

But today was so uncomplicated. And good. I got to be a dad, we got to see a camel for the first time, and I got to read him a new book.

Feeling grateful that this is something possible in life… something complicated can in time become something simple and good.

Love you Rhys! Like you hear me say every day, I love getting to be your dad.

#172 Teralta Tree

21 June 2021 // San Diego, California 

When you’re an athlete, wins and losses matter. If somebody says they don’t, you don’t really want that person on your team.

At the same time, you want to be with mental competitors who know how to compartmentalism the scoreboard. Who don’t get so high off their own successes that they get sloppy, or so low off their mistakes that they just start flailing.

You want someone who can be wholly in the moment, who can make their approach to the game all about preparation, instinct, and having a winning process.

I think being a changemaker isn’t so different.

When it comes to creating social change, very few things are outright wins and losses. The best and worst of moments set all kinds of reactions into motion. 

What’s important is to make fighting for justice an instinct. Of course you play to win, but you’ve got to do so in a way where even if it doesn’t happen right away you set yourself up to win the long game. And you do that by having the reflexes to stand up against what isn’t right, time and time again.

#173 Great New Kids Books

22 June 2021 // San Diego, California 

One of the traits I’ve come to admire the most is simple sincerity.

I love folks who have greater access to their heart, who aren’t afraid to keep a throughline between what’s inside and how they navigate the world. I love it when people are free from having to hide behind the walls of projecting an image or following rules that should’ve never been written in the first place.

I think I tend to craft the things I say very carefully. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, because it’s part of what I do. I’m a strategic communicator and I think that strategic part is important. But people who can share more of their inner worlds safely, off the fly, have a level of comfort, presence, and integration I like a lot.

#174 Mission Bay Sidewalk

23 June 2021 // San Diego, California 

I’m finishing up a biography on Roy Halladay and so many things are standing out to me about the complex life of the most dominating pitcher I’ve seen.

His mental game was both his strength, but in some ways an Achilles heel too. There are so many ways Roy embodied the extremes of an Enneagram 3- driven to excel, sensitive to outward appearances.

The thing that probably struck me the most were the struggles with painkillers- which is not at all how I’d want one of my favorite pitchers ever to be remembered, but it was a very good reminder that addiction isn’t just a challenge that faces disheveled and psychotic people we see around the street corners. Often it can sneak up on a person, triggered by a freak injury, within a year or two of throwing a perfect game and rescuing someone from drowning in the Amazon. Not that the folks on the street don’t need more empathy, too. But it’s a reminder of how prevalent and sneaky of a threat addiction can be.

#175 The Slider

24 June 2021 // San Diego, California 

Some of the most exciting creative stuff happens in kids’ books. At their best- they speak to both current kids and everyone’s inner child.

The past month or two have been incredible in terms of newly released kids books. One right after the other.

The Circles All Around Us by Brad and Kristi Montague is a beautiful book about making the whole world your community. Pro-tip: Check out some of the recent videos Brad has been putting out to go alongside the message of this book!

What Is God Like by Rachel Held Evans & Matthew Paul Turner is an absolutely beautiful book. You can read each page or look at each of Ying Hui Tan’s illustrations and see something true and beautiful- then look again and see deeper layers of meaning and art. I love that it invites wonder and curiosity and reverence into some of those early God conversations, rather than oversimplified dogmatic takeaways.

And while it has a totally different tone but I absolutely love reading A Pizza With Everything On It by Kyle Scheele & Andy J. Pizza to Rhys in the most over the top voices. It’s an absurdist father-and-son book and that’s totally my jam.

When’s the last time a kids’ book stopped you in your tracks?

#176 Cafeina Patio

25 June 2021 // San Diego, California 

At the beginning of this year, one of my goals was to abandon my to-do list. To literally approach each day with more of an attitude that says “let’s see what happens” rather than “this must get done.”

I figured this would be a good step towards being more invested in the process rather than production.

I think that served me well. I’m so glad I did it.

Recently, though, with all the competing demands for my attention, I’ve basically found it necessary to start back up again. Maybe not so much to-do lists but schedules that block out my time. Mainly so I don’t miss meetings or accidentally book overlapping things.

I think the mindset I got used to during those times without a list prepared me better for this time that I need a more defined calendar. Plus I’m aiming to use this calendar as a tool that helps me be present rather than one that hinders it.

When I have a task at hand, I’ll try to be as present for that task as humanly possible, enjoying it, playing with it.

I think that’ll end up being the best way.

#177 Cousins at the Beach

26 June 2021 // San Diego, California 

Next week brings the exact midpoint of 2021. It’s a time of feeling halfway through a year who’s whole theme seems to be halfway through.

We’ve got one foot in hardship and one in hope. I know I’ll look back at this year- and probably this whole stretch of my life- as a plate full of contrasting flavors. Lots of undeniably beautiful things right alongside atrocity. A constant teetering between saying ‘I can’t believe we’re still doing this’ and ‘I can’t believe it’s already…’

Right when I remembered it was the half-way point, my natural instincts were to think “whoa- half a year already. What have I even done?” I thought that right away, even though it really doesn’t make sense at all.

This year, I’ve unlocked new opportunities to do what I love in the realm of climate communications and promoting environmental solutions. I’ve spent unforgettable quality moments with Rhys at an extremely fun age. I’m proud of my art. I’m proud of the videos I’ve been making, meeting my own aspiration of releasing two a month and trying out different approaches to storytelling. I’ve even managed to go a few places, pandemic be damned.

I’ve been up to a lot, and even if I weren’t, that would still be fine. This reflex points towards something I’m still trying to unlearn. But hey. It’s all about the process.

#178 Sixth Anniversary

27 June 2021 // Del Mar, California 

“A happy family is but an earlier heaven.”

– George Bernard Shaw

2015: We got married!

2016: We survived a scary hospitalization and took home a Beignet.

2017: Moved to San Diego, worked on our dreams.

2018: A challenging year of trying, waiting, hoping, praying to become parents.

2019: Rhys entered our lives.

2020: We put family first, looked out for each other, and stayed safe amidst a global pandemic and other chaotic events.

2021: The adventure continues!

Eventually we’ll be at a point where these recaps don’t fit, and already these condensed bullets don’t do the whole story justice.

But the point is- these past six years have been a bigger adventure than I would’ve ever predicted… and we made adventure the theme of our wedding so we anticipated a fair amount of it!

There’s no one else I would’ve loved doing all this with. Deanna- I love being married to you, going places with you, parenting with you, and all the little bits and pieces that make up our life together. You’re a phenomenal mom, a dedicated fighter for people, and my best friend.

#179 TJ Airport

28 June 2021 // Tijuana, Mexico 

The Tijuana Airport… what a sight for sore eyes!

It’s a special moment in history where we get to be sentimental over airport terminal food.

Also… of all restaurants for the Tijuana airport to have in the most prominent spot, we’ve got a Johnny Rockets. Go figure.

#180 Esperanza’s Tree

29 June 2021 // Oaxaca, Mexico 

You will travel again.

You will set foot on soils with microorganisms unlike any you’ve ever encountered. You’ll sit in front of a menu full of the unfamiliar. You’ll take in all the sounds and smells of a village, feeling alive and not taking it for granted.

I’m thinking of all the times I told myself this over the past year, and now… it’s happening! Out of the country! By plane!

Traveling fills my bucket, so I never expected to see the point where I’d have to spend two whole years with very minimal travel. But I’m fortunate and privileged. To have traveled so much already, and to be traveling again.

This time, it’s a new place for me… Oaxaca. I’ve never been to this part of Mexico before. It has rich indigenous traditions, colorful craftsmanship, some of the country’s highest poverty rates, and an incredible local cuisine.

I’ll be going to work on multiple video projects that capture the stories of farming families in rural Oaxaca. So many of their stories sit at the intersection of climate change, migration, and indigenous rights. I can’t wait to discover what I discover.

The world at large is at very different places when it comes to the pandemic and travel, and I want to move mindfully of that. But I’m undeniably happy to be reconnected with this thing I do that brings me a lot of joy.

#181 Tree Planting

30 June 2021 // Oaxaca, Mexico 

As climate change wreaks even more havoc this summer, I keep thinking about the importance of climate resilience–and not just in terms of people’s ability to physically survive. Climate resilience also includes mental, emotional, and psychological resilience to the changes and the work ahead.

The reality is, even if we were to exceed anybody’s most optimistic expectations and bring our greenhouse gas emissions down to a pre-industrial level next week, we’d still have several years of heatwaves, tropical storms, wildfires, and droughts.

I’ve spent this week around smallholder farmers solving environmental issues in Mexico. I spend most of my weeks around people working tirelessly towards climate solutions. Know what I keep seeing? People are saddened and enraged by recent events, but not surprised. And they sure aren’t giving up.

We’ve gotta invest in our ability to find joy before the work is complete, to experience gratitude alongside grief, and to still soak in the moments along the way that make the process feel worthwhile.

Beignet Returns

A quick dose of feel-good.

Beignet’s an Oregon gal.

It’s a great place to be a dog. All the weekend outings we used to take together up buttes and around waterfalls. Her life these days is just a bit too urban.

Ever since we moved to San Diego four years ago, I’ve been intent on bringing Beignet back to her old stomping grounds. I’ve wanted to lead her around some of her old favorite trails and parks around Eugene to see how much of it was familiar.

On our Northwest roadtrip, we took her back to her old favorite dog park. At four years older than she was the last time she was here, she’s no longer the fastest one, but it was so good to be back.

Remembrance is Resistance

Remembering is resistance.

I liked Colson Whitehead’s book The Underground Railroad. I saw it was being adapted for a series by Barry Jenkins, and was intrigued. I haven’t seen it yet, but it sparked a conversation around how to depict traumatic events throughout history.

To be honest, there’s a real tension between wanting to commemorate these events with a never-forget kind of energy, and the reality that the communities who’ve been hit by them directly don’t need to be retraumatized over and over.

Then two things happened in the past week that added further layers to that discussion.

The 100-year-anniversary of the Tulsa Massacre on Black Wall Street. The outright destruction of a thriving Black district because of white supremacy. It’s an event that only started receiving a spike of media attention in the past 2-3 years. Three survivors- Mother Randle, Viola Fletcher, and Hughes Van Ellis made recent appearances in a commemorative event, a reminder of the lives upended that never received justice.

Then there was the discovery of the remains of 215 children at a residential school in Kamloops British Columbia. Residential Schools were a practice by Catholic and Protestant churches in Canada, and the Canadian government where children were removed from their families and sent to ‘boarding schools’ intended to separate them from their cultural identity. Over 90% experienced some form of abuse and the schools had a 40-60% mortality rate. This was not long ago.

Honestly I don’t think there can be a totally “right” response to events so far removed from any notion of the way things should be. Concerns over the consumption of shared trauma are valid. But I have learned two things lately:

Nothing heals that isn’t grieved.

Rememberance can be resistance in a world that would rather have you forget and move on.

Loving This Guy

Kind of a big week for us...

Rhys started daycare this week!

It kind of marks the end of a year-plus of working from home while juggling baby chasing, getting an absurd amount of things done during nap times and early in the morning to make up for the rest of the day, and random midweek dad dates of scouting out the best playgrounds or walking spots.

The whole time we knew that wasn’t sustainable but if soldiers bond in trenches, so can new dads and one year olds. I knew while it was happening that the day would come that I look back at it nostalgically. Thursday afternoon playground visits. Bluey episodes to buy me time to send emails. Just watching him grow up!

I’m proud of us, for doing what it takes to pull off this past year and putting our family first. And I love this guy so, so much. Not even in the way that I’m “supposed to” being his dad and all. I just straight up think Rhys is great. I love all this personality that’s emerging, the strength of will, and the adaptable spirit.

You’re gonna light up that 6 months to two years caterpillar room!

Taking Space

Closing out #AAPIHeritageMonth in 2021 is like...

I’ve written, read, and reflected more on being Asian American I’m over the past few months than at any other point in my life. Partly because of all the global events, but also because of where I’m at in my own personal life.

It wasn’t always like this for me. In high school I didn’t want to be one of the Asians who seemed to only hang out with the other Asians. Even though my college must’ve had like 6-7 different variations of AAPI or Filipino American clubs, I wasn’t interested.

See, I’d always had the tendency to see my life as a story, and in most of the stories I was exposed to, the Asian characters were usually side roles. Comedic relief in a rom com. The tech specialist in a sci-fi novel. The wise sage in the fantasy. On screen and such, being Asian was already unique enough that writers often didn’t bother to add in more depth. And it wasn’t just in movies where this happened. From my observation, we were often specialists. Valued for a specific skill like medicine or programming. But rarely invited into decision-making, leadership roles.

I didn’t want to be a side character in my own life, so I downplayed.

It took years of disconnecting my idea of ‘normal’ from whiteness, learning that everybody has a culture that colors the way they see the world, and understanding how these assumptions were engineered to start disassembling them to get to a point where I now love talking about being Asian.

I grew up in a system that made me want to downplay my AAPI heritage for years, and now I get to spend the rest of my life taking that apart. I realize that every time I get to lend my voice, perspectives, or leadership to something, it might just be the visual a younger person needs to know they can set their eyes on something beyond a supporting role.

It’s what we mean by take up space.

PNW Roadtrip, pt. 1

This whole crew loves the PNW! 🌲🌲🌲 Something about this part of the world makes me feel extra alive. It’s been far too long since I’ve been here, but I’m glad this time lets us introduce Rhys and reintroduce Beignet for the first time since we moved out.

We’re still only halfway through the adventure with plenty more on our lists to check off.

✔️ Taking family photos that look normal at first glance
✔️ Letting Rhys meet some babyfriends
✔️ Catch up with some vaccinated friends we’ve missed!
✔️ Hang out with some mosses
✔️ Good coffee every day
✔️ See if Beignet remembers some of her old stomping grounds
✔️ Spending the weekend on the Olympic Peninsula on a friend’s RV
✔️ Visiting the massive REI in Seattle
✔️ Nature walks left and right
🔜 Rhys’ first ferry ride
🔜 Going camera happy and making videos
🔜 Supporting my favorite Portland doughnut shops

Read Fil-Am Writers

I had never read a book by a Filipino or Filipino American author until I was 28, and I read 30-50 books each year. Elaine Castillo’s America Is Not The Heart changed that.

The year after I read Jose Antonio Vargas’ Dear America, and last year I read Jia Tolentino’s Trick Mirror. To this day the number of Filipino authored books sits at 3.

Representation matters to me more and more but I rarely see our books on shelves. That’s why I was pretty amped to see this whole section of Fil-Am writers in The Hangout in Long Beach.

From children’s books to cookbooks to memoirs and graphic novels and poetry, the selection was amazing. I definitely left with a good sized bundle for me and Rhys.

Mothers

Nothing brings me joy quite like watching you watch our guy discover the world.

Usually surprise and wonder go hand in hand, but there are some things that are totally wonderful and not at all surprising. Like how incredible of a mother Deanna is to our Rhys. I could’ve told you she’d be a great mom for as long as I’ve known her, but seeing it all unfold live is spectacular.

I love how intentional you are with Rhys. How beautiful you make his world in the present and future, and by extension, how beautiful that makes the world we all live in.

Happy Mothers Day to the mothers and motherly, and love to those for whom today isn’t so easy.

Pastor Mike

In my early twenties, I got a chance to spend part of a year helping out at an orphanage* in Johannesburg.

*technically not the most accurate word, but this isn’t the time for that.

When I arrived, I didn’t have a set role. I was told I would figure that out with Pastor Mike, the care center’s founder. At the time, though, he was recovering from a foot operation following diabetes complications, so it took a while for us to meet in person. All the while I heard bits and pieces of his story. How he and his wife sold most of their stuff to move into what was perhaps Africa’s most dangerous neighborhood. How they were robbed of most of their things very shortly afterwards. How he founded the center to care for children whose family lives were disrupted, particularly during the terrible AIDS epidemic.

When we finally met, he was the kind of person all those stories would suggest. He gave me a list of teenage boys he wanted me to mentor and he and I would meet weekly. We talked about a lot of things. He grew up in the apartheid South Africa in the 1950s, lived long enough to support kids from the Born Free Generation, and traveled throughout much of Southern Africa. He saw worlds of change.

I learned so much from Pastor Mike, from the persistence of racial division- “apartheid ended a long time ago,” he told me, “but South Africa is still very much four countries.” to the urgency in caring for its kids- “there are many things in life that can wait,” he would always say, “but the needs of a child is not one of them.”

True to his word, when he retired, he moved into the orphanage. It was his idea of a retirement home. He wanted to spend more time with the kids.

A couple days ago, I learned about Pastor Mike’s passing at the age of 74.

I am thankful I got the chance to visit again a few years ago with Deanna and I am so thankful the South African kids I’ve gotten to know grew up with him in their corner. In all the work I do, I’ll always be influenced by his blend of urgency and tenderness, and the way he left nothing in life undone when it could be done to help others.

Thirtyone

And the story goes on!

It’s my birthday today.

As a kid, I loved getting older. Each year up meant new privileges, a bit more freedom, and being taken more seriously.

Then suddenly... it started feeling like it was happening too fast. It kept speeding up! Years were escaping! Loved ones were getting old! Childhood was over! Then college! My twenties!

A weird epiphany eventually made me less worried about the movement of time. A lot of things can only be enjoyed in motion.

Like a roller coaster. Or music. We get these melodies stuck in our heads, the connection between one note to the next to the next. It we were to just pause for stillness in between notes... the song would pretty much just stop.

The past few years have been so full of plot twists and they just don’t stop. If anything, they keep getting wilder! I’ve never liked the “man plans, God laughs,” adage because it sounds so maniacal, but I’ll be the first to acknowledge that you really never know what’s around the corner.

So many of the best parts of my life right now at one point seemed improbable. Maybe even impossible. But here we are.

And it’s only been 31 years!