September 2021

#244 Moving Box Palace

01 September 2021 // San Diego, California

I talk about climate for a living and it’s been such a relentless month when it comes to that. And I’ve been at a distance from those living through the hurricane in Louisiana and Mississippi, the wildfires in Turkey, the unbreathable air in the northern states, or the climate induced famine in Madagascar.

When the IPCC Report was released the other week, declaring a Code Red for humanity, it was sobering- but not all that surprising to those who’ve been working on climate solutions up close for a little while. Working in a solutions-oriented space can be frustrating sometimes, when it feels like people put up so much resistance to change, when it seems like it takes moving mountains to get people to simply enact readily available solutions.

But, climate anxiety and a belief and passion for climate solutions co-exist. In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen someone truly engaged in solutions who doesn’t feel both pretty strongly. But when you choose to actually engage the solutions rather than giving into fatalism, you get to be around those people. You get to weather days with hurricanes and scientific reports together, and you also get to be wowed and inspired by their brilliance and grit.

I suppose all this is a long winded way of saying the real treasure is the friends you make along the way, but… y’know.

We’re all living through this crisis, and there’s no way I’d rather face it than leaning into solutions alongside other passionate and engaged people.

#245 Banyon Walks

02 September 2021 // San Diego, California

Why do we keep books?

Truth? Whenever I walk into somebody’s house, I size up their bookshelf and it often gives me clues about the stuff we’ll be able to connect on.

To be fair, I return the favor.

And I do think it’s kind of a fun collage of my very eclectic interests.

#246 Flatbread After Shang Chi

03 September 2021 // San Diego, California

I went to go see Shang Chi last night, super pumped but also a little bit… nervous? I’d been looking forward to this moment since summer 2018 when Comic Con told me the guy behind Jung from Kim’s Convenience was about to enter the MCU.

The representation sweats are real. First stand-alone Asian super? Lead role, not the sidekick or anything? Yeah I wanted this to be goooood.

Thankfully it’s the real deal.

The choreography that goes into a classic martial arts film, bringing the elegance of dance, intensity of combat, and wizardry of film is its own art form. (Jet Li’s Fearless, anyone?) And this film is such a glorious bask in the craft for most of its runtime. But from a distinctly Asian American POV, not with an exoticized foreigner.

I was wondering what layered cultural issues they might pack into the plot and- that stuff is there. Becoming your whole self by embracing your past, the richness of your ancestry alongside generational traumas and toxic upbringings, but more important than me being able to connect the stuff on screen to academic level conversations about Asian American relations was what the 10 year old a couple rows back was taking in.

Deanna once asked me what on screen characters I saw myself in growing up, and the answer was thin. Maybe the Fresh Prince both going from Philly to Cali?

But yeah, I’m thankful for a whole generation that’ll have much better answers than that.

#247 IKEA Gardens

04 September 2021 // San Diego, California

What is representation exactly?

You hear so much about it, you know it’s a big deal, and you know I’m always gonna celebrate it where I find it, but it’s more than just showing up to see Shang Chi even though that movie slaps, right?

The stuff we see on screens is a big part of it. As a kid and teenager, I was involved in plays, theatre and all kinds of stuff like that for over a decade. I don’t think I once got cast as a lead with any romance. I brushed it off, while also wondering if skin and appearance had something to do with it- it rarely feels like blatant discrimination- but there’s always a lingering question about how much you’re held back by not looking like what someone envisioned for a certain role.

Spoiler alert, things worked out pretty well for me in the romantic realm, I’d say! But still, I’m often aware that I need to jump through more hoops to make up for not looking like what someone expected.

I’ve been asked if I know of any speakers who could share about the topics I specifically specialize in speaking about. It never occurred to the person that the reason why there aren’t many well known speakers of color in that space is because we’re often asked if we “know of anyone” instead of if we could just do the job.

That’s why I think anyone who has a piece of marginalized identity within them can contribute to representation. You don’t have to be Simu Liu. Just think of any area your life intersects with where a kid who shares that identity doesn’t get the chance to see themselves very often.

Is it in the role of an inspiring spokesperson? A teacher? A performer? An elder who listens to kids and takes them seriously? A consistent and mindful parent?

This whole thing is about breaking expectations so it can feel like switch hitting against what I’ve been told humility should look like: shrinking yourself. Instead it’s rising, taking space, and taking others with you. And that’s where I see how someone can know their strengths and seek to let them shine in a way that’s more than humble: because you’re leaving the doors behind you open for others.

#248 Go Loyal

05 September 2021 // San Diego, California

I did not forsee Tony Leung’s appeal being one of the big outcomes of Shang Chi, but I’m all for it. I stand to benefit in the near future from building the foundation for appreciating middle aged Asian men today.

#249 Rose Lassi

06 September 2021 // San Diego, California

Our country’s longest running war is over. I didn’t think it was possible to say a sentence like that in such a deflated way, though.

So much of what I wish I could change is out of my control. The human sized tasks in front of me look more like filling out a form to sponsor refugees, packaging together a welcome kit, and continuing to promote the spirit of welcome.

I’ve carried around this picture of a sign saying “You’re Welcome at Our Table” on my phone for three years. I snapped this in Nashville. From the window of Woolworth’s on 5th.

That just so happens to be the site of numerous lunch counter protests in the 1960s. One where John Lewis was arrested. Technically the original establishment shut forever ago, but since then a new recreation of a restaurant emerged, paying homage to the history and serving great (and somewhat pricey) food.

A heart of welcome looks like a lot of things: a Oaxacan community preparing their biggest feast in over a year during my visit, a Karen refugee showing me his favorite restaurant during a grand tour of his refugee camp, or a conversation in Nashville where the bartender and I sat at the historic counter and joked about being the only Asians in sight.

It’s something I’ve encountered the world over, from Haiti to Tanzania to Morocco. I’ve always felt like I’ve always received much more of the welcome than I’ve given, and almost embarrassingly, I’ve received so much hospitality from many with far less privilege.

I’m still looking for a better word than ‘hospitality’ to describe this. That seems too stiff. It’s more like an enthusiastic celebration of your humanity and sacredness. And it’s taught me to outright reject any language that paints a picture of us-and-them, viewing anyone not familiar to us as a threat. Any rhetoric about why some group of people will take jobs or spots in schools meant for us based on a manufactured sense of scarcity just misses me.

Instead, I want to inhale and exhale the exact opposite vibe. One I’m still looking for a word for. Something beyond hospitality. You are welcome because you are.

#250 I Voted (Again)

07 September 2021 // San Diego, California

Couldn’t have asked for a better long weekend. Highlights included finally making it to a 

San Diego Loyal game and showing up for a 4-2 win over LA.

Also, this paella is the most extra stadium concession I’ve ever ordered and it was fantastic.

#251 City of Los Angeles

08 September 2021 // Los Angeles, California

It’s not much of a secret that one of my very favorite things to do in life is to experience cultures and traditions through the firsthand stories of of people who live it.

My time in Oaxaca was full of that.

I’m excited to share to share this peek behind the scenes of what a week of community visits, interviews, hospitality, and story collecting looks like. From edible corn fungus, to the seven types of mole, to the postage stamp museum.

So grateful for people like Alier, Esperanza, and Teborino for their welcoming spirit.

#252 We’re All Climate Hypocrites Now

09 September 2021 // San Diego, California

The past two months have been such a blitz of us between needing to find a place very quickly that could fit three kids then having to go actually do them move.

Thankfully we’re kind of settled in now. I remember the last stretch of Deanna’s pregnancy with Rhys pretty fondly.

It felt like it wasn’t until the final trimester that a bunch of the complications started to ease up and we could just enjoy ourselves. We swam in the ocean with leopard sharks, went on some nature walks, and enjoyed our final date nights without having to worry about finding a sitter.

#253 Walks with Piecer

10 September 2021 // San Diego, California

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day. Naturally, what I’m about to cover deals with that topic, so if you’re not in the space for that, I’ll see you on a different post.

For others, you can be a part of helping somebody stay alive, and here are a few things to keep in mind.

First of all, it’s so easy to make assumptions about a person’s mental health based on their outside circumstances. Like if life looks one way, they *should* be happy, if it looks another way they *should* be depressed.

Circumstances are only one side of the coin. A person’s brain chemistry and a whole bunch of other things also factor in. Suicide contemplation is not so black and white.

I’ve found it more helpful to remember that within every person contemplating suicide, there are parts within them that still wish to remain alive that feel like their drowning.

For a helping person in crisis, this means one of your biggest objectives is to bring those parts to the surface. One of the most important elements is TIME. Crisis is not a fixed state and research shows that the more time you can buy for a person in crisis, the better you increase their chance to survive.

Talk. Listen. Call for help. It can be intimidating to think of the right words versus what not to say, but the main thing is to listen and not minimize their feelings.

Don’t think you’ll be the one to fix everything, but do act as though you might be the only one to reach out.

#254 Evening Lake Trail

11 September 2021 // San Diego, California

For us, kids were always part of the dream. They were part of the struggle when we weren’t sure that dream would be possible. And they remain a part of our future.

I have nothing but respect for those who have made the opposite choice, and when it comes to carbon outputs, the math makes sense. For me, however, baked into my understanding of fatherhood is a refusal to give up the pursuit of an abundant planet, alongside a clearer picture of what it takes to get there.

An oft-quoted statistic is how 100 companies are responsible for around 70% of carbon emissions. While I don’t think that reality negates all personal responsibilities when it comes to climate stewardship, it reminds me that these companies’ CEOs and shareholders have already had an outsized impact on our world, and it gives me no desire to make my decision to have or not have kids one more thing they have influence over.

Besides, a true solution to our climate crisis will take more than individual efforts.

#255 Cousin Dance Party

12 September 2021 // San Diego, California

So this week, a new reality game show was announced… The Activist, where activists go head to head to compete over social media metrics, prize money, and celebrity endorsements.

This sounds like it’d be a Key & Peele skit, but it’s real life. It would be a joke if it didn’t have such negative implications for what activism means. Way to trivialize a term when 40+ environmental activists a year are killed in the Philippines and Colombia.

Unsurprisingly, this show is getting dragged across my newsfeed and deservedly so. But if it makes you mad, consider that sometimes this isn’t so different from the nonprofit landscape at large.

Funding opportunities often pit organizations head to head, incentivizing each one to show how they’re better than others and to hold on to proprietary knowledge. Some invest more in social media metrics than proper monitoring and evaluation. This show isn’t so different, it just has Usher.

Folks in philanthropy should be aware of this and should focus in on creating opportunities for building collaboration rather than competition. If something works for one org and could make the world better by sharing it with other orgs, make that desireable!

And we need to emphasize community over celebrity. We show up because we belong to each other, not because we’re superstars. Activist shouldn’t be this glam label. We need more people to do everyday, non-broadcast things like talk about racism with family or close bank accounts that support fossil fuels instead of thinking it’s becoming Gandhi or bust.

#256 Daniel Drops By

13 September 2021 // San Diego, California

Someone recently shared, “I think the problem started when we started calling everything content instead of what it is.”

Agreed! And I wonder if we wouldn’t have leaned so heavily into the term if activities like blogging or social media weren’t initially written off as juvenile extras, but emerging spaces to show up.

#257 Alpendüler

14 September 2021 // San Diego, California

And… voted! Californians, don’t sit this one out.

The most pronounced political divide today isn’t the one everybody thinks of, between the usual sides. I think there’s a growing divide between people trying to make a point and those trying to make an impact.

Some laws are passed following years and years of public policy research, identifying the difference you want to make and the most proven methods of accomplishing that goal. Then there are the laws that go into effect and the candidates that go into office without any of that. They’re simply publicity stunts, meant to make a certain section of culture feel like they’re winning a war against their own.

That’s what you see when you see really belligerent behavior at school board meetings. Or when some of the candidate statements in my voters’ guides read more like Facebook rants than anything else.

The problem with belligerent behavior and large scale publicity stunts is that they’ll make you feel like we’re hopelessly divided, when in reality, we’re not quite as divided as you might think.

Take climate change, for instance. The number of Americans in full and complete denial is under 10%. But if you pay attention to the hottest debates, you’d think that it was more of a 50-50 split. That’s what happens when you give airtime to folks more interested in publicity than policy. Public health measures are similar. Things like masks in schools statistically have majority support, but are often derailed because of who actually shows up to school board meetings.

The point here? Show up. And keep showing up. Not just to the big November election every four years, but the midterms, the special elections, the city council meetings, and so on. And in non political ways too, of course, but our laws and environment are the two biggest ways to love our neighbors at scale. Use your voice and apply pressure even when your opinion doesn’t feel like a hot take. Because leaders need better feedback than hot takes.

#258 Boy Boy in a Box

15 September 2021 // San Diego, California

Of course I’m super excited for the twins to be here. I’ve always wanted a big family, honestly. Growing up I always thought the best thing was just a full house with lots of life overflowing. I never thought I would get to that big family in such a tightly packed way, but I love it.

I’m not going to lie, there are absolutely things I’m nervous about. Yes- we’re going to have three under three. If these twins show up a couple weeks early, we’ll have three under two, and it’s tough because Rhys isn’t so much older, he still needs a lot of hands on attention.

To me, though, it’s not so much the day-to-day chaos that intimidates me. Like, I feel like my baseline already has a good amount of chaos. Of course there will be moments and that won’t be easy. The thing that puts me more on edge, is the thought of how hard it will be to do much else. The other week, we just went out to get ramen after church, and we were talking about like, how do we even do this with three? We probably can’t. We probably have to just stay home and when someone gets down to a nap, I’ll have a short window to run out and grab takeout.

Like, I absolutely enjoy this life at home. But also, I think it’s clear enough, the other half of me is very adventure hungry. Right? Like, I’d love to be camping on the Orange River trying to take photos of the desert stars over Namibia. These things aren’t just like, leisure for me, but they fill my bucket and bring me to life. In the long run, I of course would love to have more adventures to bring kids along to and to introduce them to parts of the world, but that’s a little way off.

I want to still look for ways to have the adventures that I’m still able to have, to keep that bucket replenished enough, because I do not want to find myself wishing for this season to be over. As chaotic as it is, this is probably the sweetest season of my life, and I’m here for this.

#259 New Climate Reading

16 September 2021 // San Diego, California

You know what I love about the storytelling work I get to do? The human connections.

I think my interview with Don Carlos in Oaxaca was one of my strongest connections yet. Maybe it was a benefit of Spanish allowing us to talk with fewer barriers, or the simple fact that we seemed to share a sense of humor and a penchant for oscillating between joking and deeper talk.

Don Carlos’ story includes a three year stint in the US back when he didn’t think his farm could make it. (This our ability to joke around about Taco Bell)

Connections like these happen in a moment but stick in my memory forever.

#260 Wall Hangings

17 September 2021 // San Diego, California

I started running again, mostly for the sake of getting back in shape since I’ve done nearly nothing since Rhys was born. So I ran a little bit every week and picked it up more and more, and now I’m close to where I’ve been to run a half marathon.

I didn’t think this would work out at such great timing, especially since I’m only a few weeks away from our due date. But it looks like there’s just enough time to finish training and run my third half.

So I’ve looked a few up. Albuquerque. Denver. Columbus. Detroit.

I think I’ll go with Albuquerque. Just close enough to home to make it feasible for me to run over there quickly for a weekend, race, and come back.

#261 The Ripest Tomato

18 September 2021 // Ojai, California

Being a dad means being absurdly proud of something as simple as eating a tomato, huh? But that’s how we are.

For real though, I love how Rhys managed to find the readiest, reddest tomato off the vine in our friend’s garden and to know right away to sink his teeth into it. I love how much this guy appreciates nature and feels at home in the open despite being quarantined half his life around Southern California’s urban sprawl.

We’ve thrown so many changes Rhys’ way in the past month. We moved from our old place to a new one. Switching from a crib to a toddler bed. Graduating from the Caterpillar Room to the Monkey Room. Adaptable. Adventurous. All traits we love to see.

#262 Bart’s Books

19 September 2021 // Ojai, California

Ojai’s a pretty sweet place, isn’t it?

Last week, Deanna and I got to spend a few days at our friend Cheri’s ranch… probably the closest thing we’ll be able to get to a babymoon before the twins get here, and it was absolutely refreshing. It was great getting to catch up on years with a friend, to have Rhys run around gardens and chicken coops, and to take a long run by the Carpinteria Bluffs. Also got to hop into Downtown Ojai for a little bit. SO many great restaurants around, I wish I was there for more meals. Still loved the artist’s vibe and the fun outdoor bookstore.

Even though I live on the coast, I’m a mountain person at heart. (Though some of the best places give you a bit of both, don’t they?) The Santa Ynez mountains are a happy sight. They were the view from my dorm room freshman year. They’re in the background of a bunch of our wedding photos, and I’m still happy to swing by them in between major life changes.

It’s been a while since I lived on the Central Coast, and visiting sometimes feels like visiting a previous version of myself. But if that person could see where the road ahead leads, I’d say he’s got good reason to be excited.

#263 Ojai Babymoon

20 September 2021 // Ojai, California

“This is an ancient system… it goes back to the Gran Tenochitlan Era!”

When I was in Mexico, a number of different people, inclusive lot of Zapotec farmers, introduced me to the milpa system.

The milpa way of farming takes maize, beans, squash, and amaranth and plants them in alternating patterns. The maize makes a nice living barrier against soil erosion and the diversity means a crop disease can’t easily spread.

So many locals noted that the system resembled a healthy community for humans, too, where everyone has a special role towards a common goal.

Once I heard a description of this system the term “regenerative farming” was the first thing to pop into my head. It’s an increasingly trendy term that contains multitudes of different farming techniques that keep carbon stored in soil- like crop diversification and living barriers.

But what seems like a trendy new innovation is often a return to a way of doing things before it was disrupted by industrialization.

This was a face-to-face reminder that some of the best practices in areas like public health, climate solutions, and fire management aren’t new ones at all and they have their roots in indigenous knowledge.

There’s a great documentary called Gather that really gets into this.

It’s not just a matter of making sure credit goes where it’s deserved, though that should be enough of a reason on its own. But, all over the world, indigenous communities often face opposition in being able to manage their ancestral lands, with environmental reasons often cited.

There’s more to the harmony between land and livelihood than the various technical practices that make up regenerative farming- readdressing our relationship to the land and culture are also a critical part of indigenous world views.

#264 Reads for Goodbyes

21 September 2021 // San Diego, California

My reading list over the past month seemed to revolve around the themes of grief, saying goodbye, and choosing life in spite of it all.

Each of these was a book I anticipated for quite a while; two by Asian American authors, another by an old favorite.

I don’t exactly know how to describe what makes @jonnysun’s writing so incredible, or how it manages to be both so funny and honest in its simplicity and melancholy, but it does all that (see his ranking of the last fifteen minutes before the end of the world) and anchoring this collection of thoughts around the theme of moving made it all the more relatable.

Reading @agedungs graphic memoir chronicling the loss of his partner felt so deeply personal, yet I loved the way his journey was interwoven against the life stories of surfing pioneers who found the hobby as a solace of joy during an imperialist moment.

The Midnight Library had been on my list since I heard it announced. In many ways it seemed like a spiritual successor to @mattzhaig’s How To Stop Time, which is an all time fave. I love any piece of art that makes you feel deeply grateful to be alive.

#265 Home Lounge

22 September 2021 // San Diego, California

When their leader is assassinated, we hashtag hope for Haiti. We talk about how sorry we feel for people, mistaking men and women for their misery.

When an earthquake strikes we laud their resilience. We praise their ability to weather another storm, in the process making us feel better about it without having to change a single thing.

When that hope for a better life and resilience through every storm leads to a treacherous journey across seas, we run out of things to say. Convenient things to say.

Easier not to recognize hope and resilience anymore than to realize when we’re the ones standing in the way of it.

Easier not to recognize a country’s independence for over 20 years as a successful rebellion of an enslaved population when that would force you to reckon with your own practice of slavery.

Easier to keep a country in debt for 122 years than to trade and engage as equals.

Easier not to know this history. To know nothing of their Gold Reserve, rice dumps, and Novum Energy. Easier to stir up a panic over border crossings than to understand the completely legal and agreed upon process of asylum.

Give up the easy and comfortable narratives we’ve taught ourselves about Haiti.

#266 Pellet Shooter

23 September 2021 // San Diego, California

A video has gone viral of a middle school kid explaining power dynamics in class.

Most responses were blown away with the kid’s age. I thought the most impressive part of his clip was his clarity.

This really is the level of clarity that people should be bringing to discuss major problems we’re facing. Making it plain is a winning move.

#267 Oviedo Wedding 1

24 September 2021 // Oceanside, California

All throughout my life, a lot of the momentum towards social changes has been built up when a large group of people strongly believe they’re starting to see things not everyone sees: the unfair ways people in power operate behind the curtain.

Think of all the ways last year people felt like they were seeing experiences with racism more clearly than they had in the past. Of all the times people believed that health experts were being deliberately misleading. I picked these two examples because…

This works in multiple directions, for good and bad. Distrust in something- whether that’s media, a thought leader, or a political party, moves in the direction of challenging that institution. Good and bad leaders take turns in power, but in either scenario you can expect this.

And it comes from a legit place. Every sphere of life- media, art, work, business, has its gatekeepers. Those who decide what’s important, what’ll be popular, who to listen to. And they’ll inevitably be imperfect.

When those imperfections start to affect people- like when they don’t see their experiences reflected in your portrayal of the world, trust gets eroded. People look for alternatives. And as flawed as these gatekeepers are, they at least make it harder for the worst of misinformation and inflammatory speech to spread.

Divergent thinking becomes a badge of honor. But simply having a different perspective than the most widely accepted one isn’t always a good thing. Over a century ago, it helped invent an airplane, but divergent thinking in modern aviation disregards physics and would probably kill a bunch of people…

Unless it invents an accessible form of renewable jet fuel and greatly decreases atmospheric greenhouse gas. Then it saves a bunch of lives. See how this works?

This is one of the reasons why I think inclusive storytelling is both so important and widely underestimated. Inclusive storytelling means people’s experiences are shown, seen, and considered, meaning fewer people will come to the rightful conclusion that mainstream information doesn’t apply to them.

Inclusive storytelling is the opposite of gatekeeping, always looking for who’s missing and what stories we ne

At its best, inclusive storytelling is the opposite of gatekeeping, letting other people in.

When you have more diverse views, the harder it is for there to be divergent views.

Inclusivity makes it possible for creative thinking to still emerge, while maintaining a safeguard against the worst forms of divergence.

#268 Oviedo Wedding 2

25 September 2021 // Escondido, California
This week, Deanna and I sold the spot we’ve lived in the past two years. There was just no way that place was gonna fit us all once we become a family of five, it had already been a tight squeeze.

That said, this place was HOME.

There were always wild things going on the neighborhood and weird little curveballs the small space would send our way, but it was where everything happened.

It was the first place we bought together.

It was where we brought Rhys home from the hospital, and introduced him to Beignet two nights later.

It was where we stayed inside for months and months while the world outside seemed to unravel.

And it was where we found out about some twins we’re gonna meet soon.

Our adventures ahead are now meant for different spaces.

A little something from Jonny Sun’s Goodbye, Again:

“I suppose that all I hope for is for this home to remember me the way I remember it: imperfect, quiet, creaking, but always trying to be something better than it is on paper, in person, in memory.”

#269 Been a Long One

26 September 2021 // San Diego, California

The simple reality is that any joy you experience will happen simultaneously alongside the suffering of others. Our world is large enough that this will always be the case. And there may be times where you have to be cautious with how you communicate your joy out of respect for others’ experiences, but know that in the long run, joy is what sustains lasting and meaningful change.

When we look at altruism with a zero-sum, binary lens, we create a world where people are less likely to engage in solutions. Who wants to be constantly in an environment where people seem to take things too seriously?

I think we would be much better served if our idea of activism, of change-making, and of healing the world wasn’t one of heroic self-sacrifice, but a communal vision of joy. We don’t get involved in the hard work of justice, solutions, and liberation to make heroes out of ourselves, but because this is simply what you do when you are part of a community and other members of the community suffer. You work to restore the joy of that community.

Being able to see and unearth the joy in our work makes all of this more accessible, and all of this more possible.

#270 Afternoon Miramar Run

27 September 2021 // San Diego, California

The land beneath us contains stories, and over the past two years while I’ve had to travel a lot less in search of stories, I’ve learned how the land close to home still often contains stories that have been buried or overlooked.

Dodger Stadium is the perfect example of this.

I’ve gone to a good number of games here. I’ve spent more time driving around Central L.A. than I wish to admit, but it was only this year when I learned about the three neighborhoods and the Latino families that were forcibly removed when Dodger Stadium was built.

Part of what sticks with me about this story are how so many elements of it are still in place. And whenever an Olympic year or a World Cup comes to a city, similar things still happen.

But hopefully knowing our past missteps will help us recognize our future ones before they happen.

#271 Noah’s Ark

28 September 2021 // San Diego, California

Indigenous scientist and writer Robin Wall Kimmerer diagnoses our sense of individualism as part of the problem. In her book, Braiding Sweetgrass, she describes our “deep, unnamed sadness stemming from estrangement from the rest of Creation, from the loss of relationship. As our human dominance of the world has grown, we have become more isolated, more lonely when we can no longer call out to our neighbors.”

The antidote must be a reawakened sense of community, nurture and togetherness. Kimmerer later suggests learning from how trees “act not as individuals, but somehow as a collective. Exactly how they do this, we don’t yet know. But what we see is the power of unity. What happens to one happens to us all. We can starve together or feast together.”

Parenthood is a great way, but not the only way, to develop these instincts. Of choosing togetherness rather than heroics. Of thinking long term about how our impact will outlast ourselves. Of forming sacred bonds with one another, and with the web of creation that connects all of us. In order to protect nature, we must relearn how to nurture.

#272 Complex

29 September 2021 // San Diego, California

I’ve finally started managing a small team, and even though I don’t have a lot of experience managing others, I suppose I do have plenty of experience with being managed, which helps shape some of what I realize makes for being a good manager.

Here are a few of the commitments I’m making to myself whenever I’m in the role:

+ Not normalizing overwork. Sometimes I do work at odd hours, mostly because having really young kids makes that shift necessary time to time. But I want to be mindful that even sending a weekend email may create that expectation without realizing it.

+ Making sure that whatever somebody’s working on at a given time is a combination of what they’re interested in with the necessary busy work. Making sure there’s room to play and explore your own interests is key to having more fun with the work you’re doing and ultimately producing more creative outcomes.

+ Doing regular check ins, not just to make sure people who work for me are on track with organizational goals, but also their own personal goals.

+ If somebody’s been working for me for over four years and hasn’t been elevated to higher responsibilities (or a role more fitted for them) in some way, then that’s on me.

#273 New Climate Reads

30 September 2021 // San Diego, California

Like, well, a TON of people, I’ve been enjoying Squid Game. Both the show and the fact that it seems to have taken just one week for the show to become a mega-phenomenon. I have a few thoughts.

First, this show reminds me so much of 3%- I mean, the premise isn’t so far off, and neither are the broader themes. But the level of intensity is kind of turned up thanks to Korean cinema.

I’ve learned a bit about how at several points the subtitles grossly simplify some translations that are supposed to carry either major plot points or character development information. I suppose I can’t rule that out anytime I watch a subtitled film, but what other options do I have with the languages I don’t speak.

Finally, it’s the second time in three years that a fairly dark story from Korea has made such a splash. With Parasite, there was at least more of a throughline between the show getting such good critical reviews and people starting to flock to see it. Squid Game made the jump that much faster.

It feels really good to have a story that keeps you glued.

You Are Welcome Here

Our country’s longest running war is over. I didn’t think it was possible to say a sentence like that in such a deflated way, though.

So much of what I wish I could change is out of my control. The human sized tasks in front of me look more like filling out a form to sponsor refugees, packaging together a welcome kit, and continuing to promote the spirit of welcome.

I’ve carried around this picture of a sign saying “You’re Welcome at Our Table” on my phone for three years. I snapped this in Nashville. From the window of Woolworth’s on 5th.

That just so happens to be the site of numerous lunch counter protests in the 1960s. One where John Lewis was arrested. Technically the original establishment shut forever ago, but since then a new recreation of a restaurant emerged, paying homage to the history and serving great (and somewhat pricey) food.

A heart of welcome looks like a lot of things: a Oaxacan community preparing their biggest feast in over a year during my visit, a Karen refugee showing me his favorite restaurant during a grand tour of his refugee camp, or a conversation in Nashville where the bartender and I sat at the historic counter and joked about being the only Asians in sight.

It’s something I’ve encountered the world over, from Haiti to Tanzania to Morocco. I’ve always felt like I’ve always received much more of the welcome than I’ve given, and almost embarrassingly, I’ve received so much hospitality from many with far less privilege.

I’m still looking for a better word than ‘hospitality’ to describe this. That seems too stiff. It’s more like an enthusiastic celebration of your humanity and sacredness. And it’s taught me to outright reject any language that paints a picture of us-and-them, viewing anyone not familiar to us as a threat. Any rhetoric about why some group of people will take jobs or spots in schools meant for us based on a manufactured sense of scarcity just misses me.

Instead, I want to inhale and exhale the exact opposite vibe. One I’m still looking for a word for. Something beyond hospitality. You are welcome because you are.

Climate Passion and Anxiety

I talk about climate for a living and it’s been such a relentless month when it comes to that. And I’ve been at a distance from those living through the hurricane in Louisiana and Mississippi, the wildfires in Turkey, the unbreathable air in the northern states, or the climate induced famine in Madagascar.

When the IPCC Report was released the other week, declaring a Code Red for humanity, it was sobering- but not all that surprising to those who’ve been working on climate solutions up close for a little while. Working in a solutions-oriented space can be frustrating sometimes, when it feels like people put up so much resistance to change, when it seems like it takes moving mountains to get people to simply enact readily available solutions.

But, climate anxiety and a belief and passion for climate solutions co-exist. In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen someone truly engaged in solutions who doesn’t feel both pretty strongly. But when you choose to actually engage the solutions rather than giving into fatalism, you get to be around those people. You get to weather days with hurricanes and scientific reports together, and you also get to be wowed and inspired by their brilliance and grit.

I suppose all this is a long winded way of saying the real treasure is the friends you make along the way, but… y’know.

We’re all living through this crisis, and there’s no way I’d rather face it than leaning into solutions alongside other passionate and engaged people.

Thick Skin and a Soft Heart

If you’re committed to making meaningful change, you’ve gotta have thick skin and a soft heart. I’ve always felt that.

These things almost feel like they’re in conflict. How do you thicken your skin up against those who love power and push vitriol while being able to pivot to tenderness when around the vulnerable? How do you stomach all the stories of suffering without either being totally calloused or sunk by compassion fatigue?

I’ll let you know when I find that simple answer. For now, I’ll just say that I’ve found the stories and snapshots coming from Afghanistan this week totally crushing. I absolutely cannot imagine passing a two year old over a fence not knowing what comes next, not knowing when you see her again, or if.

I remember feeling and sharing similar things about Syria quite a while ago. I remember hearing from somebody that a lot of good happens in that part of the world, and not to be sunk by the one-sided stories told by the media. I’m pretty sure that person hasn’t seen much of that part of the world, but that aside…

Factually, that isn’t wrong. Headlines tend to favor the ugliest events, and there is so much good around the parts of our world we over-associate with terror and violence. My approach to storytelling loves to push against one-sided narratives to tell the fuller story. The Afghan robotics team, the skateboarding girls of Kabul, and so on. And yet, focusing ONLY on the good isn’t helpful either. Especially during a crisis.

Have I found the perfect integration of the heavy and light? Have I gotten the hang of this thick skin, soft heart business? Not even close.

But I know you’ve got to hear people’s stories. When you take the time to really listen, you’ll find the hard and the beautiful are both fully present.

You’ve got to resist easy answers, to know how to check your own optimistic or pessimistic tendencies, and to go beyond headlines.

And let yourself feel the whole thing. The stories of resilience, overcoming, and restoration are real- but you won’t see their full glory without also taking in the brutal and devastating.

Into the Mezcalverse

Mezcal. This is my kind of adventure.

Not just tasting mezcal, though there was plenty of that, but also connecting with people who’ve been making the stuff in their family for generations. Learning about the sustainability of agave farming, indigenous origins, and so much more.

Mezcal is a storyteller’s drink. There is so much to be said about one single pour.

During my one weekend off in Oaxaca I was able to connect with @ramblingspirits for a fantastic outing along la Ruta de Mezcal. Highly recommend this for any mezcal lovers who find themselves in Oaxaca.

Olympic National Park

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. Check out my most recent post/YouTube video for the deeper dive.

Videowork

What videos to make next?

I’ve been on some adventures. Not just recently but over the years. A while back I started to think back over some of the things I’m lucky enough to have experienced. I wouldn’t change a think, but I do kind of wish I had the tools, skills, and means to capture some of those adventures on video back then. To share. To relive. To remind us all, especially myself, of all the good out there.

But there’s no going back I decided to start.

I also love well done explainer videos, so I sketched out some plans for a part-travel-blog, part-explainer-channel that lined up with all my travel plans. And then? They all got cancelled. I’d ironically be hitting record for one of the most stationary stretches of my life.

But it turned out to be the right creative pressure cooker. How do you channel your love for cultures and travel and adventure while not being able to travel? I made a video about that! And one about the best places I’ve ever been. And about the journeys taken by Thai food, our recycled plastic, and Raya and the Last Dragon.

Made some more about the waters we were navigating: childcare, ethical investing, storytelling… and we even managed to get in a couple actual trips!

I made a video about not being able to travel. And one about ethical storytelling. And some investigating things in life I had to navigate like ethical investing or childcare.

My love for the international couldn’t be held back either, and surfaced in topics like Thai Food, Recycling, and Raya and the Last Dragon.

Taking the time to celebrate the first half of my first year making these. Still loads of things I need to get better at, but I’ve had a good time scripting, filming, and editing. I started the year knowing absolutely nothing about motion graphics. Closing in on 100 subscribers too, which isn’t much, but I always wanted this to be about the process first.

If you’ve been watching these, thanks! Hope they’ve been as fun and curiosity indulging for you as they’ve been for me.

Everything's Changing

How about them changes?

Our lives have these little chapter breaks scattered throughout where something major changes or we take on a new role. Moments like going off to college, or becoming a new parent. These changes throw most of us off our groove, but I’ve always looked at this as something special.

It’s during these moments when you’re also most likely to have a big shift in your mindset, priorities, values, or beliefs.

I think it’s no surprise that there’s a correlation between being closed off to new ways of thinking and having done the same thing year after year with little variance.

Lately, I’ve been trying to pay close attention to how things are evolving within me. Hopefully in the direction of empathy, hopefulness, and aliveness.

Less than two years ago, right around the time I snapped this picture at Mormon Row, life was almost entirely different. Then, in seemingly the smallest window, I became a dad, entered my thirties, then learned about two more kids on their way. Oh, and a whole pandemic basically upended the world I was used to.

I think that decades from now, Inshallah, should I get the gift of looking back at the present moment, I’ll be seeing it with a whole lot of wonder. What a wild couple of years. How’d we even do that?

For the time being, I think I’m too close to the moment to have a deep understanding of how everything is changing, just an awareness that it is. But I can note that this chapter has made me feel all the more thankful for the little bits of good that make my life what it is.

Kirstie's Trees

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.

This is just a preview since I couldn’t leave uplifting things unshared for too long, but I’m also happy to be working with @hepburncreative on a video that captures the powerful moment. Muchisimas gracias a ellos y @cruzaangel por las fotos de este momento.

1 Min. of Oaxaca

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.

August 2021

#213 Dee’s Tree

01 August 2021 // San Diego, California

There’s a style of making mezcal in particular that uses a lot of bamboo tubing called Filipino Style. As it turns out this style was used and developed by a lot of enslaved Filipinos who often worked in these early distilleries. 

There’s two different arguments around the initial distilling of agave spirits, everyone would have worked out how to make booze. But the widely seen style of terra cotta pots and bamboo tubing is found in the Philippines. A lot of slaves were brought over with the Spanish and there’s evidence of these things being used in the production of Filipino spirits.

I’ve got to admit that was not a discovery I was expecting… of course that comes from an awful part of history… but there’s also something about me being on a mezcal tasting adventure, and having this drink as a luxury that’s kind of like reclaiming space.

I haven’t put all these pieces together yet and I’m not sure I’m going to anytime soon but it’s something.

#214 Bluey Viewing

02 August 2021 // San Diego, California

The best meals I’ve ever eaten all involve a few things: Being welcomed in by a family or a community, being given a meal that the family may have grown themselves and worked hard on, and an evening, morning, or afternoon full of conversation.

True and genuine hospitality elevates everything it touches.

#215 Fig Starter

03 August 2021 // San Diego, California

One of the mysteries I’m trying to solve right now is my grocery bill.

When I was a bachelor right out of college, I got my grocery bill to about $30 a week. And I ate pretty well, I think. Trader Joe’s was helpful on that front.

You’d think that when I got married it would’ve bumped up to $60 a week, and maybe now $80 with a baby to feed. But nope.

We’re at $150.

Did the cost of food go up? That’s probably part of it.

Are we trying to eat healthier? That too.

But mostly, I think sharing a life with someone makes you a lot more self conscious about putting a piece of prosciutto on some bread and calling it lunch.

#216 Counter Nibbles

04 August 2021 // San Diego, California

The mouse I’ve been trying to get out of the house for a few days found and loved the beer flavored CBD treats meant for a 70lb dog.

Mouse Trap didn’t have this alternate ending.

#217 Climate Reading

05 August 2021 // San Diego, California

You know that saying that you either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain?

I feel like this works in reverse when it comes to your taste in music.

Songs that I used to hate from a period of time in my life that I’ve loved usually end up making me happier in the long run. It’s like they took on a fermentation process or something.

#218 Banyon Touring

06 August 2021 // San Diego, California

It’s official. We found a place to live this fall and in the first half of next year.

To be honest, I’m going to miss our current place. In spite of all its flaws, it’s the first place we bought together, and the place where we took home Rhys.

I also don’t feel fully amped about some things about our next spot. The fact that it’s five minutes from my high school kind of makes it feels like a really long journey to not that far. But so much of that is just in my head. It’s what we need for this next moment in our lives, and we’ll be back on the hunt, eyeing a bigger move in about a year.

#219 Kimberly’s Picnic

07 August 2021 // San Diego, California

Without question this was the most fun weekend to be a Phillies fan in a decade.

Wheeler threw a gem reminiscent of a Halladay start.

Swept the Mets to take a firmer lead on the division.

8 straight.

Somehow did this with a third of the starting lineup injured.

Frustrating times will return at some point, but I’ll enjoy it while it’s here.

#220 Lake Biker

08 August 2021 // San Diego, California

It’s been a very full week in the world of climate news- and in people’s direct experiences of dealing with its effects. The latest IPCC report detailed how human activities contribute to climate change, how every region of the world will be affected, and how we’re likely on track to pass the 1.5°C threshold of irreversible changes- but that there’s still time to stave off the worst of it.

Reports like this are important but can sometimes have the side effect of helplessness that causes people to feel like giving up instead of getting busy. I figured I’d share some of my favorite climate reads this week, because each of them shows the choices we must make and imagines a world where we’ve made them.

First, I cannot say enough good things about @ayanaeliza and @drkwilkinson’s book @allwecansave - perhaps my favorite book I’ve read all year. The collection features art, poetry, and essays from dozens of women, from scientists to civic leaders to student organizers. Some unpack the tactics that led to shutting down 3/5ths of the country’s coal plants in the past decade, others reflect on why suburbs aren’t a part of Wakanda. It’s the right blend of science, strategy, and vision and I highly and widely recommend it.

The Future We Choose by @cfigueres and @tomcarnac outline two future scenarios, three mindset shifts, and ten actions a climate crisis calls for. The mindset shifts in particular really resonated with me as stuff I’m trying to work on!

Speaking of examples of critically applied imagination, @erholthaus’ The Future Earth is a perfect example. He envisions three decades worth of change that own up to the effects that we’ve already caused but also the possibility for us to set forth a different path.

Ever read any of these? Got your own favorite climate reads?

#221 Bedroom Office

09 August 2021 // San Diego, California

The IPCC report is a report to be taken seriously. God has given us the necessary scientific understanding to be good stewards of our shared home. While we can take the time to lament our broken relationship with creation, we must not give in to the spirit of helplessness. Grief is appropriate, giving up is harmful, and action is necessary. This moment isn’t a call for despair, but towards action. In such a moment, we are proud to stand with everyone working to restore creation across the globe, from the dry zones of California to the hills of Haiti and the church forests in Ethiopia. We do not face this crisis alone.

#222 Grape Street Hangs

10 August 2021 // San Diego, California

One of the most eye catching facts from this whole COVID era has been this- almost all of the misinformation and harmful talking points can be traced back to twelve points of origin.

That’s it. Twelve.

In some ways, that’s maddening. How could so many people take these messages and run with them all to the profit of twelve other people while getting nothing? While this misinformation also harms them in the long run. Twelve people found a way to match misinformation with people’s need to find belonging, assert identity, and cling to some semblance of certainty and run with it.

That said…

Can you imagine the power of twelve people who figured out how to apply strategy to the right message? A message the world really needs to hear?

#223 Cahh!

11 August 2021 // San Diego, California

What videos to make next?

I’ve been on some adventures. Not just recently but over the years. A while back I started to think back over some of the things I’m lucky enough to have experienced. I wouldn’t change a think, but I do kind of wish I had the tools, skills, and means to capture some of those adventures on video back then. To share. To relive. To remind us all, especially myself, of all the good out there.

But there’s no going back I decided to start.

I also love well done explainer videos, so I sketched out some plans for a part-travel-blog, part-explainer-channel that lined up with all my travel plans. And then? They all got cancelled. I’d ironically be hitting record for one of the most stationary stretches of my life.

But it turned out to be the right creative pressure cooker. How do you channel your love for cultures and travel and adventure while not being able to travel? I made a video about that! And one about the best places I’ve ever been. And about the journeys taken by Thai food, our recycled plastic, and Raya and the Last Dragon.

Made some more about the waters we were navigating: childcare, ethical investing, storytelling… and we even managed to get in a couple actual trips!

I made a video about not being able to travel. And one about ethical storytelling. And some investigating things in life I had to navigate like ethical investing or childcare.

My love for the international couldn’t be held back either, and surfaced in topics like Thai Food, Recycling, and Raya and the Last Dragon.

Taking the time to celebrate the first half of my first year making these. Still loads of things I need to get better at, but I’ve had a good time scripting, filming, and editing. I started the year knowing absolutely nothing about motion graphics. Closing in on 100 subscribers too, which isn’t much, but I always wanted this to be about the process first.

If you’ve been watching these, thanks! Hope they’ve been as fun and curiosity indulging for you as they’ve been for me.

#224 Rhys’ Alien

12 August 2021 // San Diego, California

I’ve discovered so little new music this year.

Of 2021 albums I’ve truly loved, I think I’ve got Jon Batiste’s and that’s it.

I think so much of it is that podcasts have taken over my listening time.

Sometimes I also wonder if I’m just at an age where I’m past my music discovery peak.

But… Jelani Aryeh’s album is incredible and I can’t stop listening to some of the earworms like Marigold.

I’d almost forgotten how good it feels to fall in love with newly discovered music.

#225 Work at Communal

13 August 2021 // San Diego, California

Our lives have these little chapter breaks scattered throughout where something major changes or we take on a new role. Moments like going off to college, or becoming a new parent. These changes throw most of us off our groove, but I’ve always looked at this as something special.

It’s during these moments when you’re also most likely to have a big shift in your mindset, priorities, values, or beliefs.

I think it’s no surprise that there’s a correlation between being closed off to new ways of thinking and having done the same thing year after year with little variance.

Lately, I’ve been trying to pay close attention to how things are evolving within me. Hopefully in the direction of empathy, hopefulness, and aliveness.

Less than two years ago, right around the time I snapped this picture at Mormon Row, life was almost entirely different. Then, in seemingly the smallest window, I became a dad, entered my thirties, then learned about two more kids on their way. Oh, and a whole pandemic basically upended the world I was used to.

I think that decades from now, Inshallah, should I get the gift of looking back at the present moment, I’ll be seeing it with a whole lot of wonder. What a wild couple of years. How’d we even do that?

For the time being, I think I’m too close to the moment to have a deep understanding of how everything is changing, just an awareness that it is. But I can note that this chapter has made me feel all the more thankful for the little bits of good that make my life what it is.

#226 New Ban Lao

14 August 2021 // San Diego, California

I’m officially in the Christmas spirit now thanks to Ted Lasso.

I love that they not only released a Christmas episode knowing that it would air in August, I love that they fully committed to the bit.

We got a claymation intro, a Love Actually nod, and an unapologetically jolly soundtrack.

The calendar mismatch made it seem even more welcome and refreshing, probably less saccharine than if it landed in December.

#227 Zoo Entry

15 August 2021 // San Diego, California

I befriended a couple of students from Afghanistan while in grad school. We had several good conversations about their home and I could tell how much they loved it. They shared so many details about winters in the mountains and snow, I hoped to see it in person some day. There was so much more to the place than what I usually heard about.

I always appreciated the fact that our studies made my friendship with those Afghan women possible. It wouldn’t have been very likely given the lives we were born into.

I really hope my friends are somewhere safe today, though it’s hard to say what that place could be. Their lives will presumably become much more difficult.

When I make my drawings, especially when they’re about topics like these, I kind of think of them as little prayers. Getting to pray with a pen going back and forth is a great alternative when words don’t seem to carry the weight that’s in your heart.

I kept getting frustrated with this one, though. I was hoping to draw a girl around five years old and kept coming up with faces that looked like full grown women. And then I landed on this face which looks like a different age each time I look at it. But perhaps there’s something there. So many kids are having their childhoods upended, forced into a bitterness made by generations past.

I am heartbroken for the people of Afghanistan. There are so many takes, so many layers and complexities. And the nuances and context really matters. But pay no attention to those who call attention to Afghanistan only for the purposes of assigning blame or perpetuating past vendettas. Take the time to own up to what we’ve collectively done to get here. Stand with the vulnerable, reach out for refugees.

And most of all just listen to the Afghan people.

#228 Bedroom Recording

16 August 2021 // San Diego, California

Today I stopped to think about everything I have going on. Work and work and work. One kid going on three. All the chaos of moving houses. Not to mention the entire creative endeavor I have outside of work.

Most days this doesn’t register with me. I’ll try and jump into each activity one at a time, make the most of it, enjoy it to the fullest, and keep my head down.

But, yeah, it’s a whole lot! I don’t know exactly what to make of it all- honestly, perhaps being a little bit impressed with myself for pulling it off but still absolutely loving it. My life is very, very full, but its full of what I love.

#229 Rhys gETS sTAIRS

17 August 2021 // San Diego, California

Michael Harriot posted a question to Twitter that has now become one of my new favorite thought challenges. Here it is:

You enter a contest where you choose 5 songs for a party. Whoever gets the most people to dance wins $10 billion (why do people only offer $1 million in imaginary contests?)

Here’s the catch:

You don’t know anything about the partygoers (race, age, etc.)

What are your 5 songs?

There is so much to think through in terms of strategy. You only need to get people to dance once- even for a little bit, so aiming for some demographic variety might work best, especially along age and culture.

My attempt:
Uptown Funk (Bruno Mars)
Got To Give It Up (Marvin Gaye)
Gasolina (Daddy Yankee)
Call Me Maybe (Carly Rae Jepsen)
Some random Baby Shark remix I find on YouTube for the kiddos

On second thought though, I think K-Pop might be too valuable to leave off, so perhaps replacing Carly Rae with something by BTS might stretch me out a bit further.

I could spend forever justifying my strategy of each pick but I wish we could see this contest actually played out.

#230 Living Room Projector

18 August 2021 // San Diego, California

The impulse to shut off compassion when it comes to assisting refugees or people in crisis in favor of turning their story into a blame-game isn’t a strength, or even a display of intelligence. What it shows is a part of someone’s humanity that’s gone dull, that’s been eroded over time.

There’s a time and a place for eager pragmatism, but I don’t trust solutions coming from those who haven’t mourned with those who mourn.

#231 CT&C Bar

19 August 2021 // San Diego, California

It’s not much of a secret that one of my very favorite things to do in life is to experience cultures and traditions through the firsthand stories of of people who live it.

My time in Oaxaca was full of that. Community visits and hospitality. From edible corn fungus, to the seven types of mole, to the postage stamp museum.

So grateful for people like Alier, Esperanza, and Teborino for their welcoming spirit.

#232 City Heights Welcomes You

20 August 2021 // San Diego, California

Mezcal is a storyteller’s drink. There is so much to be said about one single pour.

#233 Welcome Kit Shopping

21 August 2021 // San Diego, California

One thing that’s become more and more clear to me about the experience of trauma is that it really messes with your ability to dream and imagine a better future or a different path forward. You can see it individually, but also, spend time in a school that’s been underinvested in or a neighborhood that’s been systemically and historically excluded.

That said, I think that makes the storyteller’s role all the more important. Of course it takes therapy and systemic change and everything to transform, but anyone who can apply creativity to reactivate those parts of the spirit is doing irreplaceable work.

#234 City Heights Mural

22 August 2021 // San Diego, California

It seems like roughly once a day, I see somebody post on social media about what it was that got them to overcome their resistance towards getting vaccinated- and in a stick-to-your-guns sort of world, I find the vulnerability refreshing.

Sometimes it’s constant conversations with a friend that triggers the shift. Sometimes it’s reframing the discussion around how our choices affect others rather than a personal decision.

But there’s always a certain kind of reply that this invites…

“That won’t convince anybody new. People have their minds made up and will reject anything that doesn’t fit!”

or

“Yeah, my co-worker will just assume you’re a paid actor.”

Two things are happening in these comment sections:

1) People are so hungry for a sign that people can be still be moved that any anecdote that shows this is extremely inspiring.

2) People are so exhausted from trying to convince the stubbornly resistant, that they’ve learned to pessimistically pre-empt their most common canned response.

But every day for the past week, around a half million people got their first dose of the vaccine.

That’s not a small number.

Relative to the whole population, a whole bunch of people are being moved every single day.

When you’re resigned to preemptive pessimism, you won’t ask an important question: why?

In each of these batches of 500,000, there are a variety of reasons- not one single answer. Sometimes it’s a mandate, sometimes it’s the story of a very sick loved one, but there are patterns and trends.

But we have data, and when you have data, you can figure out what works. You can do more of it. You can enhance it.

Will there always be someone with an uncle who manages to deny the existence of bread while speaking with a mouth full of sourdough? Probably.

But leverage what you learn, and there will be less of them over time. And soon the issue is no longer a hot topic, but lukewarm and tepid. And people’s decisions won’t be identity statements, just something that gets done.

#235 Toddler Bed Time

23 August 2021 // San Diego, California

I’m absolutely loving an article that was featured in Patagonia’s email newsletter this week.

All on raising kids to be brave and kind go-getters. My favorite bit from the article:

“I’m hoping my children will begin to understand the interconnectedness of all things and that they will see that what we do in our backyard and on our local water has an impact on rivers, forests and oceans the world over.”

#236 Stuffed Friends

24 August 2021 // San Diego, California

If you’re committed to making meaningful change, you’ve gotta have thick skin and a soft heart. I’ve always felt that.

These things almost feel like they’re in conflict. How do you thicken your skin up against those who love power and push vitriol while being able to pivot to tenderness when around the vulnerable? How do you stomach all the stories of suffering without either being totally calloused or sunk by compassion fatigue?

I’ll let you know when I find that simple answer. For now, I’ll just say that I’ve found the stories and snapshots coming from Afghanistan this week totally crushing. I absolutely cannot imagine passing a two year old over a fence not knowing what comes next, not knowing when you see her again, or if.

I remember feeling and sharing similar things about Syria quite a while ago. I remember hearing from somebody that a lot of good happens in that part of the world, and not to be sunk by the one-sided stories told by the media. I’m pretty sure that person hasn’t seen much of that part of the world, but that aside…

Factually, that isn’t wrong. Headlines tend to favor the ugliest events, and there is so much good around the parts of our world we over-associate with terror and violence. My approach to storytelling loves to push against one-sided narratives to tell the fuller story. The Afghan robotics team, the skateboarding girls of Kabul, and so on. And yet, focusing ONLY on the good isn’t helpful either. Especially during a crisis.

Have I found the perfect integration of the heavy and light? Have I gotten the hang of this thick skin, soft heart business? Not even close.

But I know you’ve got to hear people’s stories. When you take the time to really listen, you’ll find the hard and the beautiful are both fully present.

You’ve got to resist easy answers, to know how to check your own optimistic or pessimistic tendencies, and to go beyond headlines.

And let yourself feel the whole thing. The stories of resilience, overcoming, and restoration are real- but you won’t see their full glory without also taking in the brutal and devastating.

#237 Daniel’s Care Package

25 August 2021 // San Diego, California

“In the face of climate change, we must act so that we can feel hopeful—not the other way around”

This was the title/headline of an article Katharine Hayhoe wrote for TIME.

The headline alone captures one of my biggest beliefs about hope.

But the whole article is a must read, so don’t stop there.

In Nepal, folks so strongly understand the link between the heart and mind that there’s one word that packages both. Heartmind, essentially. I feel like we need a similar framework for understanding how hope can’t be detached from action.

#238 Last Day at Caterpillar Room

26 August 2021 // San Diego, California

Moving day was intense, but I’m really happy to have the “big move” taken care of and in the rearview. I’m also overall happy with the new place. All this extra space is much appreciated right off the bat.

I think I underestimated how much I would appreciate this new place and new area- least of all being how many places there are to grab a bite that I just can’t wait to get to.

In the long run, I suppose I’m still eager to look towards wherever we end up next. But for the time being, I’m thankful for this early win. From the looks of things, we’ll be here for one year. One year to enjoy all the good.

#239 Wood Deck Angels

27 August 2021 // San Diego, California

Naomi Osaka shared a whole post with several parts that resonated- including how self-deprecation often gets mistaken for humility, or not burdening yourself with the expectations of others.

One more part that stuck: “Seeing everything going on in the world I feel like if I wake up in the morning that’s a win.”

Isn’t that just true. Start your day with acknowledging that it’s a win and anything that rolls ahead from there is what it is.

#240 Morning Play Table

28 August 2021 // San Diego, California

Some of the biggest changes Rhys has put up with this week:

+ Moving into our new house from the only place he’s ever lived

+ Switching from a crib to a toddler bed

+ Moving up from the Caterpillar Room to the Monkey Room at school

So far the only one he’s had a little trouble with has been the latter- but he largely seems unfazed by how much we’ve thrown at him. I’m impressed.

#241 Lil’ Swimmer

29 August 2021 // San Diego, California

Javy Baez, Kevin Pillar, and Francisco Lindor were some of the most universally beloved ballplayers and fan favorites on their teams prior to joining the Mets.

How does this team keep pulling this off?

#242 Closet Colors

30 August 2021 // San Diego, California

We need to do better than simply praising the resilience of the people who suffer from every natural disaster, from Haiti to Turkey to Louisiana and Mississippi. Yes, these people are resilient, but they’ve been told that a thousand times.

In my book, talking about resilience is maybe a bit better than the blatantly dehumanizing victim images, but both do more harm than help.

In both narratives, we’re washing our hands of our ability, and responsibility, to curb as much suffering as possible.

Yes, people are resilient. But their resilience shouldn’t be called upon again and again. Let’s talk about solutions. Let’s talk systemic failures and changes that need to happen. Let’s talk historical context behind these vulnerabilities.

#243 Studio Light Test

31 August 2021 // San Diego, California

I talk about climate for a living and it’s been such a relentless month when it comes to that. And I’ve been at a distance from those living through the hurricane in Louisiana and Mississippi, the wildfires in Turkey, the unbreathable air in the northern states, or the climate induced famine in Madagascar.

When the IPCC Report was released the other week, declaring a Code Red for humanity, it was sobering- but not all that surprising to those who’ve been working on climate solutions up close for a little while. Working in a solutions-oriented space can be frustrating sometimes, when it feels like people put up so much resistance to change, when it seems like it takes moving mountains to get people to simply enact readily available solutions.

But, climate anxiety and a belief and passion for climate solutions co-exist. In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen someone truly engaged in solutions who doesn’t feel both pretty strongly. But when you choose to actually engage the solutions rather than giving into fatalism, you get to be around those people. You get to weather days with hurricanes and scientific reports together, and you also get to be wowed and inspired by their brilliance and grit.

I suppose all this is a long winded way of saying the real treasure is the friends you make along the way, but… y’know.

We’re all living through this crisis, and there’s no way I’d rather face it than leaning into solutions alongside other passionate and engaged people.

Huitlacoche

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.

Rec: Good in quesadillas.

Big, Big Changes

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.

We're Expecting Twins!

That’s right… Lazaro, party of five.

Six if you’re dog friendly.

The Problem With National Parks

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.

Barbacoa

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.

El Zocalo

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?

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.