In this essay, author Teow Lim Goh reflects on magnificent western landscapes, through the lens of Hollywood and personal experience
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My coronavirus year has been a personal odyssey of frustration and empathy
This year has been challenging – to say the least. Recently, I started feeling absolute fatigue that turned into a weeks-long battle. Not just against a virus that was discovered in 2019 but the failure of a federal government. Uber has been my major source of funds in recent months. It gave me a different […]
Even a consummate gym rat needs some training help during the coronavirus
When the COVID-19 pandemic ended my daughter’s eighth-grade volleyball season, we found Trainer Hannibal by chance, on the video YouTube recommended after we viewed her coach’s suggested at-home exercises. Hannibal’s braids swung in a ponytail down his back, his pecs bulged through his t-shirt, and his calf muscles cast shadows. If there was something we’d […]
Despite the coronavirus, I still have a garden. Party on!
Garden Party 2020 It’s been a dark, dark year, this new year–the cold and the indifferent killer viruslurking and striking, instilling dread and silent gloom.But, at last, at last, in my yard, my salvation in quarantine,the festivities are in full swing–glorious eruptions of joy and color, a celebration! And yet, those crashers, pesky little interloperswho […]
During coronavirus we may be in instead of out, but at least we are in together
Within Walls Microscopic menace meandering on the windHanging in droplets of life’s sweet breathInvisible sentinels posted by the door Ready to pounce and possess Even the most benevolent visitors – Mail, meal, or grocery deliverersAre now suspectAll attempts to touch are forsaken – Seen as tantamount to suicidalWe wait out elevators until solo passage is possible And yet, […]
We’re all a little puzzled by coronavirus — sometimes literally
Working puzzles used to be something reserved for family beach vacations. On multigenerational trips to South Carolina or Oregon, there has always been a table in a corner with a puzzle in progress. Like two of my sisters in law, I can barely tear myself away while others, like my husband, can’t be bothered. I’m […]
I learned about neighborly love from my grandmother. We’ll need it more than ever now.
My mom used to call me a social butterfly—I would come home from my first day of school with a dozen new “best friends,” or likely I was getting pulled out of the classroom for talking too much (sorry to all my former teachers). I always thought my social nature made me unique, that I […]
I typically express my fears and woes through fiction. Especially during coronavirus.
Sanitize This! They had me boxed in in my own garage—nowhere to run. One at the door to the townhouse, two standing in the garage entrance, their silhouettes casting a menacing shadow. “Whaddaya want?” I tried for Pacino, but it came out more Pesci. One of the toughs stepped forward. “Oh, you know,” I think […]
What my friends’ surprise prom taught me about coronavirus — and life
I met William and Emma over a year ago when I started graduate school. Those two are the quintessential couple in our academic program: They conduct quality research in their respective laboratories, study hard for exams, and still make time for close friends and for each other. When the three of us go out for […]
Trapped in a laid-back paradise, my coronavirus anxiety still shone through
Seeing the world now in this pandemic crisis has made me realize that people have many different reactions to an event. Because I’m stuck on Hawaii, an island archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, I feel a great deal of stress from being far from home in Colorado. I’ve come to realize that in chaotic […]