Still the birds sing for you

It's 2020.10.01 on the lunar calendar today.

I'm already singing "Auld Lang Syne" as we near the holidays. In this phase of quarantine, I've been having new thoughts like "I need to upgrade my toilet bowl brush" and spending Sundays moving the fridge.

I'm working on a setup that'll allow me to adequately track vocals at home and once that's ready, I'll be recording—ridiculous sagas, stirring arrangements, hairy textures. I look forward to sharing them with you.

Sounds

During the 6-hour Bay Area to LA drive for school breaks, I had a practice of making dinosaur noises, which would inevitably lead to a tiff with my sister, who did not appreciate being trapped in the car with me shrieking and growling while she drove. Listening back to my old transcription of Coltrane on "My Favorite Things" using some of those sounds, I now understand how annoying that must have been and would like to apologize 😅 If you'll be missing insufferable family members this season, get your fill here.

Words

Sometimes I write short poems and forget about them. Here's one I found in a journal that made me smile a little. (Please read "adult" like the British: "a-dult") 

Overachieving adolescent to underperforming adultThe descent can look steep if your nose is too highObstructed view, limited perception adhering to a standard thatmeasures your worth in gold your weight in air-fried kaleStill the birds sing for youThey look down on everyoneBenevolent lords sparing the fortunate of drops of blessings in disguiseOr are they indiscriminate acquaintancescaring not that your car is new from a washor a decades-old sedan that refuses to die but stalls

Silence

When I first heard a land acknowledgment at an event in pre-pandemic times, I wondered if it was really necessary. But having had a chance to reflect on it attending the ArtPlace America virtual summit where each session started with naming the land we're on, an acknowledgement seems to be the least we can do. Look up the territory you reside in at native-land.ca.Here, from the land of the Tongva peoples, a space to be present, to acknowledge that we are on unceded territories of sovereign nations. 

Currently listening to Time To Say Goodbye 🎧 A historian and two journalists casually yet incisively dissecting current events through an Asian American lens, the podcast is a welcome reprieve from white-centric media and this episode had me hmm-ing and LOL-ing.