The World of Green Onions
When I was in high school, having authentic Chinese food for every meal was something I took for granted. Now, as a 20-year-old child, I keep finding myself browsing food blogs trying to find a recipe that feels familiar, but knowing the names of many…
Aspiring Jazz Musician Discusses Influence
All photos by Allison Che Hey everyone, today I’m going to talk about my favorite instruments used in jazz and some of my favorite musicians who played them. It’s hard to rank favorites, since all these instruments come together to compliment one another and are…
Local Dinosaurs Need Love
Sorry everyone, this is not another recipe. I’ve been too busy to cook since I devoted most of my time to cleaning and organizing my house in preparation for my new housemates. They’ve only been here for two weeks, and I’ve already heard endless complaints…
Let’s Talk About Loneliness
Has anyone else been consumed by a deep, soul-crushing loneliness recently? If not, good for you, man. If you have, you are not alone in your aloneness. Isolation has defined 2020. Social distancing, working from home (or not having work at all), travel restrictions, and…
My All-Time Favorite Animals at UCSC, Ranked
I have never been homesick at college until now. I’m currently living back where I grew up, and I miss Santa Cruz a lot. This time last year, I was spending my days wandering around in the fog and redwoods of upper campus. If you…
When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemon Bars
When life gives you lemons… and eggs… and flour… bake lemon bars. Like many kids, I went through a baking phase, but ran into a few obstacles along the way. Growing up in a traditional Asian household meant very limited access to conventional American ingredients…
How to Choose a Guitar
My first guitar was a random acoustic my dad’s roommate left in his house after he moved out. I peeled an AAA sticker off the bottom, and had no idea what scale length or body type was, but I learned my first chords and songs…
Love Beyond Distance and Time: Checking in with My Grandparents
When I was in the third grade, my grandparents and I shared the master bedroom in my family’s apartment. I went to bed and woke up to the sound of my grandmother’s snores. These days, one of the things I think about the most is…
Homesick Man Talks about Congee
Welcome back everybody, my name is Ryan, and I’m here again to share another one of my favorite childhood recipes! This time, I’ll be walking you through how to make classic congee. Every weekend when I was younger, I would wake up to the sound…
The Ways We Can Still Say ‘I Love You’
As cities and states begin to reopen public places, I think about the ways we’ve learned to be there for each other in the past few months. And I worry about what will happen if we let ourselves forget how we supported each other even…