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Mainlanders
A story about the difference between being Chinese and Ethnic Chinese.
At the China Tang restaurant in Hong Kong’s central business district, Tong Hwee Peng and Stephanie Kuok sat at an elegantly set table inside one of the private dining rooms. Hwee Peng had flown in from Singapore yesterday afternoon. She was the first to arrive, and had ordered a bottle of Moët & Chandon Brut Rosé, their favourite. Stephie had landed on a flight from Kuala Lumpur a few hours ago. With her suitcase in tow, she showed up 15 minutes after Hwee Peng. She hugged her friend, proclaimed she was “starving,” and with her chopsticks, started picking away at the steamed peanuts in the condiment dish near the edge of the marble Lazy Susan.
Continue readingTake a Break from Productivity to Unleash Your Creativity
If you want to open the floodgate of creativity, loosen up, and be a little less industrious.
Continue readingNot All Women Are Meant to Be Moms
On peer pressure, late-life motherhood, and why I won’t be having a baby in my forties
Continue readingLessons From the Freelancing Life: Everything Expires Eventually
As a freelancer, change will be a constant in your life, so learn how to embrace it and grow.
Continue readingLiberty Exchange
Riding on a ferry in Hong Kong of the future, a once promiscuous expatriate has to decide between the old way of freedom with consequences, or the new way of obedience, peace and prosperity.
The ferry engine rumbled to life just as Lori Blanchard was about to start perusing a new client case file. She saw a middle-aged man walking from the bar up the aisle towards her. He had dark blonde hair, and looked like he might have been handsome when he was younger.
Continue readingGlobal Warming
An encounter between an out of work Greek and a Jordanian academic presents different perspectives on the European migrant crisis.
The drivers in Athens were on strike, so there were no taxis at Eleftherios Venizelos airport that afternoon. Tariq would have to take the Metro to Syntagma Square. Because he had never been to Athens before, he didn’t know which platform he ought to wait at for the train.
Continue readingAll Souls’ Day
On a drive to visit her grandfather’s grave, an eight-year-old takes her first step away from child-like, self-absorption, towards compassion.
Sophie remembered two things her mother had told her about the day she was born. While under anaesthesia for her C-section delivery, Sophie’s mother had had a dream.
Continue readingThe Art of Seduction
An aging lush teaches her wallflower friend a thing or two about how to pick up men.
Annette gulped two tequilas. She felt a little wobbly, but who wouldn’t in twenty dollar, six-inch platform pumps from Walmart. She beckoned the ponytailed bartender and ordered another two shots. When he came round with the drinks, she leaned forward, pushing her breasts together to see if her freckled cleavage might get her a reaction from the young man.
Continue reading“Without” Book Launch at the Singapore Writers Festival 2018
Poet and author Cyril Wong moderated my Singapore book launch for “Without: Stories of lack and longing” at the 2018 Singapore Writer’s Festival at The Arts House.
My mother, Lisa Koh, my husband Andrew Morollo, and my long-time friend Tania Wu read excerpts from my stories. I even surprised myself by pulling off half-decent Indian, New Zealand, and African accents while reading excerpts from the book’s eponymous story “Without”.
You can watch a video of me talking about “Without” – a story about the conundrum of female friendships, and a video of me reading a few snippets from the story.
So glad I got the chance to share this special event with the people I love, including my dad, grandma, sister, Godma, aunts, and good friends Tania and Yvonne.
Confounding Conditions 