Ashi

FROM: Sojourner TO: Perfect Stranger DATE: MAY-23-2019 Dear Stranger, I went to the Rock! Yup, Alcatraz Island. I had such a wonderful time. The weather was a bit windy, a few lovely cloud and lack of haze giving an incredible panoramic view. Fields of purple Persian carpet were in full bloom, and little pollinators were all bees-knees. It was also the nesting season for many birds here: cormorant, seagulls, and black-crowned night herons. Mama and papa Canada geese and the

FROM: Sojourner TO: Perfect Stranger DATE: MAY-13-2019 Dear Stranger, I am wondering if you’ve ever visited Mission District in San Francisco. It was Cinco de Mayo celebration weekend, and where else should you be other than Mission with its vibrant Latino culture! I really enjoyed the Mexican folklorico dance performance while I was there. There were quite a few businesses boarded-up on Mission Boulevard and it really made me sad and admired the resilience of the local res

FROM: Sojourner TO: Perfect Stranger DATE: APR-30-2019 Dear Stranger, I hope life is treating you well, and your family…, if you’re close with them. Photos from my Angel Island trip just came back from the lab. It took a bit longer than usual, but they look quite good, or better than I expected, I should say. I don’t know if you’re still interested in seeing them, but it is never something you asked for. I am sorry if I am imposing on you. It’s a bit selfish of me. T

Life is a series of possibilities and impossibilities. When Sojourner decides to take a long break from his work, his parents, and his mundane life in general, he intends to combat the demon from his past. He travels alone to San Francisco, but plans to make an experiment. He writes a series of letters to a "Perfect Stranger" as he explores the City, and his inner self. Will this be the best year of his life..., or his last?

FROM: Sojourner TO: Perfect Stranger DATE: APR-05-2019 Dear Stranger, I just printed out the ticket to Angel Island ferry, and I am thrilled. The last time I went there was on a 4th of July weekend, when I was still in elementary school. Everything was so exciting. It was my first time on a ferry ship. My jaw floored, and my mind transfixed as my dad extended his finger, “That’s Pier 41, where we left. That’s Coit Tower, on top of Telegraph Hill. And that’s Transamerica Pyr

FROM: Sojourner TO: Perfect Stranger DATE: MAR-12-2019 Dear Stranger, I wonder what’s your reaction upon the receipt of this letter, is it a smile or a cringe? I hope it’s the prior. I am going to share something about myself again in this letter. Oh, before I forget, you really shouldn’t write me back. I will be changing lodging options from time to time (my newly adopted hometown is VERY expensive). I do appreciate it if you try to reply. Hopefully it’s not a hate letter, not s

Mom, I have to escape. Please don't call me. I won't pick up the phone. This time I mean it. Sincerely, Brandon PS. Don't let Dad bully you into thinking it's all your fault.

Take care and things will get better.

Osmosis is done via semi-permeable member, and particles will go from high density to low density, as in learning....

Wait wait wait wait.... Is that Matt? Erm.... Wow! When are you going to introduce me your bf? Is he someone we know? Just kidding. You don't have to share if you don't want to, but I mean I am very happy for you. I just didn't realize this thread is still alive. Cool.

I once saw a bumper sticker, "Animal abusers, go to hell." Yup, I don't like animal abusers myself, so amen to that. Hope the doggie went to dog heaven.

Gush, I know my mind could wander all over the places. I've seen some guys like that when I take BART to work, too. Like they can just take your attention away just by standing there, so I closed my eyes..., and they are gone. Anyways. Where was I? Right..., in gutter land again.

Nice poem. I don't think you're lost. You're clear minded than I am. *wonders what's that reply to Drew about breathing*

Grantchester fans (or rather James Norton fans. LOL) would know, "What the dickens!" says Mrs. Maguire. LOL

Healing takes time, and scabs sometimes stay (but some scabs are full of characters. ). My life is sheltered compared with yours, but I can relate very well, that of your relationship with your mom and Miss Silver Beehive. I think you write very well, as the content is very rich, but watch out for a few typos. Experience does give dimension to a story.

You do have people who love you. Lots of people.

I am not good with comforting words, so I hope a hug is okay. You're a beautiful young man, Tim.

It's been years since the last time I wrote a story (I've written poems in between, however). There was this story fragment that started off with the main character trying to jump off Golden Gate Bridge, but it was never finished. It was very emotionally taxing to say the least, and the amount of research done on suicide eventually lead me to give up. My life experience just wasn't there, and my own emotional state wasn't the best either to carry on such stake. The story idea has been recycled, and that's the starting point of The Sojourner of San Francisco (final title TBA). The story will have twelve chapters. Each single-page chapter is called a Letter, and each letter will be accompanied by a couple of photos (which adds another page to each letter) to document Sojourner's one-year stay in San Francisco in the year 2019. It's a mix of fiction (the main story) and non-fiction (history of San Francisco, and political subtext). Since I am also the photographer, the travelogues accompanied the photos are largely non-fiction as well. The original Letter 01 started out by the shore of Golden Gate Bridge (suggesting the narrator survived the suicide), but that was scraped. The entire idea the narrator is a suicide survivor is very discreet in the new version (as well as main character's homosexuality, which leads to his depressed mental state). For the sake of story arc, the first two letters the narrator (Sojourner) wrote to his Perfect Stranger seem to have positive outlook of a new relationship. It's a slow burn story, but it'll dive into heavy subjects very quickly. It's a very delicate puzzle I am currently working on actually: how to deliver a slow burn story in just twelve pages? If I put on heavy subject way too early and for way too long a duration, readers will burn out and desensitized. The climax would appear to be very flat. That's not a good story arc.... My current plan is to deliver comic relieves in between, but given the word economy this story requires, that's the most difficult task. I am not a very good comedy writer either. The story will have three layers: travelogue layer (Sojourner's physical and mental journey), family relationship layer, romantic relationship layer, plus political events sprinkled throughout which will intertwine with Sojourner's story. It's mostly a coming-of-age story, but with a twist: it's an (older...) adult coming-of-age story. The narrator is more or less my age in his forties. I've written coming-of-age stories before, but not with such age group. I personally think it's easier to write a story for an age group that I can truly say "been there, done that." However, the more advanced age means more complex mental processing that's going on in the main character's mind. People's interaction becomes more indirect, problems no longer have a clear answer, way too many things are going on at once. The very compressed story reflects that (three layers after all...). On top of it, the story might mention some events from twenty plus years back.... Not that I have any choice, as this COVID-19 long break may be coming to an end soon, so I have to finish the story before I return to work or I'd probably have to put the project on hold. It's not a story I can write on spare time or over the weekend, because it's just too emotionally taxing and might affect my work performance. As with my other stories, there might be cameo appearance of Ashi (yours truly) in one form or another, and/or a cross-over character from another story. Just to make things more interesting. 😄

Don't know if you have noticed, it seems he has a stalker in the background near beginning of the video.... LOL Fashion criminal, but heck.... Love is love.

The current story I am writing is a series of medium-thinly veiled billets-doux to a stranger (it'll reveal itself soon enough in a later letter). Incidentally, the main character rejected electronic communication....

I am going to use this word in the story I am writing. Yes, Ashi is writing....

I enjoy them. They remind me of love.

I am very well. But I shall contradict you like an Austen heroine: I am neither ageless nor perfect. I am seeing my age as well, perhaps in deeper denial than most of my age. LOL I am glad you're staying at home with a supportive hubby though. Yoga is good, but I won't be doing anything doggie style or other more advanced positions, as that might require proper supervision.... LOL. I should stop hanging out with young folks. I might feel young again. What a dangerous proposition!?!

Have you watched a movie so palpable, it feels like you were flipping through a dust-covered photo album? I Am Jonas is like that for me. This is going to be a heart-tormenting blog entry. As a proper COVID-19 warning, you might want to social distancing yourself from it if you are not emotionally fortified at the moment. I need to get it out though. Stuck in the 9th Hell is too much grinding (yes, I am going to sprinkle comic reliefs throughout the blog). This blog is not going anywhere, so feel free to come back later when you are feeling well. (this post may contain spoilers, occasionally more than just the movie plot) The movie is in French, but the portrayal of the gay experience in the 90's is universal: a good boy meets a bad boy, he could not explain why he was gravitate toward him. Okay, I should stop projecting. It's not like everyone here has ever met the bad boy who made up a lame excuse to skip class (or work...), and the good boy rolled with it, because he was too confused by an encounter of the same-sex kind. And it was also not like everyone here had ever been gay-bashed, but the only thing he could do was self-denial and stay silent (because "haters gonna hate" wasn't invented yet). Have you ever lied to your parents, perhaps the first time in a long time, too, so you could spend time with this exotic and dangerous boy (even a conscious thought of him was making you feeling sinful)? I think not.... (*Ashi blows the dust off the cover of memory album and flips to the next page*) It's a good time to interrupt and mention I had just watched Snails in the Rain right before it. Yes, it's a movie review within a movie review inside walking down the memory lane. Snails in the Rain is an Israeli movie about a man who was both gravitated and repulsed by a series of letters sent by what seemed to be a stalker. With each letter, you could see the off-screen author was progressively breaking down as his love toward protagonist became fervent. As the protagonist unfolded each letter, his anxiety accumulated slowly but steadily, and his emotional state spiraled downward, until he was feeling suffocated. Unlike the confessor, the protagonist was less honest about his own feeling and became homophobic, to the point he became destructive to his own girlfriend and himself. The story was intertwined with flashbacks of protagonist's time in the military, which accumulated to a one-time sexual encounter with a bisexual man (as the main character was also bisexual, as an audience you might wonder if this was a case of unreliable narrator a la Fight Club, a figment of imagination to legitimize his own action). Much like Snails in the Rain, I Am Jonas was told in stream of consciousness, a literary device more often used in 90's movies (think Memento, Pulp Fiction, Orlando, and Fight Club). Jonas was constantly being haunted by the memory of his childhood friend. As story unfolded, in parallels between the Jonas the Delinquent, and Jonas of the Bygone History, he became unrecognizable to people around him in present day, at least in form. I enjoyed the detail the production team put in to recreate the 90's, like the green and purple wide horizontal stripes t-shirt and knee-covering crop pants, or the fact Jonas was playing Tetris on Gameboy (I might have fashioned such attire and played such game in the classic handheld platform back in the days). However, it was the fact I have greatly changed myself over the years (at least appearance-wise) that struck a chord. It's not the first movie I've watched showing how gay guys changed their physical appearance or demeanor once we were going through that metamorphosis, as if being gay is somehow a separate life, a life must be well-hidden, so nobody from the different phases of of your lives would readily recognize you.... The movie troubled me further, opening a long-forgotten entry to the emotional attic.... In the movie, the bad boy Nathan is dead, but the one who introduced me to the deviant way of life is not, but he was very much dead in my memory. Perhaps it is for the good? Though I was not a stalker like Jonas became later in life (or like the Confessor in Snails), but I was glad I did it once on Facebook to see how he fairs in life, just to fulfill my curiosity. His profile photo shows he lost quite a few hair, and he was married to a woman in a pose that looks like he was born-again Christian.... Honestly most likely I would not go back to him, and the relationship he had with me was best described as he was just toying with me. Perhaps he was bi-curious like the protagonist in Snails. It wasn't a great memory to re-surface, but it was a very beautiful memory while it lasted and should remain buried (instead of rehashing it like some remakes that plagues movie theatres near you). Some viewers probably won't get this from the movie, but once I got older and had relatable experience, it awes me how much I allowed love to manipulate me. Love makes you invincible. Love makes you do stuff you'd never imagined doing like skipped work or use the f-word (though I didn't let him convert me into a smoker, I tried to make him quit instead). I was probably imagining what was like kissing a man (love made me do it!), and perhaps I would even allow him to conduct the sinful act of buggery. Love is a queer little thing. Unlike Jonas, he was forever unsuccessful with his relationship... wait! I am not very successful with my romantic relationship either.... But what I was trying to say was, while I never had any romantic relationship after, Jonas was cheating on his boyfriends a lot. As he finally disclosed to Nathan's mother nearly the end of the movie, he was looking for something that didn't exist.... As the fragment memory of him resurfaced, that quote was the final nail into my forehead.

You lost me there when you said Yoga for Seniors! You even solicited it.... OMG, young man! When I starting to get spam emails about dating services for seniors, I flipped, okay? (not that I don't need it...). But anyways, stay healthy (and that includes soothing feelings). Let me give you a hug within social distancing limit *air hugs*.