Amy Do Nguyet Anh

The bike laid next to a "Bike Vancouver" bike rack quietly and stubbornly. Her skeleton was black and a small pink Kryptonite held her close to the rack. She was brutally minimalistic. Without a kickstand, she's leaning against the small steel structure, resting her entire weight, light but sturdy, on the support. I took a step closer and realize she's without brakes. I frowned, and the bike simply stared back defiantly. With a skinny Brooks saddle, placed rather high up compared to the handlebars, I knew the owner was a savvy hardcore biker. In between the spokes, a picture of a woman - perhaps an actress or singer from the 70s that I couldn't recognize - was nicely placed, but precariously. What is the rider trying to say about himself? He also is riding without lights or a rack. No stickers, no colours, no visible brand name. You'd think he's a humble and low-key personality, but the small touches of customization makes me feel he's trying to say s...

This Easter weekend I cancelled most of my social plans. Vivan's birthday party, Sally's baking date, Sailbot work party... Being stuck indoors made me realize how slow the world goes when I am not moving. This term I've worked really hard, but I've barely shown up. A lot of the work, Safewalk, job-hunting, textbook reading, data crunching,... happens outside regular hours. Keeping myself together is also a part-time job! I've cut out completely window shopping and real shopping from my schedule. I am saturated with stuff and completely clean of money. That definitely helps me stay home. I've also been hit by waves of exhaustion. The kind when my body just shuts down for a day or two, and I sleep for hours without feeling enough. I try to forget that I can only do so much, and keep pushing for a little more until I can't any further. So I thought my weekend was going to be shut in anti-social loneliness, but at 9 pm on Monday, me and Zak and his friend, B...