Two weeks ago, a dear friend passed away. In the first days after hearing of his death, Facebook was the hardest place to look, yet the one place I needed to look. A few hours after receiving the news, I wrote something and shared it as a Facebook note. I posted scanned photos from college—precious moments of […]

I wrote an outline of my parallel universes at the start of this year. The beginning: 1. My mother and father, both born in the Philippines, move to the United States and meet one another, or 2. My mother (or father) moves to the United States, but my father (or mother) does not, or 3. Both […]

The first time I watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, years ago, I didn’t like it. The film, about two people who go through a procedure to erase each other from their memories, was made well, and I appreciated the vision of Michel Gondry. I also loved Jim Carrey’s more dramatic, tortured side à la The Truman […]

Facebook makes us jealous. Competitive. Depressed. Facebook stirs up that fear of missing out. Facebook’s meaningless, frictionless sharing—think automatic Spotify updates—makes us care less. Facebook is destroying our friendships. Our connections. What it means to truly interact and be social. And so on. You’ve heard this all before. There are many of these articles floating […]

Irritated, I sighed and glanced at my mother. I had shared my latest post on social media, Egypt, and (my) pseudo-activism on Facebook. And no one had commented. I sifted through my Facebook feed. Ah, yes! Somebody just checked in at the dry cleaners. A handful of “likes” earned, naturally. And oh, look! Someone ate a ham […]