Which food, when you eat it, instantly transports you to childhood?

We call it taho.

It’s made of soya beans

and being sold early mornings and late afternoons,

by a man carrying two aluminum buckets on his shoulder.

Perhaps due to my Chinese genes,

I always negotiated for more vanilla,

or boba, or both—

and the manongs (big brothers)

would always yield to my wishes,

simply because

I was a good customer.

I would ask money from my dad,

and whatever amount he gives me,

I split it into two.

And because I have a generous father,

I always buy in large quantities for me and him.

My dad’s portion was less vanilla and regular boba.

And when I bring it to him,

I would say, “‘Tay (Dad), here’s your taho.”

I would add, “‘Tay you owe me, don’t forget.”

And he would always chuckle.

Who is your favorite historical figure?

Without his understanding of natural selection,

We won’t have the understanding of evolution of life on earth.

He was once judged for quitting the study of; medicine;

But he never give up on science, by trying to understand the evolution of all life on earth.

Fearlessly he wrote and published his book the Origin of Species,

Amid the threats of being an outcast by various religious institutions,

He relentlessly pursued his research and proved his theory.

The moral lesson he left us: Don’t judge a man on the basis of his weaknesses; rather applaud him for his strengths and passion.

Write about your first crush.

Chess was the game.

To bedazzle him

I tried to master

The four-move mate—

As if I was competing for fame.

He was tall, okay.

But he was so terrible at playing the game—

so shame!

So instead of noticing my admiration,

He had that boulder-hard belief

That I was a tomboy—lame!

My patience was thinning as the air;

As he suggested we switch to

Games of the General.

And he still had no luck

No trick, no strategy,

No win whatsoever. . .goodness!

I realized that can’t be happening,

I can’t have a crush on a guy

I kept beating over and over again.

My romantic thoughts vanished.

I crashed my crush.

Game over.

What countries do you want to visit?

Vancouver in particular.

I have a missing heart

And I got tip

That the thief lives that far.

One more tip:

Apparently,

the dimsum there is great—

I have to check that out myself.

Because right now,

The best for me is in Shanghai,

I have to remain loyal to US of A,

At least Canada is an ally. . .

You know what I mean,

Jolly bean?

What’s your favorite thing about yourself?

Inspired by the trees,

I am resilient as I can be.

Embattled by different challenges,

I remain steadfast in faith and hope.

And in victory,

I keep my feet grounded

In humility and fear of the Lord.

How do you want to retire?

I don’t want to be idle.

I don’t want to end my life answering puzzles.

I would keep on working until my body surrenders.

I would keep on working and won’t be bothered by numbers.

I won’t wait for death; nor,

I won’t let it catch me doing nothing.

I would give it a hard time chasing me.