https://www.peterjlu.com Writing by Peter Lu, archived from peterjlu.com. en-us Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2013-04-30-ratios-and-momentum-in-messud https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2013-04-30-ratios-and-momentum-in-messud Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT I finished Claire Messud’s book, The Emperor’s Children , two days ago. I enjoyed it. The plot picks up in the second half, and s he has a talent for pacing -- building up characters to pivotal moments, then rendering the climax forcefully. But I had qualms with her style. One thing I caught myself thinking while I was reading was why I didn’t enjoy her long, meandering sentences as much as I enjoyed those of, say, Dave Eggers. I ended up taking AHWOSG from my bookshelf and comparing sentences b... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2013-04-07-kampala https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2013-04-07-kampala Sun, 07 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT A grab bag of memories from my time in the dirt-red city. Weekday nights , we played basketball until dusk, and played harder as the sun sank lower -- cut hard, crashed hard, ran harder -- not because of the competition, or because of pride, but because if we ever took a play off and just stood on the court, watching everybody else move, the mosquitoes would alight on us and start sucking. Playing hard meant no sucking. A graduation party for a white man, in the front yard of a black man’s house... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2012-12-02-beachcombers-in-the-bulwark https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2012-12-02-beachcombers-in-the-bulwark Sun, 02 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT It's been a while since I've written here -- a few months removed from a year, actually. There's a new blog in town now, one catered to the needs of my nascent novel. You can find it here: http://quotidie.tumblr.com/ Quotidie, of course, is Latin for "daily." I'll be writing short posts every day for the next ~550 days on my Tumblr. It won't be a blog that's best checked every day; more like a blog that's best checked every fifteen days, when you can jump over to it and absorb all the small tidb... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2012-12-02-the-best-new-yorker-articles-ever https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2012-12-02-the-best-new-yorker-articles-ever Sun, 02 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT Constantly updated. This is a true work in progress. Every New Yorker article is great -- given a certain threshold -- but these are the ones whose forms and content have actually inspired the stuff I've written. "Somebody Has to be in Control," Ian Parker. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/04/14/080414fa_fact_parker "You Belong With Me," Lizzie Widdicombe. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/10/10/111010fa_fact_widdicombe "The Aquarium," Aleksandar Hamon. http://www.newyorker.com/repo... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2012-12-01-my-favorite-new-york-times-articles-ever https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2012-12-01-my-favorite-new-york-times-articles-ever Sat, 01 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT Articles is not the right word. More like metaphysical life-altering essays. "The Fierce Imagination of Haruki Murakami," Sam Anderson. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/magazine/the-fierce-imagination-of-haruki-murakami.html "The Ambition of the Short Story," Steven Millhauser. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/books/review/Millhauser-t.html "Liking is for Cowards. Go for what Hurts," Jonathan Franzen. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/29/opinion/29franzen.html?pagewanted=all "How Old Can a 'Young... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2012-01-28-the-view-from-a-hill https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2012-01-28-the-view-from-a-hill Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT Inspiration: Eric Weinstein . The View From a Hill A mango turns soft The hill grows grass and I do not grow grass I drop guacamole on my heel A dress turns soft My firm hand on her back very Titanic hand Handshake awkward when I make to leave A mango is red unripe spots sour and bleed I once-sip soda courageous in excess sugar A dress is red fabric measured and quartered I see clearly and walk slowly above potholes of speeding motors A mango rises in the sky the sky swallows my sighs and carves... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2012-01-02-tasteless https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2012-01-02-tasteless Mon, 02 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT is my bowl. A spicy sauce floats on top, steam glassed noodles heap in sun rays. No credit. Cash. Pucker and ladle stems, beef, chili penance into these lips and teeth, salt each bud, feed me lemon wilted. protect 我, and bend, at the waist, of every day. Empty the grit, dark root dirt. sate, sake, spake, or would it be enough to just chew away, chew away. https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-11-07-week-20-and-week-21-marginalia-and-the-novel https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-11-07-week-20-and-week-21-marginalia-and-the-novel Mon, 07 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT Moments of clarity in life -- unblinking, elemental, mere momentary openings to pure consciousness -- often rise, unpremeditated, after the fallow yeast of experiences has had enough time to steep within itself. One such moment unfurled four days after I boarded a plane bound for Puerto Princesa, carrying a backpack containing Chekhov: Plays, four sets of clothes, my cell phone, a blue ballpoint pen, and my small Moleskine notebook. The situation: I had renounced my computer for a week, and, new... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-11-07-the-end-of-peter-writes https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-11-07-the-end-of-peter-writes Mon, 07 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT You guys, you guys. I have important – and somber news – to announce. Today, November 8 th , 2011, one hundred forty-six days after this blog opened for business, its doors will close (though they may be left open just a crack so the winter winds can occasionally rearrange the papers). It’s been a good run: 150+ posts, 5,000+ unique visitors, 25,000+ page views, and an unexpected symbiosis and synergy with my offline life. I started this blog to become a better writer. After 120,000 words – abou... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-11-06-epic-poem-1-the-sex-bear https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-11-06-epic-poem-1-the-sex-bear Sun, 06 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT One to read aloud to the kids. It rhymes, and I'm working on the iambic pentameter, via the verse form Onegin stanza. (Go Vikram Seth!) Dedicated to all those FOOT trips gearing up to go into the woods. The Sex Bear To introduce a story sweet and scary, Enter Yale. The ides of summer, 2007, Our hero is a wide-eyed freshman. His name is Forest. A high-school whiz: 10 APs, 10 clubs, His love life, though, had been a flub. So college – sans parents: new life, midnight food runs, frats, and mixers b... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-11-05-non-profits-in-the-philippines-overview-of-development-work https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-11-05-non-profits-in-the-philippines-overview-of-development-work Sat, 05 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT My goal for this blog post is to have it reach #1 for the Google search, "Non-profits in the Philippines." 1. Overview of Philippines 2. Sector Specific Overview of Development Work: Macroeconomy Housing Basic Social Services Gender Equality Good Governance Environmental Sustainability Conflict Prevention and Peace-Building 1. Overview Bird's eye view of the Philippines: There are an estimated 500,000 civil society groups in the Philippines, though only around 3000 - 5000 are development-oriente... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-25-the-curse-of-having-1-000-unique-visitors-in-one-day https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-25-the-curse-of-having-1-000-unique-visitors-in-one-day Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT On June 15th, 2011, I decided the time had come to share my personal musings with an audience; that my percolating thoughts and unanswered questions deserved to be approached with a transparent intensity; and that the creative willpower governing my private journal entries would be re-purposed for the denizens of the Interwebz. I was the architect of a master plan to Internet relevance. I reasoned that, with an hour every day, a pithy, astute post could be drawn from a broth of ideas, and people... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-25-spring-cleaning-at-the-lu-residence https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-25-spring-cleaning-at-the-lu-residence Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT Sometimes, when I feel like "a naked strand between two immensities," I ask myself, "What's worrying me right now?" After harvesting the oblong fruit of my anxieties, I lay them out in front of me and ask a second question: "How can I fix them?" Three days ago, around 3 p.m., I realized the benevolent chaos that is my "Blog Writing" folder on my desktop was creating undue stress. So I sluiced my resolve from the eddies of my mind, found a room with solid internet connection, and began the spring... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-25-lips-too-tight https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-25-lips-too-tight Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT Fiction. Nowhere near done. "E xpensive this, unfair that, people need to open their eyes," Hanna's father said. American eyes tended to stay narrow, slitted so only certain bandwidths of experience could be made out. It was a frequency of immediate, visceral pleasures, of profligate lifestyles; it was a crying shame. He yelled all this over the phone. Yelled: 30,000 CHILDREN WERE DYING EVERY DAY. "Just think about that," he said, afterwards, calmly. Hanna's father, Miles, was doing something ab... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-25-aboard-the-greyhound-express-accident-and-an-audi https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-25-aboard-the-greyhound-express-accident-and-an-audi Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT The inauspiciousness of the journey that lay ahead; e.g. almost being killed is not a good start “They tried to speed up and cut us off, like this was Fast and the Furious. Ain’t no Fast and Furious,” the black man next to me said, to whomever would listen. I nodded. The damage looked terrible – the underside of the Audi had come loose, the tire had popped, and the side mirror, obviously, lay in shards. We – the other passengers and I – were loosely milling around the Greyhound bus, surveying th... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-24-the-paisley-dirt-hole https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-24-the-paisley-dirt-hole Mon, 24 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT the paisley dirt hole A maroon rabbit, loose and lumpy, cotton, fluff, on my child's palm. Sits on top a totem toke, squeezes sky — sky scraper scribes circumscribe a yard sale, the blanket wrapped in the rabbit on the rack, ragged clothes smooth: hop: hop: hop: at home it circled our citrus, lime, pummelo, and burst, in a bitter rain of house pets. https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-24-week-19-bookstore-magic-and-quora-inflation https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-24-week-19-bookstore-magic-and-quora-inflation Mon, 24 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT This week, I spent 4 days in Dumaguete, Philippines, on a work-related assignment. The city straddles the seaside, and there are hardly any cars – most people get around via motorcycle or “trikes.” The city is not sleepy, but it is quaint. During the 4 days, I read Chekhov, discovered the most amazing cookies, bought bunches of ladyfinger bananas, and visited two rural communities. I’d tell you those stories – walking between the mud and through rice paddies and listening to mothers who had tumo... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-24-tidbits-from-yale https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-24-tidbits-from-yale Mon, 24 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT It’s a rainy night here at Yale University. On my left, Mike is reading a philosophy book. Tommy is lounging on a sofa, legs up, head buried in a Newsweek. Zach is on his bed, computer in his lap, having fallen asleep with a finger in his mouth. The other two suitemates, James and Wade, are in their rooms, already tucked in. A girl’s laughter floats inside through an open window, but it dissipates, soaked away by the pattering of the rain. Mozart’s piano concerto #23 is whispering its melody; af... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-23-sunshine-of-the-spotted-mind-notes-on-my-phone https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-23-sunshine-of-the-spotted-mind-notes-on-my-phone Sun, 23 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT Notes that I’ve entered into my phone, from May 25 th to September 1 st , in chronological order. it’s about how you say it what’s the best way to develop resilience oak hill bartending June can you carry umbrellas on planes? Tamar – the 3 incestuous sisters don’t feel like doing anything song are there redeeming factors to sadness 6/5 Do I actually—understand people? what drives the decisions you make in life? habit? what happens if you place a penny on a train track? Clifton Fadiman excel of p... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-23-how-to-reverse-myopia https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-23-how-to-reverse-myopia Sun, 23 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT Is there a way to reverse myopia? Traditional ophthalmology doesn’t seem to think so, but in China, there is lore of eye exercises that, if done daily, will slow or even reverse myopia over time. My parents have always encouraged me to do them – three times a day, 2 to 3 minutes every time, if not to improve my eyes then to simply give me a quick break from work. I’ve compiled the guide to doing Yan Bao Jian Cao here. This will help your eyes relax, reduce stress, and stimulate blood flow. You w... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-23-astounding-words-phrases-and-sentences https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-23-astounding-words-phrases-and-sentences Sun, 23 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT Sometimes, when I’m reading, I come across astounding words, phrases, and sentences. I always try to write them down. Much of my writing at this point in my career is imitation – I take a paragraph that particularly strikes me, deconstruct how the sentences flow, and try to copy its structure for my own topic. This is what I’ve accumulated over the last few months. (~10% are my own orphaned phrases.) (And Derrick – yes, I had a list like this during poetry class and threw them in like ingredient... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-22-yale-and-its-humanities https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-22-yale-and-its-humanities Sat, 22 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT The best kept secret at Yale is a simple little site called yale.edu/oir. It touts itself as a “Yale Book of Numbers”—and by golly, there are a lot of them. For example: Most popular undergraduate majors in 2008-09: Political Science (15%) History (12%) Economics (10%) Psychology (7%) Approximate percentages of Junior and Senior majors in the Divisions: 40% Arts & Humanities 40% Social Sciences 20% Biological & Physical Sciences Some more statistics: in 1975, 35% of Yalies went to law or busines... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-22-the-pilgrimage-from-the-dessert-desert https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-22-the-pilgrimage-from-the-dessert-desert Sat, 22 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT I've started to eat dessert again. On Sunday, I willingly bought a slice of apple pie from a bakery. The crust was made of globular, dusty crumbles, a thick sheath to protect the apple underneath. It tasted good. In Dumaguete, I also asked for a special order of 20 cookies (pictured above). I paid 13 pesos each for them. They are literally the most amazing cookies I have ever eaten, and big reason is because they are thick, yielding, and, most importantly, not too sweet. Repeat: unlike American ... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-22-my-hometown-in-tonggu-china https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-22-my-hometown-in-tonggu-china Sat, 22 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT My grandmother’s house, nestled in the mountains of Tonggu, China, feels like it belongs in the set of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Not as a location for the action or dialogue, but as the unseen village tucked in the bamboo mountains in the movie's backdrop. Tonggu is a four hour drive from the nearest large city, Nanchang. The last time I was there -- the summer after my senior year of high school -- I remember taking a long sleeper train from Shanghai, arriving at my aunt's apartment in Na... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-22-my-first-and-last-colonoscopy-running-journal https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-22-my-first-and-last-colonoscopy-running-journal Sat, 22 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT Every year, Father Time chases me with just a little more alacrity, emboldened by my slowing physical growth, deteriorating brain cells, and lackluster youthful spirit. He must have been pleased to know that, about two months ago, I almost -- repeat, almost -- got a colonoscopy. At 22 years old. Here's my running diary of what could have, should have, might have oh my god been. Pretext: At the beginning of January, I got my eyes checked up my a Yale ophthalmologist who told me I was at risk of h... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-22-anton-chekhov-in-the-philippines https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-22-anton-chekhov-in-the-philippines Sat, 22 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT In Dumaguete, Philippines, at 4 p.m. in the afternoon, the humidity is so overwhelming that the keys on my laptop stick. The “n” is barely functional; the spacebar is finicky; my touchpad has become schizophrenic. The black shirt I am wearing has been soaked and is already dried in sweat, and is oily with the residue of body odor. The skin on the inside of my left elbow is dry, an oval 2 inches wide maddeningly pink, the skin flaking off in white bits. In the last 10 minutes, 4 mosquito bites ha... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-20-gone-a-poem-inspired-by-anne-carson https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-20-gone-a-poem-inspired-by-anne-carson Thu, 20 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT Gone Red pen in a small book kept scribbling poems and I scribbled back. Stick figures on edges (wide-eyed) drew faces messy and fat. Lines were washed with ball point, and without an eraser I crossed out this and that to fit it in my back pocket. I showed them to whoever would look. Sometimes she read them. But mostly, she read the news. Lately on my sofa bed I hunch over my computer, that kind of night. Or at dawn I watch the sun come over the tall buildings and pout, a pasture of red pooling ... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-17-week-18-hangin-out-with-siri https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-17-week-18-hangin-out-with-siri Mon, 17 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT For the week of October 9 th , I spent 20 hours and 57 minutes being distracted; 12 hours and 57 minutes writing; 10 hours and 26 minutes on neutral activities, and 7 hours and 35 minutes on email. I read articles online for 3 hours, 35 minutes. It’s interesting, though, to break down where I spend my free time online. In order: Quora: 4 hours, 18 minutes, 441 pages. NY Times: 2 hours, 4 minutes, 50 pages. Facebook: 1 hour, 54 minutes, 118 pages. TechCrunch: 59 minutes, 9 seconds, 33 pages. Yaho... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-13-life-is-friends-by-jeanne-martinet-miss-mingle https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-13-life-is-friends-by-jeanne-martinet-miss-mingle Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT On the shelves at Abrams books, I discovered a lovely pastel-colored book slouching on one of the shelves outside my desk. During a free lunch, I slipped it out and started reading. "Life is Friends," by Jeanne Martinet (aka Miss Mingle), is a self-help book abashedly disguising itself as a treatise on lifestyle. It's not a horrible book, but its premise -- it's a guide on how to connect with others -- seems a bit pedantic and unnecessary. Would you readily admit that you didn't know how to talk... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-13-day-11-first-tournament-experience-8th-place https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-13-day-11-first-tournament-experience-8th-place Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT Today, I had my first tournament experience. I participated in a “super satellite”: think of it as the quarterfinals of a playoff bracket. It cost me 300 pesos to enter. The rewards are potentially huge. If I place in the top 5, I move to the semifinals. If I place in the top 3 of the semifinals, I move into the finals. The finals consist of two tournaments: a 1-million peso prize and an 8-million peso prize. All the books I’ve been reading have been specifically written with an eye towards tour... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-11-running-diary-michael-jordan-scores-64-points-against-young- https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-11-running-diary-michael-jordan-scores-64-points-against-young- Tue, 11 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT For this post you can thank Horace Grant’s hipstermatic, beyond-their-time glasses. On Friday, I am walking back from dinner and literally stop in my tracks, tripping up the orderly line of people moving behind me, because I see a basketball game on TV. I stare through the windows of Outback Steakhouse and am transfixed, taken by the grainy footage – it’s Michael Jordan. More importantly, it’s Jordan’s sidekick, Grant, wearing a clunky pair of white goggles. I can’t stop staring. I push my nose ... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-11-day-9-the-simple-system https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-11-day-9-the-simple-system Tue, 11 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT 9:30p.m., October 10 th , 2011 I’m not intimidated anymore. My complete wipeout lasttime taught me a valuable lesson: leave when I'm on tilt. That's it. After today, I'm basically exactly even after 4 nights playing. 2 all-in hands, one after day 1, and one after day 5, was the difference between being +5000 and -100, like I am now. I walked in tonight planning to be less tricky and more solid. No more bluffing; no more playing loose I was content to be totally predictable, try not to steal the ... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-10-week-17-online-time-is-inversely-proportional-to-offline-pur https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-10-week-17-online-time-is-inversely-proportional-to-offline-pur Mon, 10 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT *You’ll notice the word, “Links,” has been removed from the title. Sunday posts are turning into an area of reflection. There will still be links, but the meat will be journaling, specifically for your pleasure.* 60 hours and 33 minutes online this week. I spent 17 hours, 32 minutes on Microsoft Word and Blogger. 13 hours and 29 minutes reading poker books. 12 hours and 18 minutes wasting time -- the top 4 sites Quora (1), Facebook (2), New York Times (3), and WSJ (4). Spent 4 hours reading on t... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-07-day-5-the-unbearable-lightness-of-being https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-07-day-5-the-unbearable-lightness-of-being Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT Day 5, October 6 th 2011 Alan, who is my poker sensei at this point, sent me an email in all caps telling me I SHOULD EXPECT TO LOSE MONEY. Even the best players only win 60% of the time. If I’m getting 60% I’m still walking out the casino 36 days out of 90 having lost money. The key is to leave more money, and not less. I came into my third day seeing casino action feeling more wary than normal. I arrived at 9:20 p.m. I left at 11:30 p.m. without any money. Getting flushed out of 100 dollars in... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-06-day-3-re-centering https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-06-day-3-re-centering Thu, 06 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT Tuesday, October 4 th , 2011 12:47 a.m. (Day 2 was reading Phil Gordon's poker book.) My first thought when I sat down on the green-and-brown lacquered chair at the 25-50 table in Resorts World was, “What the hell am I doing here?” I’m not usually paying taxis to drive me to a casino on a Tuesday night. The impropriety of my appearance here – it dug at me a little. The next shock was seeing the 8 players around me. As the first hand came down, I had a mini-panic attack. “He raised 300. What does... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-05-90-day-poker-challenge-day-1-rotten-teeth-and-mental-beats https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-05-90-day-poker-challenge-day-1-rotten-teeth-and-mental-beats Wed, 05 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT Day 1: Sunday, 3pm – 1am, October 2nd, 2011 *Note: if you don’t know poker terminology, this post does it’s best to ease you into the scene. But subsequent posts will be more technical. Try to keep up? I don't know, Google it or something. When I walk into the casino at Resorts World, Manila's #1 hip-hoppiest tourist destination, I’m temporarily blinded by the bright lights, the faint waft of cigarette smoke, and the hundreds of people sitting on red plush chairs doing nothing but watching – an ... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-04-the-90-day-poker-challenge https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-04-the-90-day-poker-challenge Tue, 04 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT There comes a time in every 20-something male's life when he decides he is going to dedicate every waking hour of every day to the game of Texas Hold 'Em. For me, that time is now. A confluence of situational factors have precipitated this decision. The brightest, loudest, and richest casino in the Philippines is a $3, 15-minute taxi ride from where I currently live. I have enough disposable income to play consistently. I have enough time. Starting on October 2nd, 2011, I am going to either play... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-03-yale-s-argentinian-pears https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-03-yale-s-argentinian-pears Mon, 03 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT Part 1. At the end of freshman year of college I developed a craving for Argentinian pears. These had lumpy frames and were rock-hard, but I would ripen them in my common room, and they turned incredibly sweet and fleshy after two days. The pears were a delight to look at: red splotches in the shape of rorschach ink blots bloomed across the skin, melding with the green undertones. They reminded me of parrots. For two weeks in April, I ate at least two a day. During lunch and dinner, I’d stuff th... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-03-links-week-16-one-mcintosh-apple-puffing-hard https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-03-links-week-16-one-mcintosh-apple-puffing-hard Mon, 03 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT A pologies on not posting during the weekend – blogging in the Philippines, I’ve come to realize, will probably involve 3 posts on Monday that encompass Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, given my extreme lack of internet access (unless I walk to the office or pay) on the weekends. Enough! Let’s talk about what I read online this week. 25 hours, 38 minutes writing and reading (really 35 hours, given the time I spent reading Italo Calvino's book, If on a winter's night ). 23 hours and 6 minutes wasted... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-03-9-9-99-my-autobiography https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-10-03-9-9-99-my-autobiography Mon, 03 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT I wrote this in 5th grade, on September 9th, 1999. Unedited. I'm going to write my 2011 autobiography later this week. Autobiography speech Hi, my name is Peter Lu. Most people think that’s my real name, but it isn’t. My real name is Jia Long, which means good dragon. I was born on July 3, 1989, in a small town called Shiyan city, China. The morning before I was born, my mom had to go to the hospital, but my dad had our car, so my mom had to stop a nearby car and ask them to take us to the hospi... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-30-off-campus-online https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-30-off-campus-online Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT Spent the last day writing this column for the Yale Daily News. http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2011/sep/30/lu-off-campus-online/ Off Campus, Online “Yo dawg, how’s it going?” These days, that’s how it always begins. After a few seconds of “John is typing …” he’ll respond, “nm homie, not much.” Often, we’ll skip the platitudes. “dude those Asian guys playing piano and guitar is [sic] so good. [insert YouTube link]” “wow manila sounds crazy.” “yo look at facebook. the girl who just posted on my... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-29-leaving-yale-part-3-i-must-pee https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-29-leaving-yale-part-3-i-must-pee Thu, 29 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT Part 1: Lychees and a Sock The weather is perfect, unbelievable. The summer solstice has bent away, and the days are supposed to be shrinking, but it is bright, standing on this square of concrete sidewalk. The trees are green. Green-green, dead-serious green, veins of green, supersaturated chlorophyll watermarks against a light, intimate sky. A breeze is pushing me over gently, and the sun is whisking away lonely wisps of humidity. I am on the outskirts of campus -- on Howe street -- with a gui... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-29-knit-and-tonic https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-29-knit-and-tonic Thu, 29 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT A man much wiser than me said that poetry's purpose is to deepen your sense of self. This is updated from July 7th. It's much, much better. Inspiration: Carol Moldaw. Knit and Tonic Less hand, more fingers. Napkins sewed to shreds. Precision without neatness. A task put to bed— not old garments, but fine wool fibers, lighter than our cat’s hind paws, twined to make socks for our friends. Even a pathy deserves warmth. Afternoon tea, and a sewing machine bites off cloth, patterns. Cut, snip, brush... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-28-harvard-business-school-and-kennedy-science-club-the-joys-of https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-28-harvard-business-school-and-kennedy-science-club-the-joys-of Wed, 28 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT In the middle of 10th grade, my best friend moved away to India. More importantly, he took his basketball with him. Without it, the loose group of friends I associated with on the blacktops – we all dispersed, like ants suddenly without a home. Within a week, it seemed, everyone had made new friends, and had found new activities. Newly peripatetic, I circumnavigated Monta Vista's hallways, bouncing from academic court to the fringes of the rally court, from the lunch line to the library. The end... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-25-links-week-15-77-hours-and-a-top-ten-list https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-25-links-week-15-77-hours-and-a-top-ten-list Sun, 25 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT Did you know that I repeated "Links, Week 5" twice? We're skipping Week 14 and going straight into Week 15. This week, my Manila internet access (primarily due to the SmartBro wifi USB stick) amounted to a mere 77 hours and 45 minutes. I wasted more time (28 hours, 52 minutes) than I used it productively (26 hours, 16 minutes). I also used Gmail for 10 hours, 53 minutes. The rest of the time was pretty neutral, thank goodness. This week? Let's get down to 66 hours! Editorial: I played Angry Bird... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-24-red-light-district-conversations-old-fat-white-men-in-manila https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-24-red-light-district-conversations-old-fat-white-men-in-manila Sat, 24 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT Two conversations with old, fat men tonight in Manila's red light district, two different takes on the women here. Plus bonus 30-second jaunt through a seedy, seedy bar. Read all about it! (Note: this post is going to be wrapped into my long-read about Manila's red-light district , so it's going to disappear, probably in a week.) Conversation un: Norm Wilson, an Australian with his own company selling fruits and vegetables, just got married. He’s 60 years old. His bride, Diane, is 25. I met them... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-22-yes-and-enablers-and-the-people-who-love-them https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-22-yes-and-enablers-and-the-people-who-love-them Thu, 22 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT As a freshman in college, I was easily pursuaded. Free food! Bright t-shirts! People! Nowhere did this manifest itself more -- in an activity that I had absolutely no interest pursuing -- than the improv groups on campus. I was intrigued, of course, by their gregarious attitudes, and their implicit promise that they could make anybody funny. And it was free! Free shows in WLH, free workshops on Cross Campus, myriad opportunities to laugh and learn how to make other people laugh. I was intrigued ... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-21-peter-lu-in-lists https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-21-peter-lu-in-lists Wed, 21 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT On my computer, I have 14 sticky notes accumulating all my wayward thoughts. I’ve organized them into triplets. Here’s what I'm thinking about, in lists of three: What I am currently listening to. How to Love, Lil’Wayne Them There Eyes, Ella Fitzgerald We’ve Got The Blues, Leo Watson & The Spirits of Rhythm What I will never have a chance to do. Create a stop motion of Commons. Give Dan Turza The Four Hour Body . A YaleLunch, with Ed. Three exigent thoughts. If we all lived in a Manhattan-densit... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-19-links-week-13-88-hours-online-for-one-essay https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-19-links-week-13-88-hours-online-for-one-essay Mon, 19 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT I could make an excuse for my behavior. I could even tell you lies. But I'm just going to say it: last week, I spent 88 hours and one minute online. That. Is. Insane. That is 52.3% of my entire week staring at a dimly lit monitor. With the assumption of 7 hours of sleep a night (29%), it means I spent just 18.5% of my week offline. 18.5%. 18.5%!!!! This week I wrote 33 hours, 25 minutes; maintained a state of Extreme Distraction for 19 hours, 24 minutes (damn you Quora, 4 h, 51m, and Facebook, 2... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-18-the-red-light-district-in-manila https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-18-the-red-light-district-in-manila Sun, 18 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT Part 1 & 2 & part of 3. Or check out my actual conversations under the ochre lights. Part 1: Red-light wandering I arrived in Manila on a Friday at the beginning of September, in the middle of the rainy season, carrying just two small suitcases. When I checked into my hotel -- Durban Inn, which TripAdvisor gives 4 stars and calls the 12th best hotel (of 51) in Manila -- I discovered that it hadn't been cleaned yet. I also found out that I was exactly half a block away from Manila's most modern r... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-16-life-rhapsodies-what-i-learned-when-i-learned-to-play-guitar https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-16-life-rhapsodies-what-i-learned-when-i-learned-to-play-guitar Fri, 16 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT Part 1. At the end of my journey in college, I decided to learn how to play the guitar. It wasn't a last-ditch attempt to woo a girl, but it was a girl who taught me: or, put another way, it was only a girl that could have persuaded me that I needed to be taught. The timing was purely coincidental. I was accompanying my suitemate, Zach, to Bass Library, because I had nothing better planned – my last college final, History of Life, was four days ago – and I was secretly hoping that a walk through... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-16-400-pound-beauty-part-1-2 https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-16-400-pound-beauty-part-1-2 Fri, 16 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT Back in the yesteryears of fiction (1800s), stories were printed in installments in newspapers and magazines. The serial nature of the short story made readers keep coming back, day after day. Section 1 (June 22nd) & 2. 400-pound beauty J ust like the old days, I climbed through the wooden door to the cellar, walked up the stairs, and sat, feet-first, facing her door. “Ben, I don’t do this anymore,” Kim said, seeing me. She was wearing a silver nose ring. Had a new tattoo of a flaming sun below ... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-15-how-do-you-overcome-the-fear-of-failure https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-15-how-do-you-overcome-the-fear-of-failure Thu, 15 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT I think a major reason I chose to study Psychology at Yale was because, at 18 years old, I wanted to answer this question for myself. I'm 22 now, with a degree and a head full of facts, and this summer, I worked as a street fundraiser in New York City in order to develop a willingness to fail -- and I've come to one central conclusion: developing a resistance to rejection is impossible. Ever heard of hedonic adaptation? That we will inevitably return to a baseline happiness level, regardless of ... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-13-100th-post-mlk-pushups-and-a-push-for-breadth-and-height https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-13-100th-post-mlk-pushups-and-a-push-for-breadth-and-height Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT Milestones, and the promises of social recognition inherent in their celebration, have been the fuel of my livelihood for the past 22 years. The possession is not conscious; I am a naturally competitive person, and, aided by my parents' exhortations to settle for nothing but the best, or perhaps an inability to believe that my life, as it stands, is the best of all possible worlds – à la Candide – I all too readily will yoke myself to short-lived, fiery quests. This post is my 100 th . While tha... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-12-tribute-to-philip-levine-eggs-and-bread https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-12-tribute-to-philip-levine-eggs-and-bread Mon, 12 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT The next Poet Laureate for the United States is a man named Philip Levine . I'll be completely honest and tell you that I have stopped, for all intensive purposes, reading the news. I've subscribed to Tim Ferris' ideology, which is to instead ask those around me, "Hey, what's going on in the world today?" I've done fine so far -- but nobody told has talked to me about poetry. Thankfully, I took two hard copies of the New Yorker with me to Manila; one of them is the August 29th, 2011 issue, where... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-12-my-first-friday-night-in-manila https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-12-my-first-friday-night-in-manila Mon, 12 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT Friday, September 9 th , 2011 4:25 a.m. Manila, Friday night. Nothing egregious occurred – this was not The Hangover, Part 2 – the night's excerpts, rolled with cigarettes, cocaine, strangers, and a sweaty club, and a grander, more becoming narrative emerges. Namely, that Manila is wack. I understand I have two types of readers, so there are two synopses. The first one is very short. The second one is very long. Both, I think, are case studies for Manila. The short: Meet 2 guys in the red-light ... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-12-links-week-12-full-week-in-manila https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-12-links-week-12-full-week-in-manila Mon, 12 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT I apologize for the first rough patch in this blog; the multiple day run where Peter (Lu didn't) Write(s). I did write offline though, so you'll see 4 posts in quick succession in the coming hours. To my defense, my new apartment doesn't have internet. Here's what happened during those 47 hours, starting from Friday night: Out : 13 hours Slept : 21 hours Wrote and read : 8 hours Cooked 15 eggs : 2 hours Played snake on my cell phone : 1 hour Time I can't reconcile : 2 hours Without internet in m... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-12-9-11-reflection-peter-lu https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-12-9-11-reflection-peter-lu Mon, 12 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT One of the (many) reasons why I didn't write a blog post last Friday, September 9th, was because I was writing a 9/11 reflection for the Yale Daily News. It's probably my last piece for the paper, and, having just read it again, I'm content that it was about an event at once trivial (to me) and monumental (to the world). I'll copy it here, and place the link at the bottom of the page. -- During sleety winters at Yale, I liked to imagine that back in California, the skies were perpetually blue. T... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-07-alcohol-and-peter-the-4-year-relationship https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-07-alcohol-and-peter-the-4-year-relationship Wed, 07 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT Back on June 16th, I wrote that I was working on a long-read about my relationship with alcohol. Nearly 3 months later, it's finished. Here's the story about why I never drink. -- In high school, I never drank. There were, obviously, logistical obstacles: my mother was perpetually home, and my dad set a strict 11 p.m. curfew (Once I came home at 11:07 p.m., and ended up spending the night sleeping in my car.) But the real reason was that I never really wanted to drink. I was content sober. My fa... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-07-6-years-in-journal-entries-my-life-in-high-school-and-colleg https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-07-6-years-in-journal-entries-my-life-in-high-school-and-colleg Wed, 07 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT Get ready for an epic post. (5,000+ words.) I started writing in a personal journal at the end of 8 th grade. The catalyst was a week-long trip to Yosemite, where, upon returning home, I read through my school-assigned journal and realized it would preserve my memories forever. From then, I started writing in 80-page spiral bound notebooks for an hour before bed. Junior year of high school, July 28 th , 2005, I transitioned to Microsoft Word. I could write 5x as much, but it was a curse: unfilte... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-05-the-sap-dries-quickly-enough https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-05-the-sap-dries-quickly-enough Mon, 05 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT This is a poem. Does it make sense? The sap dries quickly enough You know, I did my best to get friend-zoned. I invited conversations about boy troubles, brought her unhealthy snacks when she was stressed, alluded to one-night stands. Once, in a fit of optimistic frustration, I told her she wasn’t my type. She just laughed. For weeks, I ate only almonds until I realized her face was an almond, tan and heart-shaped. The bitterness held like lemon juice in a cup. "Me and my mother used to love eac... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-04-the-2007-2011-yale-class-rankings https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-04-the-2007-2011-yale-class-rankings Sun, 04 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT I might be in the Philippines, but that doesn't mean I can't feel in a Yale mood. Let's have a little fun and rank the 36 classes I took, from worst to first. There are multiple biases in this list. Seminars have a natural advantage over lectures; because I cared more about academics junior and senior year, those classes are ranked higher. Rankings are not a reflection on a professor's personality, personal life, or research. And all opinions are inevitably biased by my own personal interests, a... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-04-maroon-city https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-04-maroon-city Sun, 04 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT Maroon City We haven't seen the typhoons, not once, but in August and September when the clouds attack the asphalt walkways lining the gutters of this city, you could be walking with a cup of coffee through an open, shell-domed church abutting the restaurants where pesos and dollars are thrown into gold-crusted collection plates, and feel nothing but light shadows and the push of the eastern wind. You probably think I'm crazy for refusing man's dominion over this archipelago, but the clouds here... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-04-links-week-11-in-transit https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-04-links-week-11-in-transit Sun, 04 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT Writing: 20 hours, 40 minutes Distracted: 8 hours, 25 minutes Gmail: 8 hours, 8 minutes Neutral: 3 hours, 46 minutes This week, I returned from Los Angeles and flew to Manila. I spent 18 hours on planes, and 6 hours in airport terminals. I downloaded Gmail offline, and soon, I will never have to worry about old email again. This week should be extremely productive. By the way, do you like the picture? It was going to be a link, but I decided to give it some prime real estate. I'm not sure how I ... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-03-intermission-first-impressions-from-the-philippines https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-09-03-intermission-first-impressions-from-the-philippines Sat, 03 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMT I think I owe 3 days worth of entries. They'll be up soon. But it's not my fault! I'm in Manila right now. As in, right now, it's 8:33 p.m. There are palm trees lining the sidewalk. The red light district is a block away from my hotel. I had to buy a universal plug converter to charge my laptop. I am currently scratching 7 mosquito bites. The cell phone I just bought -- "dumb" -- was 2150 pesos (conversion rate: 42 to 1 -- do the math). The best parts of the red-eye flight were the Taiwanese fli... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-30-public-transportation-in-los-angeles https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-30-public-transportation-in-los-angeles Tue, 30 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT At 10 p.m. at the Coffee Bean in Orange, California (20 minutes away from Disneyland), there is exactly one public transportation option if you want to return to downtown Los Angeles: take the 50 Bus 21 stops to Katella-Clementine, right outside the Disneyland entrance; wait 3 hours and 10 minutes for the 460 Bus; ride the 460 bus 60 stops; then take the 28 Bus 51 stops. 5 hours and 46 minutes later, you'll have arrived. Tonight, I attempted this ambitious (stupid) journey. I had a literary-fore... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-30-my-class-schedule-for-this-semester https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-30-my-class-schedule-for-this-semester Tue, 30 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT ECON 456 01 (11604) Private Equity Investing Michael Schmertzler M 1.30-3.20 ENGL 463 01(12033) WritingFantasy&ScienceFiction John Crowley M 1.30-3.20 F&ES 732 01 (11296) Tropical Forest Ecology Florencia Montagnini MW 1.00-2.20 GML MGT 887 01 (10926) Negotiations:Beyond Win-Win Daylian Cain M 1.00-4.00 PR135 ART 230 01 (12334) Introductory Painting Robert Reed MWF 10.30-12.20 Oh, I forgot: I graduated. Shoot. We can dream, though, can't we? https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-29-my-summer-at-a-publishing-company https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-29-my-summer-at-a-publishing-company Mon, 29 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT Parts 1 and 2. Part 3 to come. When I arrived at Abrams publishing company, I was led not to my desk, but to a 5-foot tall roll of bubble wrap. “Take this 6-foot Wimpy Kid snow globe and make it snug,” Jason, my newly-introduced manager, said. “We’re shipping it off tomorrow.” "No problem," I replied. I can do manual labor. I’m flexible. And bubble wrap – that sounds fun! I proceeded to suffocate Greg Heffley (the Wimpy Kid) in 5-foot by 20-foot rectangles of bubble wrap. Packaging peanuts spill... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-28-links-week-10-regression-to-the-mean https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-28-links-week-10-regression-to-the-mean Sun, 28 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT Writing: 15 hours, 6 minutes Wasted Time: 13 hours, 49 minutes Email: 4 hours, 17 minutes Neutral: 3 hours Not much to say here. My goal is to answer all my email by the middle of next week. Email, halfway done. Tech: Network of 20s-something bloggers ; an intern's guide to the Bay Area ; sharing big files is easy now ; the 7 patents that define Steve Jobs; the life cycle of a start-up ; A/B testing for websites; the GrubWithUs founder story . Yale: Dave Swensen's legacy is not at all in doubt ;... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-27-trio-poetry-in-florida https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-27-trio-poetry-in-florida Sat, 27 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT Written during spring break under fluffy comforters in Port St. Joe, Florida, and revised for the modern age. They're jaunty, fun! 1. Coffee Uppercut A man and a woman sit in a coffee shop. "Beignets, three, please," says the man, "Three, please." "Easy on the powdered sugar," says the woman. "No, just the usual, please," says the man. "Why not go easy on the sugar?" says the woman. "Because," says the man, already licking his fingers, "beignets taste better warm." 2. Double Up Clover! clever gr... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-27-kafka-s-metamorphosis https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-27-kafka-s-metamorphosis Sat, 27 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT Where is the border between memory and dream? There is an island near Hawaii where sharp black rocks resist the pounding surf and sea salt softens the green algae on smooth underwater rocks. I am standing, and I am piercing the ocean’s surface. The water is driving at my ankles, trying to pull me under. I am five years old. I drop to my knees to mold a sand castle. My hands can’t move fast enough: the water breaches the moat, razing my mounds as I raise them, the goop sliding back into its recen... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-25-the-happiness-hypothesis https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-25-the-happiness-hypothesis Thu, 25 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT Tonight, I watched the San Francisco Giants beat the San Diego Padres 2-1. Tim Lincecum consistently hit 94 mph and pitched 8 innings for the win. The one run he gave up was because of poor judgment by Carlos Beltran in right field. I went to the game with Joe Lee, Raju Hansra, and Krishna V. It was an All-star crew. Joe and I were spiritually attached at the hip last October. The Giants’ romp to the World Series was punctuated with back and forth texts – “omg omg omg yesssssssssssssssssssssssss... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-24-pledge-of-allegiance-the-story-of-my-first-crush https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-24-pledge-of-allegiance-the-story-of-my-first-crush Wed, 24 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT As a 5 th grader at Faria A+ Elementary, I was smitten by a girl in my homeroom — Jocelyn K., a thin, black-haired, ponytail-wearing girl who, in the small world I occupied between school and my parents’ 2-bedroom apartment, was the prettiest person I had ever seen in the big, wide world. She sat in the 3 rd row, close to the front door, and I sat two rows behind her. I never talked to her. I don’t think I so much as made eye contact, but I Liked her, and she was, as I was acutely aware of, the ... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-22-1-minute-read-the-upside-of-irrationality-by-dan-ariely https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-22-1-minute-read-the-upside-of-irrationality-by-dan-ariely Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT I love psychology, but I hate pop psychology books. Distilled for the masses (the masses being the soft American middle: white, 45-year-old housewife somewhere in the Midwest), they’re 10 times longer than they need to be. Everything is explained: Not just technical terms and study parameters, but every social phenomena. Like basketball. Basketball. Blink, The Paradox of Choice, Nudge, Predictably Irrational , and Stumbling on Happiness (thanks, Ant) all fall victim to this word vomit, though Th... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-21-links-week-9-generating-investment https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-21-links-week-9-generating-investment Sun, 21 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT Writing: 26 hours, 41 minutes Wasted time: 8 hours, 24 minutes Gmail: 2 hours, 59 minutes Neutral: 3 hours, 3 minutes My best ratio yet, 3:1 writing versus wasting time. I've taken to editing my old posts, even if nobody will ever read them. And I still have some long-form pieces in the works (alcohol, publishing) that will hopefully come out next week. I'm also beginning to wonder how this blog will work in the Philippines, when I'll be without internet. Links: Sports: A teary Rodman’s Hall of ... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-21-4th-of-july-investment-banking-style https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-21-4th-of-july-investment-banking-style Sun, 21 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT James Z., a recent graduate of Yale University, lives on the 42 nd floor of a Manhattan high-rise 3 blocks and 2 avenues away from Times Square, with his freshman year college roommate, Sanjeev, and his fraternity brother, Josh. Their apartment, which costs $5,100 a month to rent, has on its walls three framed prints, in a stylized, demure, tan-and-brown color scheme, of investment bankers lounging on art-deco furniture looking towards distant skyscrapers. On the walls of James’ apartment, the p... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-18-i-m-leaving-you-new-york-but-it-s-not-you-it-s-me https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-18-i-m-leaving-you-new-york-but-it-s-not-you-it-s-me Thu, 18 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT New York, it's been thrilling, spicy, loose, comfortable, tasty, sweaty, scary, lugubrious, and pleasantly amusing. But I don't think this is going to work out. You're great, seriously, but, well...I've found a new lover. And I'm leaving, in fact, in 7 hours. So— Yes, hanging out was fun. Yes, you did satisfy my carnal and intellectual needs. Listen, don't second-guess yourself. Don't underestimate what we had. You were great. I liked the MoMA clock you got me for my birthday, and the New Yorker... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-18-almost-but-not-quite https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-18-almost-but-not-quite Thu, 18 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT I’m lying on Venice beach with my girlfriend, honestly spending the best quality time ever with her, tanning side-by-side on identical indigo towels. In the last three hours, we’ve played an ecstatic game of Frisbee, splashed salt water into each other’s eyes, collected unbroken shells, left southpaw footprints up and down the pier, held hands, kissed, even fondled each other when we thought nobody else was looking. But then we broke up. She caught me glancing at another girl, my eyes stuck on h... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-17-stickers-of-the-bayou https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-17-stickers-of-the-bayou Wed, 17 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT When he boxed his red jewel —an apple face scraping the cement— broken skin lips like light pennies he surveyed cities lapsed. Dig out the tides, the jimmyweed cadences: crocodile, scar, dried calamari. https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-17-inclination-a-little-plant-story https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-17-inclination-a-little-plant-story Wed, 17 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT Thank you, Professor Zarin. Inclination Ginger had a vague notion that the concrete underneath her feet was uneven. That she was currently standing on a crack in the sidewalk, and that growing out of this crack were weeds: wild-eyed dandelions, whisker-haired buttercups, and spiky cocklebur. But when she looked, there was a sprout. Four inches tall, it had crested upwards like a skinny, splotched teenager, yoking the weight of its numerous lily-pad leaves. The tip of the sprout drooped. The stem... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-17-healing-bells https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-17-healing-bells Wed, 17 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT Healing Bells Every man misses opportunities. Let’s begin by walking in tall grass along a farm, kicking dirty rocks where car wheels cross. He trots past a mound of millipedes, soft legs bloodied with sun. The wheat chaff is sundry with blossom, but the pollen, it floats fallow. Every man asks for mistakes. In the dry tool-shed, his hands feel the wood of early winter. His fingers touch rust, machine tears dried and flaked. Copper, nickel, cobalt: here is his harvest of the core. Every man need... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-15-cleaning-yale-my-new-haven-janitor-sherri-b https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-15-cleaning-yale-my-new-haven-janitor-sherri-b Mon, 15 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT “I would definitely consider leaving here. In a heartbeat.” Sherri B.’s hips are hanging over the sides of her chair. When she shifts her body, the fat sways, a consequence of her middle-age operations. She doesn't seem to notice. There is no hiding certain signs of her rough upbringing. Freckles and oblong black bumps dot the contours of her cheek. Her chin falls into folds of skin; they move rhythmically as she speaks. Her face, distinctive and wholesome from afar, is in reality a haphazard am... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-14-moving-day https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-14-moving-day Sun, 14 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT 1. I spotted a silver die, half-buried in the trash, glistening for me, while I waited to cross the intersection. I wanted to point this out, ask someone if the tenants on these blocks regularly threw out brand-new die — but nobody seemed to want to talk to me. A woman plugged into pink headphones stared blankly ahead. A businessman in a charcoal suit thumbed away at an email. A very young man sneered. I pinched out the die between a grocery bag and a slightly soiled napkin, and then returned fo... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-14-links-week-8-back-home https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-14-links-week-8-back-home Sun, 14 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT My last week in New York, I spent 24 hours online. My first week back home, I've spent 43 hours. Blogging: 25 hours, 20 minutes. Time Suck: 11 hours, 51 minutes Neutral Time: 3 hours 21 minutes Email: 1 hour, 43 minutes Literary: 1 hour, 19 minutes The 11 hours of wasted time looks pretty bad, but let's look at it in a different light: I've maintained a 2:1 ratio of writing time versus wasted time. That's something to be proud of. And I hit my targets: 1 fiction post, 1 poem, and 5 essays. Links... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-12-the-real-life-afterlife-sleep-no-more https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-12-the-real-life-afterlife-sleep-no-more Fri, 12 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT "Sleep No More" — three hours' worth of orgies, murders, love-making, and ghosts, often astutely choreographed to dance and performed across three abandoned warehouses on West 27th Street in Manhattan — demands, or, rather, pleas to be seen. It's a spine-chilling rendition of Macbeth, brimming with emotion, that twists the conceit of Shakespeare until it is barely recognizable, and instead replaces it with an intricately built world of horror and superhuman, phantasmagorical actors that frequent... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-12-afterlife-spoiler-alert-me-convincing-you-to-see-sleep-no-mo https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-12-afterlife-spoiler-alert-me-convincing-you-to-see-sleep-no-mo Fri, 12 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT I'm the last person that appreciates good theater. Case in point: at Yale, I fell asleep, at least for a little bit, during every play I attended, whether it was Angels in the Outfield, Arcadia, The Importance of Being Earnest, that play in JE Jeff Gordon was in April 2009 I can't remember, or...wait, that's it. (At least I didn't fall asleep in The Shadowbox. But that's because I was an assistant stage manager.) On August 6th, I saw Sleep No More. And, true to the name of the play, I didn't fal... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-11-entry https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-11-entry Thu, 11 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT Suppose you fought and felt claws and scratched an itch that leaked blood. He waved a heart-shaped flag at half-mast. You were quiet then. More cozy nights, a hot water bottle on your toes. So what then, when his thin fingers on your face woke you up? Draft 1: August 6th, 2011. Cold fingers wash two faces carved in coin. I traced chalk drawings rain buckets collecting stems. (I wrote this because it rained today. In the summer. Ugh, New York. This poem took me longer than I expected.) https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-09-reflections-on-a-tiger-author https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-09-reflections-on-a-tiger-author Tue, 09 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT From the annals of my unpublished Yale Daily News work. The Amy Chua maelstrom has receded from the public mirror, but why not re-live the night she came to Berkeley College? Amy Chua comes off as the tiniest bit neurotic – but in an adorable, high-powered, Wall-Street kind of way. On Wednesday, April 7 th , Professor Chua read from her book, Battle Hymm of a Tiger Mother and answered around 20 questions from a 200-strong audience for the annual Asian American Heritage Month dinner in Berkeley D... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-07-links-week-7-milestones https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-07-links-week-7-milestones Sun, 07 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT I'm writing this at 12 a.m. on August 8, 2011, otherwise known as the luckiest day of the year. I hit 7,777 page views and 2,500 unique visitors. (Well, maybe 2,500 unique IP addresses.) That's a big deal! I think. My stats for the week aren't bad either: Blogging: 16 hours, 53 minutes Guitar: 1 hour, 26 minutes (I had to return my rented guitar to the shop....) Email: 1 hour, 23 minutes Literary (New Yorker, Grantland): 2 hours, 33 minutes Distracted: 8 hours, 18 minutes Distracted consists of ... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-05-castle-rock https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-05-castle-rock Fri, 05 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT Lord of the Flies inspired. Castle Rock They foraged, they swam, they dug at the base of roots, they willingly refused to take showers — pioneers. They pinched, they washed, they splunked clay rocks and drew self-portraits on the riverbank, deformed and bleeding onto the ferns and salamanders watching their every move. It wasn't a particularly novel idea, an exploratory committee. Who cared if the sun stopped nourishing their skin, stopped the freckles from peeking out under the dirt? If the wav... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-04-how-to-write-a-foot-co-leader-poem https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-04-how-to-write-a-foot-co-leader-poem Thu, 04 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT Ah, FOOT.* (Ooh, I look like an Asian grandpa on the site!) I found this in the figurative dust bin of my computer, and do not want to lose it. to Jeannette: if sleet mud thunder sweep ashore / and FOOTies, in tempests sway / or we’re attacked by a tyrannosaur / I’d still know we’d be ok / conjoined, in co-leader bliss / you’ll save me from any abyss / the denizen, of adrenaline / my bestie, Jeannette Penniman. Solid, not spectacular. I've heard 4 years worth of poems, most written on the backs ... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-03-how-i-dress-the-rise-and-fall-of-faux-hipsterdom https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-03-how-i-dress-the-rise-and-fall-of-faux-hipsterdom Wed, 03 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT hipster beard In 2001, I owned just two pieces of clothing deemed worthy enough to wear through the hallways of John F. Kennedy Middle School: a navy blue Nike sweatshirt and a magenta-red Nike sweatshirt. Both had identical accouterments: a hood attached to the collar and large frontal pockets. This being middle school, I was highly cognizant that if I strictly alternated wearing each every day, my classmates would soon infer my pattern of dress and tease me about it while in line for four-squa... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-02-mlig-who-am-i-what-the-heck-is-happening https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-02-mlig-who-am-i-what-the-heck-is-happening Tue, 02 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT I am stuck in a mini-rut. I am currently sitting in a two-foot-deep pothole, grabbing my knees and peering over them at the shiny world around me, thinking about what John Song said last week, when I told him he wasn't writing enough. He said: "I literally don't have anything to write about." I told him I would give him some of my ideas. I have many ideas. So many, in fact, that I would like to list them, and tell you, in percentage form, how complete each essay is to being finished. Alcohol and... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-02-bottle-service https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-08-02-bottle-service Tue, 02 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT Who says drinks aren't free? Tears and sweat drip glowing green, stop the tan eyelash model: she chokes on her own spit, an executive in white pumps and a pencil skirt, a single mother of a 6-year-old at the aunt's house watching Arthur. "You look fabulous" -- a face stretched tight, a VIP arriving. Two weekends ago, before the bottle service white carpet onyx table, her hair was curly. Now it is whip straight. Who says groping can't be fabulous? Grizzle and silk, hands on taffy sweat steering t... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-31-links-week-6-struggling-to-maintain-focus https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-31-links-week-6-struggling-to-maintain-focus Sun, 31 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT Dammit. Not acceptable. Writing: 7 hours, 40 minutes Guitar: 2 hours, 19 minutes Email: 1 hour, 2 minutes Surfing: 8 hours, 29 minutes. The problem with last week was trying to learn 10-ish new songs on the guitar. I procrastinated learning them, instead visiting Quora and associated sites. Now I'll never get 8 hours of my life back. Throw my computer into the ocean, someone! A bundle of links: Social: How to have a picnic in Central Park. The boy paradox, assholes to gay guys . Why professors h... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-30-jasjit-clean-shaven https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-30-jasjit-clean-shaven Sat, 30 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT I've been saying many goodbyes lately. I said more during graduation, but back then, the atmosphere was so chaotic, my family needed attending to, and I knew I'd be in New Haven afterwards, so the hugs and handshakes, well, they lacked feeling. Now, 8 days away from leaving the East Coast permanently , the goodbyes have finally become what I've expected them to be: redolent, drawn-out, effusive; studded with meaning in mere motes of time. I said one of these goodbyes Sunday morning. The man's na... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-29-at-columbus-circle-in-the-sketchpad https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-29-at-columbus-circle-in-the-sketchpad Fri, 29 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-28-guitar-for-the-win-street-performance-tomorrow https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-28-guitar-for-the-win-street-performance-tomorrow Thu, 28 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT Christy, James and I are going to be playing guitar for New Haven's Flights of Fancy wine tasting event from 6-8 p.m. on Friday. (That's in 17 hours!) We're setting up everything -- the chairs, the amp, the mike, etc -- around 5:30 p.m. in front of the Willoughby's at the Art and Architecture school. I am so stoked. Here are just some of the classics to be performed: Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue - Art Landry (1925) Don't Touch Me - 3OH!3 Knock You Down - Keri Hilson The Prayer - Kid Cudi The Show... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-27-zack-wheeler-for-beltran-too-much https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-27-zack-wheeler-for-beltran-too-much Wed, 27 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT 7 interesting links ... (my psychology + trade commentary at the bottom): "His upside, which he could still be 3-4 years from reaching, is as a very good No. 2 starter and maybe even an ace for stretches of time." If the trade goes through, looks like Sandy Alderson wasn't as pliable as he was in the past, when, as the Oakland A's GM, he traded (in 1997), free-agent-to-be Mark McGwire to the Cardinals for Eric Ludwick, T.J. Mathews and Blake Stein. (Who?) That was Alderson's last trade with the ... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-26-love-and-other-duds-agency-the-chase-and-the-role-of-kismet https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-26-love-and-other-duds-agency-the-chase-and-the-role-of-kismet Tue, 26 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT John Song recently wrote an eloquent and arresting response to my post about Love and Other Drugs. It's worth reading in its entirety, but this section in particular got me thinking: To Peter, "Love and Other Drugs" was a perfect kind of idealized mirage of what life is-- being a Game-versed, successful skirt-chaser, while ultimately finding "the one" in a lightning-strikes-tree moment of fate. More importantly, Peter is one of the most analytical and perfection-seeking Type-A people on the face... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-25-help-singing-lessons-needed https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-25-help-singing-lessons-needed Mon, 25 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT I cannot sing worth a damn. When I was at John Song's house during spring break, we played Rock Band (with James, too). After the requisite Taylor Swift song, John told me my singing was "endearingly pedophilic." It's the nicest thing anyone's ever said about my voice. I know I suck: after all, as a kid, I never took singing lessons, never sang with a youth choir, never even listened to non-classical music until I was 11. (My first album was Ludacris' Word of Mouf, from Raju -- what does that te... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-24-links-week-5-return-to-baseline-free-movies-lego-concentrati https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-24-links-week-5-return-to-baseline-free-movies-lego-concentrati Sun, 24 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT My stats for last week: 6 h, 31 m: Blogger and MS word. 4 h, 44 m, 39 s: Guitar tabs, Youtube (covers), and Jay Chou websites (for Jian Dan Ai!) 46 m 11 s: Gmail 7 h, 2 m : Wasted time (Quora, Google+, Facebook, Google Analytics) Ouch. Most of the 7 hours, believe it or not, came on Saturday. The reason? I woke up at 9:40 a.m., decided I wanted to keep sleeping, and didn't wake up again until 3:30 p.m. I realized I missed an entire day of work fundraising . I felt really badly. Then I realized I... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-24-a-lesson-from-street-fundraising-how-to-approach-strangers https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-24-a-lesson-from-street-fundraising-how-to-approach-strangers Sun, 24 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT Prelude note : In 5 days, I've tried to stop over 1,500 people. The lines below have all been battle-tested, and I promise that every one, said with confidence and aplomb, will get a smile or laugh. I became a street fundraiser to push the limits of my confidence. (Read more here .) I spend my days from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the meanest streets in America (New York) trying to: (a) stop people (b) pitch a non-profit (c) get them to give me their credit card number Needless to say, it's a hard job.... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-23-street-fundraising-is-like-baseball-my-first-week-in-the-maj https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-23-street-fundraising-is-like-baseball-my-first-week-in-the-maj Sat, 23 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT F*ck it. It's 4:13 a.m., but this post is going up. Need to put this into words. Action. You know. Street fundraising is like baseball. You start off in the minors (training) to hone your approach. Your first at-bat in the majors is scary and shaky. The opposing pitcher (stranger on the street) doesn't tip their hand; you don't know if you're getting a curveball or slider or spitter (their objections to the charity). You might get lucky and hit a line drive to let field, but just as often as it ... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-23-love-and-other-drugs-a-review-and-bonus-personal-psychoanaly https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-23-love-and-other-drugs-a-review-and-bonus-personal-psychoanaly Sat, 23 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT Part 1 of 3: I am, currently, 2 minutes removed from watching Love and Other Drugs. I wish I could say I was watching it with someone I cared about, or maybe even with a group of friends on a comfy couch, but I'm not -- I'm sitting on my really hard, angular dorm room chair without a shirt on, air conditioning off. Actually, it's not such a big deal. One of the strengths of a romantic comedy (maybe for me at this point in my life) is that it's easy to get sucked into the storyline. All my attent... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-23-indecision-selfish-interest-versus-small-sacrifices https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-23-indecision-selfish-interest-versus-small-sacrifices Sat, 23 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT What a vague title for a post. Don't worry, I'll explain. *You may skip this next paragraph.* (I want to give a shout-out to the MTA subway line. Tonight, I had two fantastic conversations. The first was into Brooklyn around 9:40 p.m. I was digging into my Popeyes bucket on the train when I commented on the New Yorker article this 30-something woman was reading. We start talking, my fingertips greasy and bread crumbs around my mouth. She tells me she likes Mother Jones and The Atlantic. Tonight,... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-21-looking-forward-to-cupertino https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-21-looking-forward-to-cupertino Thu, 21 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT I still have a little over two weeks left in New York City, and I'm not ready to leave. Nuh-uh. I have people to see. Concerts to go to. Restaurants to eat at. I need to clear out an afternoon to go to the botanical gardens. Problem is, I won't have time. My work schedule, as it stands, leaves me free from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. Monday to Wednesday, from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. Thursday through Saturday, and free Sunday. I can't plan exquisite, intricate outings, especially when I need to practice all week... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-20-fruit-flora-rainforest-nature-in-the-philippines-e-g-re-livi https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-20-fruit-flora-rainforest-nature-in-the-philippines-e-g-re-livi Wed, 20 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT salak One of the reasons why I opted to run away to Ecuador during my sophomore year summer was because I needed, like many before me, to fulfill that silly 10-year-old ambition of living in the rain forest. (You remember Zoboomafoo , right?) I envisioned lush, dense, sweaty undergrowth; impossibly high canopies teeming with monkeys; waterfalls and dangerous animals that would form the backdrop for my wooden tree-house home. When I arrived at the Bilsa Biological Station, my imagination, surpris... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-19-what-i-need-from-a-computer https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-19-what-i-need-from-a-computer Tue, 19 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT I don’t need much from a computer. For the last 5 years of my life, all I've ever done on it is (a) write and (b) use the internet. No Photoshop, Starcraft 2, or any other heavy-hitting programs necessary. I've never needed anything fancy. My desktop at home, which I used throughout high school, was a sluggish behemoth that took 5 minutes to boot up. For 3.5 years in college, my yellow Dell Inspiron was as much a "fashion" statement as a productivity tool. Last December, after I dropped my lapto... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-17-links-week-5-the-slow-death-of-my-computer https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-17-links-week-5-the-slow-death-of-my-computer Sun, 17 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT My manifesto is great. I've been more computer-free than I've ever been (this year). 6 hours, 49 minutes: Blogger.com, MS Word 3 hours, 2 minutes: Gmail.com 2 hours, 13 minutes: guitar tutorials 1 hour, 21 minutes: Facebook, Google+ That's 4 hours and 23 minutes wasted online. Three weeks ago, it was 32 hours. This coming week, I'm going to halve it to 3 hours. Here's a dirty little secret: I love not responding to people's messages on email, facebook, grubwithus, and okcupid. Just love it. I've... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-14-street-fundraising-highs-lows-sadness-and-excitement https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-14-street-fundraising-highs-lows-sadness-and-excitement Thu, 14 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT Today, I started my new job as a street fundraiser. From 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., I was one of those annoying people on the streets that stopped everyone and asked them to donate to a charity. Let me break down what was possibly the best, worst, most tiring, most fun, most social, most depressing day of my life. In my 7 hours in the field, I'd say I tried to talk to 350 people. There were a couple techniques I used. (a) Wave either one or both my hands from 20 feet away to get them to notice me, an... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-13-books-are-not-like-shoes https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-13-books-are-not-like-shoes Wed, 13 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT yes, there are supposed to be two. apples to apples, remember? Books are not like shoes. They're just not. Books are rectangular, and in some cases, square. Shoes are oval, and in some cases, rectangular. Books can be shredded; they cause paper cuts. Shoes cannot be ripped; their pain is more dull. Shoes squeeze from the outside, make our feet throb and sweat; books cut to inside, slicing our skin and memories. Personally, the biggest difference between shoes and books is that I don't care when ... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-12-loneliness-in-ny-washington-square-park-subway-stories https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-12-loneliness-in-ny-washington-square-park-subway-stories Tue, 12 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT After work today, I hung out at Washington Square Park. I think it's my new favorite place. There's inspiring architecture (the 100-foot arch), water (the fountain in the middle, with murky water the 10-year-olds can't help but wade around in), a performance stage (today, it was an orchestra performing Mozart and Schubert), tall, shady trees (like Old Campus!), a deep, perfume-y lawn (perfect for picnics), flowers (yellow, red, orange, bordering the walkways -- it's a color riot), live music (fr... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-10-links-week-4-no-time-online https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-10-links-week-4-no-time-online Sun, 10 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT With Rescue Time , I can track literally everything that happens on my computer. Here's what's up: 13 hours and 39 minutes online -- blogs, Facebook, email, Quora, OkCupid. 7 hours, 34 minutes writing - MS Word, Blogger. 4 hours, 4 minutes on guitar - Youtube songs, chord charts. Given that I have instituted a one-hour rule on my computer -- per week -- most of this time came before Friday. In fact, I've been online for like, 20 minutes this weekend. Next week? (a) get my online time below 1 hou... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-08-no-more-computer-my-one-hour-rule https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-08-no-more-computer-my-one-hour-rule Fri, 08 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT I've had one sublime mentoring moment in my life. It came on my FOOT May training trip in 2008. His name was Joe. I looked up to him as soon as I got to know him: He could talk NBA (and apparently was sick at basketball), had worked in finance, had an older girlfriend. He was also half-Asian, which might explain everything. On the trail, our group carried no technology save our cell phones, buried at the bottom of our packs and relegated to emergency-use only status. The setting was the perfect ... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-07-why-i-meet-new-people-happy-hour-at-the-yale-club https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-07-why-i-meet-new-people-happy-hour-at-the-yale-club Thu, 07 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT When I graduated, I thought I was never going to see anyone from Yale, save 14 certain people , ever again. I was on my own in this big, lonely, frustrating world, and that's exactly how I wanted it. There was a reason why I wanted to go to the Philippines, and then LA (and not NYC) after graduation: a fresh start. I'll be the first to admit that the last few weeks at Yale were mad fun, but also stressful and enervating. I didn't really enjoy Commencement, and it wasn't because of the nostalgia.... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-05-caterpillar-perfume https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-05-caterpillar-perfume Tue, 05 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT Inspired initially by Bianca Stewart. (Does she have more than one poem?) Caterpillar Perfume Yesterday we went running the stoplights out of tune orange, blue, blue, a spooned wet air room. stir me on my good days oats and sugar soup a stain-soiled bare knee a buttercup underfoot. Eee-eee, the swallow yells books and stems choking stolen fingers dirty prints a dead nest soaked in. tell me how butterflies rise eyes survive the winter, stained-glass wings move hearts at rest to pilfer. https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-04-links-week-3-what-to-do-if-you-ve-graduated-edition https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-04-links-week-3-what-to-do-if-you-ve-graduated-edition Mon, 04 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT Check out where everyone is with wheremyfriends.be . Meet new, interesting people in your city while eating great food: https://www.grubwithus.com Create a new online identity on plus.google.com . If you're like me and are still locked out, look at screenshots , read reviews , more reviews , and first impressions . Maybe also a little about the 6 wars Google is fighting? And this link-filled Google+ blog post. If you're still here, Read young people's blogs. My four, currently, are John Song Say... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-03-times-square-strumming-on-my-guitar-with-a-snooki-sign https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-03-times-square-strumming-on-my-guitar-with-a-snooki-sign Sun, 03 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT So. I know this blog is supposed to be about "Peter Writ[ing]," but a picture, in this case, is really worth a thousand words. From 11 a.m. to 2 a.m., I was riding 'round New York with 2 friends, playing the guitar, soliciting money, and holding up a handmade sign that said, "I slept w Snooki last week - PLEASE HELP." We started out right outside the dormitory, moved to the F subway stop for 20 minutes, tried out Union Square, played on the subway to Times Square, and settled in to the middle of... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-02-why-i-love-times-square-pictures-with-strangers https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-07-02-why-i-love-times-square-pictures-with-strangers Sat, 02 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT Ah, Times Square. You know, at Yale, when friends or acquaintances would talk about New York, they would say, "It's great, but I hate the touristy areas." I always nodded my head in agreement. The implication was that they were too noisy, too cramped, and too fake to be of any value to us, future i-bankers and consultants of the world. I guess now's the time to admit that I love Times Square -- because of the tourists. They're not New-Yorker-jaded, and as a result, the area is buoyed by an omnip... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-06-29-wendy-s-poem https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-06-29-wendy-s-poem Wed, 29 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT As you can tell, I did not spend much time writing today. But while I was at Wendy's with Annelise, I did manage to compose a poem about the restaurant, on the greasy take-out bag. https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-06-29-at-the-bar-e-g-what-happens-when-i-drink-even-sip-alcohol https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-06-29-at-the-bar-e-g-what-happens-when-i-drink-even-sip-alcohol Wed, 29 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT (special effects included. George Lucas, are you listening?) My name is Peter Lu. I am 21 years old. I am single. I live in New York, and I am single. Tonight, I went to a bar, for the first time in what felt like a very, very long time. I am not tipsy. Repeat, I am not tipsy. Let me tell you what happened. First, know that I’m sitting outside my door, sprawled on the linoleum floor, computer in lap. Wallet next to me, cell phone on vibrate, 3:35 a.m. This is probably the first relevant detail. ... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-06-27-jayson-and-the-giant-beach-first-three-chapters https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-06-27-jayson-and-the-giant-beach-first-three-chapters Mon, 27 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT 1. Up until Jayson was 10 years old, he lived with his mum and dad in a colourful house by the sea. Hermit crabs would waddle by his porch, and he would observe them with a magnifying glass. Soft, green glass pieces would wash up in the waves, and he would collect them in a small burlap knapsack. Seaweed rope would lie on the sand, and he would use it to decorate his sand castles. He played by himself at the beach every day, and it was the perfect life for a quiet boy like himself. Then one day,... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-06-26-links-week-2-ivy-league-pornographer-influence-meter-catcher https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-06-26-links-week-2-ivy-league-pornographer-influence-meter-catcher Sun, 26 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT This week, I spent 32 hours online ( rescuetime ). That's almost 5 hours a day. And that's on my personal computer! At work, I'm on 6 hours a day. Add it up: 62 hours out of 144 in a week. Mid-summer resolution: cut back to 40 hours total. At least the links section will be really good this week, right? Blogs : John Song Says , the only blog I read. Writing: Tomatos, porn, and a book by Sam Benjamin , Brown grad; guys who love fat chicks . An interview with a great book designer and how a book j... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-06-25-the-horror-the-horror-commuting-from-new-haven-to-new-york https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-06-25-the-horror-the-horror-commuting-from-new-haven-to-new-york Sat, 25 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Every day between June 6 th to June 17 th , I commuted from New Haven to New York. Nobody should ever have to endure the pain I did. Here is my story. The week after graduation, I’m crashing with Daniel Ayele ; I’m a mendicant with a suitcase of clothes and twice as many books. My summer plans are in flux (read: I have no idea), so I spend my days waking up at 2:30pm, eating at Booktrader, playing Bubble Trouble with Zach, thinking about inner confidence, and watching the NBA finals in the basem... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-06-24-you-re-only-as-good-as-your-last-haircut-rafael-s-the-best-b https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-06-24-you-re-only-as-good-as-your-last-haircut-rafael-s-the-best-b Fri, 24 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT My high school yearbook quote was probably the worst out of the 660 people in our graduating class: “Well, art is art, isn't it? Still, on the other hand, water is water! And east is east and west is west and if you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does. Now, uh... now you tell me what you know.” ~ Groucho Marx About an hour before I submitted it, I was grappling with an alternative: “You’re only as good as your last haircut.” ~ Fran Le... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-06-23-4-dinners-in-new-york-city-peanut-butter-jelly-time https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-06-23-4-dinners-in-new-york-city-peanut-butter-jelly-time Thu, 23 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT I’m writing this post because I ran out of peanut butter. That’s a euphemism for “dinner.” You see, since I moved to New York on Saturday, my dinners have consisted only of the 4 major (Whole) Foods groups: peanut butter organic whole wheat sourdough baby carrots plain nonfat non-rBGH yogurt The bread is my carbohydrates; the peanut butter my protein; the yogurt and carrots my vitamins. I never expected that they would satiate my hunger, but the crazy thing is, eating 2 slices of bread, 4 tables... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-06-20-links-week-1-bro-bible-guitar-fairy-tales-introverts-and-ada https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-06-20-links-week-1-bro-bible-guitar-fairy-tales-introverts-and-ada Mon, 20 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT First installment of what I'm up to online. I'm averaging around 4 hours a day, ish? Writing : Jay Caspian Kang on Lebron's meltdown and his poker addiction ; the original Grimm's Fairy Tales , free on Google Books (read Cinderella); answers to the most viewed questions on Quora ("What does it feel like to be stupid?"); the New Yorker Summer fiction edition, on Weiner and a great story by George Saunders ; myths about introverts ; book country ; Malinda Lo and Jenn Weiner on how to get published... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-06-19-4-years-at-yale https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-06-19-4-years-at-yale Sun, 19 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT When I have writers block, the best remedy is to keep pounding out words, even if the bulk is pure doggerel. The second best cure is to capitulate to the amateur poet inside me. I know I've been promising all these essays, but for now, here's an all-encompassing poem about, well, Yale. Bella Villa We stripped on a warm day, saw faces: yellow, tan, small noses and slight frames, hipsters in converse and cotton. A sherry, a ben. We walked toeing crowns, hometown and major, steps and a swipe on a b... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-06-18-so-you-want-to-write-a-short-story https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-06-18-so-you-want-to-write-a-short-story Sat, 18 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT From January to April this year, I was able to pick the brain of Michael Cunningham, Pulitzer Prize winning author ( The Hours). I practically transcribed his lectures in our seminar; unfortunately, I shipped most of my notes back to Cali. Not a good decision, especially if I'm going to be writing a couple short stories this summer. Here's what I can remember from seminar, about how to write fiction: Buy into the idea of the expected surprise : whatever the story's climax, sprinkle delicate hint... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-06-17-exhaustion-writing https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-06-17-exhaustion-writing Fri, 17 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT There have only been 2 other nights in my life when I've wanted to go to sleep more than right now: on my 21st birthday, around 1:30am, after a cab ride from Santa Monica to Century City, with the feeling of puke jumping the queue in my esophagus; and when I was 5 years old, when my father woke me up at 3:30am so we could catch our SFO flight to Maui. There might be a story about tonight. It might be about how being tired approximates being drunk; about the impoverished decision I made to cauter... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-06-17-eraser-knob https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-06-17-eraser-knob Fri, 17 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Currently working on a long read about my relationship with alcohol . Until then, here's a poem, about all my work this week sorting through children's books manuscripts. Eraser Knob My eraser knob, sad, nearly gone chewed, gently, on the lawn. An anteater nibbles, wishing, bit, frustrated with progress, slowly, spit. He paws precise, munches the milk chocolate balls. I seep into the silt. Tar and dirt, the colors brown -- I'll buy another, one knob gone. https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-06-15-why-this-blog-exists https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-06-15-why-this-blog-exists Wed, 15 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Writing a blog, when you don’t have a reason to write a blog, reeks of megalomania and dross. That’s why this blog almost never existed. And yet, here we are, eyeballs to page. It's partly because I want to keep college friends informed of my post-college life; to document NYC, and later the Philippines; to gather a body of current work in case I ever apply for a real writing job; to become rich, famous, beautiful. But this baby was born only when I realized I needed to become a better writer. S... https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-06-14-archive-of-previous-work https://www.peterjlu.com/posts/2011-06-14-archive-of-previous-work Tue, 14 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Allow this one post for self-indulgence: I’ve never organized my work in one place, and it seemed reasonable to compile it here for easy reference. So, now: all my work that resides in the bowels of the internet: YDN , organized not by date, but by the 2011 NBA Finals. Dirk – when the pressure's on, you just know he's going to perform. Yale with no regrets : First column. 2 hours on a Wednesday night. Bob Woodward read it when he came to visit, and said something like, “I was really touched by t...