IN:
deep cleaning
privacy
using the creative scraps you’ve kept pressed between the pages of your personal files for “that right moment”
carrying clippers on your person so you can forage flowering branches and vines
leaving extra on top of the tip
greeting wild animals like they’re old friends
Towhee on Laura’s window. reading books you already own
requesting books for your local library (here’s the link to OPL’s page)
off the cuff (but polite and precise) requests
feeling grown (distinct from feeling grown-up)
explaining the real reason you don’t want to do something instead of circling an obviously bs excuse—or rather, respecting time, yours and others’
努力学粤语
doing the nice thing for the fact of having done it
writing without a thesis statement
writing without a goal except to become a better writer
writing without having or giving an explanation beyond “because I could and can”
holding yourself accountable
cooking with lemon juice and zest (I’ve been making an extremely modified version of this recipe with all the Meyer lemons I’ve been acquiring)
vegetables as snacks
Banchan, San Ho Won, SF. homemade clothes and accessories (ex: this incredible tote by Diane); I’ve been wearing a scarf I knit (rather badly) some years ago and I think I could do a lot better now so wish me luck :^)
playing the silly public game
“Leorna Mer.” engaging with creative work that you don’t like, but that you find ways to learn from
not overthinking syntax unless you’re being paid
finding your place on the Pineapple King genealogy
I’m Aunt or Uncle…go figure. opera karaoke
public displays of attention
telling someone who’s funny that they’re funny (even if they know it)
pulling a card even if you’re scared of what you might draw
Amar: “What negative self talk or limiting beliefs are holding ya back” 这些蛇年菜 (LNY party theme was “tubes”)
Modified from the recipe in A-Gong’s Table by George Lee; definitely needed to get whole seaweed sheets instead of the snack/onigiri slices. 
These are bánh cuốn but I didn’t have the time/foresight to prep fillings so I just steamed them and cut them up. There’s definitely a Chinese dish that takes this concept all the way but I don’t know the name. 这个蛇年快乐表情
Sssssssso cute.
OUT:
the OUT portion of the IN/OUT format
Thanks for "listening." Stay tuned...!
♬ xoxo Lio
P.S. The preview image comes from the painting Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? by Nancy Mladenhoff, which inspired Lorrie Moore to write her 1994 novel of the same name. I only first learned about Moore last summer (!) when two writers—Mary Gaitskill and Charlotte Shane—cited separate Moore stories (both collected in Birds of America) in their newsletters within a few days of each other (or at least that’s how I remember it, I’m not going into my inbox to check).
I read Frog Hospital a few months ago. My partner and my best friend both read it this month. I rarely read books alongside other people and, surprise, I really enjoyed talking about it with them separately and together. I don’t think I actually want to get into any sort of formal book club but if anyone else out there gets around to reading Frog Hospital, drop a line.
P.P.S. Reading Birds of America isn’t the reason I’ve been writing short stories, but it’s part of the reason I’ve kept writing them.
P.P.P.S.
♬ﾟ࿐⋆｡♪₊˚. ݁₊ ⊹ *:･ﾟ. ݁