come, stay and let's talk. it's a good day to be alive
To listen to the story,
to offer a listening ear,
to share the burden in the heart
is a rare value we find in life.
To respect the other
regardless of the standards
and rooting for the other
without a need for evidence
is what I appreciate from a friend.
As I watch the crow’s feet growing deeper
in the eyes of the friend
I once knew from my childhood
I wonder what a blessing it was to have met such person.
12.20.2025
Wherever you are, I am wishing you love.
Sitting in a wooden arm chair next to a window,
basking in the orange rouge sunset light,
or dancing in the midst of chaotic ocean of humans,
I see you.
I am sending you love and warmth.
12.18.2025
The rain trickled down
soaking the hardened road.
Many had walked on the path
and some stopped and lingered.
After years,
no one walked on the road anymore.
One day, a bulldozer dug up the road
A new building was built on top of where it laid.
Did any of it meant anything?
Those people who walked by
and the road that withstood everyone walking over it?
I’d like to believe so.
And I’d like to remember it all.
12.16.2025
Taste is cold.
You eat what you find pleasurable.
You spit what tastes bitter.
But have you thought about
what it is like to taste bitter to others?
We all want to be accepted — to bring pleasure to others.
Even if yourself tastes acerbic to others,
if you were to taste someone caustic,
you wouldn’t hesitate to spit them out
even as you beg for others to accept yourself.
So, taste is cold, I think.
But a part of me also hopes
that it is a guide through a narrow path
for us to ultimately reach what we’ve all been truly wanted.
12.15.2025
Final day of the Rhode Island trip.
I got up early again, with my eyes puffy and inflamed because of sleep deprivation. One last seminar awaited me, and I still wanted more of Providence. I packed my bags and took a last look around the room before checking out.
I got my smoothie from In The Pink (213 Thayer St.) and headed to the seminar. There wasn’t much to listen to. I felt the second day had the most relevant topics. My mind wandered about where I could go to explore more of Providence.
After the seminar, I was invited to a Korean fried-chicken restaurant called Den Den Korean Fried Chicken (182 Angell St.). As a Korean whose taste buds have met the pinnacles of Fried Chicken in this category and shot my standards way up, these were subpar (personally, 2/5; Google says 4.5/5). As I finished this meal, my day just freed up.
There was already a sense of mourning. It felt like an adventure was just about to start in Providence, but it ended abruptly. I sought ways to salvage it, but I knew I needed to return. A burdening sense of pressure took its place at the back of my mind, calling me back home to work, and I agreed with it.
Eventually, I made a compromise: a short walk by the Providence river.
After the short walk, I visited a cafe called Small Point Café (230 Westminster St.). It had a Boston/NYC cafe vibe: hipster, homey, and bookish.
One thing to note about this cafe is that it closes a bit early (at 4 PM) on Mondays ~ Thursdays. Closes a bit later on Fridays ~ Sundays.
After working in the café for a few hours, I stopped by Symposium Books (240 Westminster St.). I bought a magnet from this bookstore that said “Providence, Wicked Nice”. It captured what I thought of Providence perfectly, and I bought it to commemorate the visit.
I remember visiting this bookstore once, when I lived in Boston, MA. While it piqued my interest, I found none of the book appealing. Alas, I took the place and returned to my apartment. Albeit short, Providence, Rhode Island, left a strong impression. It’s a pleasant place to visit during the summer. Don’t expect too much from the food. Enjoy the scene and the relationships you build with people there.
Perhaps it’s not that you have the capability to do anything that you love;
rather, it’s because you love that you can do anything.
A human can be limited as a mere mortal
yet it’s love that allows for sublimation from constraints.
It’s not what you can get from the other,
but rather what you can give for them.
For their presence in my space is a gift in itself,
nothing can get in the way of your dedication to them.
Let the light grow in this pitch darkness.
12.12.2025
When your cloth catches a fire,
it’s difficult to stay calm and ponder
whether my buttons are tied in order.
You’re too busy putting out the fire with water.
When the anxiety caught me,
I put on blinders on my sides,
and just ran as fast as I could
without knowing where I am headed.
It was when I could finally stop and relax
allowing myself to melt in the softness of warmth
of those I could trust and rely upon
that I started to see the broken links.
Slowing down, I started to understand
the minute links connecting each other
forming a vast network, pulsing with
diverse colors and brightness of emotions.
So it begins, the brick work to build the foundation
beneath a castle built upon a cloud.
12.11.2025
I caught a thread of voice,
one that hides in the shadow,
sneaking in times of chaos,
remaining tense for a moment for an outburst.
Stem of the thread was from the past.
“Don’t smile” the voice said, threateningly.
The hatred, the contempt, and the misplaced anger was what I could sense.
I remember the confusion at the moment,
as an assumption unfortunately started to arise
to inaccurately blame myself.
I want to reach out to the child who holds the stem,
and stand between him and the voice
to protect the child and deter the voice.
I’ll tell the child, “smile as much as you like”.
“Look, all there really is behind
the threatening voice is actually
a tiny mouse, trapped in a cage.”
“You deserve to be loved, respected, and understood.”
“Smile. You are loved.”
12.9.2025
Honesty feels further from the reach
when shame and guilt weigh down the shoulders.
The whispers and the glimpses of slit eyes
weaves the sticky layers for entrapment.
But honesty is the bitter pill to bite.
To exist itself is hard enough already.
You have tried something.
Fighting the battle itself is already an accomplishment.
If you’ve been true in your heart
of what you wished for under the moonlight,
you will find the way
even in the midst of ashes.
12.9.2025
I think (I actually do “think”) I need my voice.
I want to say what I believe in,
work towards what I have loved,
and embrace the challenges
in spite of many past unsuccessful attempts.
I am grateful for what I have.
And I want to build more of the love
that I received, that I shared, and that I feel even to this moment.
To do that, I want to be more honest.
I want to be more humble.
And I want to be a better storyteller, planner, and leader.
12.5.2025
Ralph with Coffee 
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