If we say things simply

#20_Lotus seed

What mail had you received? Is it songs you sang or lines of sweet seedlings? Or perhaps a pocket of glue.

#21_Tea Packaging

The best time to harvest leaves is at the end of the season. Pick only the buds with leaves. Let them dry and wither away. The more airtight the container, the better. Like a tiny bowl that is just large enough for one or two sips. Pick up a hot cup without burning your fingers. Rinse the teapot in water and brush vigorously with toothpaste. (Yes, you read this right).

#22_Cans of Black Bean Sardines

30 cans for 30 days. On May 1st, I decided to buy 30 cans of black bean sardines. It’s mother’s birthday. Today, I will have them with a fried egg and preserved olives over plain congee. She likes it that way and so do I. Tomorrow I wish to have it plainly, maybe with some hot sauce. The day after tomorrow, they would work best over steamed rice. Simply lift the ring and peel open like a banana. The black beans are smokey and the fish is dense, oily. I wonder if it works well over bread? In an oven sits a line of bread bought for 88 cents. When done, gold tins can be washed and used, sometimes they hold pencils, once they held elastic bands from batches of green onions.

#27_Dragon On A Lamp Post

He has a strong desire to realize his dream. He has boundless energy and never seems to tire. Because of this drive, he is prone to criticizing my mistakes. He doesn’t take setbacks very well.

#53_East Pender Street Sign

We are not keeping up with the changing times. We need to modernize and broaden our product offerings. Greet customers with a friendly and welcoming attitude. We can maximize opportunities for investment. It needs to be clean and safe. Renovations provide a competitive advantage in the long term.

#55_Ginseng Illustration

Tastes such as sourness, bitterness, sweetness, saltiness, and umami are measured using an electronic tongue. A taste profile of ginseng is created. Bitterness is perceived as significantly higher than others. Bitterness is the most sensitive of the tastes and is perceived by many to be unpleasant, sharp, or disagreeable.

#75_Dollar Meat Store

Mince 1 ginger root and chop 1 batch of green onions in whichever manner is most preferable. In a pot, bring the oil to a boil and pour over the ginger and green onion. Add a pinch of salt. Best enjoyed with bak chit gai / bai qie ji over warm rice or noodles in soup.

#88_A Single Yellow Wall Tile

Now the tile is blue. A generous use of colour is encouraged, especially at the ground floor level. Brighter colours should be used for detailing and trim. The exposed sides should provide a consistent appearance and be of similar quality to the principle facade.

City of Vancouver Land Use and Development Policies and Guidelines, Planning, Urban Design and Sustainability Department

#90_Package Of Incense and Paper Money

Her mom is busy stocking up on incense and fake money for a key part of the celebrations. The fake money and paper with gold bars printed on them are bought to burn. The idea being that these riches pass over to the afterlife and are received by her ancestors.

Burning Money and Haircuts: Preparing for Chinese New Year, BBC News

#99_Man with Yellow Bag

What this (plastic bag) explores is how it is not enough to admire the isness of being, but to show the expanse of being itself. Not the opening of being onto the multiplicity of subjects and discourses, but the field of being, the field of its sensibilities. Not only the touch of isness as a single point, but rather a gradation. Not simply the exposure of being, but the resonation of this, and that, and these exposures, timbres and intonations, their coming and going and the delight of their colours.

Making Real, Eli Bornowsky, Or Gallery

#108_Gold Wrapping

Dress up any package with our shiny, elegant gift wrap. Make your wrapping look cute and fun. The foil wrappers are easy to cut and tear into any size or shape. You will get 500 sheets of gold foil. The food grade foil is non-toxic, tasteless, and environmentally friendly. What gift are you wrapping?

#110_Chinese FreeMasons Building

Was it the end of spring or the beginning of summer? Was it a funeral or a parade? I am not so sure. I remember making my way through packed bodies to find myself peering down from the balcony to see a procession. I was next to my friend Arthur, I remember the wind, it was quiet. The crowd whispered, chanting without rhythm. Maybe it is a funeral in a parade.

#114_Gold Mountain Mosaic

Gum Shan Gum Shan rushing into the Gum Shan looking for pots of gold. Take a pan sift through the Gum and the Shan to find home along the woods. A pair of glasses, a black and white photo washed ashore. With snow to the knees as dusk greets us harshly, a red mat holds the warm air of steamed goods, finally welcoming us in. The silver carts rattle making rounds and rounds as black tea brews. “Gum Shan, Gum Saan, Jin Shan, Gold Mountains!” she called.

#129_Archival Image of Chinese Railroad Workers

They sought a better livelihood by building early industries such as market farming, logging, fishing and mining, and providing services through businesses such as general stores, cafes and laundries.

Gold Mountain, gov.bc.ca

#134_The China Gate

My grandfather, whom I never knew. A poet and kitemaker, who are you? What words were possibly written, what words were unspoken? Had you ever conjured a thought of me? I wonder. What places did you imagine going to? Was it with me? Can I live off of yours? I stand here under the gate. Buried inwards, there is no red kite. You mustn’t have imagined how your girls embraced life. What fantasies have I strung you to? A creature borrowing for her own hands. Where must they go to find yours? You must have seen past the gates. I have never seen. I have never made a kite. You stand there with paste in your hands. I wonder then, who are you? What am I?

#137_Yellow Turtles

Everyone has a favourite animal and so do I. My preferred animal is a turtle because it is cute. This reptile has a hard shell to protect itself. It uses its four stumpy legs to crawl. The turtle is known to take its sweet time. It can live more than 150 years. I won’t have to worry about outliving it. I certainly won’t want to grieve for beloved dead pet.

#162_Banana Outline

I like yellow. To me, it’s a happy colour associated with flowers and sunshine. But our kitchen is painted yellow and I find that my fiance who has a short temper almost always loses it in the kitchen. He also becomes much more impatient and argumentative. I have always suspected that it is the colour of the walls. Guests also tend to eat their food faster at the kitchen table than when we entertain in the dining room.

The Colour Psychology of Yellow, Kendra Cherry, Amy Morin

#172_Jack Chow Insurance Building

Sam Kee, dressed in a black tassel top and denim jeans stands flamboyantly against red and yellow neon lights. Along a brightly lit ground and a mirrored wall, she taps her feet as the barber calls to her. “Ah Sam, can I take a photo? You have to remember this day!” She holds herself gently in front of the lens and smiles. Steam looms from the bath house moments later. The barber dressed in blue exclaims, “it’s disco frenzy, shall we?”

#180_Door 44 with green onions

#187_Buddha Fountain