Essays on becoming Chris Barclay
In the fog of first awakening from surgery, I recall seeing a masked ICU attendant hovering above me. “When does the operation start?” I croaked. “The surgery already finished.” Said the attendant, writing down something on a metal clipboard. “It’s 5pm, everything goes smoothly.” I smiled big, both for Nat and at having no recallection […]
Continue ReadingThe Chinese say losing something small prevents losing something big. This has become my mantra of late. And my wife reminds me of it when I obsess about forgetting my sunglasses at the airport. She’s right; this has probably kept me from losing an eye. If it sounds superstitious, I prefer to think of it […]
Continue ReadingIt all started in the womb apparently; A random confusion of signals That triggered the cellular mutiny. Jaundice was the warning And then pain that brought Howling fits late into the night. Don’t blame yourself, the doctor told us; This condition arises without clear cause And is as rare as a Tahitian black pearl. Somewhere […]
Continue ReadingThis week I’ve been devoting considerable mental bandwidth to wrestling with yet another paradoxical facet of my human nature. On the one side is my desire for simplicity. I did a stint as a Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka years back, that’s how much I dig the minimalist lifestyle. But this ascetic existence didn’t really […]
Continue ReadingDuring a recent meeting with a Hong Kong restauranteur whom I’ve known for many years, the question of business metrics came up. Actually, he brought it up and it really showed what different approaches to business we have. As we sat on the terrace of his popular cafe sharing ideas about a potential joint project, […]
Continue ReadingMy wife and I have this game we play called, “What day is today?” Throughout the week, we periodically ask each other and then challenge the other’s response. So Nam will ask me and I’ll say, “Tuesday?” to which she will reply, “I thought it was Wednesday” and then I’ll second-guess myself and offer, “I’m […]
Continue ReadingAfter our baby’s recent Kasai procedure (liver duct bypass surgery), my wife and I are optimistic about her chances of full recovery. While we love seeing Nat as her active and cheerful self these days, we also know that there’s a strong likelihood that she will soon need a liver transplant. While most people would […]
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