Chosen for Further Reading (April 2021)

Great stories from The Masterpiece

April was awesome!

We’ve edited and published tons of excellent stories in The Masterpiece last month. From those brilliant stories, we have chosen a few for our readers. Each of these stories is well-written, informative, and highly engaging.

In his story, Panos Grigorakakis shares his experience of how he fulfilled his childhood desire after 18 long years. Allison pens down her exciting visit to Japan, where she experienced the ultimate sushi delicacy. Keri Mangis writes about a big part of her life when she experimented with so many new things and learned great insight about transformation and life. Another brilliant writer, Walter Bowne, shares his life-defining moment when, where, and how he found his calling.

Joseph Serwach, in his article, tells the extraordinary tale of buffalo wings and declares that great writing is like the buffalo wings. Chetna Jai writes about her experience of how a painting inspired her and influenced her personal FIRE movement. Walter Rhein, with his extraordinary narrative, reveals the truth that the answers we seek in life are often in the place we refuse to look at.

Esther George talks about codependency of a different kind where we get addicted to feeling good helping others. S M Mamunur Rahman shares an interesting trend in young Japanese people that leads them to marry holograms and dolls. Breadnbeyond gives some crucial tips so that you can beat your virtual meeting fatigue.

Isaiah McCall writes an engaging and informative story about IQ and what it tells about you. And finally, Jesse Pedersen exhibits some cool ways to kill your stress and be happy in life

We hope you will enjoy all the mentioned stories and feel inspired to write your own masterpiece.

Let’s have a wonderful reading experience!

It Took Me 18 Years to Fulfill This Childhood Desire

written by Panos Grigorakakis

As I grew older, the thought of trying again to build the model frequently went through my mind. During the early 2000s, though, the Titanic-mania had subsided and I could not find the model in the toy stores anymore. Online shopping was not an option either, since most stores did not have an online presence.

As time went on, my priorities naturally changed. I finished school, graduated from university, and got a new job. The dream of completing the model had slowly faded away. Or so I thought…

I Paid $150 for a 2 Michelin Star Lunch in Japan

written by Allison

When the big day came for our sushi tasting, I was so excited! I couldn’t wait to be in the awe-inspiring presence of a sushi master.

Tucked into a basement in the prestigious neighborhood of Ginza, you take the stairs down and enter into the world of Sushi Kanesaka. You find yourself in an intimate sushi bar with only 16 seats. It’s designed and decorated in a simple yet elegant Japanese style that pairs warm yellow tones with natural wood. It reminded me of being in a Japanese tea house.

Despite the language barrier, the service was prompt, polite, and patient as we worked through the logistics of setting in and ordering the omakase. Hot tea was promptly served, along with hot tea towels for our hands.

You Don’t Have to Burn Your Entire Life Down to Have a Radical Transformation

written by Keri Mangis

I was in my early thirties, and I’d recently discovered yoga. That seemingly innocuous discovery led to a wholesale reawakening of my curiosity, which had gone dormant for years as I’d tried to suppress myself to fit into society’s prescribed boxes.

My newly-awakened curiosity opened all the previously-locked doors. I could finally question spirituality on my own terms.

I didn’t choose a nunnery because I was a Christian. In fact, this was at a time in my life when I was questioning my relationship with Christianity — which had been touch-and-go my entire life. I would even leave Christianity altogether in just a couple more years.

The Sun Ignited the Rose Window

written by Walter Bowne

As a freshman, clueless to a career, I started as a busi­ness major in search of easy diamonds. The Wall Street Journal and The National Review I read in high school mostly for flash and scandal. Oh, and I also wore a tie to emulate Michael J. Fox from “Family Ties.” (A gentle wind back then would make an impression on me.)

There was nothing especially stellar about my academic record; the moment was always too precious to sacri­fice to the tedium of studying for the sake of a grade or the Ivy League.

Writing was one of the few things that I did that I wasn’t obligated to do.

Great Writing Is Like Inventing Buffalo Wings

written by Joseph Serwach

Americans eat more than 28 billion chicken wings per year, including more than 1.4 billion on Super Bowl Sunday, but they’re still a fairly new invention.

The secret is in the sauces. The newness of these flavorful food inventions (and every variation of sauces that turn ordinary chicken into Buffalo wings) keeps wing demand “hot.”

During the 2020 Pandemic, combined U.S. sales to restaurants and supermarkets jumped10.3 percent to more than $3 billion while sales of frozen wings leaped 37 percent.

A Painting That Sparked the FIRE Movement

written by Chetna Jai

When we moved into a new house ten years ago, we went shopping for a painting. The wall in the dining room was bare. We browsed through the store, searching for the piece that would bring the space together. We preferred something scenic that roused feelings whenever our eyes gazed at it.

The winner was a simple painting with deep meaning. Blue still water with the sun glistening on the surface brought life to the picture. I imagined the ripples moving ever so gently in the breeze and felt the sheer curtains dancing on either side.

With my face cupped in my hands, elbows resting on the window sill, and a salty taste in my mouth, I saw my future. I could get used to waking up to this every morning.

The Answers You Seek Are Often in the One Place You Refuse to Look

written by Walter Rhein

Sometimes we get a sense that there is something wrong with the way we think. This sense can manifest in depression, frustration, or a fear to act. We think that if our minds are not properly calibrated, anything we try to do is destined to fail.

One of the essential goals of life is to do no harm. We hold this goal dear to our hearts whether we are consciously aware of it or not. I know this because I recently caught myself celebrating the fact that I’ve reached 46 years of age without having to bear the burden of having caused a major catastrophe.

We all hurt people, and sometimes the way we hurt people is beyond our ability to repair. There’s no better feeling than making amends for a transgression that haunts you. Mistakes are inevitable, and the most important lesson in life is to learn how to forgive yourself.

You’re Codependent When You’re Addicted To Feeling Important

written by Esther George

I overheard a conversation on my commute this morning. The man was spewing his BS into the world. He was whining about how much those around him were looking to him to save their world, that he literally had no time to rule his own.

That made me furrow my brow quizzically. Something important is obviously missing. This guy is whining about how much he sacrifices for others, and he’s blaming them for ruining his life. He went down the path about how weary he was because everyone expected him to shoulder their problems. But he had made that choice. What is the grouching about?

He got caught up with issues and concerns not his own, but proudly explained it’s his innate compassion and caring natures that compels him to help. He moans about how tired he was and yet at every opportunity, he can’t help but turn up on their doorstep as the savior.

Why Japanese Men Are Replacing Women with Holograms and Sex-Dolls

written by S M Mamunur Rahman

I hope you heard the news when in 2019, the 37-year-old Tokyo resident Akihiko Kondo married a hologram of Hatsune Miku. Unlike a real woman, Miku is a piece of computer-generated singing software with a persona of a 16-year old girl who has big eyes and long, aqua-colored hair.

Crypton Future Media, in cooperation with Yamaha, created the holographic pop star Hatsune Miku back in 2007. Miku is now a famous holographic pop star with 2.5 million Facebook followers and 1.6 million subscribers on YouTube.

Many companies in Japan create hologram devices of popular anime and video-game characters. And these are for the young Japanese men who don’t believe in human relationships, marriage, or family life and are obsessed with anime and want to live with their favorite character in real life.

Why IQ Determines Everything in Your Life (the Sad Truth)

written by Isaiah McCall

“People who boast about their IQ are losers.” — Stephen Hawking

Hawking has a point — nobody likes a sore winner. That being said, the intelligent quotient (IQ) test is one of the most valid and reliable psychometrics ever created.

According to the mental health website verywell Mind, “An IQ test is an assessment that measures a range of cognitive abilities and provides a score that is intended to serve as a measure of an individual’s intellectual abilities and potential.”

How to Beat Virtual Meeting Fatigue

written by Breadnbeyond

Tech fails, embarrassing noises while you thought you’d muted your microphones, overly-creative, ‘avant-garde’ backgrounds.

Oh, yes, we’ve experienced them a lot. It was funny, indeed. But all jokes aside, it’s all too easy for those meetings to be repetitive and go totally off the rails. That is what makes ‘Zoom fatigue’ a real thing.

The anxiety we face when our screen glitches or freezes, the awkward feeling when the audio delays and echoes, the unnatural lack of non-verbal cues encourage us to make an extra effort to appear engaged, the hyper-awareness of how we appear or look.

Easy and Effective Ways to Kill Your Stress

written by Jesse Pedersen

“Thank God I have the day off,” I think to myself as I sip a hot cup of matcha in an attempt to ease my headache. I’m usually pretty good about regulating my stressors, but this week was jam-packed with work and I neglected to find the time.

Thankfully, it is a cold, rainy day which gives me some time to chill out and reflect. I’m currently sitting at my bedroom desk with the windows cracked listening to the light drizzle of rain along with the chirping of birds. Their melodies soothe me as my fingers hop to and fro over the keyboard.

I decided it would be a good idea to remind myself about ways to diminish stress during the day. I think we could all use a little more peace in our lives. Besides, if we’re always stressed out, we’ll never be able to savor the little things that make up the human experience.

Thank you for reading.

**We are taking the privilege to mention our writers here. We think they should read (or at least see) the above stories because a good story can inspire a writer to write better than before. We hope you will not feel offended being mentioned here. Thank you.

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