Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice

My October Interview Q&A for The Brain Is A Noodle

[1] Does writing energize or exhaust you?

Neither. It is neither tiring nor invigorating. It neither drains nor excites me. It’s ordinary and expected. Writing for me is reliable and trusted. It’s good for me — like taking walks or staying hydrated. It is part of me in such a way that when I stay away too long, writing finds a way back to me. I need it — like you need someone with whom you’re in a long-term relationship. I am no longer in the excited, “all I think about is you” stage with writing. I’m in the “I’m in this for the long haul” and “I deeply appreciate you” stage. I’m buoyed by my writing. I’m made better. It doesn’t complete me in a storybook, romantic comedy way, it complements and uplifts me.

When I say I love to write. I mean I am actively working to love it. I am trying to honor this gift — to appreciate and fulfill my end of this writing relationship. I write when I don’t feel like it. I write when I don’t feel like I deserve it. I write when I have great ideas and when I have bad ones. I write on Medium. I write in my journal. I write on the notes app on my phone and tablet. I just write.

[2] What is one food that represents the country you are currently in?

Right now, I’d say pumpkin-flavored or spiced-x, where “x” means any conceivable (or inconceivable) item on the planet. I like pumpkins and I like spicing certain foods with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove, and all-spice (i.e., pumpkin spice). So many delightful food items use those ingredients. We can think of pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecakes, pumpkin-spiced cookies, pumpkin soups, and even an occasional PSL (pumpkin spice latte) on a crisp Fall day is nice. These are cozy and cheery.

More recently, however, what was quintessential American Autumn cuisine has ballooned into the absurd. We now have pumpkin-flavored and spiced kombucha, beer, yogurt, jello, Cup Noodles (Ummm?), Spam (Huh?), and Tastin’ Jamaican (HA!) pumpkin spice mild Caribbean-style salsa (WHAAT?!). Not that all these items would taste bad, but there are altogether too many items that have no business being pumpkin-flavored or spiced now. This year the pumpkin frenzy has even expanded into non-food items like deodorants, chapstick, household cleaners, and dog toys. Just why? The delightful scent of freshly baked pumpkin pie should be followed up with eating the actual pie not plunging a toilet… eeeck.

[3] What type of friend would you like to be?

I’d like to be the kind of friend who is always there. I want to be the quiet yet funny one. I want to be the one that checks up on you and remembers birthdays and anniversaries. I think I am that friend, but it’s been harder these days. I have a lot vying for my time and I’m juggling a lot of balls. Luckily, as one of my friends says, you learn which balls are rubber and bounce back, and which are glass and shatter. Real friendships aren’t going to shatter. Friends are still friends even in your busiest, darkest, or suckiest seasons. I hope that’s true for me. I want to be there for my friends and I want them to still be there for me.

[4] What have you given up on?

A major thing I have given up on was my dream of becoming a medical doctor and pianist. I think the great thing about giving up on ideas that no longer serve you is that it opens you up to ideas that serve you better. In giving up on this hypothetical self, I’ve opened myself up to being someone who is more… me.

[5] What is one thing you’re committed to learning more about?

I myself, honestly. I am on a journey to learn who I actually am and who I am in relation to others. What is my role in this world? How can I be helpful? Good? Kind? How can I be better? I have only but so much agency — i.e., I can only control my own behaviors. How can I make those the best behaviors? That’s that I am committed to learning. Once I figure that out… I’ll be unstoppable.

Faves?

• Favourite soup? I LOVE soup. This is my favorite question yet!! The best soups I’ve ever had were my grandmother’s Jamaican duck soup and my grandfather’s vegetable soup (there was pumpkin in it). I’m also partial to a nice creamy New England clam chowder but I am lactose intolerant so I haven’t had that in a while.
• Favourite stationery item? Post-It notes, so handy!
• Favourite novelist? Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche
• Favourite blue item? My bedsheets
• Favourite unhealthy beverage? Vanilla Bean Crème Frappuccino® with Whipped Cream (Not lactose intolerant friendly…)

Articles to share

• Your top piece last month (Thank you to the WEOC Editors! I’m super happy to be a #WEOC member!)

• A piece that deserves more love (I loved this beautiful piece about Black hair identity by Q U I N T E S S A and you probably would too)

• A piece that’s fewer than 3 minutes (Just a minute long love poem)

• A longform piece (The longest I’ve written in a while. It’s a solemn reflection on life, death, and legacy)

• A poem (A teeny-tiny love poem)

Thank you as always to Lucy Dan 蛋小姐 (she/her/她) and The Brain Is a Noodle for these thoughtful and intriguing questions! I always enjoy answering them. #October2021TBINInterview

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