Abandoned messages on WeChat

Ah, many times I started writing a paragraph to someone about how strongly I remembered this single thing they said years ago, and how I made that a part of my own, and how much a difference it had made to my life. How fondly I remember my time with them as classmates, colleagues, or just as friends, and how it soothed the passing of time. How, alongside splitting the bill for a lunch held thirty minutes ago, I would like to tell them how much I enjoyed it, how it refueled me with much-needed joy to share spaghetti with them.

And how many times I’ve abandoned those messages. How I’d just stick to the formal part; splitting the bill or silence altogether. Because I’d be certain they wouldn’t remember such a moment or didn’t catch the feeling. Unsure whether I could say such a thing, because it’s not something people do — so out-of-the-blue, so unsolicited. I’d convince myself it’s better to delete what I just wrote and forget about it.

And in such a moment I’d lose that opportunity of friendship.

Because every time I did proceed sending such messages, it brought joy to the person whom I was grateful for — which brought even more joy to me.

Latest

The Path and Meaning

The Path and Meaning

“We walk down the path in Xikeng.” Three years ago, I started a note with that sentence. We visited a row of villages in the south of Zhejiang, and Xikeng (西坑) was at the end of the day — the least touristified town of them all. The village had dozens of old buildings, sliced by […]
February 4, 2026
Kunshan Diorama

Kunshan Diorama

Today, I’m visiting Zhengyi Old Street (正仪老街) in Kunshan — a city wedged in between Suzhou and Shanghai. This old street is a leftover slice in between other parts properly planned by the city. On the horizon, I can see construction cranes, as if they are threatening the area; ‘we are coming to you next’. […]
January 17, 2026
Hyperreality

Hyperreality

It’s 06:30 in the morning and I’m driving to the San Gabriel Mountains, north of Los Angeles. I’ve been trying to sleep after an exhausting week at CES, but I’m too excited for this hike and can’t wait to depart the Airbnb we’re in. Every visit to the United States is an adventure. The most […]
January 15, 2026
In Praise Of Writing (And the Case Against AI)

In Praise Of Writing (And the Case Against AI)

If George Orwell, one of the best essayists, were alive today, he’d be firmly against AI. Not because of 1984 or ‘Big Brother’, but because in ‘Why I Write’, he listed four motives for writing; Historical impulse Political purpose Aesthetic enthusiasm Egoism   Neither of these motives survives if you let AI do the writing […]
January 14, 2026