CURRENT MISSION

No wine as wonderful as thirst

ABOUT ME

I'm a photographer, documentary filmmaker, artist, writer, & graduate student with 4.5 years living in the Bay Area and 14 years in the Pacific Northwest. I am warm, funny, engaging, sincere, and respectful.

PHILOSOPHY

During my 6 years working at Powells Books in Portland, Oregon, I filled a card catalog with approximately 5,000 quotes, aphorisms, and notes, first written on scraps of paper then transferred to index cards. Even my friends' witticisms have found company there. Entirely, the catalog embodies Robert Frost's words: I had a lover's quarrel with the world.

In general, I believe in an ethos of mutual respect and compassion. I also believe deeply in karma and social justice.

Interests

I enjoy conversation, hiking, cooking, oceans, films, music, humor, and bookstores. I am content with all sorts of activities, both introverted and extroverted, including wandering around taking photos and sitting in a cafe with a book and journal.

My MA/PhD studies at UC Berkeley includes a focus on the Cham ethnic minority of Viet Nam and Cambodia.

My travels have included four month-long trips to Viet Nam, one month in Cambodia, three months in Mexico, and three months in south-central Africa.

• writing
• books
• documentaries
• cooking
• wine
• movies
• music
• hiking

Music, Movies, and Books

Authors: Haruki Murakami, Arundhati Roy, Kurt Vonnegut, Le Thi Diem Thuy, Rainer Maria Rilke, Barbara Kingsolver, Adrienne Rich, Dean Young, Avery Gordon, Audre Lorde, Gloria Anzaldua

Music: Mono (Japan), Pink Floyd, Cat Power, Rachel's, The Cure, Depeche Mode, Low, Dirty Three, Iron & Wine, Tara Jane O'Neil, Thee Silver Mt. Zion, This Will Destroy You, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake, eighties new wave, post rock

Films: The Big Lebowski, The Celebration, Hearts and Minds, Best in Show, Wings of Desire, Jan Svankmajer's short films, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Being John Malkovich, New Year Baby

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Most important trips -- Spent three months in Mexico and three months in Africa at age 21. Met my Cham family in Viet Nam at age 22. Went on a postwar study tour of Viet Nam, finally seeing Cham towers, at age 24-25. Interviewed women war survivors in El Salvador at age 26. Filmed my grandmother's second burial at age 29. Filmed Agent Orange rehabilitation efforts in Viet Nam at age 33. Interviewed women war survivors in Cambodia (on film) and finally saw the temples of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom at age 34.

Countries I’ve Visited

Cambodia, Canada, El Salvador, Jamaica, Malawi, Mozambique, Spain, Tanzania, United Kingdom, Viet Nam, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

Mexico, United States