And allowed my true self to be born. — When I met Linda at the shophouse I was already drunk. I was only twenty years old then, twenty and terrified of women. I had just got out of two terrible relationships and had no desire to get into another, so when Linda invited me to spend the night with…

“She’s mad but she’s magic; there’s no lie in her fire.” — Dear Mama, I love you. Throughout our 27 years together on this Earth, I’ve never once told you this one, simple fact — but here it is, out in the open, out in the air. Where do I begin? I’ve never once said the big L word to you, partially because I’m Asian — and…

Chivalry means nothing more than being polite. — I hopped on a call with my Medium friend Neeramitra Reddy some days ago, and during our hour-long call, he said something that stuck with me. “Alvin, you’ve dated a lot of beautiful women, man!” At first, I was flattered, as any man paid this compliment would be. Perhaps he…

And writing might have something to do with it. — I’ve always been that overly-energetic guy who didn’t believe in burnout. My ADHD might have something to do with it. When I’m on, I’m all the way on, baby. …

“My Dad has three cars and a driver, ha-ha.” — When I was in my teens, I wanted to be an MMA fighter. But MMA fighters are broke. This is especially true for aspiring ones. Take everything you know about pro athletes and throw them out the window, because fighting, unless you’ve made it to the big leagues, is a…

Looks are more important than you think. — I used to suffer from terrible acne as a teen. And when I say terrible, I mean terrible. Like I wrote in my first novel: “My once clear skin became an oil field, and my oil field gave me not wealth but acne. The pimples I was afflicted with were…

When the going gets tough, the tough writer gets going. — When I first started writing here in 2019, I dreamed of the day I would get a thousand views. I remember thinking to myself, “Man, if I could even make a couple of dozen dollars a month from this online writing thing, I’d be happy!” Fast forward to today. Now, three years plus later…

And it taught me a very important lesson about money. — Before the pandemic arrived, I was a successful entrepreneur. Sure, I was no billionaire big bucks, but I ran a sports event business that was clearing six figures annually. And I let this success get to my head. I always thought that if and when I came into money, I would not end up blowing it away. I’ve read…

No, it’s not just a bad flu. — I moved out of my family home last year to stay with my business partner. He was in his thirties. Lean, stocky, and athletic, my partner was an investment banker by day and a martial artist by night. He holds a black belt in Judo and a blue belt in Jiu-Jitsu. …