Category Archives: Creative Non-Fiction

Pearson College’s The Nostalgia Project

Posted on 21 March 2017 by andyq

For two years, I went to a tiny international college in Vancouver Island on a bay at the edge of the Pacific Ocean. The idea of the United World Colleges, as Pearson College was one of I think six at … Continue reading →

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Spotlight on Racism against Asian-Americans

Posted on 2 November 2016 by andyq

There seems to have been an interesting ‘moment’ happening in popular culture in the United States. I’m sure that this has nothing to do with the fact that the two Asian-American contestants on the latest season of the long-running TV … Continue reading →

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Four months in Paris

Posted on 29 January 2015 by andyq

Short vacations of a few weeks and living abroad for years or longer have their various benefits. But at this point in my life, where I have a happy home in Sydney, the unexpected opportunity to live in Paris for … Continue reading →

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Do you vélib in life after love? My favourite pastime in Paris.

Posted on 21 January 2015 by andyq

While getting lost, people-watching, and wandering are among my preferred activities in Paris, my singular favourite thing to do has been riding around on the amazing free bikes, the vélibs (vélo = bike and libre = free). It’s an amazing … Continue reading →

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Reading Hemingway in Paris

Posted on 4 October 2014 by andyq

Today, I have been reading Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast. He writes about his younger self in Paris, as a writer, living, without much money, on the Left Bank in Paris. I am a writer, just moved here to work … Continue reading →

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The Amazing Abtronic

Posted on 6 September 2014 by andyq

Note: This is one of my most popular blog posts. People keep searching for it, and finding it. If you want to save some time, here’s the take-home message. This thing doesn’t work. Eat less or do some sit-ups. Whether … Continue reading →

Posted in Creative Non-Fiction, Family | 9 Comments

My Dad’s Lawyer

Posted on 2 July 2014 by andyq

At my mom’s 80th birthday, I ended up sitting next to my Dad’s old lawyer, let’s call him Uncle Kasra, an Indian-Canadian man of Farsi background with a beautiful wife and two dynamic daughters, who we saw from time to … Continue reading →

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Australian culture: the Hills Hoist

Posted on 1 June 2014 by andyq

While rotating clothes lines attached to a heavy metal pole stuck in your backyard have been around in Australia since the turn of the 20th century, it was a bloke named Lance Hill who made his model in Adelaide in … Continue reading →

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A minor operation

Posted on 7 December 2013 by andyq

A recount of last week’s operation and encounter with the Australian healthcare system. Warning: Whinging. Graphic. Oversharing. Have you got someone to take you home? Before the operation, upon arrival and after you wake up, they ask, sometimes repeatedly: ‘Do … Continue reading →

Posted in Creative Non-Fiction | 5 Comments

Some small things about Nepal

Posted on 2 November 2008 by andyq

I wake at 5am. My neighbours have woken the last two mornings at 5:30am; I’ve been roused by a low male voice talking at full strength through the thin walls of the 5 star Hotel de L’Annapurna. I don’t know … Continue reading →

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