Life Mining by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm + Why love blogs? + Podcast

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1bKmdGi98yHTSe70pLcbyf?si=66220d4d675446c3

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Why do you read, follow, and maybe even write blogs? In my case, it began with hoping to discover fellow readers and writers who love the kind of stuff I do, while I wrote some books and now seek a literary agent…

There’s fear-mongering galore when it comes to the idea of starting a blog. In my case, aside from the rare instance when I decide to click a comment into spam, I’ve had nothing but great experiences. Perhaps it would have been riskier if I were still dating (am I the only one who connected with a slew of terrible people who tried to scare me into staying with them?). Or maybe it’s riskier for high schoolers, who I hear can be online-viscious to each other? I’m careful to not use my last name and not list my address — but I don’t entertain illusions. Any more, privacy and anonymity are merely silly illusions.

So far, blogging has sorta been like this — once upon a time, I took flamenco dance classes. On the day of our first class public performance, at a community college, I was so nervous I could hardly look beyond the toes of my nail-studded shoes and my ruffled skirt. Eventually I did see the audience. They were mostly students assigned to be there by their teachers. Many were on their cell phones, others were conversing with neighbors, and hardly anyone gave a #%*#% about us performers.

Weirdly, it was a valuable experience. A mental lightbulb flashed: we should all be so lucky, barring the horrors of dating and high school, that anyone cares what we’re doing…

Digression aside, what I’m getting at is that the world of reading and writing blogs is so provocative and multi-faceted that I’m continually blown away by how much it teaches me about self-expression, connection, learning, the world — and moreover, how it’s introduced me to today’s guest!…

Poet/pharmacist Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm blogs from Western Sydney, Australia. At NGUYỄN THỊ PHƯƠNG TRÂM: Art and Literature Beyond Borders, Trâm expands her creativity, deepens her knowledge of Vietnamese culture and language, and reflects on her life that includes her family’s experience as Vietnamese boat people. In addition, her site features talented guests.

Here’s just a sample of why you need to visit her blog…

Menopause. by Nguyễn Thị Phương

Hooked on the wisdom of words. But. I never know what to say or write, as the occasion arises. 

Not that I’m shy.

It is half a decade into the pandemic, and I find myself further in the dark. Out at the park. The local park bench of my childhood. As my testosterone and oestrogen levels slowly take a downhill dive. 

I was five, and where was my father? He was out of sight. They took him, they took him into the mountains, and he was fading. He was fading into the darkness. 

I’m exhausted by the flashbacks. My back hurts, from the Lunar rollercoaster ride, the highs and the lows, and then the lows. But the soft cotton textured darkness carries me. Sleep please, the anger in my heart. Let me depart. Let me sleep. 

Kisses, kisses on my forehead, my head. And it was dawn again. Did I wash my hair? My children, I dare say, are towering over me. It has been a lifetime you see. So please, please be gentle with us.

.

See us please

The greys in our hair

The skin tags

The bags

The wisdom in our eyes

Acknowledge the pain

We have gained 

On our hips is an expanding universe

The weight of our children.

We are old, but there is still so much to learn, the concerns of depleting minds. The non-existent presence of middle-aged women.

Why do you read, follow, and maybe even write blogs?