About



Have you ever sent a postcard and thought “I hope this doesn’t get lost in the mail” or “Did he ever get my postcard?” Well, I have, and I’m not alone. I'm also hugely guilty of not sending note of acknowledgement of the super kind gesture. And that’s always bothered me - so I start this project. What can I say? I’m Chinese and grew up with chopsticks, fried rice with a side of guilt and stir-fried worry.

IGYP started off as a writing project and way to acknowledge those that have sent me postcards since I moved to China. Also, it’s a great way for me to catalogue and "comment" on all the postcards that I’ve been collecting in shoe boxes over the years. Having toyed with various way of displaying and sharing them, I've never felt satisfied with my options. A photo album – no way; clothes pinning them to string hanging from walls – kinda cool but I was too lazy to scale it for my collection; attached haphazardly to the fridge – not enough real estate. So, eventually back to the shoe box.

And as each postcard tells a story and in turn can inspire more stories, I needed a better outlet. That, together with my need for a creative outlet, I started writing – usually whatever comes to mind. Some of these stories are memories – most are real, many are embellished and a few drops of embellishment here and there mostly when I write about my mother. It's fun to take liberties... always.

As for me, I’m Alex – a Horse-Water-Gemini. I'm a global citizen. A transplant from Warner Robins/New York/Los Angeles/Beijing/London... . I have two rescued dogs called, Charlie – she's kinda emo and Norma-Jeane – she's... special. I travel as much as I can, but often find myself with too much time and too little money. I’m lacto-ovo intolerant and have matured to know that having my favorite indulgence, ice-cream with cake, will poo-poo the next 48 hours of my existence. Sometimes, when I go to sleep, I put my right arm in the air to see if I can get it to stay there on its own. I’m also into extreme walking while I still have the use of my knees and can jump higher than a street curb. I think I have ADD.