Bits of inspiration

Summer is here and I am determined to finally have one.

I’ve worked through many summers. Last year, I shot my first film in the thick of it. I produced some of my favorite podcast work during it. A core adult beach memory is waking up at the crack of dawn at a beautiful hotel in Cancún, Mexico to do yoga in my room while watching waves crash ashore outside. I was there for a work trip and that was about all the beach time I was going to have.

This year, I am trying my best to have a real summer for once. It’s off to a decent start. Last week, I made it out to the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market where I grabbed myself not one but two bags of Tenerelli peaches then ran across Ocean Avenue like a westsider. There’s something about the water that feels calming and restorative. I’m trying to spend more time near it this season, and to have non work-related summertime memories.

A friend recently asked me when the last time I did nothing was. I couldn’t recall.

This summer, I want to rest, get bored, do nothing. And maybe, through all that nothing, can come a bit of inspiration. Today’s post is about trying to find that.

But first…

• Widow’s Bay. My kind of show. I’m just sad it’s over. Seaside town mysteries. Dark comedy. A tinge of horror and juicy twists. Masterful tone and writing. Excellent performances, visual style, production design, costumes… and that crazy score?? 11/10.

• LA Material is doing interesting, thoughtful local journalism. We need that right now. This piece about the unwritten rules of celebrity podcasts and the death of the celebrity interview is very good.

• Speaking of interviews… this one on The Daily with Scott Pelley was amazing. An extremely passionate breakdown of the “massacre” at 60 Minutes. Great work by Lulu Garcia-Navarro and the production team.

• The new season of Serial, “The Last 12 Weeks”, just dropped. Two episodes in, and it already feels like the kind of narrative journalism this show does best. There’s a lot of information and I got lost a few times but that’s what the rewind button is for. I’m in for the ride (but, man, do I miss old host-read ads).

I didn’t mean for this to be such a podcast-centric rec list but it’s nice to have good things to listen to again. Btw, on the latest In Proximity episodes, I talked to the lovely Toy Story 5 writers/directors and shared some learnings as a new filmmaker on this film festival how-to guide.

Now on to the show…

As I find ways to do nothing and recharge my creative brain, I’ve been thinking a lot about inspiration. Where I get it and how to access it without forcing it.

I realize that, for me, to get inspired, I have to step away from whatever it is I am doing, and go back to things that I love and enjoy. They bring pleasure and peace and remind me about why I do what I do. I also like to go out and find new things to surprise and delight me, to teach me, to make me think about things in fresh and different ways.

Here’s a list of things that are giving me inspiration and even joy right now. This is not an exhaustive list by any means. These are just things that are feeding my brain as of late. I take my sources of inspiration from all kinds of places so it might feel random… or it might not.

1. Switched at Birth. A classic This American Life radio story by Jake Halpern about two babies who were switched at birth and grew up with the wrong families, even after one of the mothers realized the mistake. A well-crafted radio piece that is as beautiful as it is painful. Just a really human story about family and belonging and complicated relationships. This was one of the first radio stories that made me realize you could tell stories on the radio. (Yes, before podcasting, real ones were into radio storytelling.) I like revisiting this because it reminds me about why I love the medium and why I am a storyteller.
   

2. Good (or bad) old movies. I love watching movies. I love watching old ones. This weekend, I watched an array: The Game (David Fincher). Mississippi Masala (Mira Nair). Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet). The Lion King (Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff). I started but then fell asleep to Goldfinger (a rewatch so it’s okay) and started but have yet to finish Gone With the Wind (my first time seeing this, actually — I’ll save my thoughts for when I finish). A real masala, so to speak. But, man, it is nice to watch really different kinds of stories, from different places and perspectives, and to see and learn something new from each one.

3. Anthony Bourdain. When I think about the kind of host, writer, and creative person that I aspire to be, I think about Anthony Bourdain. I still remember finding A Cook’s Tour on TV somehow and just loving it. Growing up in different parts of Southeast Asia and attending international school exposed me to a lot of different cultures during my formative years. Bourdain’s show was probably the first pop culture thing I had ever seen that showed that being from somewhere outside of the U.S. wasn’t weird or exotic. It was a thing of curiosity, of marvel, of wonder. It was human and raw and real. Sure, he had that sarcasm and anarchistic humor but it was cool and refreshing and always open never judging. This recent selection of old interviews with Bourdain on The Splendid Table was sad but lovely to hear. At his core, Bourdain was a writer and cook with a rebellious spirit that never left him no matter how big his star became. That inspires me.
   

4. Cooking. Speaking of food… when I need to get away from the endless scroll of capitalist consumption culture, I try to do something with my hands that creates something new. Cooking has always been that thing for me. It’s meditative and pleasurable. As a child, I spent a lot of time with my mother in the kitchen. I’d play Emeril Lagasse and yell “Bam!” while pretending to host my own cooking show. (My mom found it charming and not annoying, apparently.) But I also loved watching my mom and her mom and anyone in the kitchen cook. I guess from there, grew a love and appreciation for food and cooking. I’m really trying to cook at home more these days, and, when I have the time, I try to cook long, deliberate meals. I tend to go back to Filipino classics when I do. In the past week, I made chicken adobo and tortang talong. Maybe because it reminds me of home and who I am deep down. Next up might be some Spanish cuisine — I know, I know, the food of my colonizers. But I just got José Andrés’ Spain My Way and devoured the TV show where he travels and eats his way through Spain with his daughters. What can I say? I love good tapas and wine.
   

5. Eating. No explanation needed here. With cooking, comes eating. Too often, I find myself doing so on on the couch watching TV. I am trying to change that and get my meals back on the dining table. I also try to enjoy local, seasonal produce when I can. At the farmers’ market this week, my haul included peaches, tomatoes, purple potatoes, and Taiwanese green beans. The latter was new to me so I asked the farmer, this older Taiwanese auntie, how she would recommend cooking the beans. She said to drop them into boiling water for 3-5 minutes, plunge them into cold water, then toss them with some avocado oil and salt. I followed her instructions but with olive oil instead of avocado. I probably should have gone closer to 3 minutes instead of 5 but the beans were a nutty, crunchy delight nonetheless. And those summer peaches? I had hoped to make galettes out of them but Patrick and I ended up eating them straight from the counter. I grew up with canned peaches in the Philippines so I really, truly enjoy and appreciate a fresh summer peach.
   

6. Reading. Finding ways to reduce my screen time is an ongoing project. One thing I’ve found that helps a lot is to start and end my day with reading a book. I actually feel like it does something to my brain. Like a refreshing massage for the mind. I don’t always get to do it both morning and night, but when I do, I never regret it.
   

7. Going outside. This one’s been hard with the Boyle Heights fire here in LA, but going outdoors does wonders for inspiration and general health and well-being. I like to walk around a local botanical garden or, when it’s not too hot, go for a hike. If I can’t go into nature, then the next best thing is to go and see art. I like going to museums or art galleries. There’s also the movie theater, of course.
   

8. Being alone. Catching up with friends and loved ones is always a good thing. But for inspiration and reflection, I like to be alone. That could mean staying home or it could be spending the day out and about by myself. There is something about being alone that comforts me. When I first moved to LA, I loved driving around the city, checking out shops and markets, coasting through Sunset or Hollywood Blvd blasting The Chronic (yep). Come to think of it, I can do pretty much anything on this list by myself. I guess I like to be alone because it helps me think and find peace, and it opens up space for me to just be. Being alone helps me find myself again. And then, at the right moment, if I am lucky, I find bits of inspiration.