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Hello Instagram! I am in search of an excellent plus-one to my oldest friend’s wedding, which will take place May 24 in the Hudson Valley. I’m looking for a sharp conversationalist and dresser, a discerning table guest who is fantastic with parents, someone independent and a great hang—respectful and adept at talking to strangers. Delicate balance of very good and up to no good…

Is it you or someone you know?

Friends and acquaintances and friends of friends are encouraged to apply. Open to all gender identities! Preference given to those with access to a car. Internal references are strongly encouraged for candidates who I do not know personally!

APPLY BY 11:59PM SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2026 through the link in bio

Finalists will be invited to a group interview and karaoke night with the judging panel in April/early May.

Drawing of +1 by @sorryelle

Swept up!! By the breeze, the coast, the trees…stories, music, spirit

Swept up!! By the breeze, the coast, the trees…stories, music, spirit

Swept up!! By the breeze, the coast, the trees…stories, music, spirit

Swept up!! By the breeze, the coast, the trees…stories, music, spirit

Swept up!! By the breeze, the coast, the trees…stories, music, spirit

Swept up!! By the breeze, the coast, the trees…stories, music, spirit

Swept up!! By the breeze, the coast, the trees…stories, music, spirit

Swept up!! By the breeze, the coast, the trees…stories, music, spirit

Swept up!! By the breeze, the coast, the trees…stories, music, spirit

Swept up!! By the breeze, the coast, the trees…stories, music, spirit

Swept up!! By the breeze, the coast, the trees…stories, music, spirit

Swept up!! By the breeze, the coast, the trees…stories, music, spirit

Swept up!! By the breeze, the coast, the trees…stories, music, spirit

Swept up!! By the breeze, the coast, the trees…stories, music, spirit

Swept up!! By the breeze, the coast, the trees…stories, music, spirit

Up until fairly recently, it was rare to find a chain store in Manhattan’s Chinatown. But with the all the new boba shops popping up as of late, that’s changing. The neighborhood has also been losing legacy businesses and its working class Asian residential population. It’s no coincidence that all this is happening at once!

I grew up just outside of Chinatown on the Lower East Side, so this narrative is very familiar to me. But what’s happening with boba feels distinct. It’s a case of economic and cultural displacement masked by ethnicity—at first glance innocuous but telling of a small business landscape in crisis. It might even aggravate it.

I can go on about all the potential consequences and did… (see link in bio lol)

But nothing’s all doom!! Whether you are actually Chinese or uhh… in that era of your life 😔… visit your local Chinatown. Still plenty of opportunities to eat and drink things made with love!

One day last summer, I found myself on Mott St. in dire need of a pen. It wouldn’t be a big deal!—I thought. Chinatown has always been the perfect neighborhood for a dilemma of this sort. It’s a place where you can find everything you need, from an affordable and independent retailer, too :)

I walked down a few doors toward my favorite stationary store growing up, and was surprised to see that it had become yet another gift shop. Looking down the block, I could see two others—and SO much boba.

I figured that if I was having a hard time finding a pen, all these new boba shops were probably impacting community members’ lives in more material ways. I went home that day and started a spreadsheet called “the bobafication of Chinatown.”

What started out as a joke turned into a bigger project involving archival Google Maps data, tracking what every boba shop replaced, and thinking about how and why food and ethnicity can mask gentrification in sneaky ways.

I wrote about some of this for @nextcityorg and got to talk to some brilliant, thoughtful people like Grace Young (@stirfryguru) and Alice Liu of @grandteaimports in the process.

Link to the article is in my bio if it compels you!

One day last summer, I found myself on Mott St. in dire need of a pen. It wouldn’t be a big deal!—I thought. Chinatown has always been the perfect neighborhood for a dilemma of this sort. It’s a place where you can find everything you need, from an affordable and independent retailer, too :)

I walked down a few doors toward my favorite stationary store growing up, and was surprised to see that it had become yet another gift shop. Looking down the block, I could see two others—and SO much boba.

I figured that if I was having a hard time finding a pen, all these new boba shops were probably impacting community members’ lives in more material ways. I went home that day and started a spreadsheet called “the bobafication of Chinatown.”

What started out as a joke turned into a bigger project involving archival Google Maps data, tracking what every boba shop replaced, and thinking about how and why food and ethnicity can mask gentrification in sneaky ways.

I wrote about some of this for @nextcityorg and got to talk to some brilliant, thoughtful people like Grace Young (@stirfryguru) and Alice Liu of @grandteaimports in the process.

Link to the article is in my bio if it compels you!

One day last summer, I found myself on Mott St. in dire need of a pen. It wouldn’t be a big deal!—I thought. Chinatown has always been the perfect neighborhood for a dilemma of this sort. It’s a place where you can find everything you need, from an affordable and independent retailer, too :)

I walked down a few doors toward my favorite stationary store growing up, and was surprised to see that it had become yet another gift shop. Looking down the block, I could see two others—and SO much boba.

I figured that if I was having a hard time finding a pen, all these new boba shops were probably impacting community members’ lives in more material ways. I went home that day and started a spreadsheet called “the bobafication of Chinatown.”

What started out as a joke turned into a bigger project involving archival Google Maps data, tracking what every boba shop replaced, and thinking about how and why food and ethnicity can mask gentrification in sneaky ways.

I wrote about some of this for @nextcityorg and got to talk to some brilliant, thoughtful people like Grace Young (@stirfryguru) and Alice Liu of @grandteaimports in the process.

Link to the article is in my bio if it compels you!

One day last summer, I found myself on Mott St. in dire need of a pen. It wouldn’t be a big deal!—I thought. Chinatown has always been the perfect neighborhood for a dilemma of this sort. It’s a place where you can find everything you need, from an affordable and independent retailer, too :)

I walked down a few doors toward my favorite stationary store growing up, and was surprised to see that it had become yet another gift shop. Looking down the block, I could see two others—and SO much boba.

I figured that if I was having a hard time finding a pen, all these new boba shops were probably impacting community members’ lives in more material ways. I went home that day and started a spreadsheet called “the bobafication of Chinatown.”

What started out as a joke turned into a bigger project involving archival Google Maps data, tracking what every boba shop replaced, and thinking about how and why food and ethnicity can mask gentrification in sneaky ways.

I wrote about some of this for @nextcityorg and got to talk to some brilliant, thoughtful people like Grace Young (@stirfryguru) and Alice Liu of @grandteaimports in the process.

Link to the article is in my bio if it compels you!

One day last summer, I found myself on Mott St. in dire need of a pen. It wouldn’t be a big deal!—I thought. Chinatown has always been the perfect neighborhood for a dilemma of this sort. It’s a place where you can find everything you need, from an affordable and independent retailer, too :)

I walked down a few doors toward my favorite stationary store growing up, and was surprised to see that it had become yet another gift shop. Looking down the block, I could see two others—and SO much boba.

I figured that if I was having a hard time finding a pen, all these new boba shops were probably impacting community members’ lives in more material ways. I went home that day and started a spreadsheet called “the bobafication of Chinatown.”

What started out as a joke turned into a bigger project involving archival Google Maps data, tracking what every boba shop replaced, and thinking about how and why food and ethnicity can mask gentrification in sneaky ways.

I wrote about some of this for @nextcityorg and got to talk to some brilliant, thoughtful people like Grace Young (@stirfryguru) and Alice Liu of @grandteaimports in the process.

Link to the article is in my bio if it compels you!

One day last summer, I found myself on Mott St. in dire need of a pen. It wouldn’t be a big deal!—I thought. Chinatown has always been the perfect neighborhood for a dilemma of this sort. It’s a place where you can find everything you need, from an affordable and independent retailer, too :)

I walked down a few doors toward my favorite stationary store growing up, and was surprised to see that it had become yet another gift shop. Looking down the block, I could see two others—and SO much boba.

I figured that if I was having a hard time finding a pen, all these new boba shops were probably impacting community members’ lives in more material ways. I went home that day and started a spreadsheet called “the bobafication of Chinatown.”

What started out as a joke turned into a bigger project involving archival Google Maps data, tracking what every boba shop replaced, and thinking about how and why food and ethnicity can mask gentrification in sneaky ways.

I wrote about some of this for @nextcityorg and got to talk to some brilliant, thoughtful people like Grace Young (@stirfryguru) and Alice Liu of @grandteaimports in the process.

Link to the article is in my bio if it compels you!

One day last summer, I found myself on Mott St. in dire need of a pen. It wouldn’t be a big deal!—I thought. Chinatown has always been the perfect neighborhood for a dilemma of this sort. It’s a place where you can find everything you need, from an affordable and independent retailer, too :)

I walked down a few doors toward my favorite stationary store growing up, and was surprised to see that it had become yet another gift shop. Looking down the block, I could see two others—and SO much boba.

I figured that if I was having a hard time finding a pen, all these new boba shops were probably impacting community members’ lives in more material ways. I went home that day and started a spreadsheet called “the bobafication of Chinatown.”

What started out as a joke turned into a bigger project involving archival Google Maps data, tracking what every boba shop replaced, and thinking about how and why food and ethnicity can mask gentrification in sneaky ways.

I wrote about some of this for @nextcityorg and got to talk to some brilliant, thoughtful people like Grace Young (@stirfryguru) and Alice Liu of @grandteaimports in the process.

Link to the article is in my bio if it compels you!

💋⛓️ “Sugar Tits” is out today – enjoy now on any platform you choose! ⛓️💋

This song is for the people pleasers, and those who feel the need to repress themselves for any reason. It celebrates the joy of defiant self-expression in an increasingly fasc*st, repressive, and robotic world ✨

Produced by PAULA T and Eli Heath (@eliheathmusic)
Mixed by Eli Heath
Mastered by Paul Gold (@saltmastering)
📸: Viviane Eng (@misocherry)
☁️: Sariel Friedman (@sorryelle)
Set conceived and built by Paula, Viv, and Sariel
Text Illustration: Jordan Germ (@worm_germ)

These are some of my favorite people in the universe, which makes me even fonder of the song ☺️ Thank you for sharing your talent with me :))

Last night at the gig 😤

Last night at the gig 😤

Last night at the gig 😤

Last night at the gig 😤

Super Ari!!