Micronesian women talk story + you're not wasting your time
Also, penises are shrinking. Here are some interesting links for you this Friday.
We made it through another week. Happy Friday for the Guam-based readers. Happy Thursday to you readers on the other side of the Pacific.
This week I tried public transportation on Guam for the first time in my life despite living on Guam for my entire existence. You know, the people on the bus are just like us. 1Everyone kept to themselves. One guy dropped something and his bus mate tapped him on the shoulder to let him know. On my two rides, three different bus mates had walking canes and I felt for them because you have to walk so far to get to a bus stop (unless you get a ride to a bus stop) and they had to do it with their canes.
I started to get a blister because I wore sandals instead of sneakers. I was so relieved to just sit down. 2
Anyway, I could write about that forever. But today, I’m serving some links🔗 on a platter.
Watch list
Three of my favorite Micronesian creators who I follow on Instagram, Chuukese Goddess, beautymarked_nelli and Micronesian Viral, hosted their second virtual interactive storytelling event and uploaded the recording on YouTube. It's such a great idea. I missed the live but I was happy they had the playback available to catch up.
"Nothing you go through is truly wasted time. Every stage you go through is teaching you something."
Man, sometimes the YouTube algorithm serves you some doodoo but sometimes it serves you exactly what you need to hear. Hindzsight's insight in this video resonated with me and I thought it'd be a nice Friday message to share with you.
Penises are shrinking 😳
Aka another reason not to eat out of plastic!
I liked this video of Jim Joseph sending packages to his family in Marshall Islands. It's literally just him driving to the post office. (My siblings in the states are side-eyeing me right now because I never send them stuff. LOL sorry luv u)
Scroll 3
Enjoy the discussion prompted by this PDN IG post. Weirdly funny.
Palau and Taiwan have established a travel bubble. Palau has had ZERO cases of COVID-19. From CNN: “The islands of Palau and Taiwan have opened a reciprocal travel lane, allowing residents of both places to travel back and forth quarantine-free provided they follow certain guidelines.” This is exciting. Are we getting close to traveling again???? *hopeful sigh*4
Here’s a sweet feature about Catherine Mori, the oldest female employee in the Department of FSM Finance.
The Pacific Daily News launched its first issue under new local ownership on April 2.
Guam's governor doesn't support the chemical castration of sex offenders. (So, I like this story because of the hustle it took to get this story. I know Haidee, she's my friend, she works hard and she's been a journalist for decades. )
Things I’m tracking
The Micronesian exit from the PIF. It's interesting and I'd like to read more about what this could mean for the region. My spidey sense tingles.
Hyperion gaming servers on Guam: I wrote about it, it's my first freelance byline so I spent some time thinking about this. I think esports on Guam could really blow up and we could have some big-time esports athletes from the island. As an industry, why not? Guam is often touted as a strategic military location but this Aussie company sees the island’s strategic gaming location.
As promised, a pretty sunset photo. Have a great weekend!
Thank you for reading. Write to you again soon.
Cheers, Jasmine
Nay, they're better than us because they are more patient.
You know, I have a new perspective on why pedestrians sometimes take the chance to cross a road when there's a gap in traffic. Maybe they're feeling reckless but maybe they have to walk so much just to get to a bus stop and the crosswalks are so far away, maybe they're willing to take a chance. So let's be considerate of the pedestrians. Pedestrian power!
Wouldn’t The Scroll be a good newsletter name? Might already be taken.
Idk why I’m sighing, I just quit my full time job. LOL. I’m acting like I’m gonna travel soon. SMH.