Adrianna Tan

My friend planned a birthday dinner for me in an ancient city. It was really special.

I'm 41 today. It sounds like a big year. It sort of is, but after 40, who cares? I'm just so incredibly happy to be here, so thankful to be alive, to be able to see the world, meet all the people in it, eat all the food, do all the things. I can't wait for more. The women in my family are long-lived, and I'm looking forward to it because I feel like I am going to be curiously and voraciously in love with the world forever. Since I was a child I have always looked forward to being '40 something'. In my mind, I had no doubt that I was going to be where I want to be, doing what I want. I am. --- I'm in Kathmandu, Nepal: two years ago, one of my oldest friends told me that he was going to gift me a birthday gift to his home city the moment I was able to travel again. Once I got word that I could, we made plans. I've known him for more than 20 years. My wife noted yesterday that I've known many of my friends for 10 - 29 years. I feel immensely lucky to have old friends everywhere who I've kept in touch with. I may not be the sort of person who goes out very frequently with friends, given that many of my friends live in different cities or countries, but I feel like I've been able to just pick up on old friendships by talking from time to time, and visiting sometimes. I feel like I'm in a new season of life. One in which exploration, adventure, and abundance are back in my life. I am surrounded by friends and family I love and trust, and I have so much joy to share. It wasn't always this way, including when I was very ill and depressed for a very long time, so this is especially special.

Everywhere I go, stray cats sit on me #Cats

This is a lot of words for ‘European colonizers stole our stuff. They stole everyone’s stuff’

it is my birthday. i'm in a safe and calm place, with my loved ones. my birthday wish is for all beings to experience safety, joy and peace.

I don’t think this is uplifting news. This is evidence that Californian municipal services have utterly failed. Many cities, like Oakland in particular, seem incapable of picking up the trash or curbing dumping.

I have been invited to a ‘homo momo’ gay dumpling class

A lifetime of adventures across India (and the rest of the world..):

1. When I was 18 years old, I joined a volunteer tourism program which was heavily subsidized by the Singapore government. I spent a month in Kolkata in the Sonagachi red light district working with the kids of sex workers, most of them trafficked. We worked with an organization that provided services to their kids.

Up till that point I’d led a fairly privileged life in Singapore as a middle class kid who wanted for nothing. But that experience showed me that I wanted to do more than volunteer tourism.

I also describe my month in Kolkata as ‘the trip where life suddenly made sense for me’, in that I developed a sense of how I wanted to live the rest of my life. Not in Singapore. Not as a corporate worker in the financial district.

I wanted to build deep relationships in that country and I loved everything about it.

Six months later I would come back on my own for my first 55-day solo trip around India.

#India #Travel

We can’t possibly be Nazi because we are gay, is the new I can’t be racist, I have friends

16 years ago in Chennai: me trying to fix or paint my auto rickshaw (I took part in an auto rickshaw rally..) I’ve been coming to this country for 23 years and it’s always given me incredible adventures

Bay Area convos about homelessness: Instead of giving people homes, we should research compulsory confinement with mandatory sobriety.. could be cheaper than giving them homes. What about no

BritishSlaveTraders.org is a database of the individuals who built their fortunes on African suffering The database was compiled from years of work by historians at King’s College, Lancaster, Manchester and UCL https://britishslavetraders.org/

My country (Singapore) says it wants more babies but Women can freeze their eggs but are not able to use them until they are heterosexually married and their husband approved Women cannot make life altering fertility decisions without written approval from their.. husbands IVF is only available to legally married (therefore hetero) couples Just a joke all around. Oh, this year we finally decided to give the ‘baby bonus’ to ‘unwed mothers’. Doesn’t feel like it’s 2026 over there where fertility is concerned. If I were a straight woman living there I also would not want any babies.

Among the many problems with vibe coded slop: you have one person projects trying to take on giant things. It’s a bit like cooking poorly out of your kitchen and then trying to supply to a national grocery chain, with no standards or capacity. Or permits. I think those folks are finding out that the constraint with software was rarely about the production or the speed of it. Can you build it? Should you? Who’s going to pay for it? Who needs it? These are questions of taste, and customer knowledge, not about code.

Seabirds like common murres may develop pressure sores on their feet if they spend too much time on land (like for medical treatment). So they wear baby socks #Birds

My face every time I hear English people talk about how to make tea properly, or what the correct way of drinking tea is The caption says Imagine stealing tea and then inventing rules for it

When I say I need a hot savory breakfast, this is what I mean. #Food #Vietnam

This is not a jug of tea. It is a jug of fish sauce. #Food

I spent the last few years wishing for my old, more spontaneous life, and now that I have it, holy shit, it’s a lot. I still prefer it to not having it. But it’s a lot

I woke up reading about some white South African refugees to the U.S. who went back to South Africa for private healthcare, then can no longer return to the U.S. (Because you can’t legitimately say you’re a refugee if you’re still finding it safe to return to the place you had to escape)

I really like baby wombats

Breakfast options: Michelin noted xiaolongbao in a Singapore hawker centre. US$4 This is one of the more expensive stalls (and I’m having the Hokkien prawn noodles next door instead) #Singapore #Food #ChineseFood

2 minutes into entering Singapore and I’ve already seen at least 20 signs for things you should not do Home sweet home

Tofu in Southeast Asia thread:

1. Fried fuzhuk in Kuala Lumpur (take the yuba.. or skimmed top ‘skin’ during the soy milk making process)

Then fry it

#Food #ChineseFood #Malaysia #KualaLumpur #Tofu

Indonesian coffee is a passion of mine. When I lived there I had the honor of trying coffee from all over the country. They also have an especially excellent specialty coffee scene. I’ve had delicious coffee comparable to the best hipster coffee in California, even inside wet markets in small towns in Java (at a coffee counter..) When I was in Kuala Lumpur last week, I found a small micro-roaster called Blitz and Co inside a coworking space. Aqmal Hadi the owner / roaster is super passionate about his craft. He excitedly showed me a batch of Liberica beans and said ‘bet you haven’t had this before!’ And gave us cup after cup of really delicious coffee. One even smelled like blue cheese! I was so impressed I ordered a kilo. Turns out that these coffee producers in Wonosalam, East Java, just won a national award for best green beans. Aqmal shared his thoughts on why we don’t often hear about specialty coffee using Robusta or Liberica, but he’s bullish on up and coming producers and roasters taking over family businesses and starting new types of production and roasting that will be suitable for ‘third wave’ coffee. East Java is one of my favorite places on earth and I hope to return some time soon. #Coffee #Indonesia #Java

Maybe I should have bangs again

I genuinely feel that ‘liberal arts’ is just like ‘communism’. In that people who don’t know both things have no idea what they’re talking about when they’re dissing them.

Saw some hilarious comments on a post about how Singapore has the most powerful passport in the world. There are Americans who are surprised, deeply hurt, and the best one is the person who said ‘yeah but when you get kidnapped in a foreign place it’s the American government that’s more likely to rescue you’ Well, people tend not to kidnap Singaporeans abroad because nobody hates us

The moment we crossed the border from Malaysia into Singapore late last night, I knew every inch (and centimetre) of the place even without looking very much. From the corner of my eye I could see: here was the animal inspection hut where I had to present Cookie for inspection when I moved her to Singapore. There was the bus stop I spent many mornings waiting for a public bus to school. That was the bridge upon which I broke up with a teenage love. I knew exactly where the bus would turn, and I could feel it in my bones, even before we got there. What does it feel like to be so far away from a place that is so deeply imprinted in me?

I want to go back in time and show colonial era Asian and African independence leaders 2026 newspaper headlines. To see how sorry England has become. I think they would be very amused.

I saw a whole discussion in which a U.S. citizen asked for highly specific advice (how to move to the UK, get qualified as a therapist, work) and then someone asked ‘what’s your plan for a visa?’ And they had never heard of a visa and were offended that they needed one Oh to be so oblivious

As someone who really resents the experience of procuring female clothing: Saving money in order to invest in and develop a relationship with a bespoke tailor who gets my preference for materials and styles has been a revelation. Most formal clothing available in the U.S. does not fit my body type at all. I tried a tailor in Malaysia where I visit often, and they’ll now be able to send me stuff based on my text messages. I am so, so relieved. I want to have a better relationship with clothing, but I do not want to engage in fast fashion or the experience of ‘shopping’. I know what I want and don’t want (too long shirts, too stiff collars, stuff that looks weird tucked in because it’s not made for my body type). I like being able to say I want a pocket here or there, or use some material that is good for specific weather. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to getting anything off the rack, ideally (I have a very difficult relationship with shopping and it literally makes me cry)

Back in a country with bidets in every public restroom. Civilization

Goodbye New York. I love you so much

Newcastle University appointed the heir to India's largest oil and gas fortune as their new professor of sustainability https://www.theguardian.com/education/2026/sep/24/indian-oil-gas-heir-professor-sustainability-newcastle-university-anant-ambani

Just one of the many Malaysian snack shops out here. Love this stuff, will get a ton of stuff to bring back with me

I went to a fountain pen shop in Brooklyn with my ex and I swear the whole place was full of lesbians buying fountain pens and journals There were so many of them I felt overwhelmed and had to leave before I could buy more fountain pens Gayest / most Brooklyn thing ever (this is also different from the other super crowded ‘line around the block’ fountain pen and journal shop, that I went to last weekend)

Repressed conservatives who are revealed to be secretly queer think that the world will treat them the way they treat queer people

I’ve just learned that Manager (Mudir) and Mr Belly (Abu Karsh) are perfectly fine Arabic names for cats Omg I love it

SF Democratic Party stands behind.. Flock They even have two people on Flock’s payroll! Who didn’t recuse themselves from the vote! Feckless, gormless politicians https://missionlocal.org/2026/09/san-francisco-democratic-party-flock-cameras/ #SanFrancisco #Flock

It’s always fun to see Americans discover normal quality European butter and think it’s the most gourmet thing It’s very endearing actually it’s just the rest of the world is mostly confused by it (They talk about Kerrygold like it’s a super gourmet thing. It’s a bit like saying Pepsi is artisanal I suppose)

My favorite Malaysian beverage (available at most Chinese-ish restaurants and stalls) Barley fuzhuk cincau: cooked barley water, iced or hot, with tofu (yuba) and grass jelly

I’ve been following an account run by a person in Tasmania who’s got 50 wombats on her property I love wombats

Hope to be able to make it to my favorite restaurant

Former deputy leader of Labour announces he is joining Palantir

RE: https://hachyderm.io/@skinnylatte/117294245579280039 I think if you’re a person who sees this and says ‘other people also enslaved people’ you should walk into the sea

Saw a bunch of weebs (weirdos who are way too much into Japanese culture in a fetishizing way) say that a bunch of Chinese people were holding chopsticks wrongly and eating ramen that wasn’t real ramen lol lol lol

love the thing that happens when supposedly 'centrist' governments need to fend off the far right, and they decide to just implement far right policies first https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/australia-bar-foreign-students-bring-partners-children-while-studying-6390571

The SatayOkay podcast is the deep dive into Malaysian food I wish I had the time to make So good https://satayokay.com/ #Food #Podcasts #Malaysia #TootSEA