In Which I Miss Warm Drinks and Warmer People

ALT="A photo of me standing with my family at my mom's mandolin recital."
My brother, mom, sister and I together at my mom's mandolin orchestra performance.
When I was younger, my parents used to make me a special Vietnamese warm drink any time in the winter. They would spoon sweetened condensed milk into a big mug, then pour hot water into it, stirring all the while. And after adding enough condensed milk as necessary to my preferred taste, they would finish it off by giving me bread to dip as I sipped my drink. While this was definitely before my university years, I still find myself unknowingly craving the drink then ultimately making it any time life (at U of T, especially) gets crazy, gets chaotic, gets stormy, gets sad. And, well, I also crave the drink when I miss my family.

Braving Times Square: The Introvert Gets Involved

A whorl of chaotic colours, blacks and indigos, fluorescent yellows and oranges, pulsating at the edges of your eyes. A cacophony of shouts and honks drowning out the sound of your own breathing. The smell of greasy hotdogs, sunscreen, and cologne suffocating you. Arms and elbows and hands tangled with others as people nudge past you to get to one of the many fast food restaurants, shops, or stores stretching along either side. Times Square, a force with which to be reckoned in all its sights, scents, sounds, and touch. While some people can handle the hustle and bustle of this chaotic mass, others are overwhelmed by the amount of people, scents, and sounds crushing them and have to leave the vicinity from time to time to catch their breath. Similarly, after socializing with other people for a period of time, introverts need some “alone time” to recharge because they get drained from the activity. Some get drained after a couple of hours, others after several hours. But, what is an introvert?