But traveling to Coney Island is the New York equivalent of hiking Machu Picchu..
5
My father always praised “the gift of fear,” and that prenup scared the shit out of me.
45
This was one of my first jokes: “There’s a saying that people in New York have a lot of ambition and a lot of talent. And people in LA have a lot of ambition and no talent. And people who live in San Francisco go to Burning Man.”
53
The first place I went to perform was the Brainwash Cafe in Folsom Street.
54
As much as I would love having you girls live near me, you will thrive if you move somewhere else. At some point you gotta go. Mama loves you but it’s so important to get out of your hometown and get the fuck away from your family. As the youngest of four kids, I was always being observed by my siblings, who would judge my every decision. They had a set idea of who I was and it affected me. It was limiting. Everything I said had no credence because I was at least ten years younger than every single person in my family, so what did I really know? When I got away from them, I finally felt like I could be the person I was meant to be...
61
Female comic moms:
Natasha Leggero, Amy Schumer, Chelsea Peretti, Christina Pazsitzky, Sabrina Jalees
66
Funny white comics:
Jimmy Kimmel, John Mulaney, Nick Kroll, Bill Hader, Sebastian Maniscalo, Joe Roman, Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, James Corden, Neal Brennan, Jeff Ross, Moshe Kasher, John Cena, Ike Barinholtz, Judd Apatow, Seth Rogan, Chris D’elia, Dave Attell, Jeff Ross, Brian Regan, Ron White, Marc Marion, Jerry Seinfeld, Ricky Gervais, Conana O’Brien, JimGaffagan, Jeff Dunham, Patton Oswalt, Steve Martin, Bill Burr, Steven Wright, Jon Stewart, David Letterman, John Oliver, Ben Stiller, Bo Burnham, Mike Mysers, Will Ferrell...
72
Those street vendors were so ephemeral, like an occult gift shop that vanishes after selfing you a cursed monkey’s paw.
80
Ayahuasca is a psychedelic plant moisture that helps you heal and find answers to the questions that have been burning inside of you.
115
The answers to making it, to me, are a lot more universal than anyone’s race or gender, and center on having a tolerance for delayed gratification, a passion for the craft, and a willingness to fail.
156
Asians like predictability. We like safety. We want to know that if we work hard, there will be a payoff. ... And in entertainment, you very well might not make it despite all of those years you invested. There is no linear path to success, and no linear path to maintaining it even if you do achieve it.
160
One Asian value that I’m grateful was passed down to me is knowing how to ave money.
162
But it was a blessing. Being cheap came in handy when I moved to NYC, the most expensive city in America. I cooked every single on e of my meals and brought Tupperware container of quinoa, vegetables, and canned sardines with me wherever I went.
163
Challenge yourself to get out of the community. Don’t just drink boba, do your laundry at home, take pictures of food, go outlet shopping, and talk exclusively to other Asian Americans. Even if you end up doing something totally unrelated to entertainment, I want you to take this advice, because I want you to become interesting, confident, and cultured women. Expose yourself to how other people in America live, how they think, and you will discover the universal struggles that connect us all... If you hang with the same. People, you will only be able to make those people laugh. Go to Burning Man. Travel to different cities in America. Travel the world. See concerts. Go to plays. Eat Ethiopian food. Introduce yourself to everything there is. When in doubt, go out. Not just for material, but to experience new people, new social situations, and unfamiliar surroundings.
168
i fantasized about having a mother who was also raised on Sesame Street, Happy Meals, and John Hughes movies. Maybe she could ask me white mom questions like “How are you feeling?” Or say white mom things like “I love you to the moon and back.” We would share the same first language. She could help me pick out a dress that I actually liked, instead of the dress that was more discounted. We would understand each other and not fight as much.
194
Your grandfather once told me that when I find the right opportunity in life, all of my prior random experience will suddenly fit together and make sense. This is what happened when I met your mother.
197
Later in life, I would come to realize how empowering it was to have a father who lived his passions and didn’t let the fact that he was the only Asian person in the room hold him back. Watching your grandpa Ken defy racial and career norms to build his own creative universe ranging from toys to television and art, your uncles and I directly experienced how full the world is of creative opportunity. There was no bamboo ceiling for us. We were free to carve our own parts as individuals, a drive and passion i late recognized in your mother when we first met.
199
There are people who can root you, and then there are things you can do on your own to ground and balance when the winds of celebrity pick up. I learned young how to be with myself even when my father was focused on his career, away for business, and being pulled in a thousand different directions. I immersed myself in practices like meditation, journaling, fasting, entheogenic ceremonies...
201
I am comfortable being in your mothers jokes thanks to my mindfulness practice, which grounds and roots me. No matter what is said onstage, I know who I am and support her in her fullest expression. But it wasn’t always this easy.
207
She was speaking to people’s truths and making them laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. This was what our ayahuasca ceremonies were about: sourcing the most potent parts of ourselves and letting go of the rest.
211
.. find greater personal clarity for yourselves and home in on who you are versus who you think you need to be.
212