The Aftertaste

Still Human, Still Feeling

video story series - #1

Feb 5 • 

Anqi Cao

6

1

1:05

September 2024

Caught in the Lucid Hour

six nights, six blooms, six poems

Sep 16, 2024 • 

Anqi Cao

13

1

August 2024

Coming Home to Myself - Chapter 1

"It's okay, ah, it's okay." I murmured through gritted teeth—a mantra, reliably as ever, for the girl I was ten years ago in this same hometown…

Aug 29, 2024 • 

Anqi Cao

8

1

June 2024

Two Types of Drifting

San Francisco's open secret is that it shelters those who don't quite belong anywhere. But there are two kinds. By day, the streets bustle with people…

Jun 7, 2024 • 

Anqi Cao

33

10

5

May 2024

"I Like You the Best"

It was said with the ease and simplicity of someone commenting on today’s weather—an observation made in passing that didn’t seem to even necessitate a…

May 3, 2024 • 

Anqi Cao

9

1

April 2024

On a winter's night, in the blind massage parlor

A combination of memoir and poetic prose, this piece weaves together intimate glimpses into the complexity of the human condition and connections formed…

Apr 10, 2024 • 

Anqi Cao

7

2

February 2024

In the Tesseract of Ours: Love, Death, and 'Interstellar'

A personal exploration of love, loss, memory and passage of time, echoing Christopher Nolan's cosmic reverberations in "Interstellar". It begins…

Feb 20, 2024 • 

Anqi Cao

24

6

3

Pick Rachel, Not Julie - content we’ll sorely need that LLMs can't replace

You know that episode in "Friends" where Ross can't decide between two women, Rachel and Julie? He makes a list—Rachel's all cons: she's spoiled…

Feb 12, 2024 • 

Anqi Cao

9

How to be "based" in the influencer economy

The allure of 'being based' consists in its intentional inappropriateness, a deliberate breaking of character. It appeals to an emotional core unbridled…

Feb 3, 2024 • 

Anqi Cao

8

1

January 2024

Between Hustle and Hoot: How I Found My 'Yugen' in SF’s Heartbeat

In the heart of San Francisco, where I've made a temporary home, I noticed a pulse that seems to run on, what I've come to joke with friends, a new…

Jan 29, 2024 • 

Anqi Cao

6

6

1