Add Wei's interview and portrait

posts/wei.tchou.markdown

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+---
+title: Wei Tchou
+summary: Writer, editor
+date: 2024-12-08
+categories:
+- editor
+- mac
+- windows
+- writer
+---
+
+### Who are you, and what do you do?
+
+I'm Wei, a [writer and editor](http://weitchou.com/ "Wei's website.") in New York. I primarily write essays and report about food and culture. Most recently, I wrote about why Asian American cookbooks rely so heavily on cliches about identity and immigration, for [Lux Magazine](https://lux-magazine.com/article/identity-bingo/ "Wei's article for Lux Magazine about Asian American cookibooks and their tropes."). I also got to interview a bunch of cool Asian American creators who are recreating the mung bean desserts of their youth, for [T Style](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/09/t-magazine/mung-bean-desserts.html "Wei's article interviewing Asian American foodies recreating mung bean deserts from their childhood.").
+
+My first book [LITTLE SEED](https://store.deepvellum.org/products/little-seed "Wei's memoir about her brother combined with a guide to ferns.") was published this year. It's a memoir that weaves together a very personal field guide to ferns with the story of my changing relationship with my brother, who has schizophrenia. I'm also the editor of The New Yorker Creative Lab, where I help produce, assign, and edit branded content. I do the same for a few other interesting companies, most notably [Clue][clue-ios], the period and pregnancy tracking app, and [Pass the Honey](https://freshhoneycomb.com/ "A company selling fresh honeycomb."), the world's first (as far as I can tell!) single serving honeycomb company.
+
+### What hardware do you use?
+
+I wanted to switch from using Macbooks last year, given how clunky and expensive they are, so (with the help of my husband) I bought an ASUS 13" ROG Flow notebook. My only requirements for a computer are that it's lightweight (I travel frequently for work) and that I can write and game on it. ("Game," meaning, I play [Stardew Valley][stardew-valley]. My husband J. got me into co-oping [Zero-K][], which I now love, too.) The wifi card that comes with the laptop wasn't great (a frequently reported issue online) so J. swapped it out for me, and now it picks up the wifi we bum from our next door neighbors very well!
+
+I tape all my reporting on my iPhone or on [VLC][] on my laptop, but I still use reporters notebooks to take notes when I interview - they're great. For general life upkeep -- listmaking, keeping track of ideas, writing notes -- I really like these mini pastel legal pads from Prism. I used to journal regularly, and now I don't at all (part of an effort to be fully present in my emotional life). But when I get into a diary mood, I like writing in the soft cover unlined moleskines. I use whatever pens I skim for free from voting booths, restaurants, etc. I'm also dependent on my [morphie portable charger][powerstation-plus-mini].
+
+Lately, I am pregnant and have experienced extreme and long-lasting nausea and constant vomiting, into my second trimester. So my kit now also includes: Zofran, psyllium husk powder (a tablespoon a day in water for constipation and bloating), a [TheraICE freezer mask][headache-relief-cap] that helps with nausea and headaches, essential oil sniffers, and emergency snacks like popcorn and grapes. The Zofran has been the most crucial piece of the puzzle -- I haven't been able to read or write since the pregnancy sickness hit back in November, but Zofran has delivered a few really good days to me every week that I've taken it regularly. I wish I had asked for it sooner!!
+
+Lastly, reading tends to be my only other important "hardware." I don't like to collect books that aren't meaningful to me, so I get most everything that I read from the library; I'd be lost without my library card and NYPL. I decided to stop reading news during the pandemic and instead, subscribed to New York Magazine, which I love and keeps me mostly updated on anything I need to know about the city, national politics, pop culture, and general gossip. I love getting it in the mail, carrying it around, reading it front to back, and chatting with my friends about it.
+
+And, I tend to keep a few books on my desk that serve as reference books for whatever project I'm currently at work on, to keep me focused on style, voice, and direction. Right now, I have a completely unrealistic goal of starting a new book before the baby gets here -- something about travel, the American South, cycling, and the idea of "home. "Right now my list is: Jan Morris's _Hav_, one of the most perfect books I have ever read. Morris was a seasoned travel writer and Hav was a place she invented and wrote two travelogues about. (People have apparently gotten mad after reading Hav about not being able to actually travel to Hav!!); Bill Bryson's _A Walk in the Woods_, classic, hilarious, and (in my opinion) transcendent; Annie Dillard's _Encounters with Chinese Writers_, and Maxine Hong Kingston's _Hawaii One Summer_.
+
+### And what software?
+
+Very lightweight: [Google Docs][google-docs], [Microsoft Word][word] (I didn't realize Google Docs won't support a book length work without crashing until I had to do copyedits for my memoir. Now I have a copy of the [Microsoft Office Suite][office] and it feels very high tech lol), the [Notes][] app, my [Gmail][] drafts, and increasingly, [ChatGPT][] and [Claude][] to bounce ideas and help with annoying transitions. I have also lately been using Claude to talk through my emotions. [TikTok][] helps keep me distracted on bad nausea days!
+
+### What would be your dream setup?
+
+A creamy keyboard and a writing space within walking distance of my apartment with free coffee and subscriptions to all the magazines!
+
+[chatgpt]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ChatGPT "A generative artificial intelligence service."
+[claude]: https://claude.ai/ "An AI service."
+[clue-ios]: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/clue-health-period-tracker/id657189652 "A period and health tracking app."
+[gmail]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gmail "Web-based email."
+[google-docs]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Docs "A web-based office suite."
+[headache-relief-cap]: https://theraice.com/products/theraice-form-fitting-gel-ice-headache-migraine-relief-hat-cold-therapy-migraine-relief-mask-comfortable-stretchable-ice-pack-eye-mask-for-puffy-eyes-tension-sinus-stress-relief "A facemask for relieving headaches."
+[notes]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notes_(Apple) "A note-taking application included with Mac OS X."
+[office]: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365 "An office productivity suite."
+[powerstation-plus-mini]: https://www.mophie.com/collections/power-banks/products/powerstation-plus-mini "A portable phone charger."
+[stardew-valley]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stardew_Valley "A farming simulator RPG."
+[tiktok]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TikTok "A short video service."
+[vlc]: http://www.videolan.org/vlc/ "An open-source media player."
+[word]: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/word "A document editor."
+[zero-k]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-K "A real-time strategy game."