It’s been a hot minute. Let me shape my world right now since I didn’t get to do a proper reflection and didn’t write much last year.
We’re a year deep within the Covid-19 pandemic.
I still work at home and stay mostly at home. I occasionally leave to pick up my prescription, walk the dog, or run.
My workplace has had three rounds of layoffs since the stay-at-home policy took place.
Most of the photos I took in 2020 were of my cat Fuwa.
Making an exception to brave the outdoors and ziplining in the redwoods for my boyfriend's birthday.Close up of Fuwa's smoosh face
Unintended consequences (neither good nor bad)
I’ve gotten closer and further from some friends due to covid: some I work with better during virtual hangouts, others where our in-person spots were where we could unwind.
I started to play more games. It has become a time sink and caused me to change my sleep schedule. Before covid, I was in bed around 10 pm and woke up at 7 am. These days, it’s normal for me to sleep past midnight (2 am on Fridays/Saturdays) and get up at 8 am.
I enjoy eating in. We started to order to-go every Friday and set it as a weekly treat.
Got into the routine of catching up on daily local and national news.
Takeout feast from Benu/San Ho WonI voted in 2020. If you could, I hope you did too.
Disappointments in myself:
I didn’t do as much art or writing as I thought I would.
I couldn’t keep up my exercise routine now that I have zero access to free weights. I was on a running and HIIT routine, but that went to a stump during December 2020.
I got into a houseplant phase. I have acquired a lot as a form of distraction and enjoyment, but not into them as I was in mid-2020. It turns out I like the common plants more than the “fancy” harder-to-find varieties.
A rare siting of watercolors in use.Philodendrons Pink Princess, Plowmanii, and Atabapoense
Things I learned about myself:
When I get into something (like a new hobby), I go in deep. Tropical houseplants and Minecraft are two.
I’m genuinely OKAY staying at home for extended amounts of time as long as there’s space for me to do work.
I can eat the same breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily.
I have a short attention span. I started watching YouTube at 1.5x and listening to podcasts at 1.25x speed.
I learned to appreciate running because it helps with my hiking.
An actual screenshot of my current YouTube watch historyMe walking across a fell tree on a hike in Portland, Oregon
Silver linings:
I spent more time building a mutual/better understanding of what I want and what he wants in the next 5-10 years and after.
I got more experimental with hair colors.
I started a podcast with my friend about our Asian American experience.
I received a promotion into the managerial track as Engineering Lead.
Faded purple hair phaseBlue hair phase
Welp, it’s only the beginning of this year, but it’s flying by so fast. I hope we can soon reach herd immunity with these promising vaccines to continue life as we had before: socializing with family, friends, and loved ones without these precautions.