2020 in Review: Year of Lemons

My birthday is 5 days after the new year begins, which makes this time of year a natural time for reflection. Some years, I’m keen on reflecting, documenting, and setting goals. Other years, like this one, it feels slightly painful. Thinking too deeply into the matters of the world and the state of the pandemic that we’re in often gives me deep pit in my stomach. It’s the same one that I get when I look at photos from just weeks before the world shut down earlier this year— I’m happy as a clam, border hopping, jumping from one place to another, coming into contact with many, many, people not 2 metres apart. It’s a reminder of how different the world is now, and how different it will be for at least another year or so. Then, I’m reminded of how grateful and thankful I am that I was able to experience all of those things, and that despite everything that’s happening, I have way more blessings to count than curses.

I’m calling 2020 the “Year of Lemons” because something I’ve had to continually remind myself throughout this time is that facing adversity doesn’t have to be a setback. In fact, the best kinds of wins come precisely from facing adversity with a warrior mentality. It stuck with me so much that my first post-lockdown tattoo was a pair of lemons on my arm— when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. The truth is, losing the ability to travel freely has probably been my only “loss”. Sure, it threw a wrench in plans that I was excited about, but instead of endless travels and relocating to another country for work, I got priceless things like quality time with my friends and family, community investment, and a healthier lifestyle.

One of my favorite memories from this year was a food tour I went on in Bogota, Colombia. During one part of the tour, we were trying Chicha de Maiz, a fermented corn drink traditionally made in the indigenous communities of Colombia. The traditional method of drinking this sometimes alcoholic drink is to have it in one bowl that’s passed around a circle of people. Amongst the group of about 10 foreigners I was in, we were all eager to try some, with a Dutch couple enjoying the drink so much they wanted seconds. One gentleman from the UK however, politely refused, on the account of “not wanting to catch a bug”. Some in the group scoffed at him, and an older Canadian gentleman even went as far as saying the British lad was an “irrational germaphobe”. It was maybe 3 weeks later that the U.S announced they were shutting down their borders and the entire world came to a halt. An anecdotal story for the world pre and post COVID.

In short, here are some of my highlights from this year:

• Traveling to Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Colombia, and France.

• Learned conversational Spanish.

• Became a certified scuba diver.

• Got a new job that I LOVE.

• Did some backcountry camping, felt very Canadian.

• Met my significant other and his adorable pup.

• Signed a lease on my first “big girl” apartment.

For the long version, see below.

Work, work, work, work, work

The last few years have been filled with achievements in my professional career. I wasn’t worried about this stagnating once I graduated— I was digital nomading with a part time contract at a fast growing startup and several steady freelance clients. When I returned home and was living with my folks, I almost felt overwhelmed continuing to work with what felt like nothing to spend my money on now that I wasn’t traveling. Then, a few months into lockdown, my freelance work began to taper off, I was left in the same boat that many people my age were in: unemployed, scared, and not nearly enough years of work experience under my belt for a decent nest egg.

But, an agency and friend I’ve been freelancing for for some time now continued to send over steady writing assignments, and after a few months, I was asked to join in a project management capacity. What started as a part time contract turned into a 40-hour contract, and, as of January 1, 2021, I’ll be the first actual employee at the agency (bye bye, contracting life!). The sort of commitment that being a project manager has wouldn’t have been possible or appealing to me if I was still on the road, so I’m very glad that I’ve been able to take the time and space to invest in my career and new role.

I probably can’t think of a better role or team for myself. Doing marketing work as an agency is so much different than being in-house on a full marketing team, and frankly, it’s just a lot more fun. The wins are wins and the losses are learnings, the clients are bright and enthusiastic startup founders, and the team is comprised of people like myself (but smarter). They say that if you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room. As far as I’m concerned, this is the right room for me.

Family first.

Having moved away from my hometown when I was 18 to go to university, time spent at my folks’ place usually didn’t exceed more than 1 week over the last few years. Moving home and living with them for 3 months was a challenge in some ways, but mostly, it was time that my parents and I could just hangout with each other as friends/adults, and less so as superiors making sure I don’t veer off track. Coming from an Asian family, this sort of bonding is difficult to achieve, and I didn’t even think it was in the picture for us. This time home also gave me the opportunity to hangout with my older sister, her dog, and all of the friends I left in my hometown when I moved away. Admittedly, these were bonds and relationships that I put on the backburner when I moved, and even more so when I was traveling.

The Beacon of Good(ish) Health

Before I left for Guatemala earlier this year, I had a pretty steady workout routine. It wasn’t the greatest (I almost strictly lifted with no cardio), but it was also one that I was sad to throw to the wayside when I was traveling. There were a few short weeks while I was on the road that I tried to workout, but eventually gave up. Between physical excursions, all of the walking I was doing, and eating food void of North American hormones and chemicals I was still losing weight.

When gyms were still closed, I started running regularly with the goal of running a half-marathon in mind. I was training 3-4 times a week, but eventually this tapered off when temperatures began to drop and the half-marathon I was training for was moved to a virtual one. Towards Q4 (yes I refer to segments of the year in fiscal quarters), I joined F45, a HIIT gym that has locations worldwide. This means that I’ve been consistently working out 3-4x a week for close to 8 months now, a long streak for me.

The consistent exercise and somewhat consistent diet has done wonders for me both physically and mentally. Early morning runs and workouts are an incredible dopamine boost, which I’m very short on especially during the long, dark Canadian winters.

No longer a woman of the streets?

I’ve been the token single friend of my friend group for as long as I can remember. Relationships are hard for me. They’re even harder when you’re moving around all of the time. Like many people, I have my usual methods of coping with the pain of such loneliness. Solo and spontaneous travel is one of them. I saw a funny headline for a Vice article that was like, “Things we lost in 2020”, and the article preview said “Casual sex, respect for J.K Rowling”. Removing the feasibility for casual relationships due to social distancing measures made my “token single friend” status almost unbearable.

Meeting my boyfriend when I did felt like a massive stroke of luck. Everything after that, however, has been an intentional, concentrated, and frankly, sometimes very challenging decision. He’s not in a field of work that translates to remote work, and with a small age gap, jetting off to wherever and whenever wasn’t a top priority for him. It took me some time to really dig into why jetting off was my gut instinct when things got even slightly difficult, or I felt uninspired by my surroundings. Escapism is problematic, and that (among other things) was a primary driver of my lifestyle pre-COVID and pre-boyfriend.

I also learned that “getting over” a past partner and moving on is only half of the battle. The other half is unlearning problematic behaviours and traumas as you try to pursue something new. My manager asked me what I’ve been doing and got into now that I can’t travel, and I said, “I got into a relationship…” after some laughs, I explained that outside of working hours, I’m now just investing my time in hanging out with my partner, learning about our relationship, and of course, tending to his dog. It’s all been a new learning experience for me that I’m welcoming with open arms.

Looking into 2021

Going into 2021 and my 24th year of life, I can’t help but be proud of what I’ve seen and done. I’m equally excited to see what’s next, and while I’m not receptive to big, lofty goals, I think that defining my priorities and building off of them is more productive.

• Stop being sad about not traveling. As the kids say, “it is what it is”. Travel is feasible right now, but if I’m siding with science and/or prioritizing continuing to create a home with my partner, it’s just not a priority. This means that looking at photos from my trips should instill a feeling of gratefulness, not sadness. The mulling and emotions aren’t productive.

• I want to keep working and I want to get like, really good at my job. I think I should get a pat on the back for my progress so far, but beyond that, I want to be overachieving and be the best manager that I can be. A friend of mine who started working at the agency taught me the term “servant leadership”, or “quiet leadership”, which is her management style, and the opposite from mine. This reminded me that I’m not only good at setting the tone, but that it’s naturally something I enjoy.

• Keep up with working out. I’m at a point where I’m generally happy with how I look, and I don’t want to reward myself for hitting an arbitrary number on the scale. Nothing bad can come from keeping at it.

• Invest in the community and give back. Now that I’m settled in one place for a bit, I want to take the time to support the local community and participate in it. There are several community gardens that are near my apartment, and since I love growing plants, I definitely want to invest in a plot in one of them. Volunteering in person is currently really difficult, so I’m working a monthly “charity” budget into my planning to give back to local organizations. If you’re in Kitchener-Waterloo, let me know which are your favorites!

• Get my drivers license. It’s not that I don’t know how to drive, it’s that my license expired before I moved to San Francisco last year and I didn’t get around to renewing it because I was traveling and living in a college town with no car. I need to re-take the exam because of the time that’s lapsed… not fun. Also not fun: a boyfriend that doubles as an Uber, public transit in the winter, walking to the gym at 6:45 AM in complete darkness.

As with everything I encounter, I’m cautiously excited going into another year of life. I hope that everyone is taking a moment to count their lemons and lemonade this year as well, and would love to hear from your experiences, reflections, and goals for next year if you’re willing to share.

How to be Home: Houseplants 101-ish

There’s been a huge boom in the desire for houseplants. I’m guessing the combination of quarantine boredom and how aesthetically pleasing a plant can make a space is to blame, and definitely fall into both categories. However, my plant-mom desires have always felt innate. I asked for bonsai trees as graduation gifts when I was finishing high school, and received three of them. None of them lived past my freshman year of university.

Since then, I would have one or two succulents in my room before I’d have to gift them prior to moving yet again for an internship, or before they’d die while I was travelling between school terms. Ivy eventually seemed to be the plant that did okay in each 4 month cycle, but I knew my digital nomad ways post-graduation would mean no plant ownership for a while. Then, I was forced home to my parents house, and got “demoted” to the basement room. This same room has been a revolving door for my sisters, extended family, and myself when we pop in and out of my hometown. It needed a lot of love to feel habitable, and the 2 tiny windows I was stuck with was a huge adjustment to make after putzing around lush rainforests and jungles. Then, I moved back to Kitchener-Waterloo, and was reunited with my much loved floor-to-ceiling windows, and plenty of sunlight and space to grow my plant babies.

I’d like to consider myself an expert of amateur plant ownership. Outside of specific plant care instructions per each species you have, there are plenty of things to consider when building your indoor jungle (yes, more than just watering and sunlight). Whether you’re new to plant ownership, or you’re a veteran plant parent, here are some tips and reminders to keep in mind, illustrated and explained using the plants of my apartment.

Bring the zen to your bedroom (bedside, if you want!)

This has been my favorite decor and space hack of all time. Feeling cursed with plain and bland white walls? Nothing contrasts them better than some greenery. I’m pretty sure we’re allowed to nail into the walls for our condo, but both my boyfriend and I have been too lazy to 1. Look into the rules around it for our building, and 2. Have been way too busy with literally everything else to put the leg work into decor searching. The result? A minimalist white space where my different plants are showcased.

I have a majesty palm tree, rubber plant, string of watermelons, and a snake plant in the bedroom. The mix of tall tree-ish plants and the bedside guys leave enough space for my fur step-son to run around, and also establishes some boundaries for him. String of Watermelon (and most String of X plants, for that matter) are poisonous to dogs, but Trunks would never dream of eating something off of our bedside tables or climbing on the bed to do so. Also, ALL PLANTS clean air, but palms and snake plants are notorious for being a good oxygen infusion for a room.

Plant rescues and acquiring plants on a budget.

I’ve probably spent $500 or more in the last 6 months getting plants, fertilizer, dirt, and pots. I’m betting only $250 worth of those plants are still alive. The thing is, plant parenthood does not have to be costly. There are a few plants out there that have a lot of caché and are for true enthusiasts, but if you’re resourceful, you can cop some quality trees for very cheap.

For example, my Fiddle Leaf Fig tree which is normally a very high ticket item, was only $35 off of a seller on Facebook Marketplace. It needed a lot of love to grow, and still does. When I asked James (my boyfriend) to pick it up for me, he straight up said “I don’t want this thing in our house. There’s not one green leaf on it.” After repotting it, misting the heck out of it, and giving it a good dose of sun, it’s definitely doing much better.

Beside the Fiddle Leaf Fig is a Thai Chilli Pepper plant, gifted to me from my friend Jenevieve’s mom. It was also really struggling and very rootbound when I got it 8 weeks ago, but if you look closely now, it’s growing a pepper that looks ready to pick. Chilli Peppers can grow year round and aren’t high ticket items, meaning they’re accessible, cute, and you might even get something edible from it.

And of course, styling your plants is important, but can get costly. The Japanese Fern in the sugar holder pictured above was gifted to me from James— little does he know I purchased the same plant before I met him for $7 at Walmart, which is definitely where he got this little guy from, too. The jar set was thrifted from a pawnshop for $5 and was missing a sugar lid. Works for us, because I don’t keep any refined sugar in the household anyways.

Be mindful of placement.

I won’t touch too much on sunlight here, as each plant requires something different, but something that killed my plants that I wish I was aware of before I got in this deep is humidity levels and perfecting placement.

I’m not sure why, but literally my entire apartment is drafty once I turn on the ventilation in the bathroom. For such a small space (around 750 SF), it boggles my mind that there are so many vents that I can’t get away from a breeze almost anywhere. My succulents (and rubber plant beside my vanity) don’t mind a bit of a breeze, but almost everything else I own is slightly tropical, meaning they prefer warm and humid conditions. Like mother like child, I guess.

Drafts and vents aside, there are a few ways to increase humidity around your plants. My two favorite ways are by using an essential oil diffuser— which I add a few drops of lavender oil to as a pesticide— and by placing plants close to one another (pictured in the office section). You’ll also see my Japanese Fern below in an ideal spot beside my kitchen sink and coffee-making station, so it gets lots of steam all day.

Functional Houseplants

I’ve killed many, many basil plants. I had a very successful herb garden a few summers ago when I was living in my university digs and they were out on a balcony, but haven’t had a ton of luck since— until now. Everything in this photo is either gifted or grown from seeds that were free or under $2. In the herb garden is chives, my propagating String of Watermelon, basil (grown from seeds), thyme (gifted to me from Jenevieve’s mother), and sage, also gifted to me. Above we have a Jamaican Bell Pepper plant, more propagations, and some cannabis plants grown from seeds we picked out of our stash. In Canada, it’s legal to grow two cannabis plants per person in each household that is over 19. I’m not hopeful that I’ll eventually harvest anything from them, but it would be nice to have even an ornamental cannabis plant.

I call these functional because they’re edible and won’t kill the dog if he gets into them, hence why I let them sit on the floor (with of course, the exception of the strings). In another world when I was backpacking around Nicaragua, ornamental plants seemed like the biggest waste, as food scarcity can so easily be solved by teaching people how to grow their food. I’m sure my edible plant collection will grow once I get some wins under my belt with my current herb stack.

Green up your home office.

This plant ladder beside my desk is the pride and joy of my apartment. Unfortunately, I recently had to let go of two Alocasia Poly’s because they were infested with spider mites, which can quickly spread to the rest of your plants. Despite the infestation, this little antique ladder serves as my shelf, Zoom background on some days, and of course, plant shelf. My morning routine usually begins with hanging out with the doggo, and then hanging out with my plants, making sure they’re tended to and doing well. It sounds crazy, but there have been multiple studies that show the mental and physical advantages of simply even looking at nature.

With a Canadian winter looming on the horizon and feeling confined due to working from home and literally nowhere else, it’s important to get the dopamine doses wherever we can.

Take advantage of faux plants.

If you’ve gone through all of this and are decided that being a real plant parent isn’t the route for you, go ahead and get that faux plant and fill your void that way. I’m not judging you, but prepare yourself for the eye rolls from real plant parents.

I got these fake Monstera leaves from Dollarama two years ago for a summer-themed party I threw with my roommates. We posed with them once, and I proceeded to use them as decor and photo props ever since. I truly thought I would have tossed them by now. Pros of faux plants: they never age (so you don’t have to re-pot them or deal with pruning), and they allow for you to experience having tougher or more expensive houseplants without the cost. Monstera’s can grow to be quite large, and they’re technically toxic to dogs, so I’m happy with my faux leaves for now.

I hope that this gives some of you the confidence to grow (or faux grow) your own indoor jungle, and for those who already have one, I hope it gives you some reminders or new ideas to inspire your greenery.

Thinking about freelancing? Here are 4 tips to get started.

It goes without saying that the current job market is a little… unusual. I don’t want to beat a dead horse, but during my now once-a-day news breaks, I was listening to a podcast from the Wall Street Journal that stated how grim the prospects for new grads out of university are. In fact, the generation that graduated during the 2009 market crash are still feeling the impacts of that by way of lower wages, less job security, and the ever impossible task of owning a home. 

It’s hard not to be discouraged by figures like that. And like many of you, news of new grads having their offers for full time jobs and internships rescinded leaves you feeling like you’re walking on eggshells. Or, perhaps this down time has you fantasizing about travelling the world, and wondering how you’d pay for it. Either way, many are pivoting to freelancing right now, and while advice for breaking into it can vary per industry, there are a few tips I have for anyone looking to start freelancing. 

Freelancing on the road often means my bed is my desk. Photo taken in Santa Ana, El Salvador.

1. Put together a killer portfolio. 

This is the first thing any client or freelance gig website will ask you for. It’s often much more indicative of your skills and capabilities than a resume, especially since most people often want to hire freelancers on a per-project basis, your job history is less important than your writing or coding chops. If you already have experience in the industry you’re trying to freelance in, compile everything you’ve ever worked on, and share the highlights of it. I recommend keeping everything you’ve worked on, regardless of how bad or good it is, since you can use it as a sample if you’re applying to a related freelance gig. Besides, nothing is stopping you from upgrading it before you send it off to a potential client! 

When I first started freelancing, I had a small portfolio composed of the work I did in my internships, part-time work, and volunteer marketing work I did. I also volunteered at my college newspaper, and since reporters weren’t high in demand, I had a very quick opportunity to work on my writing that way. There are plenty of ways to build your portfolio, but unfortunately, most of them begin with very low-paying or even “free” work. The good news is, that’s not as bad as it sounds! See Tip #3 ;) 

2. Leverage your network. 

One of the most notable pieces of career advice I ever received was to never be a name in a stack of resumes. Of course, I don’t believe in nepotism. I do, however, believe in the social credibility of being recommended by someone or sharing a loose connection-- and this has helped me in countless ways. 

I can trace the few opportunities that “sparked it all” for me: my marketing career began with Hack the North, which was social media work that built my foundations for brand and community marketing. And while this was on a volunteer basis, my experience combined with the brand of Hack the North lead to several paid internship opportunities. Through these internships I built my portfolio and experience enough to begin freelancing. Applying for gigs on UpWork combined with connections from an old friend already established in the marketing world, I was able to really turn my freelancing into something lucrative. 

The point is: don’t burn bridges, and ask around your network for tips. What if I told you that old friend was someone I met at a nightclub in my college town? You’d be thinking twice about ghosting someone! Also, if you’re an inexperienced freelancer, working with someone who is familiar with you gives you the chance to start in “safe” waters. 

3. Take on “passion projects”.

I’ve been alluding to this, but by “passion project”, I mean something that genuinely gets you excited, but pays little to nothing. This can either mean applying to that freelance gig for a company with a super dope product, even though they pay half of what you’d like to make. Maybe you have a side project you’ve always wanted to work on (for us marketers, it’s almost always a blog!). I understand that not everyone is in the position to work for free, so this is by no means necessary, but it is helpful. This is particularly important if you’re inexperienced or are trying to build your portfolio. Chances are, you’re considering freelancing because you think it will increase the quality of your life, so you might as well work on something that interests you. 

When I started on UpWork, I was offering content writing services for $5 an hour. Sometimes, job posters want freelancers on the platform to have a certain client success rating, so I needed to start building that at the very least. My first gig was writing 3,000 words about different guinea pig hay brands. After UpWork took 20% of my earnings, I received something like $3 CAD for the project. Two months later, I moved off of the platform and was charging $20 an hour, with no one taking any percentage of my earnings! We all have to start somewhere. 

4. Just do it! 

Even if you don’t feel qualified, or if you’re scared. It’s intimidating to get started- you’ll find rejection, picky clients, and long hours of perfecting your portfolio and cover letter. The worst thing that can happen if you don’t try it out, is that you’ll always be wondering if you’d like freelancing better than what you’re doing now, or if you’re cut out for it. On the other hand, if you do try it out, you’ll either be rejected, ignored, or, someone might be interested in your work and actually hire you.