A year of adaptability 🤹🏼♀️ and re-discovery 🔎
Tell me you had cooking all meals, all year long as part of your 2020 resolution 🙀
The last meal 🍽 we ate out was at the end of February, to celebrate my husband’s birthday 🎂. We were delighted and thought we stumbled across a little piece of Japan 🇯🇵 at Peg 🥢. Little did we know in the coming months we would order takeout 🥡 only once (true story!) and cook all our other meals.
We weren’t even big on eating out before covid. We were accustomed to cooking 👩🏻🍳👨🏻🍳. One of the perks in relocating to London was a spacious kitchen and the supply of reliable and affordable fresh produce 🥦🧀🥩🦐.
What I have come to realise is that, the act of eating out is more than the food and drinks. Often it is associated with social gatherings 👯♂️, celebrations 🥳, the exchange of ideas 💭. I thought all that mattered was who I met with, what we put in our mouths and the conversations we shared. It never occurred to me that people watching 🕵🏻♀️ was such a fundamental part of the experience, and that I drew energy from it even when I was just a spectator.
We can all agree 2020 has felt like a nightmare 😵 on loop with no pause button (or falling into a dreams rabbit hole in Inception?). Some days I still wake up wondering if we’re at the end of the beginning or the beginning of the end 🧐. However, despite being mostly confined within our flat, I’ve still managed to find joy and gratitude 🙏🏼.
My loved ones and I have maintained good health 🩺, and thankfully are unscathed from the financial fallout of the pandemic so far.
There’s no better person I’d rather be in lockdowns with. My husband has been the most supportive, understanding and loving partner 🥰 anyone can ask for. (We finished our favourite couch-coop game 🎮 PixelJunk just last month.)
Being more connected with my family and friends than any other time, even though only through virtual means 💌. We have spent many quality hours catching up, playing games, sharing a meal 🍕/ drink or two (or more 🍹🍻) and lots of laughs.
The space in our apartment is plentiful for two adults to be working from home 👨🏻💻👩🏻💻. My husband took the living room as his office, and let me use our spare room which has a proper set up including a sit/ stand desk 🖥.
Based on what I learn from ‘Why We Sleep’, I adjusted my sleep patterns 🤤. Now I am both respectful and in control of my circadian rhythm. (If you have trouble waking up in the morning, just go to bed earlier. It’s that simple!)
I re-established a sustainable workout schedule with a healthy mix of cardio 🏃♀️ and strength training 🏋🏻♀️, all in the comfort of our home.
My goal of reading one-book-a-month 🗓 initially appeared ambitious, but here I am on track to finish book #14 to wrap the year.
My professional network expanded through platforms such as LunchClub and Cafecito. My pre-existing connections strengthened and continued to offer sound career advice. I keep learning from all your experiences & wisdom.
My new job, responsibilities and team at Twilio. The learning curve/ ramp has been incredibly steep 🎢, but it’s the exact challenge I needed at this point in my career and everyone’s been generous with their trust and support 🙌🏼.
The 5-week break in-between jobs, which I dedicated towards David Malan’s CS50 course 🤓 and picked up some good old C. Salient reminder of the value of first principles learning 📖.
This blog ✏️ (!) for providing a creative outlet to jot down some deep reflections. Writing demands discipline, patience, humility and so much more.
While we must remain hopeful for what 2021 would bring 🤞🏼, for now let’s pause, look around us and celebrate every win, big and small. Be kind to yourself, be kind to each other. ❣️
What are you thankful for in 2020? Share your thoughts with me here.
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