Growing up, my dad’s cousin, his wife and their daughter were the only family we had in Canberra. We only caught up with them once or twice a year, typically at a restaurant for Chinese New Year. I cherished those occasions﹣and not only because they were bookended by two of my favourite pancakes, commencing with Peking duck pancakes and concluding with red bean paste pancakes. … Continue reading Miscellaneous shades of grief
Recently I shared about how COVID-19 disrupted our second attempt at a honeymoon, exactly one year after it disrupted both our first attempt at a honeymoon and our wedding. We got a lot of sympathy. I think people really empathised with our experience of things not going to plan. Sure, it sucks big time and there were moments where the setbacks have felt devastating. There’s … Continue reading When things don’t go to plan
I was never much of a dreamer as a kid. Forget being a princess, pilot, pop star or police officer. All I ever aspired to was to be an accountant – a short degree with strong job prospects.*
I’m not even kidding. To tell you the truth, I was an unambitious and cynical child.
The funny thing is that somewhere along the way into adulthood, I did start dreaming.
I dreamed of changing the world. Perhaps it was born of a desire to prove that my unambitious and cynical younger self was so, so wrong.
Changing the world hardly seemed a dream to me, though. In my early-to-mid-twenties, I started to appreciate that changing the world is within reach of each of us, that the smallest gesture can be a part of a bigger picture. That it doesn’t have to be dramatic or headline-worthy to be, well, worthy. To count as real change.
And since it was something I was already in the process of doing, it never seemed a far off reality. It never seemed far away enough to be called a dream.
So whaddya know – it seems I’ve been living the dream.
But there are also dreams I’m yet to live. These are not things I hope I manage to do before I die, nor will I feel unfulfilled if they don’t happen. Far from being a bucket list, this is a set of six longings that speak to the core of who I am.
I’m sharing them with you here, to encourage you to discover (if you haven’t already) and reflect on your own dreams. Continue reading The deepest dreams
Almost-no-longer-twentysomething. That’s how I described myself a month ago. Since then, I’ve done some soul searching, some job searching and some Google searching. All of which suggests I’m more of a twentynothing. Linked In shows me former classmates with fancy jobs at top law firms. Selection criteria for jobs I’d like don’t align with my skills and experience. Career blogs tell me that to get said skills … Continue reading Still twentynothing
Let me introduce you to Bluey Snowflake. She’s one of the best birthday presents I’ve ever received, a gift from my aunt when I turned 7. And because my family is all egalitarian and stuff, my sister got her birthday present at the same time even though her birthday is more than a month after mine – her name is Pinky Snowflake. We built a … Continue reading The “prophetic” song I wrote as a 7-year-old
⎯suansita⎯ 