Goodbye 2020

This is the end of 2020 and we're in the middle of covid-19 pandemic. It's started back in March (wow.. I've been working from home for 10 months!) and thankfully it feels like we're about to reach the end of the tunnel; vaccines are starting to be distributed and bringing new hope for everyone. During these times I pursue a new interest (learning Korean) and discover some new purposes in life. I also have a newfound enthusiasm for writing, hence this post after 3-year hiatus (albeit a short one).

I was re-reading my old blog posts the other day and noticed that it was written back in 2012, exactly 8 years ago. I feel like "What? Has it been this long? 8 years?". Time flies fast. Even faster when my life, or maybe our life, is repetitious. In this pandemic, life becomes even more repetitious, right? Same routines, same place, same people. Not that I have a lot to complain though. I’m most thankful for the health of my family, and the fact that I still achieve a lot this year. I like being at home close to my family as I am a home body since forever lol. I love being with my loved ones, being able to take my dog for a walk 3 times a day, enjoy this slow paced, warm and fuzzy moments at home while I can. These small routines become even more meaningful to me after I changed job 2 years ago, I became busier at work and it’s really hard to find time like these if I include the daily commute or staying near the office to count; last year I don’t have enough time to spend with my dogs and family. That’s one thing I have to improve. Other than that, I realized that no matter how good your memories are, you are bound to forget. The tiny details of your wedding or any moment you considered to be one of the greatest in your life, sooner or later you will forget it piece by piece, starting from the tiniest details. So I think I need to treasure more of my memory/ thoughts in writings. This is another goal for 2021.

Now, my 2020 Check In. Highlights for this year are:

My leadership journey

I was chosen to lead 2 teams last year, WPE content (4 members) and WPE IT Enterprise (5 members) so it’s 10 people including me. We already hired 3 more people so it will be 12 members to lead in the beginning of 2021. I’m really thankful for this opportunity; I really love leading and managing people. I tried my best but I still have flaws here and there. I read lots of leadership books this year and will continue to do so: attend more workshop, leadership online classes, and read more books to become a better leader. What I want to improve in next year is:

• Better time management (I work overtime like a lot)
• If I have something bad to say it’s better not to say it
• I love my team, I want my team members to feel that they are loved
• I have to compromise politics. Politics don’t necessarily mean a bad thing. It just happens when we need to negotiate and when there’s a hierarchy. It’s bound to exist in a workplace
• Be better at politics and tune down a bit my strong opinion and emotion in front of people (I have a really strong opinion about time and I really hate people without clear agenda, show up late, and talk inefficiently but I think I have to tune down a bit showing my feelings about it haha)
• Be more helpful to everyone, be nicer to everyone I work with to have better relation and collaboration
• Spare my time to be more involved in checking my team members’ code thoroughly
• Grow my team to become even more reliable and knowledgable and closer to each other

In the last performance appraisal I got more than I expect. I want to keep what’s good and become even better for the sake of my team, my boss, and of course my company. I love my current company. I also won our first web hackathon with the team and won the focus on consumer award given by the leaders! Feels good, eh? Other than that I show up  on more company events being MC, thinking that this will also be good for my personal branding. Hopefully I can do even better in 2021 and become more successful! 

Passion outside of work

I learn a new language: Korean! To my surprise the grammar is beyond words. It’s so difficult and there’s so much of it. When I thought French already has many exceptions and conjugations, Korean is waaaay more complicated than that. It’s quite overwhelming but I really love learning it. I get more insight and understanding to its culture through the language! It’s so far the most efficient and the most logical language I learn, even the alphabets are space and time efficient. Love it. I also take some courses and learn about tea (because why not) from its history, process, and ways to distinguish the quality. I think I need to get lost in more things like this. You know, just to know more, experience more, and use this brain to the fullest while still capable. Absorb as many things as possible, take a detour off the regular course sometimes. It never hurts to know more things; when people ask why, we answer why not. Different than last year, I read more leadership and productivity books compared to fictions this year haha, to help me do better at my job. What’s pitiful is that I didn’t create any art this year, be it painting or doing music or anything simply because I couldn’t find the time. Here’s to more learnings and self enrichment in 2021 (and art)!

1 year marriage with a new home in progress

We got married in September 2019, an ethereal dreamlike wedding, on a clifftop facing the sea in Bali. It was gorgeous, beyond what I pictured of how weddings should look like in the past. We invited people that mean the most to us, we incorporated our most favorite cuisine and play our favorite music. The sky was lilac and blue, we saw no wall, just the infinite horizons and seas; seeing the sun sets replaced by sky filled of stars. Feeling the sea breeze on my smiling face. Smell a fresh air filled with a hint of salt while listening to the wave sounds. It was beautiful. It’s a warm and memorable event I will remember my whole life. Now we’ve been married for 1 year. We discover more about each other and have more dreams together. We bought a house on loan in August, a huge financial decision for us as we have to pay the debt for years but a necessary decision marking our progress towards our life together. Feels happy to finally be able to buy a house and in hope that we can do better financially in the future, to reach all the dreams we planned together. Christmas in snow together, hot air balloon rides, and a vast view of the Swiss Alps. The house is still in progress, we are enthusiastic to see it finished and fill in the house to be our home with books, a small grass garden, and our photos on the walls. 

2020, despite everything, you’ve been good to us. Thank you.