Happy New Year, fellows! At least, I hope that this new year will indeed be a little happier than the last, for all of us just hanging on.

Sometimes going back to the Philippines can feel very wistful to me. Life is so different in Canada, and having spent two-thirds of my life here, sometimes returning home can feel like discovering an old pair of beloved shoes and finding that they don't quite fit you anymore. It makes me want to work harder to keep my connections with the country alive.

This post is the first of a two-part account of my trip to the Philippines. In this post, I'll outline where I went and what we did, and in the second post, I will do a deeper dive on some of my thoughts about the culture there and how I perceive it as someone who's spent the majority of her life in the diaspora.

Hello folks! This is going to be a sit-down-and-drink-tea-with-me type of post. I try not to talk too much about my personal life on this blog, but considering how therapeutic it is for me to write my thoughts down, I figure I can make an exception a few times a year. Besides, don't people say we should be more honest about our lives online? Make space for some of the ugly in between the highlight reels?

It's a little difficult having a birthday in the first week of the new year. Nothing puts your life in perspective and under a microscope than having family gatherings or virtual catch-ups during the last two weeks, and a mainstream culture that hammers the importance of new year's resolutions. Admittedly, it only became difficult after I finished school. Suddenly the next steps people are anticipating from me seem largely out of my control or things I just don't feel ready for. I've come to face my birthdays with some trepidation, nervous about the next year where nothing might change for the better or everything might change for the worse.

I stumbled upon an author website a couple of months ago, one that has a personal blog that's surprisingly regularly updated. The author writes a hodgepodge of things, from free short stories to her writing process, and even introspective accounts of how she's handling the pandemic. I couldn't help but feel like I was sitting down and having a cup of tea with her, this stranger whom I don't know, but was able to put me at ease during a day when I felt a bit overwhelmed.

I didn't plan to write a reflection posts, but as I sat in front of my computer this morning and thought about working on the current draft of my novel, my procrastinating brain told me to write a blog post instead. And so, here I am.

I try not to make a habit of being sentimental at this time of the year, although I understand why this season makes everyone a little emotional. After all, the Christmas season just passed, and whether that was filled with high notes or low for you, the busyness can be emotionally demanding. New Year's day is also a time when most people reflect on the past and envision the future, which can also be emotionally taxing.

Last week someone at work brought to my attention the Google Manifesto shenanigan over the previous weekend. As a woman in tech, I hear about things like this all the time, but I'm too caught up with other activities to respond. I try to be a positive person, so instead of dwelling on all the lame comments that pepper social media, I'm just going to share the responses I found helpful.

Musings after reading DILA last night.