scratchpaper

-Flooded garage and teamwork to barricade it with sandbags

-vision boarding with Catherine and Lily

-celebrating Graham and Leah’s marriage

-Jurassic Park at the SF Symphony

-Asian Art Museum and dim sum in SF with Catherine and Lily

-celebrating LNY with my siblings and playing with pop pops

-movie night with Madison and Leah

-hosting visitors - Megan T., Andrew, Kyle, and Jose

-celebrating Chris’ 40th birthday

-UCSD fam brunch at Alyssa and Aaron’s in Richmond

-hosting the London team, and taking them for drinks at the Berkeley marina

-road trip to Sac to visit Jaime, Ranu, and Nicole

-hot pot and other foodie adventures with Chelsea

-getting outbid on a house

-purchasing our first home!

-visits with mom and dad.. eating dimsum, watching Madison’s softball game, and singing karaoke

-escape room for Lily’s birthday with Catherine and Konrad

-first warriors game at chase center

-book talk and getting to meet Martin Yan

-giggly catch up with Tiff Man in SF

-returning to the office and in-person events

-celebrating Alyssa’s birthday with the ucsd fam

-Catherine’s housewarming

-seeing Kristine Bacani Wu at APAHE

-celebrating Theo’s birthday

-SF date with Leslie

-Barbie movie date with Alyssa

-hosting my siblings to celebrate Nicole’s birthday

-chocolate frogs and trippin’ with Lily, Catherine, Upkar, and Viet

-family dinners and bbqs with the Costas

-crawfish boil with Adrienne and Chris

-exploring Argentina and Uruguay with Jose

-launching the first Global Internships program in South America

-celebrating Addison’s 1st birthday

-getting to see Janet Jackson from the 3rd row! And getting to meet her after the show!

-moving and discovering the joys - and never ending projects associated with home ownership (new floors, painting, mold, etc)

-launching a global internships program in Barcelona

-traveling to new places: Segovia, Monserrat, Andorra, and the south of France

-watching the girls pop their swim times

-lots of kitty cuddles with Bella

-reliving my emo kid days at the Yellowcard concert with Lily

-road tripping to Santa Cruz with the ucsd fam for Brent’s birthday

-the worst fight of our marriage, tears, and needing to regroup at Catherine’s for the week

-hot ones challenge with my brother and family, chugging milk and eating ice cream cake to stop the burning

-playing mahjong with Leah, and getting beat by her

-hosting my parents at our new home

-kbbq and dinner dates with Adrienne

-planning andrew and Kyle’s bachelor party in Palm Springs with a Taylor Swift night, a poolside butler, and sooo much vodka

-Beyoncé concert with Vince and Jessa

-annual Labor Day Mendo trip with the siblings. First time for Scott and Kristen

-Lionel Richie and EWF at chase center.. dancing and singing the entire time!

-sending Alyssa and Aaron off to Japan

-making kalbi from scratch for Catherine’s birthday

-Andrew and Kyle’s wedding weekend: poolside hangouts, way too many espresso martinis, and reunions with old friends

-EAIE conference in Rotterdam: poster session, reconnecting with colleagues from around the world, and going on an adventure to find windmills

-reconnecting with Felicia while on a layover in Boston

-dimsum dates with my siblings

-SJ dates with Leslie and Chelsea

-Taylor Swift concert movie with Adrienne

-SD and LA vacation: catching up with Amy and Daniel, Rey and Lorna, meeting baby Finn and seeing Matt and Megan, hitting up our old stomping grounds, eating wayyyy too much Mexican food, catching up with Megan T, Olivia, and Jonathan, hanging with Dan, Connie and June, crushing all the blocks at Super Nintendo World

-celebrating Kenzie’s 4th birthday

-meeting Anthony Rapp and getting to see his one man show

-celebrating Gary and Michelle’s marriage

-pet parade and hanging with Kristen and Kenzo in SF

-virtual squid games with Adrienne and Chris

-celebrating my birthday with Lily and Catherine

-John Mayer at chase center

-besties weekend in LA and Andrew’s home cooked Vietnamese food

-hosting Megan T at our new home

-hot pot for Thanksgiving with the siblings and the chosen fam (Catherine and Lily)

-Thanksgiving in LA with the Costas

-WB Studio Tour with the Costas

-wine and cheese party the with Lambs and Josephine

-family time, gardening and house projects with my parents

-Chelsea’s bougie YouTube holiday party in SF

-volunteering at the food bank with Catherine and Lily

-home alone at the sf symphony with the siblings

-Christmas in our new home with Bella, and the Costas in the evening

-Vegas with the besties - Drew, Kyle, and Jose

-meow wolf with Jose

-African food with Karm, Cecil and Jose

-WB studio tour with mom and the girls, getting to see the Gilmore girls set with mom and Leah’s face light up on the friends set

-ringing in the new year at home with my momma

-reconnecting with old friends, Sophia and Matt

-crying and struggling with watching my parents age

-B and I struggled to find our groove as a married couple and committed to breaking our negative cycles and patterns together.

-We celebrated my dad’s 70th birthday (69 but 70 according to the Chinese calendar)

-I went roller skating with my nieces

-We hosted and celebrated LNY with yummy food and roasted marshmallows in the backyard.

-We went to an immersive art exhibit.

-I hung with my sister friends: painted with Lily and Catherine, visited Leslie, Nicole and Maya.

-Brent took me to see Justin Bieber and Jaden Smith for my belated birthday.

-celebrated Lily’s birthday with an escape room and brunch

-took my parents to the Ruth Bancroft Botanical Garden

-hosted my parents for lots of visits and meals

-picnicked by Lake Merritt with coworker friends

-had a board game day with the Lambs

-hosted Megan’s baby shower in SD with Diana

-volunteered to pack meals for Ukraine

-traveled to Cancun to celebrate Michael and Edison’s wedding and love with the UCSD fam

-road-tripped to visit Jordan and Nicole (and Maya and the pets!) in Sac

-celebrated Andrew and Bryce’s wedding in LA

-caught up with LA friends/fam: Andrew and Kyle and Garrett

-had a bbq girls date with my sister and nieces

-went to the AAPI Community Festival with Catherine and met the directors of Turning Red

-hosted the first in-person orientation and social events since the pandemic

-supported Aunt Carole’s garden club plant sale

-saw Mount Westmore (and probably caught covid there!)

-saw Oh Wonder with Lily

-met Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul!

-traveled to Bergen, Norway with Catherine and saw the fjords! (Also learned what a fjord is lol)

-traveled to Stockholm, Sweden to launch a Global Internships program and finally meet Sabrina and faculty I had been working with for years for the first time!

-reconnected with Gerald in Stockholm of all places!

-Brent got in a car accident but got a new suv (bigger for more cargo!)

-We saw and met Earth, Wind, and Fire and Santana.. from the 3rd row!!

-celebrated Jiten and Preeti’s wedding with UCSD residents and friends

-celebrated Fourth of July with Andrew, Kyle, Adrienne, Chris, and Brent - lots of wine and kbbq of course

-traveled to the Middle East for the first time, and explored Jordan and Israel (Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Haifa)

-explored Wadi Rum and Petra

-launched a new program in Haifa, Israel - a project that I started years ago

-celebrated Bobby and Perry’s colorful Toshiba themed wedding in Monterey

-celebrated our one year wedding anniversary!

-celebrated Brent’s birthday in SF with the stranger things experience and a seafood dinner

-danced the night away at the Backstreet Boys concert

-relived my youth at a throwback concert with Nelly, Ja Rule, Ashanti, and Lloyd

-went to a Giants game for Victor’s 70th birthday

-volunteered to host Comedy Night for Cal freshman - for the first time since the pandemic

-caught up with Global Glimpse Brent over Indian food

-hosted Madison and Leah for a sleepover: and played lots of animal crossing and games

-saw Jazz is Dead in SF

-saw Kendrick Lamar!

-spent Labor Day in Mendocino: eating bomb seafood, picnicking at the winery, and walking to see the seals

-celebrated Catherine’s birthday at Rupaul’s Werk the World Tour

-celebrated Maya’s 6th birthday

-drag brunch with coworkers and friends

-family trip to Groveland and Yosemite to hike, eat, and drink

-taught a freshman seminar class - in-person!

-hiked Muir Woods with Alyssa, Clark, and Brent and had bomb Puerto Rican food after

-saw Lupe Fiasco in SF

-presented at the Diversity Abroad Conference in SF

-presented at FORUM CIGL in Milan, Italy

-traveled to Lake Como, Bellagio, and Verona in Italy and Lugano, Switzerland with Lily.

-celebrated Scott and Kristen’s wedding

-celebrated Kenzie’s 3rd birthday

-celebrated my 34th birthday with Jose in Arnold

-finally took my parents to HOPR!

-hosted the fam for thanksgiving hot pot

-celebrated thanksgiving dinner with the Costas

-saw Clue at the Lescher Center for Performance Arts with Brent’s parents

-saw Bow Wow, Lloyd, and other throw back artists

-went to Disneyland and California Adventure, and got to stay at the Grand Californian Hotel!

-took a day trip to Petaluma to reset and reinvest in our relationship

-ate and drank our way through a cheese advent calendar with Adrienne and Josephine

-watched my nieces perform in their annual Hoike

-celebrated a quiet Christmas with our little family

-visited my parents in LA for a couple days, managed cancelled flights and rented a car to get home

-celebrated a belated Christmas with Brent’s parents, Sharon, and aunt Carole

- Bridal shower with the best community

- the most perfect bachelorette in PS

- marrying my best friend!

- honeymoon in Greece

- Trips with family to Mendo and Arnold

2021 was a year of just as many intense highs and there were heartbreaking lows. Another lesson in appreciating the impermanence of life; both the light and darkness, and the faith that neither will last forever.

- RIP Luna McQueen

- Welcoming Bella (Luna) and Baxter into our family

- Losing Baxter much too soon!

- New pandemic obsession: Stardew Valley

- Losing Tobey Tobey

- Many, many, more zoom dates with loved ones from afar

- Getting vaccinated

- Having to let go of plans, and make space for new ones

- Switching wedding venues and planning a large event during a pandemic (not recommended)

- Saying goodbye to EC, and moving to WC

1928-2006

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters

By Portia Nelson

I

I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I fall in.

I am lost … I am helpless

It isn’t my fault.

It takes forever to get out.

II

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I pretend I don’t see it.

I fall in again,

I can’t believe that I am in the same place.

But, it isn’t my fault.

It still takes a long time to get out.

III

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I see it is there,

I still fall in … it’s a habit.

my eyes are open,

I know where I am.

It is my fault.

I get out immediately.

IV

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.

V