Hello, thanks for checking in! It’s been quite a good year of silence on this humble e-abode and as you may have observed the pattern (through the archives), I’m not very good at sticking with ad-hoc resolutions like “writing more”.
Just recently, I’m picking up the concept of Vision Writing that has been advocated thoroughly within Facebook. It’s fascinating how every Facebooker, including the leadership team, is so attuned to the idea of envisioning how you’d like your next one year to be like, both personal and professional, pen it down, and to proactively share with others a series of action plans working towards the vision. This may be something that I’ll get done and pen a separate post on, and hopefully check in with good news by the year-end.
Retrospecting 2018
Back to the essence of this post, 2018 has been a kind year for me overall. I’m extremely grateful to be working and learning amongst extremely smart and kind people, traveled a little too much (nay to dry skin) and reconnecting with childhood friends and deepening connections with ones that truly matter. Here are some best moments of my 2018!
Embarked on a solo yoga retreat
Count me lucky but I had a month’s worth of break during my transition from Google to Facebook so I had to make full use of the precious time! I practice yoga regularly in Singapore and have always been curious how a yoga retreat will be like. Upon some quick Google searches, I signed up for a 10-days Yoga Retreat in Ubud, Bali without much expectations. There’s a huge expat yoga community in Ubud and yogis flock in and out of that gem of a place to practice or teach — it’s a very international/yogi-touristy spot to be frank but nothing too much to fuss about.
The 10-days retreat was a good respite for quality me-time, as well as getting acquainted with a holistic overview of Yoga. The bonus, of course, is being able to make new friends! Being alone forces one to go out of their comfort zone (like the irony here: bringing a +1 to a networking session and sticking to each other throughout the night) and I’m so glad I did this alone.
A mind-blown moment was when my roommate and I found out we have the same birthdays. Roommate is featured above — she is lovely.
We adopted a cat 🦁
We did it! We finally adopted a cat and her name is Mochi. She is 7 months old, a talkative Aries and looks like a little tigress. Beyond her looks, she is super friendly to everyone and loves to play.
She is currently in the US with Kenny and we’ll have to prepare the administrative work to fly her back to Singapore. Hope she will be able to handle the humid weather.
My sister got married
Right: Sister
I realised I have no proper photos of their wedding. :O
Here’s to my sister, whom everyone thinks is the younger one in the family: Jie, congrats on making into my top 5 moments of 2018! 😛 You’re the funniest and wittiest, less of a bully but a comrade when we do stupid things together. Just like how we slipped PJ pants on our head and pretended we had long luscious hair. With multitude of confidence, we went on top of the coffee table and sang along to the tunes of “Lemon Tree” that’s in the”Best of 90’s” CD-Rom. Talk about “fake it till you make it”.
You’re also one of the kindest person I know, quite a soft-heartie — you said you would edit your wedding speech so it wouldn’t make you cry but failed. You’re also the Jie that I look for to share good deals, hand-me-down makeup/skincare products and life in general. You pull the family together, sometimes literally by asking all of us to chip-in for each other’s birthday presents. Haha.
Heartiest congratulations to you and Isaiah! Have a blissful marriage you both.
Memories at Google, New beginnings at Facebook
Professionally, most part of 2018 was being at Google (contracted) and as part of the Developer Relations team, we ran a series of initiatives across the region to activate and connect with the developer communities at large. Most part of my career so far has been focused on developer community building and the essence of connecting people and empowering developers with amazing technologies is what keeps me going and energized. It has been extremely fulfilling and I’m super grateful to be able to call some of the developers I know through the communities as friends now.
It takes a village to drive a movement and it’s no different when it comes to advocating for the communities we believe in. I’m really lucky to have worked alongside passionate and amazing community builders globally for the time spent at Google.
Now at Facebook for close to 4 months, I’m only 1% done! There so much to learn from others and I can’t help but feel humbled because everyone is just so smart, driven and helpful. Looking forward to an impactful 2019 with the squad.
Taking time for family and friends
One of the most memorable moments were reconnecting with my childhood friends (Hi Belle and Wen Xin 👋🏼) — two amazing ladies, who were integral to my Primary school days. I remember skipping tuition and sneaking to Wen Xin’s house for some good food (P.S. her mum cooks really well) or playdates at Belle’s, where she was staying at one of the gorgeous Black and White houses in Changi and had so many pets. Couldn’t be happier to see both of them doing so well now!
2018 was also a year I witnessed so many wonderful milestones of my beautiful girlfriends! Found love, marriages, first-purchased houses, baby Zane’s 1st birthday, career milestones, and more. #WomenSupportWomen #GoGetThemGirls
Lastly, the Lee clans in 2018 were nothing short of amazing. We basically ate a lot. 😜
How’s your 2018 been? Let me know!
P.S. Collages courtesy of Google Photos
Huiyi 