One random afternoon, as I opened my laptop, I had an impulsive thought about writing again on my blog and sharing some of my thoughts and feelings about my life lately. It has been a long time since I wrote a lengthy blog post. To be honest, I couldn’t help but feel guilty for not being consistent and for completely neglecting my blog. I can’t believe it’s been three years (shocking, but meh). So, this will be my first blog post after three years of inactivity.
Let me provide some backstory before I start sharing the details about my life over the past three years.
Before the world went into lockdown due to the pandemic, I had many travel plans I was excited to experience for the first time that year. Just like everyone else, those plans had to be canceled. Everything was put on hold, and honestly, I feared the worst. Anyway, enough about the "could have been" and "should have been" of the past three years. Let’s talk about what really happened during those years that I remember.
A quick 3-year recap/update about my life:
CAREER/WORK:
During the pandemic, I was working nonstop. My workplace never closed during those uncertain days. I think we only closed once before the government rolled out the first wave of vaccines to the public. I remember one of my coworkers contracted COVID-19 and was unable to return to work since then. My employer was kind enough to provide us with weekly produce and grocery items to help us during those times. He wanted us to stay healthy and minimize our risk of catching COVID-19 while we weren’t working. I was in charge of distributing the groceries, and I was grateful that we got to experience the sharing and caring for one another during those difficult and challenging times. I vividly remember the day in March 2020 when all countries declared lockdowns. I was working that day, and every product we had in the walk-in cooler was sold out. People emptied the shelves of pasta, meats, and even wines. I had never seen such a chaotic scenario in real life.
In 2021, I took on two new roles at my workplace. I thought that assuming these responsibilities would give me a renewed sense of purpose and growth in my work ethic, and I’m glad I made the right decision. To this day, I have maintained my positions as a buyer and a specialist in certain departments. I never thought I would be able to juggle both roles.
Then, 2022 was a tough year for me as well. I was balancing work while entering a new phase of my life, which I will discuss later in this blog post. I worked until the end of September and went on leave at the end of the year, returning around February 2023.
By August 2023, I made the difficult decision to resign from my job. I needed to refocus my energy and prioritize my health and family. I will discuss this "prioritization" further in the personal section.
Here are some memorable pictures I took during those years.
LIFESTYLE:
The positive side of 2020 was the opportunity we had to move and buy our first house. While everyone else was moving out of state, we took that chance to buy a townhouse in a gated community. Although we are still within the Bay Area, I have had a longer commute to work since we moved. At first, I didn’t like the one-hour commute (almost two hours if there was a car accident) at all, but over time, I got used to the traffic jam on the Bay Bridge.
Also, I made a major purchase towards the end of 2020, I gave my old car to my parents and got myself a plug-in/hybrid car.
Since my car is considered an electric car, my car can go to the HOV lane and sometimes I take the fast lane during the traffic hours going to work and after work as well. I think after 3 years, I can say that I am used to the traffic and sometimes I use this time to listen to my favorite podcast, call some friends to catch up, and talk to my parents as well.
On the other hand, I think everybody goes to this phase in their lives where everybody becomes a plant person during covid-lockdown and I was one of them. For at least a year I became a plant mom, it was a new hobby that I really liked. I was planting indoor and outdoor plants. I spend more than three hours a day on my days off changing soil, planting and just watching my plants grow.
Here are some pictures of plants that I had during my plant mom era.
In 2021, got the covid-vaccines, more time outdoors, took a secret trip with my hubby, enjoyed some biking riding, and attended a baseball game for the first time. The year 2021, was the year of trying to adapt to the "new normal" but still can enjoy life with a twist of course.
PERSONAL GROWTH:
The only milestone event that I had a chance to do before the lockdown was to celebrate my 30th birthday with my loved ones. I was the only one, literally the only one who had the chance to throw a birthday party before the world declared a lockdown. I remember those Zoom meetings just for my friends and I to stay in touch and celebrate virtual birthdays that year.
In 2021 I became more aware that I identify as an ambivert rather than an introvert. I can socialize from time to time but I will need some time to be on my own space before I socialize again. I maintain my sanity that way. I repaired some friendships in between that year as well.
In 2022, a blessing in disguise happened to me: I became pregnant for the first time in my life. The bundle of joy was a surprise when we went for my first ultrasound. The baby was already 14 weeks old. My pregnancy journey will have its own blog post in the future, so watch out for that!
Now, in the current year of 2023, as I mentioned before, I had to refocus and prioritize my family. I briefly mentioned that because I became a new mom to a cute, always curious, fearless baby boy. From now on, I will write some mommy lifestyle blogs and talk about random stuff related to my mommy life. More stuff for me to write!
Well, that's all for now,
(Weird writing this again as my ending phase)
Talk to you guys soon ^^
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