回顧2023的尾巴 & Hello2024

• Saying goodbye to Milugu was very hard, but I’m glad that we were able to spend as much quality time with him as he needed and as we wanted to. His vet told us that average life expectancy for cats entering stage 4 kidney disease is about 1 month - and our tough boy kicked its ass in great spirit for more than 6 months 🩵

• One of my intentions for 2023 was applying the financial budgeting principles I’ve been benefiting from to how I budget my time and energy, (namely, with the same level of awareness and standard for priority and cushion). It involved passing on a lot of things I used to hold on to out of past conditioning, expectations from others, or FOMO and was not an easy shift, but the attempt paid off tremendously.

• In the middle of caring for Milugu, Kris & I got a surprise IRCC notice more than a year earlier than the estimated timeline on their website, so we power-studied and passed the citizenship test all within 2 weeks in an almost nostalgic cram school style.

• Amongst all that, plus another family health scare that had me mentally prepared to fly back to Taiwan at a moment’s notice at one point - I somehow managed to finish the 4-month H&R Block Tax certification program with 98%, and am now hirable as a part-time entry level H&R Tax Expert if I’m available during tax season…something 10-year-ago me would definitely not associate myself with.

• Also officially coaching YNAB/Budget for more than a year now! Had equal amount of passion and doubt going in, but pretty soon reached a capacity I’m comfortable with between paid clients & pro-bono friends/students. Grateful for and humbled by those who trusted me to join the journey, and tbh, receiving random updates from fellow artists & friends saying things like “Month 3 of not carrying credit card balance, I guess this is real now?” or “I feel so much better about myself now!” or " YNAB triumph - Just signed up for that acting class because I saw I have exactly the money for that!" is the most fulfilling experience I’ve ever had. So ... won't be quitting anytime soon :)

• A nerdy but cool one - Assassin’s Creed Mirage, together with my first video game voiceover role, was finally released! (AH!) My voice was coming from a badass character set in my favourite time period! (AHH!) But then I sat through Kris killing her twice within 30 minutes, pretty twisted.

• ThoseWhoWander (a.k.a. this website/blog that is our everything space) go public!

• My heart's favourite - Kris & I had successfully built some fun “quality of life” routines together this year - more reading time, weekly “instrument time”, “dance & stretch time”, some mutual interest online classes over breakfast, and a few impromptu writing, drawing, crafting, model making sessions here and there…, adding the fact that we technically also work together sometimes, we can proudly say that we’re better influence to each other now that we’re more than “couch-potato buddies” and “food buddies” lol

Last but not least, as always, grateful for our small and mighty circle of friend-mily, for being there through hard times and good times. For the music, food and good long talks. And for my agent Steph, for being just as supportive when I needed a break as when I was ready for a push.

2024 brings two contracts and hopefully a trip back to Taiwan in between, which will be half of the the year away from home. Certainly an adjustment after this year, but thankfully all three are exciting things dear to my heart.

As for the remainder of the year, besides setting aside some time to stufy for the next big step in the path of financial counseling/education - the AFCC® designation, my 2024 theme will be to become closer friends with my own voice in writing again - I was recently reminded of how much and how freely I used to write before coming to Canada. Language does play a part, but perhaps more so the self-added pressure in a different environment and the shifts in how social platforms are used now. But I'm determined to get that friend back - the "write to think, not think to write", the not thinking too much about what language might come out or what cultural reference point to take care of for a moment...while hopefully maintaining enough awareness to stay both true to self and mindful of others, and to not add on to the social media patterns that has become our collective burden.

I believe that animating that idea in our own lives is a meaningful form of resistance.

A quote by the warmly insightful Rosie Spinks, writer of Substack featured online publication What Do We Do Now That We Are Here?

And as a thank you gift for those of you who patiently read til the end, here are two of my recent favorite pieces of her, How to be online right now , and Before Good Writing Comes Good Thinking (where the above quote came from.) With love, P