Moments That Defined My 2021
Merry Christmas, everyone! Here is a little gift for you all - a silly little piece of reflection. I hope you will enjoy it~
- The Bandwagon of 2021
- The Change of 2021
- The Shittiest Shit I Said I Wouldn’t Do But Did Anyway in 2021
- The Most Sudden End of 2021
- The Most Shamelessly Proud Moment in 2021
- The Best Investment in 2021
The Bandwagon of 2021
Late January, I got onto Clubhouse. Every morning I would hop into rooms at 4:45am, listening, putting my hand up.
I spoke to many of my idols: Jason Fried, Frances Frei, Tobias Lütke, Sidra and Waqas, Josh Constine, Li Jin, Hanjin Tan, Scott Barry Kaufman.
I hosted rooms in English and Cantonese. I made new friends. I co-hosted multi-episode series. I stumbled upon the Crypto and NFT rooms. I joined the “creator economy.” I discovered 游學修.
Then Clubhouse dropped dead. All activities disappeared within 2 weeks. My heroes no longer showed up. No one wanted to host anymore rooms. The party ended, and one thing lingered – crypto and NFT.
I continued to learn about the NFT space. I minted 2 NFTs. I bought s o m e too. I staked, earned, farmed tokens. I hoarded ENS names, joined DAOs, and fell prey to anything “decentralised.”
I am still riding the waves of crypto and its elevated status of web3. The space is filled with enthusiasm and naivety. The people are earnest and their ideas are wild and silly. It’s refreshing.
The Change of 2021
My Apple Watch broke, and I had to stop all the tracking and notifications and controls it brought.
I began wearing the Apple Watch since the 1st generation. I have integrated it into my life- I used it to track (quantifiy) myself, activate Siri, take notes, control my music, control the lights at home, and triage notifications. I thought I would be disoriented without it, and it was, for a day.
By day 2, I already adjusted my life around it.
By day 3, I felt liberated from not having to deal with the quantification and notifications.
On day 4, I felt stupid that I was dependent on it.
On day 5 I felt motivated by the liberation and decided to review everything I believed I needed in my life. I ditched a few more things- USB hubs, overpriced coffee beans, and a 9 minute HIIT abs routine.
The Shittiest Shit I Said I Wouldn’t Do But Did Anyway in 2021
There were certain types of work I said I wouldn’t do when I decided to become my own boss.
Then, I said yes to them because I had a lot of time on my hand, the pay was good, and I didn’t want to burn any bridges. It was dreadful.
The Most Sudden End of 2021
One day, I stopped posting daily on Linkedin. Just like how Forrest Gump suddenly stopped his ultra marathon of more than 15,000 miles, out of the blue, I too said, “I think I’ll go home now.”
I was working with a “content” consultant at that time. She suggested ways for me to evolve my content- change my tagline, tell my stories differently, litter my posts with keywords…. And somehow, I just wanted to stop. Perhaps I felt overwhelmed. Perhaps I felt meaningless because none of those actions seemed to promise anything substantial. Perhaps those tactics reminded me that nothing was new under the sun. I felt hopeless.
Now I post 2-3 times a week. I wonder when will this pattern stops.
The Most Shamelessly Proud Moment of 2021
At school, I was assigned to conduct an ensemble of better players. Students had to audition for it. We practiced every week to prepare for a performance at the annual Winter Fair.
I picked Canon in D by Pachelbel, a universally appealing piece of music. What I did not anticipate was how difficult it was for the kids to jump between full notes and 32nd notes. I had to remove an entire section of violins to keep the group together.
During the performance, we didn’t fall apart, teachers and parents shed tears, and I became the hero.
The Best Investment in 2021
My wife and I decided to have a date night every week. We tried new and overpried restaurants, whined, argued, and helped each other “hang in there.”
Thank you again for subscribing and reading my stuff. I am forever grateful.
🎄Happy Holidays!🎁