The past two months have been a whirlwind of significant life events, including graduation and university preparations. The journey involved challenges but also moments of gratitude, connection, and reflection, documented through sketches and memories shared on Instagram.
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My twins graduated from high school at the end of May, marking the culmination of a rollercoaster ride over the past few months. It has been a mix of joy and sadness as we celebrated the end of high school life and looked ahead to the next journey, which involves preparing for university, new experiences, and exciting opportunities. Between preparing for the rigors of the IB exams, attending the last few school activities, and managing the erratic schedules as the “finish line” loomed, it’s been a challenging time for everyone. Time seemed to fly by; before I knew it, it was graduation day. I couldn’t help but tear up when…
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What can I say? December turned out so completely different from what I had envisioned to be and what I had hoped it to be. Things that were part of our everyday almost since 2020 like scanning QR codes, PCR testing at least every 72 hrs, checking of green codes in public places and other restrictions, were suddenly lifted. Suddenly, the COVID virus spread like wildfire and once again, Shanghai buckled down from COVID infections, everything (at least almost everything) went upside down fast. I was feeling like another lockdown (like what happened in March/April of 2022) was happening as the city suddenly went silent by mid-December. Schools had already…
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The last time I posted an “Around here…” series was back in May. I cannot believe it has been that long, really! The flurry of activities that came about as we came out of lockdown was just overwhelming. A bit of warning, this post of photo-heavy. June: First order of business after lockdown was doing the round of hospital/doctor visits. Then came the search for apartments since we needed space for a family of 7; that includes our 4 rescue/adopted cats. With the exodus of expats, there is more option but of course I had to ask the neighbours for their experiences during lockdown because I need to be prepared…
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May came and went like a blur, between the dullness of our days, to creating some sort of routine to not spiraling mentally… basically a cacophony of emotions and ups and downs. We have been given some more food rations from the government ranging from toiletries, condiments to veggies and meat. There were still constant testing between antigen test kits and the PCR tests. An excuse to go out, rain or shine, but also too much of a hassle, trying to spray/disinfect where we went. Have been baking a lot since there’s no way to buy bread. And with shortage in yeast, had to jump into the sourdough starter adventure.…
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Spring time in Shanghai is looking so different this time. Varying forms of lockdowns are going on around the city as the local government tries to find ways to curb the rising number of COVID-19 infections from Omicron. We have also done several nucleic acid testing within our apartment compound as well as antigen tests. Kids have gone to virtual learning and are past the 1-month mark now. My office have switched to working from home almost the same time as my kids did as a precaution. Fortunately, we did so at the right time because some colleagues were on swift action lockdowns. I cannot help but look back and…
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As I’m writing this post (albeit a late one), I am still feeling like it’s all surreal, to be having a solo exhibit… #documentinglife has become something of a mission after I discovered digital scrapbooking when I just had kids. It became a way for me to capture those every day little moments in Shanghai as a family that is fleeting yet too precious not to eternalize. Eventually, it grew into a hobby that drives me to find inspiration even from the simplest things in everyday life, and also an effective medium for me to soak in the unique aspects of a new place visited. In a blink of an…
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This travel journal was done a couple months ago but never got to share with so many things on my to-do list. This cover is a custom-made album cover which is 1 of the 3 I got made. For this size, I got the guy to etch the geotag and “GO” on the cover to see how it works. This is a different size from the other mini albums as I thought I’d test out a “personal planner insert” size. There is always room for adding little bits and pieces from your travels, so don’t limit yourself. I added some sand and some small seashells we gathered. This gives my…
