Category Archives: Uncategorized

  Back at my last job when I started having troubles sleeping, my last boss has shared with me a military tactic for soldiers: Imagine you are on a boat, in a calm pond, surrounded by mountains, in a dark sky with stars, bright enough to see the mountain and the boat but not tooContinue reading “The boat”

  I think I might have figured out the source of my troubles – depression lately. And in the most Buddhist sense of why I have been depressed my whole life, it’s with the sense of self. This time, it manifested with Rejection. I was catching up with a friend that I have not seenContinue reading “The troubles of the self”

  I was in a one-on-one with a team member and his wife walks in to deliver his lunch, so I told him Dan usually doesn’t cook. “Who’s Dan? Your roommate?” “My husband.” I met up with an old friend – colleague for dinner. The last time we met was pre-pandemic/pre-wedding. And we talked aboutContinue reading “For Singapore. Forever ago.”

  And so 2021 comes to an end.  Another year of the pandemic. Another year of global uncertainty. Another year of challenges both professionally and personally. It has been a dark dark year. Another year that I am grateful for. We continue to progress in our careers. Dan has a new job. I have (2)Continue reading “Before the dawn – of 2022”

  In my desperate search for things to write this note and neatly wrap up the new year, I realized I have forsaken 20 years of my Buddhist practice and all of my struggles with depression and anxiety. I wish I could always reflect on things and neatly wrap them up with a bow, butContinue reading “Before the Dawn – Part 2”

” It’s always darkest before the dawn” Everyone on social media and at work is encouraging each other to “Reflect on 2021”. I don’t know if I’m ready for that yet. I don’t know if I processed 2021 (or even 2020) enough to reflect on it without breaking down and panic cry over a tubContinue reading “Before the dawn – Part 1”

(I wrote this note in 2017. It’s still relevant, and still as loving, today.)  “I am not as my father”  was the first thing I thought,  when I drove down the icy roads,  in Grande Prairie, a city so foreign.   I was lost.  I felt alone.  I am not as my father,  for I knowContinue reading “Not as my father”

This is probably the first time in the past 18 months that I felt things are (almost) back to “normal”.  I traveled again, even just for a short amount of time, to see dear friends and friends I have not seen in a long time. I created arts again, photography, painting, and some random writings.Continue reading “Next to Normal”

  The universe wants me to know I made the right choices.  As I touched down at Vancouver airport, the first notification on my phone showed a heavy rainfall warning. It’s called “The Pineapple Express”, said the locals, but generally, November is the rainiest month of the year. My friend said, gleefully, “You put onContinue reading “November Rain”

I realized this morning on my last day in Ottawa that I have never actively wanted to move towards something or arrive somewhere with thoughtfulness, preparation, and with prior research for scouting. I moved to Singapore when I was 18 because I wanted a better education and a life outside of Vietnam. I had noContinue reading “Nomadland”