My last months have been a blur. Work has tipped the scale in my balance. I am utterly rewarded, yet trapped by my own devices. I must stay late to finish this, I must go above and beyond. I try not to get in these modes often as they tend to spiral, ruining any routines I’ve set in my personal life. The first thing to go is fitness, then personal hobbies, then healthy habits. To make myself feel better, I tell myself, “At least I am aware this time around!” I tell others, “Don’t do what I’m doing, it’s bad for your health!”
But who am I kidding? I enjoy work, I enjoy the chaos, I enjoy the feeling of something being done. I enjoy my personal life too, even if I don’t share about it as much. Here are some recent moments:
The Sydney Opera House on a sunny day, the Harbor Bridge in the background, bright blue water surrounding.
Biking to the Opera house
My husband love bikes. Cycling was a family nostalgic activity for him, but the love ignited during the pandemic. Locked away in Singapore, there weren’t many choices to get out there. He started doing 50K, then 100K, then 200K rides around the island. He’s not a typical road biker–he blasts afrobeats, he brings chairs to relax along the way, and he typically has no plan.
I am slowly, begrundingly getting into biking. If there weren’t so many hills in Sydney, I would bike to the office every day and feel smugly European about it. But our weekend trips are fun, exploring new areas of the city, trying not to die flying down the hills.
A collection of small plants in grey planters, orange snippers, and green watering can
Four little chilis
I have been searching for a tactile hobby in Sydney. I’m not finding the same joy in making rugs as before. Maybe it’s too creative for what my brain can currently handle.
Gardening is joy and suffering. Joy in seeing your plants come to life, the literal fruit of your labor can be plucked with your hands. Suffering in waiting, wondering, hoping your plants will do okay. Multiple times I’ve been roasted for my incessant staring at my plants, hoping they will grow faster.
The float for Canva at Sydney WorldPride with “Design with Pride” underneath, colorful and full of rainbows. The foreground shows a lovely purple and yellow illustration of LGBT in Auslan.
Sydney WorldPride
Last but not least, I marched in the first World Pride with Canva. This is my second Mardi Gras in Sydney, but very different in post-pandemic times.
What can I say? It was Pride! The energy was great, going down Oxford Street with my colleagues was thrilling. Hearing people talk about how they used Canva for their signs or how much they love it.
And of course, learning moments. Entering the parade area, a group was protesting corporations being part of Pride. A tension point on my mind as I see the commercialisation of queer culture. We want to be celebrated and seen, but we also need real policies and changes to take place.