Beethoven In Trance - Episode 72

2021 Annual Letter

05/29. A long overdue annual letter.  

Year 2 of Pandemic, it's a blur. I can't really remember much about that year.

At the beginning of the year I moved to another organization due to a company reorg. It was a mixed feeling as I did enjoy working in the old group, as I had a pretty good relationship with the manager and I felt that I had a path to promotion and career growth. I felt that I had to start from the beginning in the new group. For a period of time after I moved to the new group, I wasn't too happy, especially when I saw people got promoted in the old group. The displease was felt at home as it was difficult to keep a high spirit after a seemingly "all the hard work for nothing" day at work. Now, I do want to clarify that the work itself is actually challenging and interesting to me. It's a good learning opportunity. The manager in the new group is new to the company but he seems to be reasonable and easy to work with. Through the year, I think I have established a good relationship with him. Or at least he has successfully made me believing that, in which case, he is a fantastic leader.

Around May, I finally decided to take some private lessons for table tennis. I realized that no equipment would make me a better player. I thought I would just take a class or two to learn the basics, then I would be on my own practices to get better. I got hooked on the lessons very quickly. Every Saturday, I look forward to the lessons when I will learn and finetune my skills. It quickly becomes my favor part of the week. It's an investment, as the lesson is not cheap. I however feel particularly strong about this investment in myself. This is a learning experience that brings me much joy. 

Our family relationship between my father and my wife took a dive since we moved to Seattle. It's unrewarding, draining and hopeless even to try to reconcile and savage their relationship. I would say that their relationship has openly broke from hanging on by a thread in the last year. Both have formed an opinion on each other. It's a tough situation to be in, as I haven't been able to find a successful way to remedy and heal the relationship. It's not fun to come home after a long day's work only to get into another fight at home, especially one that I lose no matter who wins. I was once strongly against my parents staying a senior home, despite they we so interested in it that they applied for it. I have to admit, now I'm open for this option. I don't know how long I could see them scathe their relationship further. 

2021 finance started to rebound after the pandemic. My wife didn't work for the year, so our finance didn't make any significant progress. I originally thought we would change our cars before the pandemic but had to postpone the idea after the Covid hits as the price skyrocketed. 

Our daughter continued to struggle with ADHD, she wasn't able to focus for long and wasn't able to follow instructions or directions as needed. It's been a struggle for my wife to keep her on track. Fortunately, the school opens for in class learning in September so she could go back to class. She loved the classroom and said she learn better there. 

In Nov, I decided to go watch World Table Tennis US tournament event in Houston, TX. I enlisted my wife to go along and it was a great trip. I met some of the top players in the world. The moment I met those star players, I realized that must be how it felt like when a high school girl met her favorite rock band lead singer. We enjoyed the game in person and some local food. I thought I had a glimpse of our retirement lives. 

My wardrobe continues to expand. I still find it difficult to say no to a perceived bargain. However, I did spend some time read through the color matching and learn about how color could enhance the skin tone. I now have an additional selection criteria: color, adding to price, cuts, style, function, and brand.  

Other than that, can't really recall much else about that year...