Sunglasses Always Fit

A few years ago I started marking each actual year of my life, answering these same set of questions each birthday to help me measure moments. Here are the last 365.25 days:

What are you doing exactly right now/what did you do for your birthday? 

I’m in a lucky year when my birthday is on a weekend! Being a teacher, your birthdays during the work week can be super hit or miss, depending on your students and your class parent, and it’s a tiny kind of devastation when your class forgets about your birthday, because we all know that birthdays for kids are a mega deal. But this year, my birthday is on a Sunday! God’s gift! This means I can have a party on Saturday night then recover guilt-free on Sunday, my designated lazy day. I’m mentally already picking out the bagel sandwich brunch I’ll be getting delivered.

But at this moment, the night of my party, I’ve been on a hike, cleaned my house, gardened, am finalizing the playlist, and am watching eyeliner tutorials while doing some aggressive skin care and gua sha routines in an attempt to make my outside match the 25 years young I feel on the inside.

What shoes and clothes are you wearing?  I love that bike shorts have made a comeback, because they are commmmmfy. I have like six pairs, a few not fit for public consumption, and I’m in one of those, a cheeky sports bra that also can’t leave the house, and a cheap hoodie that attracts stains like a super power. Also – the lip balm some seller in Morocco gave me which supposedly turns a different shade of pink depending on your lip chemistry or something made up but I dig it.

What did you last eat? Last food pic on your phone?  So . . . I literally ate an entire bag of puffed cheetos today for lunch. My fingers are still a bit orange, despite multiple washings. I am full, a little sick, but unbothered. Calories don’t count during your birthday week, literally everyone knows this.

Where are you living?  On the island in Hong Kong, in a hipster slash still pretty local neighborhood called Sai Ying Pun, best known for its dried seafood market. I’m in a studio, 150 sq ft. On my own. Tiny. I live next to a veggie market, a McDonalds, a park, a Michelin star roasted goose restaurant, a ding ding line, surrounded by a million people I will never meet, with three emotional support cats that visit my patio on occasion. It’s great.

Where do you work?  I was back up in fourth grade this year, which suits me better, at the small private school in Hong Kong. I have a great teaching team, although it’s been a chaotic year at my school, and I’m happy to be moving on.

Where have you traveled this last year? Taiwan for a quick weekend last May, then home for the summer included officiating my best friend’s wedding in Chicago, visiting sister in Tennessee, Vietnam for another wedding, then in October it was India! I got to go home for Christmas for the first time in five years, took a dream trip to Morocco for Chinese New Year, and then Australia for spring break, which means I’ve been to all seven continents!

When did you last cry?  At an instagram reel of a senior dog at an adoption fair who kept getting passed by. I really only work to be able to afford running a dog sanctuary one day.

What was the last movie you watched?  I watched “The Holdovers” on the plane and it was a delight, and then “Scoop,” to round out my recent obsession with royal family things. I just showed “Wall-E” to my students during snack time as part of our space unit, and it was so lovely, as always, to show a beloved movie to kids for the first time, and hear their questions, and see their reactions. I cried many times. 

Favorite TV show of the moment? Girls 5eva and The Crown (I haven’t watched for years, so it’s a catch-up).   

Favorite toy of the moment?  I nicked a pair of scientific tweezers from our school’s science lab and every morning I go out to my hibiscus and manually pluck and destroy the mealy worms that somehow keep coming back, the bastards. It’s fun work though. Oh, also, maybe the mini gnome accents I got for my plants. 

What book are you reading?  The Potato Factory by Bryce Courtenay and “Red Rising” by Pierce Brown.

How many books did you read in the last year? Highlights?  Well over a hundred! Shantaram was the longest and I considered it “research” for India, and very good. The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot had me openly sobbing at 36,000 miles up on a plane. Demon Copperhead I still think about almost daily. Jesus and John Wayne should be required reading for any Christian in America. Bunny. The House Witch series. Emily Wilde (swoon). Why We Sleep. 

When did you last laugh really hard?  I was facetiming my nephew, who is three, and was showing me his golf skills with an imaginary ball, narrating the whole thing. Then off-camera, without me noticing, he got a real ball, and hit it, and then told me he had to go retrieve it as he walked off screen for a while, and I was like, “uh, but why?” and my sister had to explain.

What are you most looking forward to right now?  Soaking up the last 9 weeks in Hong Kong . . . I just want to be with all the people I love all the time.

What’s your favorite song at the moment?  The new stuff from Hozier and Rainbow Kitten Surprise, and for some reason “This is It” by Kenny Loggins is SENDING ME. And “You’re the One,” which was given to me as Aussie research before my trip. A total banger.

What’s the same about your life last year that you’re happy about? I’m always happy about having the same wonderful friends and really active social life that I have. I’ve done more solo travel, read a lot of books, and generally just really enjoyed life as much as possible. 

What’s different about your life from last year? What surprised you about this last year or changed it for you?  I’m preparing to move country and change what grade I teach and at what kind of school . . . it’s daunting but I’m excited. The situation with my job surprised me, but I think I’ve handled it well, and while I will probably always be angry and resentful and never thankful (ha!) I am looking forward to a change and a challenge. 

When and what was your last vacation? I went to Australia for two weeks and hung out with some besties – Esther and Nathan and Elsie and Yara – I was in Melbourne, Sydney, and Uluru. It was pretty magical.

What’s your current favorite joke?  Wanna hear two short jokes and a long joke?

Joke. joke. JOOOOOOOOOOOOKE. 

What would you like as a gift right now?  Still just waiting for the perfect bra. I am angry that this does not seem to exist. And someone to do all my packing for me.

What are you proud of this year?  I’ve been running again and started lifting weights because the algorithms got to me and I get a lot of reels telling me how women in their 40s need to lift weights. I don’t really like it – I genuinely prefer mindless cardio, not even watching or reading anything – but I’m making myself do it and I do detect a few tiny muscles evolving.

I’ve also just felt more settled about turning 40 and not being married, not having kids, maybe never having those things. It’s not what I would have predicted for myself, but it’s what’s happened, and I’m really proud of how much I accept and celebrate myself and push myself to do hard things, pursue my interests, and enjoy life. 

What’s an important relationship at the moment?  You know, I haven’t made any new, thrilling, important friendships or flings in the last year, but something that’s struck me is that through socials, people can reach out and make contact, even though it’s been years on years, and recently I had a few people from high school message about maybe getting some coffee this summer, and someone from college is coming to HK and we’re going to have dinner next weekend! I just love that we can maintain relationships through these mediums.

What are your goals for the next year?  Last year, I tried to not buy clothes for a year. I lasted about five months. But the outlook did change my shopping habits in general. I think, as I prepare to pack up and move country, I want to again focus on less stuff, being more intentional about every purchase. I want to continue my running training, travel to more places, decompress from Hong Kong, and have a hammock. All doable.

That’s it for last year’s journey. Thanks for being on it with me :). If you want – subscribe! It would make my day.