Toronto lockdown restrictions could not have loosened up at a better time as June rolled in as my birthday month! This year, I celebrated my 29th birthday and it came with a lot of mixed feelings. Typically, every birthday for the past however many years, I’ve taken the time to seriously reflect about where I am now, where I used to be, and where I want to go. Who am I now? Am I okay with that? Am I happy? To spend another year while the world combats COVID-19 means that a lot of my plans were put on pause. To think about how the world will emerge on the other side of a new normal is scary but to imagine all of the great possibilities is ever so enticing. Now, reflection and deep internalization aside, my 29th birthday was nonetheless special and I feel blessed to have spent the month of June with all of my loved ones. Here’s my happy 29th birthday blog and what I did in the month of June!

Received my second dose of the Pfizer vaccination!

A huge thank you to the University Health Network for their work and dedication!

Celebrated my 29th birthday at the beach and played board games with my lovelies

Enjoyed a 29th birthday sushi dinner!

Thank you to Ki Modern Japanese + Bar for the tasty meal and free birthday fudge dessert!

Caught up with longtime friends over a Korean meal picnic, bubble tea, and some spikeball!

Mini-marched around downtown Toronto during Pride Weekend

Visited Humber Bay Park with the bestie

They call her Miss Concepción but I call her Kat <3

Built a Survivor inspired tree puzzle!

Which I bought from Etsy. It took me about 40 minutes to solve!

And last but not least, sipped sangria over a Waterloo friends reunion.

A huge loving thank you to everyone that made my 29th birthday special. Here’s to starting my 30th year of my life. Springing forward out of love, motivation, and even more smiles.

Stay-at-home orders during the pandemic meant finding alternative ways to escape from reality. One of the ways I accomplished this was playing hours upon hours of executing Animal Crossing island ideas and creations.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons for the Nintendo Switch has been such a great way to just let my imagination run wild world :wink:. The game comes with a handy camera app with a set of filters you can use to capture beautiful designs and landscapes you’ve created. A much needed creative outlet.

Amongst some of the many ideas that have surfaced online, I’ve drawn some inspiration for different parts of my island from my own personal interests and life experiences. Although a lot of what I’ve built does not come close to the more serious designers out there who love to play with intricate object placement and depth perception, I’m super happy with what I’ve created. Here are some of my Animal Crossing island ideas and creations!

In British Columbia, Canadians observe Remembrance Day as a statutory holiday. From November 8th – November 11th, 2019, Michael and I decided to visit the urban and natural landscapes of Alberta for the long weekend.

Here is what we did in Calgary, Banff, and Edmonton!

Unfortunately, after the end of my trip to San Francisco, I fell victim to a gout attack in my lower body which left me immobile and unable to walk for a few weeks.

Amidst the pain along with the struggles of being bedridden, this condition tested my ability to replace doubtful thoughts about my body with positivity.

With huge support from friends, family, my partner, and my beloved prescripted medication, it was amazing to see how I was able turn such scary times into varying small doses of joy.

After regaining some ability to walk again, the month of October turned out not to be so scary after all.