KEEP IT IN THE PHAMLY

I’ve gone over what 2020 wasn’t. Now on New Years Eve, I’ve finally had a week of staycation to unwind and look back on the year that was. 

This year didn't start out so great, but overall it has been a fun year. Some of my (blog) highlights are:

1. I learned I'm a mouth breathing, noisy eater.
2. I kept up my weekly dance but not dance-dance classes Groove Therapy with Wanida Serce. Though, I didn't keep up with ballet because I moved to another part of town. Instead I'm going to sign up to the local gym next week. Shock-horror.
3. I got to see a Vietnamese American actress star in a western teen movie for the first time - To All The Boys I've Loved Before. Time's are changing y'all.
4. I got a new phone, and I didn't know it has automatic face blur on the selfie camera for the past 9 months even though in the original post, you can clearly see how crispy the front facing camera is compared to the self-facing camera. D'oh.
5. But of course, my top highlight, is living with the boyfriend who makes every day extra fun.

This past year wasn’t my greatest. I feel like every year I get more extreme lows and highs than the last. Is this because I’m adulting and am more aware of my life’s twists and turns now? Or am I just really bad at keeping balance in my life? Either way, I am glad to see this year end.

The highlight for me was definitely my trip to Europe and seeing my German Phamly for the first time in 3 decades. The lowlights were Dad Pham’s health scare, the ongoing boy fails, and farewelling work bestie and corny chips. It's always tough saying goodbye to good people.

Things ended well enough though. I’ve made some new friends to add to my small collection of excellent humans in my life; Dad Pham has PhamLe living next door; and I have cats everywhere I go now. Cats are the greatest reminder that humans should be humble because we are clearly inferior to these majestic (yet dopey) creatures. Also, I wish I had a domestic cat's life - lazing around for most of my life, and still being super athletic and wild when I'm active. If I'm inactive for more than a day, my hard earned muscles turn to mush and I have trouble getting out of bed. Lucky cats.

Here’s hoping I can keep up the good momentum from the end of this year into the next. Goals include getting fitter - not as fit as a cat, I'm trying to be realistic here. I’ve been keeping up my Groove Therapy classes, and have added 1-2 more swim sessions a week, I even started jogging after a fill-in Groove Therapy teacher put us through an hour of nonstop jumping and I realised my cardio needs a lot of work when I nearly keeled over during blass. Lastly, I’ve started adult beginner ballet classes again. Another goal is getting back to nature more - less city dwelling weekends. And lastly, my friends are a bigger focus now I’ve given up online dating people I don’t like. Phamly have always and will always be a top priority so they're not a goal, they're a way of life.

Wish me luck kicking all my goals for this year. I wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year too!

I farewelled 2014 in fine style - meaning I caught a hell of a fever in November and didn't recover from post-viral cough until the New Year break. It's been a hectic few months and all of a sudden it's the end of February and Vietnamese New Year. Yikes.

I'm too busy doing nothing over the holidays so I somehow manage to never think of a New Years resolution. This year, however, I had a post-New Years resolution because I was unemployed and had nothing to do after watching back-to-back episodes of Parks & Recreation. This year I promised myself to do things that I've never done. Here's a list of some of the things I tried:

I wish the world could be as forgetful about blood heritage as I am. Most of the time I walk around not thinking about my race at all. My parents have influenced me culturally but in my head I'm just another Aussie chick. That is, until a white-blonde, blue-eyed couple at Laneway Festival start yelling, 'Ay! Ay ay!' to get my attention, then high-five me and say, 'Konnichiwa.' and 'Watashi no namae wa Lisa. Onamae wa desu ka?'

2011 started off well. Set up house with awesome friends and landed a stimulating job at Diamond Dozen.... And then life turned to crap half way through the year. Fortunately for me we were raised by two appreciative optimists who always manage to find the silver lining in any situation.

Mum Pham's health had been fragile yet manageable for years so when she suddenly became very ill, The Phamly had only a few days to accept she was crossing over. The silver lining: Mum Pham didn't suffer for very long. I got a harsh reality check when the funeral drained my life savings. The silver lining: we were lucky I had enough saved to contribute to the funeral costs. (I will post about funeral ins and outs at a later date to hopefully help other Aussies. The information we found online was dense and confusing so I will try and simplify our experience in an Idiot's Guide To blog. I will also try to think of  a less insensitive title for that blog). Mum Pham and Dad Pham's finances and wills had to be reviewed. The silver lining: I learned about mortgages, stamp duty, interest rates and how to read and write a legal will.

I realised living an independent life in Melbourne was selfish and unfulfilling. The silver lining: Mum's passing set my priorities straight. Phamly first. I left my friends behind. The silver lining: I'd be with Phamly and when I visit it will be quality time spent with friends. I left my job behind. The silver lining: I left knowing I'd made a positive impact on the business and met some amazing people doing it. I arrived in Brisbane unemployed and broke. The silver lining: this great country has a welfare system to help those in need and Dad Pham and Little Sissy Pham are also supporting me where they can.

I am starting at zero in 2012. The silver lining: the only way is up.

Happy New Year, dear World! May all your wishes come true in 2012 but if they don't, remember to stay positive and find the silver lining! Also if you fail miserably in the first three weeks, you get a do over for Chinese New Year on January 23rd, 2012.