Heather and I met at MIT Scaling Development Ventures conference in 2017, an event hosted by MIT D-Lab to bring social entrepreneurs and supporters together to make a more equitable world. Heather, who received PhD of Mechanical & Ocean Engineering from MIT, shared her story: Practical Education Network (PEN). I was moved and touched by …
Category Archives: Beauty
Carly – Committed to Excellence
I met Carly at a Toastmaster club visit in 2018 when I was a division director. She was the club VP of education. Though the club was started 2 years ago, the meeting was well-organized and attended. After the meeting, I asked Carly if she could share some tips as some corporate clubs struggled to …
Yan – Loving, Authentic & Courageous
Yan and I’ve known each other over 5 years. We share with each other good reads and interesting things. Once in a while, I’d pick Yan’s brain; she is always generous to offer thoughts and advice. During my transition in 2018, I asked Yan how she decided to leave a successful corporate career (GM before …
Richa & Mian – Joyful Friendship
I met Richa and Mian at the last company. Richa and I saw each other in some group meetings. Mian recently joined the company and we were introduced by her manager who was a key partner of the Global-localization initiative I was leading. We hit it off. A month after Mian and I met, the …
Giving
My aunt’s best friend called me last night suggesting a Christmas picnic lunch today at aunt’s front yard. She said she’d order Chinese noodles for lunch and I just “show up”. I offered to pick up the food since the restaurant is closer to me and said I’d bring drinks. I loved the chewy, fat, …
Christmas Tree and Gift
I heard from the radio that a single mom who was laid-off during Covid felt bad that she couldn’t buy presents to her children, actually, she couldn’t even afford a Christmas tree. I felt sad for her, not only the financial challenges but also the “holiday obligation”. I never had a Christmas tree or gifts …
Take a Moment to Appreciate
Many people would say 2020 is a challenging year yet there is always bright side… I wrote an article called “Take a moment to appreciate” at work. We have made tremendous progress, including automation/ time saving for team, reduced outsourcing cost, enhanced community experience, and increased user adoption in 2020 (see “Cheers” post for more …
燒餅油條 Biscuits Fritters
燒餅油條 (pronunciation: shao bing you tiao) biscuits fritters is very popular in traditional Taiwanese breakfast. It’s a crispy sandwich; 燒餅(shao bing) is a baked layered paddy and cut in half to put 油條(you tiao) a fried hallow sticks (usually come in pair, side by side). When you bite it, the you tiao melts in your …
Nice Work
Aunt texted me that the lights I put on her Christmas trees didn’t work and she doesn’t know what’s going on. I rode bike there to check as exercise. While I was slowly riding uphill, one paddle at a time…a lady running passed and said ‘Nice work’ to me, I was caught in surprise for …
Thanksliving
No shopping this Black Friday, instead, I ordered two things online. In the past, aunt’s banquet easily had 20+ people and 15+ dishes, today just 4 of us with 3 home-made dishes: rice cake stew, shrimp, string bean; plus roasted veggie pizza I brought from a local shop, simple and delicious. We ate on the …