love notes to reality

the little things

season 2 episode 6

A neighbor home has a basket of chalk hanging on their fence. This was my recent contribution! "You’ve thrived thru so much change <3" 2021.03.14

You’ve gone through a LOT this past year. But you're still here! And I’ll bet you’ve adapted and found beautiful little things in your pandemic life. For me, the beautiful little things I witness in the parks around my neighborhood have helped me find sanity and joy. Such as...

Watching a solo guy fly a drone... Suddenly, a gaggle of kids start chasing it, their heads and arms pointed skyward, laughing with gleeeee at the uncatchable drone! 

Hearing them yell "THANK YOUUU" in chorus as they depart the park... Then hearing the solo guy yell back "Thank YOU! You made my day!"

So, , how are you doing a year+ into this alternate reality? 

This pandemic era has obviously resulted in tremendous shifts to most of our day-to-day lives. But even within the pandemic era, there were distinct phases. Take, for example, the data of my movement in 2020:

The teal columns are the days I left my apartment. Pre-pandemic me was constantly out and about, working out of coffee shops and coworking spaces all over the city. I left home every single day in January and February.

On March 15, 2020, I went into isolation, a full week before the official lockdown in Los Angeles. For 3.5 months, I barely stepped foot outside my apartment. I was too scared of this unknown virus and too scared of encountering vitriol against Asian Americans.*

It wasn't until mid-July that I forced myself to bicycle out. The beach—to which I’d usually bus—was calling! I didn’t realize how much I needed to be in restorative nature until my hands touched the sand and I immediately burst into huge snotty tears.

Pre-pandemic, I almost always opted for the bus instead of a bicycle. (See the dotted blue line for the number of public transit rides taken which dropped to and still remains at zero.) The unexpected pandemic gift has been that I am now miles more comfortable on my bicycle in LA streets! Just look at the solid line: my comfort with bicycling skyrocketed beyond pre-pandemic levels! 

While it may not feel like it, we humans are incredibly resilient and adaptable creatures. How many of us are anxious about the world opening up again? (I see you, fellow introverts!) We will readjust, just as we did before!

So tell me, , 

• What unexpected joys has the past year held for you that may not have happened without the pandemic? 
• What will you miss when in-person life returns? 
• What pandemic era changes will you hold onto?

For me?

• I would have never spent SO much time in my neighborhood parks had I not needed to escape construction and had I not needed to just get out of home. I LOVE MY PARKS SO MUCH!
• I will miss the “flattening” of the world, where I could easily join in on a class or an acting opportunity or an event no matter where in the world the organizer lives. (I even joined in on a CreativeMornings event in Singapore!)
• I will definitely hold onto going places by bicycle! Bicycling has opened up so many new realms that used to be too cumbersome to get to by bus!

Let me know your answers!

<3, Fern

*This episode of the little things was written before the hateful shootings in Georgia targeting Asians. A year after being too scared to leave home, I returned once again to being too scared to leave with my Asian American face and what harassment it may encounter. Thankfully, it won’t take 3 months for me to brave the outside world this time. 2.5 weeks later, I finally returned to bicycling out in the world!

In Other News...

Join me for the premiere of a short film created remotely in isolation on Saturday April 3 at 7pm ET! (That’s Sunday April 4th at 7am Malaysian time.) RSVP here!

Three months into the pandemic, three filmmakers on opposite sides of the country adventure into the unknown territory of remote filmmaking. Is it possible to make a short film when the actor (and only that actor) is on set in Los Angeles while the director and cinematographer are in New York?

Join Maisa Chiang (director, writer), Emily Lin (cinematographer), and me (actor and all on-set roles) to celebrate the premiere of our remotely-created short film, Acceptance!

Curious about how we pulled it off?

RSVP above to ask us all your questions and/or watch the behind-the-scenes of the Making of Acceptance below!

Missed it?

I'm starting a new newsletter specifically for such updates on things I create or am in. That way, you can get FYI’s in a more timely fashion (instead of it being dependent on me writing an episode of the little things). Subscribe here! (You know how sporadic this newsletter is... This new newsletter is likely going to be just as sporadic!)