It has been exactly two years to the date since my last post here. The big ‘ole panini really turned the whole world upside down and my world was no different.
So let’s unpack the pandemic years once and for all.
In season one of The Global Pandemic, I experienced the biggest losses of my life thus far and actually felt incredibly grateful for the mandated lockdowns so I could grieve my way: alone and playing a lot of animal crossing. I had so many feelings and very few outlets felt right for that pain, but I still made this and this. That helped a lot.
2020 was The Year of New Horizons.
In season two of The Great Panini, life did a full 180°. We got engaged! We bought a house! I started and finished a whole teaching degree! For the first time since we graduated in 2018, George and I felt like our lives were really coming together the way we had imagined.
2021 was The Year of Many Milestones.
It’s now season three of The Grandiose Pancetta. Hong Kong is seemingly the last city in the world to give up on the idea that COVID Zero is a plausible strategy while the rest of the world is opening up. This led to a very quiet start of the year. I spent a lot of time alone, where I learned to truly enjoy my own company. I also decided to take this period of quiet to sort out my dodgy knees, and ended up making a new friend in the process. We talked a lot about life, loss, and our upcoming travels. Through our talks, I learned to say goodbye to grief, only to meet them once again much too soon. Only one of us made it on the plane.
After I finished up my first year in a primary school, George and I took the chance to finally travel over the summer. I went gallivanting all over Europe from Rome to London to Paris. It was a certified Hillary Duff song from the 2000s. I caught up with old friends, made new ones, and even planned another trip before we close out the year.
2022 has been The Year of Equilibrium.
In conversations over the years, my friends and I have always lamented that the pandemic years robbed a lot of us of a “normal” life. There are so many moments over the years where that felt painfully true. However, when I look at the moments of love, loss, solitude, and company that I did have over those years - those things felt as normal as they always have.
That said, I would really like to stop breathing in my own breath now. Here’s to 2023 being The Year of No Masks!
Mid Autumn Festival approaches, and the time comes for me to shove an ungodly amount of mooncakes into my mouth. But, before we dive into the cosy autumn months, let's take a quick look at this past summer through the lens of food!