so… covid huh? since the world health organization declared covid-19 a global pandemic way back when – march 2020 – life has been in turmoil for many around the globe, myself included. and yeah, i’m fine, and other people are dying, so why complain? but hey, this is my blog. that being said, for any future historians snooping around the internet of the early 21st century, here’s a current snapshot of covid around globe (how’s the metaverse doing, by the way?):
globally, there have been 455 million confirmed cases and 6 million deaths since the pandemic began (as reported by the WHO). to zoom in a smidge – here in china, there have been just over 130 thousand reported cases (21 thousand currently active), and about 4,600 total deaths. mild, compared to many other areas in the world, and largely thanks to the CCP’s strict ‘zero-covid’ policy and heavy handed handling of testing, vaccination, and lock downs. now i’m far from well researched on anything related to covid-19, but i do think it’s important to highlight, the pandemic having now entering its third year, to contextualize what i’ve been up to, especially since as i write this, my hutong neighborhood in beijing has been sealed off from the rest of the city, due to a recent local case.
yep. they built a wall around my block – overnight, somehow without me realizing. by the time i woke up the next day, there were medical personnel wearing full-body protective gear hustling throughout the narrow alleyways, carefully registering each household and its residents, conducting swab tests, and staving off angry residents who suddenly found themselves sealed off from groceries, school, and work. we now get tested every morning, and the quarantine should last 14-21 days total.
thankfully, i haven’t started my ‘real’ job yet, and they still allow deliveries at the front gate, so honestly, aside from not being able to see friends or attend my usual frisbee activities, my life hasn’t been impacted too heavily. but this is now the third quarantine stint i’ve experienced (hence, 60 days), and although it’s been by far the most comfortable, i sincerely hope it’s my last.
here’s a quick and dirty timeline of my life since covid-19 destroyed the global economy, killed millions of people, etc. etc.
timeline
march 2020
the world health organization declares covid-19 a global pandemic. the swarthmore warmothers and earthworms have spring break extended by a week (yay!), but the rest of the semester cancelled (aww), and an abrupt end to their ultimate frisbee season (big oof)
i don’t finish the hands on component of my engineering thesis project, the aquaponics system is temporarily shut down, and i finish out the rest of the semester from my apartment alone, because my roommate stays at home in california
may 2020
i graduate, virtually (woohoo). i don’t get to wear a construction helmet at graduation – a swarthmore tradition (boo). immediately afterwards i begin my position as a sustainability and engaged scholarship fellow for the lang center for civic and social responsibility and office of sustainability. over the following year, i work on zero waste projects, help manage the president’s sustainability research fellowship, and in my downtime, hit rank #17 on global leaderboards in knockout mode, dota underlords
june 2020
the neko kā discord server is born, officially beginning my band’s push to create an album, remotely
august 2020
katrina invites me to housesit for her in bellingham, wa. i met katrina while studying abroad in capetown junior spring and not only is she a pretty direct inspiration for this blog (check out hers), she is also one of my favorite human beings in the whole world. house-sitting involved several adventures, bonding with ruddles (katrina’s dog), and spending time with kastan, my best friend from swarthmore, in his home state. there couldn’t have been a more welcome distraction from work (which i continued remotely, waking up at 5am due to time difference) and the pandemic
september 2020
i welcome two new roommates for the semester, sophomores who were kicked off campus for violating the ‘garnet code’ swarthmore’s covid-19 student policy. the apartment gets crowded, but thank goodness for human interaction and splitting rent
october 2020
neko kā releases our first single, soap
december 2020
neko kā releases our second single, backscatter
my roommates move out, and winter break is lonely… very lonely. i start learning chess
january 2021
a new roommate moves in! angus, a fellow 2020 grad, musician, and gamer
march 2021
neko kā decides to meet up in illinois to put the finishing touches on our album and go to culver’s for milkshakes. the band – myself, maya, jack, and jonathan – roadtrips out, rents an airbnb, puts on a zoom concert for the swarthmore ultimate teams, records music videos and album tracks, and cooks vegan, gluten free meals
check out our ‘i know the end’ cover here
after returning, my thesis advisor, carr, and i begin to slowly revive the aquaponics system, with the additional perk of being able to use the neighboring biology lab as storage/work space
april 2021
i cut my hair short, for the first time since i started growing it out back when i was a sophomore
may 2021
i receive my second dose of the moderna covid vaccine
neko kā releases our album – touch and go. check out our stuff here
angus moves out, and i convert his bedroom into a study room. now i live in a 2 bedroom apartment alone
june 2021
eva, a freshman engineering student at swarthmore, begins her summer research on aquaponics. she begins to code and prototype the water quality management device that i had started to design, before covid-19 had rudely interrupted my semester. together, we bring the aquaponics system back to life
kastan visits philadelphia
july 2021
i finish up my work as an engaged scholarship fellow, and janet, my oldest sister, visits from durham to help me move out of my apartment
i haven’t found another job to sponsor my visa, or applied to grad schools (oops), so i plan to return to beijing
august 2021
my lease expires, and i no longer have a home. i visit (aka bum around) friends in new york, boston, and conneticut. my friend tina takes me mountain biking at a ski park and i decide it’s much more fun when you can take a lift uphill. i also go to an ultimate frisbee beach tournament in new jersey, a long awaited return to the sport
i end up at my sister’s home in durham for the remainder of my time in the united states. i paint a capetown-themed skateboard deck for katrina, give my electric skateboard to a friend from highschool, ian, and say goodbye to my sister’s dog, bjorn
september 2021
my student visa is almost expired. also my 港澳通行证, my identification for mainland china, has already expired, and i need it to be allowed back. i fly to hong kong to get it sorted, and quarantine for 21 days at designated hotel, then another 10 to get my identification renewed. it’s nice to spend some time getting to know the city i was born in, as i was so young when i left that i barely have any memories of it
october 2021
with my shiny new 通行证，i can finally return to the mainland! i decide to fly back to shanghai and gamble on a designated quarantine hotel there, to avoid the certain centralized quarantine in beijing. i made the wrong choice. the quarantine hotel is horrible. after two miserable weeks i move to another hotel for medical observation, waiting for my health code to turn green so that i can return to beijing. i play some ultimate pick up, and was excited by how much the ultimate scene in china has seem to taken off
on october 30th i fly back to beijing, my health code having turned green the morning of my flight. i was pretty nervous leading up to it, and prepared to argue my way onboard (likely unsuccessfully)
november 2021
after living with my parents for a week, i look for a new place and find my current hutong, in 东城 (dong cheng). i move out as quickly as possible. living in china after 10 years away is jarring – i get used to using wechat and alipay for everything, and start practicing my mandarin again…
i join 大哥飞盘 (big brother), one of the best ultimate frisbee club teams in china. i realize i am very out of practice, and just as out of shape
i become an ultimate and spikeball coach for 伙伴俱乐部 (beijing partner club), grateful for the opportunity to deepen my community connections and help both sports grow in beijing
december 2021
大哥飞盘 hosts a hat tournament
january 2022
伙伴俱乐部 hosts a sponsored spikeball tournament
march 2022 (present)
i accept a job offer, and begin to go through a long hiring process, which has yet to conclude. a covid case is reported in my neighborhood and it gets sealed off overnight. just as the weather is getting nice, too
i look forward to starting my job, upcoming ultimate tournaments, outdoor climbing season, and rooftop barbeques
serious props if you made it this far in the post. updating my website has been a long overdue to-do and i’m glad that this blog became a part of it. timeline aside, i do want to share more about my past adventures, current interests, future goals, yadda yadda. but i think this will suffice as a first. more to come, whenever the mood strikes, i guess…