I recently went down to San Francisco for work. I am the global co-chair for the Asians@ employee resource group (ERG) at Airbnb and one of the organizers for the Creating Belonging with Emojis panel discussion for Asian, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Heritage Month (ANHPIHM) kick-off event. I felt very fortunate that I got approval to go down to help support this event in-person. I was also grateful that I got to hang out in-person with my fellow Asians@ leaders.
I was super appreciative that Jamie let me stay with her for 2 nights at her beautiful home in Noe Valley. I organized dim sum at Hong Kong Lounge Bistro with Jamie, her partner, Lisa, Jeff, Chrystal, and Sebby. I remember going to Hong Kong Lounge II almost 10 years ago but the original location burned down. So they reopened in the SOMA area. The dim sum was excellent although their selection was limited. Their fried beancurd rolls, beef rice rolls, and my favorite brown sugar (malai) sponge cake were delicious.
I also visited the De Young Museum for the Lee Ming Wei exhibit, Rituals of Care. Another friend, Nikki, shared that she was volunteering for the Mending Project but I missed her shift by a few minutes. I loved the Letter Writing Project where there’s a small cozy hut where you take off your shoes and take a moment to write a letter to someone you didn’t have time to write to. If you address it, they sent it for you or you could leave it unsealed for museum visitors to read. I took a few moments to write one to my parents without sending it. It was a therapeutic experience to share with an anonymous reader some of the underlying gratitude and guilt I carry. I wrote it in English. I saw that Jamie also took the time to write in the neighboring hut.
The next room was the Peaceful Kingdom exhibit where different artists created their interpretation of Edward Hick’s piece displayed in one large room. I missed the in person performance, Chaque souffle une danse, because I didn’t realize it was across the bay. I saw images of it as the video form was playing in the main atrium. Timing didn’t work out for Sonic Blossom but I was able to first experience this in Paris at the Centre Pompidou years ago where I serendipitously chanced upon it. I was immediately drawn to the opera singer in wonderment and watched several performances. It left a lasting impression and drew me to the artist, Lee Ming Wei.
I got to meet up with Tina, Kim and their two girls for dinner. They are always so hospitable. Tina showered me with craft chocolates she bought from a chocolate show. I’m always so grateful they extend their hospitality by inviting me to stay with them.
I spent a few days working at the office. There are aspects I miss of being near coworkers and talking to them in-person. So I was very lucky that I got to meet Yiying and Lumen in person who were our panelists. Yiying was the creator of the boba, dumpling, to-go box, chopsticks, and peacock emoji. Lumen was the creator of the arepa emoji and a designer at Airbnb. Jamie invited another design leader to help moderate and it was a very fruitful and interesting conversation. I organized all the food and boba. Ashley helped set up the space and we distributed Agnes Lee’s book, 49 and other Airbnb swag. I felt the energy and excitement as we had a good in-person turn out with online streaming. It’s always hard to gauge and draw in folks to attend. I felt the stress of programming an event but it sure was a dream to navigate it together as a team. There are so many granular details in producing a successful event. I am super grateful I got to hang out with Lisa, Jamie, Ashley, Yun, Mable, and Claire. It’s a rare opportunity for me to see them all in person. Next week I’ll be flying down again for the ANHPIHM mixer and get a chance to meet other ERG members from Twitch, Uber, and Levi’s and to challenge my introverted shy self.
Travelogue 