Holiday Hiatus 2021 (#43) 🎁
Life Milestones, Catfishing in the UK, and a Nepalese Mountaineer
In this week's LWH🏡:
💫—Holiday Hiatus 2021 (#43)
A vibrant socialite in the UK is the victim of a 10-year catfish. The more you learn about the story, the more your mind will spin. Absolutely loved this series by Tortoise Media.
Nimsdai Purja, a Nepalese mountaineer, attempts to climb the 14 peaks on earth that tower over 8,000 meters. It’s awe-inspiring and leaves you questioning the potential of the human body.
Holiday Hiatus 2021 (#43)
Hello lovely readers!
I hope everyone has been having a safe and cozy holiday season amidst all the restrictions and caution. Certainly not the Christmas we were all hoping for (for the second time), but out of our control nonetheless.
This edition of Long Way Home 🏡 won’t have an essay and will instead be a bit more autobiographical, recounting my last couple of weeks. The space in my life that is usually reserved for trying to write thoughtful content for this newsletter has been co-opted by efforts to not royally screw up other important life events.
Starting a new job 💼: Mid-December marked my start date in a new role at a new firm that was wildly different than where I had previously worked. I discuss the process of landing this position in a recent post (The Email that Changed Everything). Since starting, I’ve been trying to do everything I can to feel like I deserve this new position and the opportunities it brings. I know I’m experiencing textbook Imposter Syndrome, but it will take some time to get over. As an aside, learning about the complex, convoluted, crowded American healthcare system has been fascinating. I’ve never been so proud to be Canadian.
Planning my proposal/Proposing 💍: Surprise! If we talk often or you follow me on social media, you will know that about a week ago, I proposed to my girlfriend of three years. It wasn’t without its own drama, but the stars aligned to ensure that on actual day of the proposal, everything fell right into place. Months of working to come up with a fun, memorable experience for the two of us paid off better than I imagined it, and I’m so grateful it all came together like it did. I couldn’t be more excited for our future together.
Christmas 🎁: Christmas has always been a huge deal in my family. Regardless of where all my cousins are in the world, we all make a concerted effort to be home for Christmas. This year was no different. What made this year special, however, was that my newly proposed-to fiancée was going to be at our family Christmas for the very first time. To make it special, we decided to get all our family members (cousins, aunts, uncles, etc.) personalized gifts this year. It might not sound like much, but researching and coordinating all the gifts and purchasing them early to ensure they arrived in time for the holidays was much more stressful than I anticipated. I’m happy to say that everyone was thrilled with their gifts—it was a blast putting a smile on everyone’s faces.
Now that this stressful period is over, I’m looking forward to a much needed return to form for the next issue in three weeks. Amidst all the gratitude aimed at people in my life who have made the last few months possible, I can’t help but feel grateful for readers of this newsletter too. There aren’t too many of you, but writing this thing has given me some semblance of structure and a goal to aim for these past few months. In the whirlwind of today’s realities, this staples has helped keep me sane and productive.
Happy New Year and lots of love to you all.
Festively,
Vandan🏡
@vandan_jhaveri