1. Where did I thrive?
I wish I could say I thrived financially, but this was not that year, despite all the predictions of 42-year-olds thriving in 2024. This year also marked my 6th veganniversary (4+2=6), but I recently realized my birth number is 8, so maybe 2026 (when I turn 44) will be a more abundant year.
However, because of publishing my book and going on the podcast circuit all last year, I got invited to speak at 3 events, 2 of which paid me!
Speaking at Planted Expo Vancouver was one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done. I was told to do a 20-minute TEDx-style talk and that I wouldn’t have my slides visible in front of me. So I practiced my talk a dozen times without looking back.
My talk at the Nanaimo VegFest went even better, except for the wind outdoors whipping my hair in my face and mouth…but that recording isn’t available for you to see.
I got to meet most of the other vegan VIPs at these events and update my bio to say that I shared the stage with them.
I’m really glad I attended the Vegan Women Summit live this year because VWS is producing The 2100 Summit next year. I met Dr. Melissa Mondala at VWS, whose book I got to work on this year. It will come out in early 2025.
In terms of volunteer work, I took part in two formal programs. I was also apparently the only voting member of the Vancouver Mural Festival to volunteer at their fundraiser this fall.
2. Where did I struggle?
My dad’s mental faculty continued to decline this year, and it’s been hard to see him unable to answer simple questions. I pivoted to asking more yes or no questions and that seemed to be easier for him, but some days he can’t manage that. He may not remember my name anymore, but he still knows who I am and I’m glad that I have a routine that hopefully triggers his memory when I visit.
I continue to remind myself that I’m lucky to have time with my dad and see a gradual decline of his mental state vs. losing him instantly. Many aren’t given the luxury of time with their loved ones when they’re sick or their health declines.
In mid-September, my Instagram account was hacked and while I haven’t shed tears over this, it’s been a bitch to deal with. I’m grateful that most of my business network exists on LinkedIn. Even though Meta wasn’t able to recover my account right away, I’m going the route of paying someone (supposedly a Meta employee) to recover my account. These were funds I would have paid myself in December that went to this service provider instead.
If that doesn’t work, I’ll get my refund, maybe try one more time to get an answer from Meta, and if that fails, I’ll start from zero on Instagram. Do I wish I didn’t have to be on it? Yes. But unfortunately, it remains a good way to stay in touch with not just friends and family, but clients and businesses. I already know not as many are on TikTok for me to invest more of my time there vs. Instagram.
I remembered that when I wrote this post last year, I gave myself until July to be financially successful before I started looking for a job. Well, that time came, and I started searching for part-time jobs I could do remotely from home while continuing to run my business. But these jobs are NOT in demand! Or, they don’t pay what I’m worth.
In late August, while onboarding a new client I felt totally aligned with, I realized that all my best clients are vegans, and wondered what might happen if I commit to only working with vegans in 2025. I felt good about this idea, so made my plan to switch my title, content, and update my website, which you’ll see right at the start of next month.
I also got creative and realized I had a database of almost 1400 business owners/colleagues (plus more contacts from the film industry and who identify as somewhere on the plant-based spectrum) sitting in my phone. So I started emailing or messaging them all to tell them about my work with authors and that I give 5% back to charity for referrals.
This was a great exercise and allowed me to update or delete folks from my contact list.
In the summer, I took my dad to Melt Confectionary 3 blocks away to get ice cream. It was almost too much work for the reward, as the street curbs are not very wheelchair friendly, and my dad doesn’t eat that much anymore—not even ice cream.
I’ll continue to take him outside, but not more than a block away.
3. Who was important in my life and why?
Family and friends always come #1 and that won’t change.
I’ve enjoyed building my network of vegans on social media, meeting two more in person from Finland and the USA when they visited Vancouver for a conference.
I mentored two female business owners through The Forum, which has been very rewarding. What’s funny is I have the tendency to want to give more when I don’t feel abundant, hoping that the Universe will reward me back for my service.
When one of my mentees ended our mentorship relationship, I jumped right away into offering my time to another mentee, who also declined. It was as if the Universe was saying, “Whoa, hold up there, lady. Better take care of yourself first before you start giving too much.” Message received!
4. What lesson am I grateful to have learned?
This year I not only tried to keep remembering my Human Design, but I did HD reports for others. One thing I learned about this year that is associated with HD was the Gene Keys. There was only a limited amount of information I could get with the free profile on the Gene Keys website, but one of the a-has I had about myself was that I need to be pushed to my limit physically on a regular basis.
I started working out with a trainer and the Trainerize fitness app for the first time in late January and found I LOVE working out at home. It made me wonder whether I might be more financially successful if I had gone into sports or was more of a fitness buff.
I’ve no doubt that if I keep pushing myself physically, I can achieve more in the external world, but I don’t plan on working toward crazy fitness goals. It’s always been my goal to be strong enough to do a couple of chin-ups/pull-ups, and as I write this, I’m still injured from unconsciously attempting a pull-up in mid-November and doing something to my right shoulder.
I continued to do my assigned workouts with 2 10 ib weights and injured it some more, so I’m being forced to learn that I need to not take my body for granted as much, even if I feel strong.
Just two weeks ago I learned about Teledipity, which also has an app and is based on Pythagorean numerology. This revealed much of the same info I learned about myself via Human Design and the Gene Keys. I wish there was a similar app for Human Design that could give you daily tips like an astrology app would. LMK if you know of one!
I learned a lot about myself after reading two popular books this year: Atomic Habits and The Power of Now. What Atomic Habits taught me was that I’m already doing most of the things I want to in my life. I have a solid morning and evening routine, a good work-life balance, and am probably ahead of most people in keeping a routine like this to live the life I want.
The one thing I haven’t achieved in my life that I haven’t is travelling more overseas, and that can only come if I make a lot more money than I do now. So I have to get better at my business, or land the right job that lets me work from home and have at least 2 weeks vacation.
5. Where and how was I courageous?
As mentioned earlier, I did my biggest speaking gig at Planted Expo Vancouver, which taught me I can still become a better speaker.
After the summer slump, I was hoping fall would be busier, and it wasn’t. But I’m glad I got creative in November and thought to tap into my existing network. I asked one of my best clients if he was still interested in publishing a book or if I could help him with his other business—this is something I wouldn’t have done before. The answer is always no if you don’t ask!
I turned down what would have been a $1350 writing project this month because it wasn’t aligned with veganism, nor did the client agree with the terms I sent in my proposal.
There were a few red flags, and I finally said goodbye and good luck to this potential client because I’d rather be poor and have my sanity rather than do work I loathe and bend over backward just to get it done. (I also think it might have been a scammer.)
I also learned that vegans are always going to be the minority, so I can’t lead with working with vegans in my elevator pitch; my role as Book Whisperer has to come first when I network.
One thing I started journaling regularly since late last year was the line, “I always have more than I need.” This became true when I logged into my crypto accounts and learned how much most of the currencies had gone up, including Bitcoin. I took out over $500 from my account and left just over the same amount I started investing. I always have more than I think I do.
6. What brought me joy?
Even though travelling overseas wasn’t possible this year and may not be next year, I’m so grateful I could visit LA to see friends, family, and new vegan colleagues I’d only met online. Hubs and I also went to Seattle where we ate more great vegan food, and I took another trip to Nanaimo with my friends, where we went on a 4-hour hike (meant to be 1-2 hours) called the Lantzville Loop.
In July, one of my favourite recording artists of all time, Missy Elliott, came to Vancouver for the first time with Timbaland, Busta Rhymes, and Ciara. Epic!
On Christmas, we had a big family game of Tenzi, which requires pretty much nothing except dice. My siblings and I were the top scorers and my brother beat us all even though it was his first time playing. We also played Rummikub, which requires some math and strategy, and my mom was on the side reacting like a Filipina mom does, telling everyone what tiles people had.
Simple family moments like this made for a great end to the year.
7. How did I treat my body, heart, spirit, and mind?
Body: This year I did the best thing ever for my body and invested in my fitness and strength. It’s amazing how adding two 30-minute workouts weekly to my running and yoga/lawn care routine can make a difference. While I’m not even close to reaching my goal of doing a few chin-ups/pull-ups, I’m learning about all the muscles I didn’t know I had.
The injuries even teach me that although working out more is good, there’s a limit to how much my body can tolerate. I probably won’t even attempt another pull-up until well into the new year. If you always thought you needed to go to a gym to work out (and no shade if you love gyms) but you’d rather do it from the comfort of your own home, do yourself a favour and contact Karina & Zoe at K.I. Health & Fitness!
All their clients are vegan, so you’ll fit right in if you are. If not, you’ll need to be open to working with trainers who also monitor your nutrition.
Heart: I always find this the hardest question to answer, but I think I listened to myself more this year. I was cognizant of how I treated myself. The older I get, the more boundaries I have and am unwilling to compromise my values or self-care. There was a point early in the year when I learned I was doing a lot more for my family than I initially expected when I took over my dad and started helping my mom with her finances.
I expressed this unexpected activity and said I would continue with it so long as they were holding up their end of the bargain. I reminded myself often that I can always say no to helping others if I need to make my self-care or emotional health a higher priority.
Spirit: I did one intuitive reading this year for insights about my work, but the biggest difference I made this year was letting go of the chakra visualizations I was doing, and adding one simple mantra to my meditation: “I am love, and love is all I need.”
An aspiring author asked me to give feedback on her spiritual nonfiction manuscript and proposal. Her book was a spiritual download from Source and taught me that humans complicate our existence so much, even though it’s so simple. We all come from Source, and the only energy currency that really matters is love.
Combined with reading Tolle’s The Power of Now, l learned that there’s no use mourning the loss of who my dad used to be, or complaining about how much I still have to help my mom. All we have is now. It doesn’t matter all the things I’ve done or where I’ve been, even though I’m grateful for those experiences.
The future isn’t here, so while it’s wise to plan (for a trip, for example), nothing in life is guaranteed, so worrying about the future is a waste of the present.
TPON is such an important and under-recognized book. I highly recommend it for all adults at different points in life. If you don’t believe in religion or consider yourself spiritual, you can ignore all that stuff and still find value in it.
Mind: I continued to knock more books off my reading list this year and started reading books by Liz Gilbert and Chuck Palahniuk on (what used to be) the bottom of my reading list. I’m grateful that I built the habit of reading nightly on 5/7 days of the week (Fridays and Saturdays are reserved for movies or TV) because I can feel how literacy improves my writing and editing skills for clients and my social media posts.
The older I get, the more I learn other people around me forget things or don’t know about current events because no one reads newspapers or has cable TV anymore; they get their news online or through social media. Media consumption matters!
I also played more mahjong with my friends and even though I almost never win, I’m memorizing the Chinese characters for numbers 4 to 9 on the tiles.
8. How did I show up for the people I care about?
I visited my dad weekly and continued to help my mom manage her finances. My sister was laid off from her corporate job of 15 years in August, and I mentioned to a friend that she was interested in going back to school to become a specialized admin assistant. That friend mentioned bookkeepers were always in demand, and that some programs were eligible for the StrongerBC future skills grant offered this year.
While my sister will not use the grant, she’s going back to school to take a part-time bookkeeping program starting in January!
My brother was looking for a new full-time job this year, so I sent all the resources I found to him. He expressed last month that he has difficulty having genuine conversations with me, so I said I was going to make more effort to invite him to hang out, even though Leo and I don’t dine out or go to events often because of financial limitations.
Earlier this month, my trans nephew Allan took his first hormone therapy injection. Leo and I took him because my sis and her husband went on an early holiday vacation. We’re both super proud of Allan and he was glad to have us there with him. We did the Asian thing and celebrated with boba!
Most of my friends are pretty self-sufficient, but I tried to be there for them when help was needed.
9. What situations triggered fear or discomfort? Did I move through them? If so, how? If not, why not?
Public speaking will always be uncomfortable for me, but my rule is: If I’m asked to speak, I say yes so unless there are zero benefits to speaking at an event, I’ll continue to push myself and attempt to get better.
When we came back from Los Angeles in May, I found out my brother was expecting his first child in July. (He actually arrived early, in June). That meant he knew he was going to be a father, and 7 months (or less) had gone by without me knowing. My mom had known for months, but was relying on him to tell me. I don’t get offended often, but learning information (I consider important) was withheld from me hurt a lot.
It made me realize how some family members view me as someone not important enough to share this news with—but maybe that is my perception, not reality. It’s also not news that my family doesn’t communicate very much. This has been the norm since we were children.
I had a really good hours-long conversation with my sister last month about something else I realized about our family and I called it “over 40 years’ worth of therapy.” Sometimes it is uncomfortable to learn things about your loved ones you wish weren’t true, but accepting their truth helps you more than if you didn’t know at all or were in denial.
My nephew born June 15, 2024 (Father’s Day), Treyvon James Sugiyama Garcia
Photo: Kali Sugiyama
#AuntieLife
10. Which rituals and habits served me well, and which ones didn’t?
Meditation continued to keep me grounded, as it always will. I still smoke weed on weekends because it makes TV/movie watching more enjoyable, even though I find it hard on my throat. I always thought I would switch over to vaping at some points, but all the horror stories about vape pens have turned me off.
I learned that I love working out and almost wish I could add one more 30-minute workout per week. My budget can’t handle it right now, and I still love waking up at 10am on weekends.
I don’t think I have any bad habits right now, although I’m always up for eating fries and every Friday hubs goes for his Church’s chicken run and comes back with them. I never finish it though!
Click here to read my 10 Questions to Reflect on 2023.
Header photo: Tosha Lobsinger
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