Google’s backdoor [31/100]

When I applied for an internship at Google, I had two phone screens. For the first one, the interviewer and I just clicked. He seemed pleased that I said I preferred algorithms and data structure problem-solving to coding — the reality was that I knew those areas well but hadn’t…

Last day [100/100]

Today is the last day of #the100dayproject. It is also the last day that I’m taking Wednesdays off on maternity leave. I had…

Out of context [89/100]

I used to work with a designer — her name is Winnie. The first time I met her, she did what society would call abundantly oversharing, but soon I found out that’s just Winnie.

Over a year or so, we became good friends. As an introvert, I don’t usually hang out…

Ohayo [51/100]

My paternal grandmother, who I called ah ma, was Japanese. She lived with us for a few years when I was little, and I remember being around her, but I also remember that it was difficult to communicate with her. She spoke Japanese and a little bit of English (and a little bit of Mandarin). I think I…

First trimester [87/100]

Some women love being pregnant. I am not one of those women. I’ve heard that some hormonal stuff happens to basically make your brain and body forget about how horrible pregnancy and labor and delivery are, so then a few years later you have the bright idea to do it all again. But…

Post-partum confinement [70/100]

Chinese culture includes a practice called “zuo yuezi” or the post-partum confinement period. Followed very strictly, you can’t bathe, touch anything cold (open the fridge, wash your hands in cold water, drink anything cold), read, go outside, or experience any sort of a…

Don’t let assholes get you down [65/100]

My junior year of college, I signed up for a grad-level project-based Graphics class. I wasn’t the only undergrad in the class. The class’s project was to build a tool to help reconstruct some Greek mosaics. It seemed interesting and very different from the…