About Me — Lily Lum

Who on Earth am I, and how in the world do I make this interesting?

Hey… that’s me! — Photo by Author

As I was strolling along in my hometown of beautiful Vancouver I realized I have far too many moods. I could be miserable one minute, but with a quick breath of fresh air, all is well in the world once again.

I find nature to be my refuge. I think trees have a magical power over me that instantly reminds me of how small I really am, and how small my problems are as well. I mean… compared to the size and age of a tree? Who am I?

Some things I can’t live without:

1. My children — my nieces and family — just LOVE always
2. Caffeine — really… I’m serious too
3. Netflix
4. Books — Oh how I love books
5. Learning — I can’t live without learning something new
6. Apparently water — I can’t live without that
7. Solitude
8. My walks

Some things I absolutely love:

1. Travel
2. Dogs
3. A cup of hot tea after a meal and at night
4. YouTube
5. Travel Shows and House Hunters International
6. The colour pink
7. Monkeys, Frogs, Flamingos, Rhinos and Roosters
8. My job in the emergency department of our amazing hospital
9. Nature
10. Weather
11. Writing
12. Painting and Arts of all sorts

Strange little tidbits of info:

1. I think spiders are cool… just not inside my house
2. I hate all other insects — well except for grasshoppers and crickets and bees and fireflies and dragonflies, but NOT houseflies… they disgust me
3. I can’t pass by a large dog without asking the owner if I can say hi
4. I make little rugs, right now they’re punch-needle rugs, but I also want to learn how to make rag rugs, braided rugs etc;
5. My brain literally hurts if you talk about Tech with me
6. I like learning French and Spanish, I’m always practicing (in my head)
7. My daughter and I escaped from a 4:00 am building fire, we lost almost everything to smoke damage, but saved our sentimental items; we are very lucky
8. I’m an extroverted-introvert; I prefer not to socialize, but if I have to… I’m pretty good at it!

I’m always thinking of a new side hustle or home business. Everything I enjoy doing such as arts and crafts I silently wonder to myself… can I make money on this? So far I haven’t made $25,000 a month like so many others have on YouTube.

No, I don’t have a YouTube channel. Again, I think the tech part of that would give me a daily migraine.

One of my favourite travel memories:

On my first night in Costa Rica, I stayed in a small town, in a ‘tree-house’ and listened to chorus frogs and howler monkeys all night during a torrential downpour.

I relaxed on the covered deck of my tree-house with mosquito repellant, and a nice porch light and worked on a jungle scene with oil pastels while the resident German Shepherd kept me company. Does it get much better? I like run-on sentences.

Things that make me angry:

1. Racism, injustice and hate
2. Houseflies
3. Bad smells
4. Fake people
5. Bullying
6. Sexism and ageism

I am an advocate for mental wellness, I assist many people who suffer from mental illness, addictions and marginalization. Due to some recent physical challenges, I will need to leave the job I currently love and hope to become a support worker with those who don’t have a voice, the marginalized folks that many people are afraid to ‘see’.

I also have two pretty cute Medium Publications: I’m always looking for new writers!

As you can see, yes I love pink.

The Lifestyle Cafe

She Travels With a Latte

I can’t think of anything else, did I mention I love caffeine and the colour pink?

Thank you for reading Medium friends~