Code of Conduct

Sleeping 😌

Restoring + exploring

Learning to ride the waves 🤙🏽

Nature. Redwoods. Cardamom rose smoothies. Polynesian dance. Books are my haven. Jogging + stopping to pet all the cats.

Air and water. Gentle self care.

Ridiculous reborn manhwa. Shh.....

Not where I wanna be. Not where I ever imagined, both in good and not-so-good ways. I’ve just hit midlife (yikes!) and still not married (no partner either) and no kids. I’ve never desired having kids but have always wanted to be married. Unfortunately fate/karma had/has other plans for me, it seems. So here I am! Seeking a new chapter of MEANINGFUL friendships!

All in all, I’m lucky in a lot of ways. It’s easy to complain about things not going my way, esp seeing everyone around me having what I want. But I have a roof over my head, can afford the necessities (food, clothes), and some luxuries. I have a job that allows me to afford my life, to which, I am grateful, even though there are parts of the job that aren’t ideal. I have more text friends than actual friends I meet up with regularly. I hope to start a new chapter here, making new connections in an unexpected way!

A good hearty catch up with friends over either a home cooked meal or a nice restaurant, followed by a glass of wine.

Most imp to me is finding something, anything that keeps me living. Not in the physical sense but emotionally/internally. I want to find that zest for life through friendships. I may never find a partner but friendships are a necessity. I want to find people who enjoy different activities; things that I like and things I’ve never tried and want to. I do love learning as well so all the better if I can learn from newfound friendships and equally share my knowledge as well!

I wouldn’t say this is interesting but I recently have been into library book sales and am trying to read more. Granted, I still can only read fiction, as I use them to mentally escape reality, I’ve grabbed the occasional non-fiction!

I'm someone in my early 40s, currently dating. The hardest part is 1) making new connections (I'm a transplant) and 2) maintaining the ones I have because most of my friends are busy with their spouses and kids. Recently one of my best friends had shoulder surgery and is currently housebound for the next 6 weeks and I'm secretly thrilled! I call her at anytime without worrying that I'm interfering with her life and she likes it when I call because she's super bored haha.

It's a lot better ever since I switched jobs and aren't pulling 14-hour days. I got really burned out at one point. So I'm learning to take breaks and not make my whole life about work (even though I enjoy my career!). Tomorrow I'm doing a movie night with coworkers and in a couple of weeks I'm visiting Japan for the first time. It feels weirdly scary to take PTO but I'm telling myself it's OK. I think being the daughter of refugees has made me think that life is just about work and survival but I'm sure my parents would want me to be happy too.

Getting lost in a good book

Wellness. Got a personal trainer! I'm getting my azz kicked! :D

Okay so I used to think sports were really boring. Guys going back and forth across the field? Racecars going around and around in circles? I have never been so happy to be so wrong. One of my exes taught me about American football and WOW it is endlessly interesting. There are so many cool scenarios that can happen right down to the last 2 seconds. And then there's Formula 1 -- so many interesting situations there too! The choice of tire compound the weather conditions the tracks themselves it's all so so interesting and so great.

Mid-30s, pretty settled in my career, and have a fantastic community of friends and family in and outside of the Bay. I'm single, searching for a long-term partner, and am looking to expand my circle/community (in all ways!).

Zooming out, it's pretty good! Sometimes I feel like a kid still, just with more money and responsibilities. I never thought I'd laugh this much as an adult!

I'm quite happy with my day to day life, but when I'm 80 and reflecting on my life, I want to feel fulfilled and content and like I squeezed a lot of love, meaning, gratitude, purpose, and memories into it. So I'm always looking for ways to add more of those things!

Being outside, hiking, cycling, beach volleyball; croissants, berries, pizza, sushi, dark roast coffee; tall mountains + glacial lakes; traveling; finding great bakeries in small little towns; a heavy dose of laughing with friends and family balanced with a few minutes of introvert time per day

Spending meaningful time with family and friends while developing new connections and relationships, including finding a long-term partner.

Seeing the outdoors and exploring new places.

Understanding myself and understanding others. Continuous self-reflection and growth.

I still can't wrap my head around how large the number 52! is (the number of unique ways you can shuffle a deck of cards)

I'm at my quarter-life-, what-do-i-want-for-a-midlife crisis stage. I'm in my mid-twenties, moved to San Francisco a little bit more than a year ago (have loved every minute of it). I'm also early in my career doing something I am passionate about but work, for me, has been a way to do the things that make me earn life experiences; I predominantly get this by doing a lot of things outdoors so I am very active but I also love to consume art as well be that through reading, watching, or listening.

Peaceful, content, and exciting. It surprises me daily that my life is this way because there was a point 2-3 years ago where I wouldn't have imagined life would ever be good to me. I'm extremely grateful for where I am today. I have a couple close friends with whom I do a lot of activities but I mostly do things by myself (I enjoy them very much) — things like picking a neighborhood and zigzagging through it to explore. I haven't made many new friends since moving to the city because I just end up doing things by myself but I want to break that and try to go out of my comfort zone, hoping this happens through AroundTheCorner because meeting new people, and making new friendships is a life experience I struggle to earn.

3 o'clock tea time. It is a sacred time, a non-negotiable that I look forward to daily. Making tea, while singing along to my tea time playlist with the sun shining through my windows and the breeze playing with my curtains is a sight I will never get tired of. Along with this, I also have reading time, gaming time, and exploration time. Each meaningful and special to me its own way.

Not losing the wonder with which I saw the world as a kid. Do you remember how the grass, wind, sun, clouds and everything else, small and big, (even the gray of the walls) awed you as a kid? I think we get caught up in life and stop appreciating all that after a point. I live slow, to relearn the wonder and curiosity I inadvertently put aside. I love to travel (currently planning my first solo trip to Costa Rica!), taking photos, and looking with awe at everything this fabulous pale blue dot has to offer.

A travelogue called "Cyclettes". It's about all the cycles the author has owned and the impact each one of them had on them. My cycle, and cycling in general, is something I hold dear because it was how I was first able to express my freedom. I always heard "freedom", and "free" as a kid but never really expressed it or experienced it's meaning until I started cycling. This travelogue/memoir caught my eye immediately because I could relate to it in a lot of ways.

I’m in my early fifties, work from home as a writer (fiction and nonfiction), and run a small publishing business and podcast with my partner. We moved to the Bay Area during the pandemic for work and meeting people hasn’t been the easiest thing but I love the weather and natural beauty here.

Overall, better than I could have ever imagined. Far from perfect but generally fulfilling and meaningful. I miss having lots of close friends nearby to do things on a whim. Most of our friends are back where we moved from or scattered across the world.

Writing. I mean writers write. But also having big goals and dreams still. Things to look forward to. And our cats. Working from home would be lonely business without my boss walking across the keyboard every few minutes.

Connecting. Making sense of things. Not getting in a rut or bubble that echoes back the same thoughts and ideas at me. Learning something every day.

So many things. I’m interested in foraging but nervous to try it beyond my back yard. I really want to learn to do small water color sketches of plants.

I am a 48 year old mother of a 10 year old amazing boy. His father and I are divorced but I feel blessed we have a very healthy co-parenting relationship, always putting our son first. We even sometimes celebrate the holidays together!

I have a successful career in Biotech and appreciate what I do as I have many opportunities to learn and grow. But I work remotely from home and it gets lonely. Some friends have moved out of state and others are just too busy with the usual things in life to get together.

Nature and being outside, yoga, eating healthy, reading (I'm in a book club) . I love walking outside through different neighborhoods and appreciating the styles of homes/landscapes especially now that everything is in full bloom! I love trying different ethnic restaurants from Thai, Ethiopian, Vietnamese, etc.

I miss having friends to connect with. I would love to connect with others who live in the Menlo Park/Redwood City/Palo Alto/San Mateo area.

Prior to age 6 children are truly unable to understand the world from another person's point of view. A preschooler can be emotionally sympathetic but he cannot really stand in another's shoes. The ability to do this will not be fully present until around age 16.