Growing up, my parents took care of everything in the household, so my brother and I rarely had to cook or clean. We were really lucky as kids… but it has also made this adulting gig quite challenging! For one thing, I don’t even know how to use a dishwasher. Also, keep in mind that I come from an Asian household that uses this thing as a plastic bag holder—can anyone else relate to this 😅?

Perhaps old habits really do die hard, but I had taken to washing dishes by hand. For the past couple months in temporary housing, I would pop in my AirPods and watch some YouTube videos or FaceTime my family while getting through the chore. However, as life got super busy when we finally moved into our new apartment last month, I decided to give this dishwasher thing a try and see what the rave was all about.

Step 1: I was trying to play real life Tetris while figuring out if I could put chopsticks in it or not.

Step 2: I opened up the doors to Narnia. Forget about the metaverse, this thing can clean my dishes for me!

Back to Basics

These days, I’m starting to feel less like a tourist and more like a resident. Over the past month, my partner and I moved to our brand new apartment (stay tuned on a blog post on how we made this big decision) and got our drivers licenses. Not-so-fun fact: Unless you’re from B.C., you will need to retake a knowledge and road test (I highly recommend the DMV Genie app).

I also FINALLY received my Social Security Number… this was a gruelling and inefficient process 🤬 which then made it possible for me to start building my credit. Another not-so-fun fact: My amazing credit score back in Canada is null and void across the border and I essentially start from scratch 🥲🥲🥲. Fortunately, Microsoft has a partnership with FirstTech Credit Union which has helped me secure an auto loan and other credit building vehicles 🙌

Personal Finance

In the past month, I’ve also been figuring out the world of 401Ks, Roth IRAs, and how to optimize my contributions. Shout out to Nick from the XBOX team for giving me a crash course on personal finance and sharing extra tips like the “mega back door strategy” which sounded kinda suspicious, but is actually legitimate 💡

Due to the relocation, my spending in the first couple months has been completely whack but I have started automating my personal finances once again so that I can reach the goal of doubling my net worth (hopefully by the end of this year)… One thing I did not appreciate was the fact that I couldn’t even open up a simple savings account at certain banks (e.g. Ally) because I was not an American citizen or permanent resident. Stay tuned for more content on how I am approaching personal finances here in the U.S. 🇺🇸

Supporting My Partner

#ICYMI, my partner just started his new job at Microsoft as well! For the past couple months, he has been taking care of so much in and around the household and with our move to the new apartment. However, as he ramps up in his new role and drinks from the Microsoft branded firehose, I am going to need to step up and hold down the fort—wish us luck!

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