March Madness | Stephanie's March 2025

Ah it is already April as I am writing this, 4 months into 2025 - and another eventful month has passed. March. March Madness (quite literally). Let’s catch up on how the month went. 

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Lifestyle, Lows, Lessons

Started off the month with a literal bang, on the first day of the month I went for my long awaited pink hair transformation. This was extra symbolic because I’ve been wanting to go pink for years, but never had the courage to do so - I also got a major chop and I haven’t had short hair since pre-covid, while also finally trying a new salon in SJ (sorry to my usual lady the past 4 years). It felt refreshing with all the newness - like spring after a long dark winter. Quite fitting for March. All in all - I’m also thankful I am able to afford the salon, and that I am able to drive myself to SJ, it also reminds me of the privilege I have to be able to do nice things for myself. I feel extra thankful that Tammie was down to go to a nearby mall and shop while I did my hair, so it was nice to do the long drive with a friend. 

Early March spontaneously I got invited to see Luna Li for free with Sadie, funny enough I’ve seen her twice in SF within the past year and this was the one time I decided not to get tickets, and it just so happens Sadie thought of me when she got free tickets due to a work collab. Loved seeing her live again, she continues to be one of my favorite artists to see live - and I’m happy to see that she has a slot at OutsideLands this summer (Luna Li in SF round 4??? Within a year?? LOL). Love seeing smaller artists grow and thrive. 

What’s more, March is my one year anniversary of doing Pilates…! Crazy how fast the year passed, and how consistent I’ve been with Pilates (like 6am crazy). I say this all the time, but when I stepped in my first class with Sam this time last year, it was out of pure chance, I intended to do yoga but my schedule that day didn’t allow for it. Who would’ve thought taking that one Pilates class because it was the only class that worked with my schedule that day, by a chance of fate, would lead to my favorite and most consistent hobby the past year. Pilates has grounded me in ways I didn’t expect, and looking back - this grounding has been my rock during the difficult moments of this year. I feel stronger both physically and mentally after each class. I’ll always be thankful for my meeting with Sam, who continues to remind me that mindset is everything in how we experience life, and to always reflect on what we are thankful for. 

In my on and off romantic life, I decided to be open to dates this month - tldr, nothing serious at the moment but I am still glad I decided to put myself out there, get to learn about someone new, and learn more about myself in the process. To be honest, this month for both dates I went on - i was really close to not going, but I am so glad I decided to go anyways. Regardless of the rain, regardless if someone isn’t my usual type. Interestingly enough, I ended up having a better time with the date who is outside of my usual type vs the date who is usually the type I’d connect and go for. Interesting how things play out. Regardless of how things end up, through these experiences I was able to see a side of myself I usually don’t because of how independent and closed off I may be, how to better communicate, and learn about the life experiences of someone outside my usual friendship groups. 

I don’t like ending my entries on a low - so we are going to go off tangent a bit and cut to the low so we can end with the highs. Apologies in advance as the story now will jump to a different timeline of March and feel a bit disorganized lol. Lows. While I am proud and thankful to have been able to buy this house, it’s come with a lot of challenges beyond finances. I don’t think I’m ready to talk about it here. But I didn’t expect the ambivalent feelings I’d feel with my family, in particular my father - the stress and anxiety, and the imposter syndrome I feel as a homeowner. If imposter syndrome for owning a house is a thing lol. Another big low in March was getting super sick x2 at the end of my Vegas trip, I have a phobia for yaking (long story lol) and on my last day in Vegas I woke up with food poisoning [(TLDR - don’t eat leftovers from the fridge even if your friends do it (ifykyk)] and had a painful day of yaks and shits (TMI) and a lot of anxiety about my flight that night. Then as I returned to SF, the next day the food poisoning ended it’s course, but I wake up with cold symptoms (that I am still at the end of recovering as I write this entry). While physically painful, I learned my lesson (perhaps karma for gossiping that week lol), and I still had a fun Vegas trip regardless. Health is wealth y’all! 

Ok now done with the lows, back to the highs. Career-wise, things really took off this month, by surprise I was able to get budget to go to our annual customer conference in Vegas. I’ve supported this event the past 2 years but never got the budget to attend in person, so this was extra special and unexpected. Professionally, it was a lot of personal growth from a soft skills aspect - working the booth and having to hold conversation with anyone who walked by even though I am not a technical expert, and then also having different shifts than my colleagues led me to decide to put myself out there and join a different table for meals each time. While I could have just grabbed food and left, I decided to make the best use of my in person time to join a different table of strangers/customers and man some were great convos and some were so awkward and out my comfort zone lol. Each night I also didn’t expect to bond with certain colleagues, and let’s just say a lot of tea was spilled. Kinda crazy how I’d wake up at 7am to work from 8:30am-5 ish pm each day, have dinner with the team, and then stay out till midnight for 4 days while at work lol. The conference was also v educational on my end, to learn at the forefront of what we’re innovating on, and to hear first-hand from the real world stories of our customers. For the session that I helped select a speaker and put on, to be honest initially I was coasting and didn’t think I was at my best potential, but after sitting in on the session live and seeing all these customers line up to get their Questions answered because they enjoyed the presentation that much - I definitely felt gratified. Now 4 days at work in vegas was a lot of time in vegas that was fun but quite tiring, but it didn’t end there because my childhood friends Tammie and Tiana decided to join for the weekend so I extended my stay in Vegas for a girlies weekend! Growing up we’d talk about ging clubbing and Vegas together, but as we grew older and past our mid-20’s it kinda just slipped by and lets be real - organizing a Vegas trip is a lot of energy. Luckily work made it easy because of the predetermined dates - so when I asked if my friends would be down the join and they were, it was easy planning from there. We spent a couple days out and about, lots of getting ready together, lots of eating (blessed with too much food that became my downhill with the food poisoning), lots of laughs, yapping and core mems, and we also went out a lot - I think a day club and night club in 1 day is too much for me LOL. While I’ve been to Vegas multiple times, it was extra special to get to spend the weekend with my childhood friends where we’d once talk about this life. What’s more - its an extra plus I got to see one of my fave artists Dom Dolla hehe. I feel extra special to have friends who are down to spend time with me, and are willing to make time and spend money to create these memories together. I felt extra cared for the day I fell ill, I felt so bad because I ended up sitting out from all our plans that day and I feel like I ruined the trip so I encouraged my friends to still go out and I can rest alone - but they both stayed with me the whole time and even offered to spend more money so I can get a room to rest. I grew up taking care of everyone, and it felt extra warm to have been cared for by my friends.

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My pick of the month: Vegas with the Girlies 

Yes Vegas and all - but not because of all the clubbing and eating (though that was fun too) - this trip was monumental in a sense that it was the first trip that I got to go on with Tammie and Tiana, and that we were never really a friend group (Tammie and I were close from middle school, and Tiana and I were close from High School) so it was nice seeing my friends get close enough to feel comfortable going to Vegas together. Because I’ve known them both from childhood, the trip felt sentimental in a sense that it felt not that long ago (and quite long ago at the same time) when we were kids talking about going to the club when we’re older, doing vegas, listening to our favorite artists - and now as adults, actually freely doing so. And yes I had a blast at Dom Dolla, each time we were actually past the cutoff time and was so clutch that it all worked out despite the long lines we were able to make it in each club for free. But beyond the festivities, it was extra heartwarming to see my friends open up and be vulnerable through our deep talks (after the club) up until the AMs. Here’s to the first of many more trips together. 

March was so eventful in all aspects of life - I feel lucky to be full in multiple areas of life and to be surrounded by so much love and support. April has me feeling the same way, even though it just started - there’s so much to look forward to that keeps me going despite the stressful inbetween days. Here’s to another eventful month and a much needed bestie reunion!

Have a great April and chat soon in May, 

— Stephanie