Hi 👋 I'm Lian

March 8, 2023

The Five Stages of Being Sexually Assaulted By Your Coworkers

Content Warning: Sexual assault, death, suicide Over the course of my 15-year career in the tech industry, I have been sexually assaulted at afterhour work events on four separate occasions within the past five years. When I say assault, what I mean specifically is being kissed, stroked or otherwise touched in a sexually charged way without prior consent. With the exception of one case, these incidents involved cisgender men who I had worked with before and considered to be friends or friendly colleagues.

How to make dumplings from scratch

February 11, 2021

It’s the day before Chinese New Year and traditionally, New Year’s Eve is when the core family comes together for a feast at big round table. It symbolises the completion of the year and even family members who cannot make it, get a seat and plate at the table. So what would you eat for this feast? Well, there are lots of different traditional CNY dishes, but there is one staple of Chinese cuisine that cannot ever be missed in Chinese New Year’s dinners: Dumplings.

I got my first promotion

November 2, 2020

Twelve years after I started in tech, I received a promotion to Engineering Manager. This is my very first actual promotion. By actual I mean, I didn’t have to (threaten to) leave, to gain the recognition and fair compensation for my contributions and growth within my company. To me, this is huge. It not only signifies that someone recognised me for my work and drive, but also that there is space for my personality and my ideas.

My first four weeks in isolation

April 7, 2020

About 4 weeks ago I decided to self-isolate for 14 days after coming back from a trip to London, because I felt a bit tired and run down. I wasn’t particularly concerned or anything, but I wanted to be extra cautious, especially for the vulnerable people around me. The second day, I set up my monitor and keyboard in the living room, still thinking this will be over in 2 weeks.