Hey! So Glad You're Here.
My Autistic Adventure
Welcome to Beyond Quirky, where I spill the everyday musings, perspectives and insights as an autistic woman living in two worlds—Asian and Western cultures. I share my experiences, challenges, and the advantages of my autistic and bicultural identity. This is my cozy space to explore living an authentic autistic life—a whimsical guide to navigate the quirks of existence, with a side of humour, of course! By voicing my perspectives, I hope to inspire others to embrace themselves and make sense of our experiences of the world. Hopefully, my rare openness contributes to the collective voice of autistic experiences, supporting our movement to be heard and take up space. And maybe, give you a laugh or two. I hope these insights spark conversations that lead to real life actions.
Like many autistic women, I had to hit rock bottom (health-wise) with injury and a significant autistic burnout before finally accepting that maybe—just maybe—I needed to pause and understand why my brain decided to go on strike! I also discovered that focusing on small daily remedies is far more effective, and I need to prevent external factors to trigger an autistic burnout and sensory overload.
The humour here is intended to be a source of joy and relief as we navigate our unique experiences. I certainly wish for more laughter while facing the abyss of injury, sensory overload and autistic burnout. This is a space for autistic individuals, family, friends, allies and anyone interested in learning more about autistic experiences or simply living as humans. While there are unknowns surrounding autism, it doesn’t have to be just somber or negative. Plus, we live with our identity every day and understand how, what and why, so our voices need to be heard. We also possess a sense of humour that researchers may have overlooked (show me your "humourmometer"). So, here are my autistic lived experiences and personal insights for everyone (including aliens), and hopefully, they are useful to you while also getting a chuckle.
Professional Passions
Before I decided to embark on my own consultancy and business venture, I was rocking the senior management scene in engineering, advocating for women leaders in tech! I like to think of it as extreme multitasking—balancing code, projects and strategies. I discovered that driving innovation, empowering teams, and inspiring others are far less challenging than finding a decent cup of matcha and a bowl of nourishing ramen to fuel the brilliant minds at hackathons!
This revelation was merely an idea at the time, yet my all-or-nothing mindset led me to launch a business centred on my other passion—food. After all, who wouldn't want to dive into the delicious chaos of culinary creativity? From hunting the perfect matcha to crafting hundreds of nourishing recipes, all while managing teams through digital transformations. It's the perfect blend of my passions with tech and food.
About Me
I'm currently still recovering from injury and embracing the rewrite of my authentic autistic self, having felt somewhat lost due to my injury, sensory overload, and a spectacular autistic burnout. For the techies, imagine it as an attempt to overhaul your codebase's architecture, offering an opportunity to create a groundbreaking, efficient, and entirely future-ready masterpiece. Embracing rest is part of this reloading process...
I'm learning to recover and navigate the aftermath of my injury while continuing to live authentically as an Asian autistic woman. I'm always with my fur baby, Buddy. Although these activities are currently on hold, I have a passion for food—experimenting with new recipes and cooking up a storm in the kitchen. I love traveling and have been fortunate to explore many countries, savouring diverse cuisines. My home is filled with plants, and I enjoy walks with my fur baby. I also love writing about autism, food, recipes, human experiences, Asian culture, life, and my interesting Asian upbringing. Also, I’m obsessed with knowledge and enjoy discovering new special interests.