From Application to Arrival: Our Canadian Immigration Parents Sponsorship Adventure

 It was 2018 when my parents finally started considering immigrating to Canada. The tension between Taiwan and China continued to intensify, and their old age made them recognize the advantage of being closer to me.

For me, it would be nice to get an opportunity to be close to them. It'll give me a bit more time to work and accumulate wealth. Perhaps we could even accumulate a few more happy memories before I finally decide to retire. Yes, retire. But that's a story for another day.

We don't know if China would ever attack Taiwan, but their intention for reunification is certain. As to "how" they would do it, although there are a few guesses here and there by various sources, we wouldn't ever really know. What we do know though, is that religious freedom is extremely important to my parents, and we want to help protect that. So we started looking into sponsoring them through the Parents and Grandparents Immigration program.

• The Most Dangerous Place On Earth by The Economist: 
  https://www.economist.com/leaders/2021/05/01/the-most-dangerous-place-on-earth
• What Happens if China Invades Taiwan by Johnny Harris:
  https://youtu.be/VNZ0so0LCoM?si=ckZC7XmTMiAlCP2L
• T-Day: The Battle for Taiwan by Reuters:
  https://www.reuters.com/investigates/section/taiwan-china/

Government of Canada: Sponsor your parents and grandparents:
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/family-sponsorship/sponsor-parents-grandparents.html

Spring 2020 - Practice Run

I first downloaded the most current forms for us to look through (the 2019 forms). This allowed us to get an idea of the types of questions we need to find answers for and the supporting documents we would need to gather. I met with my parents through video conference once a week for a few months combing through each instruction, definition, form, and field, and filled them in as if we're filling them in for real. For questions that needed research, my parents took them away and came back with answers the following weeks.

How to apply
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/family-sponsorship/sponsor-parents-grandparents/apply.html

We went through the Guide, the Checklist, all the Sponsor Forms, all the Applicant Forms, and the Representative form, all of which, are available on the "How to apply" page. It is tedious and takes a while to go through. You might think that there's little value in going through this practice run when it isn't even the forms you need to submit for your year, but trust me, because you only get 30 days to finish everything when the real thing come around, this did most of the heavy lifting for us and saved us, big time.

Oct. 2020 - Interest to Sponsor

Submit your interest to sponsor form:
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/family-sponsorship/sponsor-parents-grandparents/tell-us-you-want-sponsor-parent-grandparent.html

The Canadian government will indicate a specific window of time when they will accept a sponsor's "Interest to Sponsor" form. This is a one page simple web form that the sponsor will need to fill in to get into the pool to get drawn for the chance to apply.

We monitored this page closely each week until the next available window was posted. Then we submitted the form as soon as we could.

Questions on this form include:

• Sponsor's current legal status (ie. Canadian citizen or permanent resident), status document numbers (ie. passport number), and an attachment of the status document
• Sponsor name, D.O.B., place of birth, address, email
• Applicant name(s), D.O.B.(s)
• Declaration and submit

After submitting, we got a confirmation message and number, which you can use to look up whether you've been drawn to apply. I received an email confirmation as well. The format of our confirmation number is X#X##XX-##.

The Waiting Game

The day applicants are drawn for 2020 came and gone. I wasn't sure if their email went to my junk box or if they simply didn't email us. I used our confirmation number to check their system, and realized we weren't drawn. The Canadian government publishes the number of applications they allow under the Parents and Grandparents category each year as well as the number of applications they receive.

How many applications to sponsor parents and grandparents do you accept each year?
https://www.ircc.canada.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=820&top=14

There used to be a link to the site where all the confirmation numbers and their statuses were listed, but I wasn't able to find it today. Regardless, if it was available, you should be able to find it through the following page.

Find out if you're invited to apply:
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/family-sponsorship/sponsor-parents-grandparents/selected.html

The application lottery happened again in 2021, and we weren't chosen again. This is when the uncertainty really sank in. There's no guarantee we will ever get drawn, no matter how many times we try or how long we wait.

Sponsors are required to meet a certain level of income, depending how the number of people they need to support in their household, for 3 consecutive years prior to the application. This meant if we lost our jobs, we needed to find another one right away. This meant we couldn't voluntarily take a year off if we wanted to. This meant we may need to withdraw our RSP in order to meet this income requirement. And this was for an indefinite period of time until we are chosen to apply, which put quite a bit of pressure for us, feeling like we weren't free to live life however we wanted, that we had to put our plans on hold in order to make this work.

How do I calculate my family size to sponsor my parents and grandparents?
https://www.ircc.canada.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=1460&top=14

How much income do I need to sponsor my parents and grandparents?
https://www.ircc.canada.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=1445&top=14

During this time, we had to think about how long we were willing to wait for, and what sort of income contingencies we could come up with in case something happened. The unknown ate at me and I felt like my life was no longer in my own hands...

Oct. 2022 - Invitation to Apply

Luckily, we didn't have to wait too long. Exactly 2 years later, we were notified that we were invited to apply. Given all the horror stories we've heard online, we recognize how lucky we were in having to wait only for 2 years.

The benefit of submitting the Representative form is that all correspondences came through to my email, so everything was clear and transparent to me. The letter informed us that we have until Dec. 24, 2022 to submit all application forms, supporting documents, and fee payments. Fortunately, because we went through the dry-run in 2020, we were able to reuse 80% of what we've done back then for the 2022 forms, which saved us a ton of time. In fact, if you can afford it, I would even go through the trouble of obtaining the certified translations of each of the supporting documents (ex. birth certificate, marriage certificate, exit/entry record...etc.) just so you can see how long it takes to do each one.

The main difference between the forms we practiced in 2020 and the ones we had to submit in 2022 were the resumes / CV that they require for each applicant / dependent. It took me a little bit of time, but there are a lot of resources online (look on Youtube) that coach you through how to write one that it wasn't too much additional trouble. Just remember that the forms and documents should all align and have the same dates / timelines.

We applied through the Permanent Residence Portal, which you'll need to register an account for the applicant: https://prson-srpel.apps.cic.gc.ca/en/login

One thing we did, which I think helped with our application, was creating our own checklist / letter of explanation on any items that may be ambiguous or unclear. Some of the web form fields had character limits that cut off school names, some of the Chinese characters didn't go through, some Romanized spellings were inconsistent. I used this checklist / letter to explain each and every question the immigration officer could potentially ask, in hopes to reduce the back and forth required in case clarity was needed. I also attached screen shots of the submission confirmation of each documents in the letter so there's a visual of each form and document that was submitted through the portal.

At the time of our application, the processing time listed was 37 months.

Check processing times:
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/check-processing-times.html

A Flurry of Movements

Given we were quoted 37 months, we thought we would have a lot of time to prepare for the move. I put in my calendar to follow up in October of 2025. But to our surprise, we started to see movement in August of 2023, only 8 months later. Here's a log of events the followed:

• Jul. 2023: Received email with confirmation that they received it
• Aug. 2023
• Received 2 emails with biometrics instruction letter
• Sep. 2023
• Received informational email with pre-arrival services
• Parents went to Taipei to complete biometrics appointments
• Received email notifying us that we have met the requirements for eligibility as sponsors
• Registered for IRCC account as per instructions. Tried linking application through IRCC account. Failed.
• Received email that mentioned their application has been assigned to a case processing centre
• Received 2 emails with medical exam and criminal check instructions
• Parents went to Taichung to complete their medical exams
• Parents obtained Taiwan criminal clearance certificate
• Parents finished doing finger prints, sent finger prints to the FBI to get their US criminal clearance
• Oct. 2023
• Successfully linked out application through IRCC account
• Saw that we passed biometrics
• Emailed IRCC the additional supporting documents (address, Taiwanese criminal checks, and US criminal checks)
• Received response that IRCC has received them. Also confirmed it in our IRCC account
• Nov. 2023
• Received letter through IRCC portal to go get Confirmation of Permanent Residence in Taipei
• Parents went to Taipei to deliver the COPR package and take new photos
• Received IRCC account update: "Your application was approved"
• Received physical copies of COPR

The work required these 4 months were not insignificant, but things went quickly and smoothly, which kept the momentum going. As the journey neared its conclusion, my sense of anticipation heightened, each step bringing us closer to the light at the end of the tunnel.

Moving

What I didn't anticipate, was how hard it would be to determine the steps required to settle things in Taiwan so my parents could move here. Without a pre-existing checklist, we made our own lists of recurring bills they paid, tried to move as many online as possible. We simplified as much administrative and financial things as possible, and booked their tickets.

Jan. 2024 - Landing

They were 99% done, but won't become permanent residents until they physically land in Canada. There are a lot of resources online regarding the landing procedure, and we read through all of them to prepare ourselves. But the process was a lot easier than described.

Prepare for arrival
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/family-sponsorship/sponsor-parents-grandparents/prepare-arrival.html

CANN YVR Landing Procedures
https://cannyvr.ca/landing-procedure/

They landed at the Vancouver International Airport. After going through the usual customs kiosks and picking up their luggage, they were able to park their luggage at a designated spot right across from carousel 24. They were asked about their Canadian address, phone number, email addresses, and proceeded to a second queue. After waiting their turn, they met with an immigration officer that confirmed that they were still married and that they have not committed any crimes between the time they were issued the COPR and the time they landed, and that was the end of it. The entire process took less than 2 hours.

During this entire journey, online resources were a huge help to me. Despite the Canadian Government's best efforts, it's hard to picture the entire process end-to-end. So I wanted to publish our experience in case it's helpful for anyone going through the process too.

Traveling to Singapore During the Pandemic

2021-12-07

Woke up at 3:50 am today, had a nightmare. I think I'm ready to head out.

We're doing our PCR tests this afternoon. That should be our last hurdle. Of course there's still the health declaration, the on arrival tests and the tests each day for 7 days, but we are 99% there.

Back to the Beginning

It's been almost a year since my cousin got engaged and subsequently declared that she and her then fiancée will be getting married Dec. of 2021. The hope was that Covid would've subsided and countries would have already opened up. As I patiently waited for the vaccines, and was extatically happy when we qualified for it in May, things didn't open up as quickly as I had anticipated. At the time, we had 3 main vaccines: AstraZeneca, Moderna, or Pfizer-BoiNTech, but we didn't have a choice of which one we would be given. We made appointments to get the vaccine in this large convention centre, just like the ones you see on TV, and were pleasantly surprised at the smoothness of the process.

We both got our first two shots by the time Summer rolled around, but still have no idea if we were going to be able to make it to Singapore in December at all. As you'll see, this theme of having no idea whether the trip was going to work out continued all the way to the eleventh hour.

• 2021-05: First Pfizer shot

• 2021-06-: Second Pfizer shot

Alberta experienced another wave of infections in the Fall, so things closed down again. Things were looking grim. We knew we could likely go somewhere for December vacation, like Mexico, which never implemented any tourist restrictions, but decided to prioritize Singapore should things open up there. I've missed all of my female cousins wedding for one reason or another, and this was not only the last cousin, but also the closest cousin of mine. So I was going to give it my all to try and make the wedding.

The Vaccinated Travel Lane Program

• 2021-09-08: Singapore launched the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) program with Germany and Brunei and have indicated that Canada were to be among one of the second batch of countries to be included in the program.

• 2021-09-15: Alberta announced it would be bringing in a vaccine passport system to help combat the fourth wave of the pandemic. This vaccine passport will have a QR code but will only be able to be read by the Alberta vaccine passport scanner app.

Some other places we contemplated include Thailand, as we saw a few videos about the Phuket Sandbox program and that seemed viable as well. Taiwan on the other hand, was still shut off completely. Not only could non-citizens enter for leisure reasons, even citizens needed to quarantine at a quarantine hotel for 15 nights. Even if I could get the permission to work from the quarantine hotel to combat boredom, I'm still not confident I could mentally survive that kind of confinement.

We know we're lucky, the last time we went abroad was January of 2020 so it had only been a year. It would be nice if we could go somewhere again as I could feel my mind melt a little bit everyday being stuck at home, but it was absolutely acceptable to us as well if we never made it anywhere.

It was only 3 months before the wedding and the short timeline is making me quite nervous. However, there was nothing we could do be wait. Then it happened...

• 2021-10-09: Singapore announced the extension of the VTL to 8 more countries, including Canada. Travelers from these countries can enter Singapore starting October 19.

Finally, we "can" go! I looked up the requirements on https://safetravel.ica.gov.sg/vtl/requirements-and-process right away and turns out, VTL travelers will need to not only meet certain criteria, but also take designated flights from designated airlines. This was crazy, I've never heard of anything like this before. They even went as far as establishing a Vancouver to Singapore direct route with Singapore Airlines just to make this work. This was exciting. I had no idea how much the flight would be or whether we would be able to get tickets, but the scale of the program and control was impressive so far.

VTL Flights

On that first day when this was announced, the Vancouver-Singapore flights weren't available through Singapore Airlines yet. How it works is this, Canadians and Americans were forced to take Singapore Airline to travel to Singapore. Among the flights that Singapore Airline offers, only specific flights were VTL flights and we're going to have to take those. Travelers are technically allowed to take any VTL flights and are able to transit in any other VTL permitted countries, so I could technically take VTL flights that went through the U.S. which I looked up and saw 2 that went through San Francisco and Los Angeles. But things were changing constantly and if travel or transit rules were to change between Canada and the U.S., it could jeopardize our ability to make it to our flight from SF or LA. They were also quite expensive, at around $2,300 round trip each.

The morning of October 10th, the Singapore Safe Travel website announced that SQ29 was the flight that would take VTL passengers from Vancouver to Singapore. I checked Singapore Airline repeatedly but the system kept crashing and we weren't able to find that specific flight on their website. In addition, whenever I searched for flight from Calgary to Singapore, it would take me from Calgary through either SF or LA, but never through Vancouver. I started contacting everyone, from Safe Travel to Singapore Airlines, telling them the issues we're encountering.

• 2021-10-13 message to my aunt in Singapore: We looked over the Canadian VTL requirements and process. So far, I'm pretty confident things will work out. There's just a few loose ends that we still need to figure out. The first thing is the proof of vaccination. On the Safe Travels Singapore page, they said they only recognize Smart Health Cards issued by the Common Trust Network. These are QR code standards. The Alberta proof of vaccination is not compliant with this standard, so I've submitted an enquiry about it. The next thing we're still looking into is travel insurance. We have medical travel insurance through our work, but I'm having trouble getting any sort of proof. We briefly looked around online too but are still shopping around. Once these are figured out, we should be able to book our flight. The VTL flight for Canadians are posted on their website. We could technically take SQ33 which goes through San Francisco, but there should be an SQ29 flight that goes through Vancouver. We'll keep monitoring the web site and will let you know where we're at as we progress.

Lo and behold, the SQ29 flight appeared on the Singapore Airline website on Oct. 14, and although we still could only order it from Vancouver to Singapore (not Calgary to Singapore), we bit the bullet and bought these tickets. At this point, we still weren't 100% sure whether we would be able to go, but we were less worried about that leg of the journey as there are usually many flight between Calgary/Vancouver. As long as we get to Vancouver on time for the flight to Singapore, we’re good. And when we return, as long as we’re back in Canada, we feel that we’re good too. We can always make our way to Calgary however we can at that point.

• 2021-10-14: Bought our plane tickets from Vancouver to Singapore via Singapore Airline (SQ29) leaving on Dec. 4.

Smart Health Card QR Code

We were also able to take a closer look at the VTL requirements and determined that we met every one of them except for the proof of vaccination. The issue was that the Singaporean government only accepts QR code proof of vaccination, but the Alberta QR code could only be read by the Alberta app. After doing some research, we learned that North American QR code follows this Smart Health Card system (Common Trust Network), and although the Alberta QR code was developed using this system, the key was never shared so it didn't allow any other jurisdictions to access our health records via universal scanners.

• 2021-10-20: 

• We emailed the Singaporean government and they confirmed that they only accept the Smart Health Card / Common Trust Network format. 

• We emailed the Alberta Health Department and they said they don't have any information on whether they will open it up to Common Trust Network scanners yet.

• My cousin also looked into whether going through the Family Travel Lane would be more beneficial for us, but it wasn't as both paths require proof of vaccination.

The Canadian National Standard for Proof of Vaccination

Then October 21st arrived, and the Canadian government announced a national standard for proof of vaccination. This standard uses the Smart Health Card / Common Trust Network format and is in line with what the Singaporean government requires (https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19/vaccines/vaccine-proof.html).

• 2021-10-23: Changed our flight from Dec. 4 to Dec. 9.

The Canadian Federal government requires all provincial governments to align their QR codes with the national standard at the latest by the end of November. A spokes person for the Alberta Health Minister said they will ensure the Alberta QR code meets the standard by end of November for sure. However, we need to apply for VTP at least 7 days before our intended travel, so if they finish converting the QR code on Nov. 30, we don't be able to make our Dec. 4 flight.

• 2021-10-31 message to my aunt in Singapore: Hello! So, it looks likely that we would be able to resolve the QR code issue by latest Nov. 30. Nothing's been announced yet but we are sensing some movement. We went ahead and moved our ticket to Dec. 9 to Jan. 8 as we need to give the Singaporean government at least 7 days to process our Vaccinated Travel Pass. It's cutting close, but we're still feeling hopeful and will keep you updated!

• 2021-11-07: The Alberta QR code became partially verified using the Smart Health Card scanner app. The information on the QR code was verified but the QR code issuer was not.

• 2021-11-12: We noticed on Safe Travel Singapore that they now except proof of vaccination from “all Canadian Provinces”. We tried to apply but couldn’t use the automated VTP portal. We were asked to email the Safe Travel Office (STO).

• 2021-11-14: We were informed we had to file an appeal today through the STO appeal's office portal and should hear back in a few days.

• 2021-11-15: We received appeal case numbers and had to go back to the VTP portal to submit our application again. This time, with the appeal numbers attached.

• We went through the steps and got our Vaccinated Travel Passes within minutes of submitting the applications.

• We also bought the on-arrival PCR tests that we will need to take at Changi Airport

Omicron Variant

• 2021-11-22: Singapore changed their in-person dining per table limit from 2 to 5 people. The Alberta QR code also became fully verified.

• 2021-11-27: Alberta officially got onboard with the Federal proof of vaccination template.

Immediately after things were seemingly settled, we started to hear a lot of news about a new Omicron variant. This worried us because rules during Covid could change at any time, and we weren't sure again, whether we would be able to make our trip.

• 2021-11-30: Singapore government now require all passengers arriving from Dec. 3 to undergo supervised Covid-19 Antigen Rapid Tests (ART) at Quick Test Centres (QTC) or Combined Test Centres (CTC) on days 3 and 7 of their arrival.

Luckily, the rules weren't too bad. Just a few additional tests but we would still be allowed to leave as soon as our on-arrival PCR test results come back negative.

• 2021-12-03: Singapore government now require all passengers arriving from Dec. 7 to undergo self-administered Covid-19 ARTs using self-procured ART kits on days 2, 4, 5, and 6 of their arrival, in addition to the supervised ARTs on days 3, and 7.

Things were really changing each day. We monitored all the rules extra closely, anxiously hoping nothing major changes before we depart.

Woke up at 3:50 am today, had a nightmare. I think I'm ready to head out.

• 2021-12-07 Pre-departure PCT tests in Calgary

2021-12-08 Calgary to Vancouver

Finally the day came when we left for Vancouver. There was a system issue with our Calgary to Vancouver flight, but luckily we were able to get that resolved in time and made our flight in time.

We submitted out Health Declaration and got issued a bar code for entry.

Once in Vancouver, we took our hotel shuttle and stayed the night. Experiencing wearing an N95 mask for this long, we suspect our journey to Singapore the next day would be tough.

2021-12-09 Vancouver to Singapore

Got up at 4:30 naturally. Tried to stay in bed for a while longer but eventually got up at 5:30. Apparently, Keith has been up since 4 as well. Went for breakfast at 6:30, buffet style with toast, oatmeal, eggs, sausages, coffee, and pancakes. Our breakfast was free and included with our hotel booking. After resting a little longer, we hopped on the 9:30 shuttle bus and headed to the airport.

There weren't too many people at the Singapore airline counter. About 10. They checked our VTPs and PCR test results, and issued us our boarding passes and luggage tags. Very painless. We chatted with a Singaporean lady about the required documentation a little. Making sure she has everything she needed.

We took some pictures, and 2 nice Japanese ladies helped us take a picture at a photo booth, then we went through security. There weren't many people around, and we got front row seats by the windows with an electrical outlet right beside us. The process today was so much more pleasant than yesterday. There are a lot less people, no mix ups with our tickets, the document checking was fast, and atmosphere calm.

By the time I checked my watch, there's only an hour and 15 minutes left before we board our flight. It's been a rollercoaster of a journey, but we're here and we're ready to head out.

Here we go.

Most True

What's most true for you? Something that's eternal, an idea maybe, or a value. How do we calm the waters within so it's clear enough for us to see? How do I quiet my thoughts enough for me to hear?

It might be because of Covid or an early onset midlife crisis, but I've been contemplating existential subjects these few years. Or should I say, I've always been one who contemplates existential subjects--the meaning of life, my purpose...etc., but during my 20s and 30s they were drowned out by money and career oriented thoughts. These days, however, perhaps with the help of working from home and actually enjoying real work-life balance, I've evolved into this department again, and these thoughts have snuck back under the spotlight.

It's hard not to compare to others. Whether it's job positions, income, athletic abilities, or any of the thousands of metrics one can measure themselves against. As I age, everyone's position on each of these metrics really starts to diverge. An artistic roommate of mine is now a senior director for business development, the ambitious analyst colleague is now a mom of 3, the ethnomusicology mom of 2 is now a royalty-making authority in her field, and the C student is a multi-millionaire. I sometimes don't know where I'm supposed to be. Compared to each of them, I seem both behind and ahead. There's also the slacker who got the promotion, the rude one who got into the amazing company, or the corrupt one who became the VP. Then there is the guest down stairs who escaped Ukraine and is still trying to find way to get a hold of her parents, the project manager that sat next to me / the high school friend who became a realtor / and so many others who are no longer on this earth.

As these thoughts arose, my heart skipped a beat and it prompted me to think again, exact what should I spend my limited time and energy on? If positions, money, status, and fame are illusions that I don't necessarily align with, what does?

There are things in my life that are unfair for me. All those times I pulled extra weight just so the work can get done, all while folks who are paid more sit back and watch. I've done more than enough share of pulling strings and smoothing out conflicts, but none of these efforts translate into a raise or a promotion. I'm the kind of person who can do the job, but lack the title or salary to show anyone. But the exact opposite is true as well. I work reasonable hours while getting many many days off each year. I'm given the privilege and freedom to manage my work as well as some other team members' work even though I don't have the title, and I usually get the interesting projects. I have the trust of colleagues and leaders, and the things I say are valued by many. I have people who loves me unconditionally regardless of my mood, income, or productivity level. So, am I fortunate or unfortunate?

Life is long but also quite short. We have time to do everything we want to, but life could also easily slip by without us having gotten to know our souls. With me turning 40 this year, I'm still young, but also not really. And perhaps it's this midlife milestone, but it's got me thinking "jeez, if I have dreams or personal goals, I should probably get started before it's too late". So, what should I focus my time and energy on?

What is most true for you?

What is most true...for me?

The older I become the more I recognize not only the duality of things but that there's everything on every spectrum. It's only in recognizing the divergence of everyone's paths and the futile efforts of still trying to compare myself with others that I realized I really can't. I simply do not have enough brain power in a day or days in my life to assess my performance against these arbitrary benchmarks. I simply have to know myself better, and I have to choose the top priorities to get started (or keep moving).

It feels like it's been years but I'm just at the beginning stages of sorting out my thoughts, and I'm still working on listening closely so I can tell the noise apart from the truth. To be honest, it's not my intention to tell you what they are today or to tell you that you should consider the things that are important to me. We all have to work that out ourselves.

I guess, all I wanted to do today, is put this reminder down for myself, to continue to think about what's most true for me, and what's worth my time. After all, each of these seconds that are passing by make up my entire life and it's up to me what I want my life to be about...what I want to live for. Vague themes are starting to emerge, although they're still in draft state, I've grown more comfortable with letting my heart be the guide of whether an idea is worth pursuing or not. I intend to follow what moves me, I intend to follow what inspires, I intend to head towards the direction of courage, and I intend to follow loving kindness. I believe I'm in the process of developing my value system, and I will keep you all updated.

Sukha.

How We Furnished Our Airbnb In Under $500

Ok, so there are no tricks here. The caveat is that we used a lot of existing items we already had so we really didn't need a whole lot of additional things before it was ready to go. Now that being said, I still think it's pretty impressive how we were able to bridge that gap under $500. I'm going to break everything down exactly how we did it so if you're still interested then please do read on.

Bedroom

Check out our listing: https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/51250134 

Background

My husband worked on suiting the basement as soon as he purchased the property back in 2013. The basement was semi finished so he worked toward completing the wall division, plumbing, and electrical. We also purchased all the kitchen cabinets and appliances during a moving sale, sealed and tiled the shower ourselves.

Over the next 2 and a half years, we had a tenant that lived there. We got to experience how it was like to have someone living directly underneath us. Because the house is primarily hardwood and laminate, some muffled sounds do travel up and down. And despite our stellar tenant, my husband felt somewhat  exhausted having someone always around, so close to us, being able to hear them and know that they can hear us.

After our tenant moved out, we decided to reclaim the basement and turned it into an office and gym, complete with a yoga room. It was super fun setting them up and we really enjoyed having more space. Especially when the Covid pandemic hit and we both had to work from home, everything we needed was already set up.

But Covid was also a wake up call in emphasizing what's most important in life, and what we decided was to work towards a plan of early retirement, perhaps even taking a gap year as soon as 2023. This decision did not get adopted easily. We went through a lot of reflection and discussions and I will likely share more about that in another post. But anyway, what came out of that, was a push to pay off our mortgage and increase our wealth as much as possible before 2023 so we can feel more confident about taking this audacious mid-career break.

We started brain storming the types of side hustles we'd be willing to do and defining how our approach was going to be. I've always felt that we should utilize the basement more since we went through all the trouble of suiting it. My husband knows that he doesn't want another long-term tenant downstairs, so Airbnb became the option he was willing to try.

The Pros and Cons

There's obviously pros and cons with every decision we make, below is a list of criteria that we thought about when comparing renting our basement long-term vs short-term.

• Flexibility: Airbnb provides more flexibility for us as we are committing to having people in our space one night/week at a time instead of a year at a time. If we think it's too disruptive to our lives, we can stop at any point with little to no notice.
• Rate: Airbnb allows us to charge higher rates compared to long-term tenants. This will allow us to make a decent amount of money even without someone constantly occupying the space.
• Effort: Airbnb does take a lot more work. With cleaning required in between each stay and an increased amount of supplies, repairs, and maintenance, we knew we had to be ready to put in some sweat equity.
• We discussed this and pretty easily agreed that we're willing to do the work. It's not something that bothers us too much and so the effort required wasn't a large deterrent.
• Risk: The transient nature of having short-term guests mean opening ourselves up to potential risks. There is the risk of damage to the property, to furniture, items, and even the potential of loud, disruptive, or undesirable people in our home despite the fact that guests have to agree to a bunch of terms and house rules.
• Airbnb does have their Host Guarantee and Host Protection Insurance, but in most cases, if the damage is minimal, hosts likely will just absorb this cost as part of their operating expenses.
• We've read articles online and know that the majority of guests are really good, but this was the biggest unknown to us. Ultimately, the only way we'll find out if this element is significant enough for us to stop hosting is to give it a try, to gain the experiences, and make a decision for ourselves.

Living area

Comfort & Safety

There are all sorts of accommodations on Airbnb. Because we're just testing the waters and we don't know when we'll feel compelled to stop hosting, I wanted to make sure we keep our initial investment as low as possible without compromising the safety and comfort of our guests. Being frequent travelers and having stayed in more than a dozen Airbnbs ourselves, we know what makes a place the home away from home people want to stay in. If things go well, we can then improve our listing bit by bit. 

Existing Items

Out of everything we had to set up, these were things we already had, and therefore didn't cost us anything:

• IKEA lounge chair
• Barcelona chair
• Wall clock
• IKEA cabinet
• Kitchen island
• Dining table & chairs 

TV System

Barcelona Chair

The Bed

The most important thing is a comfortable bed. We have stayed in many places where this almost broke our vacation. Having a good nights rest not only makes your stay enjoyable, it makes the entire trip more enjoyable. I remember having traveled from one Airbnb with subpar bed to another way with just a normal bed and felt the humongous divide between the two. We were so amazed that we checked the mattress and bought the exact same one ourselves a few years later.

After looking on Kijiji for a few days, we found a bedframe we liked through a moving sale. The owner had his things in a storage unit and we paid $175 for all the contents. We were initially only after the bed frame, but we really lucked out as everything this person owned was in perfect condition. We got all of the following items from this purchase alone:

• IKEA TARVA queen size bed frame
• IKEA 4 level MALM dresser (this is an item that IKEA recalls, and we were able to get $125 by returning it)
• IKEA MATRAND queen size memory foam mattress in perfect condition. Honestly it looked barely used and was even kept in a mattress bag
• 2 chairs
• 2 small end tables
• And RCA 28" TV
• An H2O steam cleaner mop
• 2 pillows
• Pots & pans & dishes & glasses & cups
• A laundry basket, hangers, and a Black & Deck iron

In the end, after selling a few of these items, we essentially got 70% of what we need for $20.

The bed

Linens

After washing the mattress cover, we went to IKEA to get some new bed sheets and towels. Till this day, this is still the largest cost for us and will continue to grow as they get worn out. I like grey colored things but my husband said it always make him feel better to be able to see whether the sheets are clean, so in the end, we went with white.

• IKEA NATTJASMIN fitted sheets (x2) - $24.99 ea.
• IKEA NATTJASMIN duvet cover with 2 pillow cases - $49.99 ea.
• IKEA LUDDROS pillow protector (x4) - $6.99 ea.

Business Registration

We first called our insurance company to see how much additional it would cost us to insure short-term rentals. They told us that if we don't anticipate renting over 180 days a year, there would be no premium increases.

As mentioned, part of the whole point of choosing Airbnb over long term tenants is to not have someone constantly living in our house. So we definitely have no intentions of maximizing occupancy. 180 days a year, or half the time, is more than what I had imagined doing so that was more than good enough.

To properly run an Airbnb in Calgary one needs to apply for a business license. Usually the City of Calgary Short-Term Rental business license is $100, but they've been waiving it as part of the support they're providing folks during Covid, so we didn't have to pay anything for that either.

Carpets

Oh boy these carpets took us on quite the journey. We already had the white one you see in the living area and the red one under the kitchen island, but wanted to get a few more so we can dampen the sound traveling upstairs as much as possible. We originally got 3 more from Kijiji, one for free, one for $20, and one for $10, and decided to wash them along with all of the carpets we use upstairs as well.

We paid around $40 for a carpet cleaner and went to work. Little did we know that some stains are really hard to get out and in addition, if you don't wash the soap off completely, it leaves a tiny bit of sticky feeling on the fibers, especially if you run your fingers through the carpets.

So, in order to save money on getting these carpets, we probably put in a total of 30+ hours dealing with them over the course of a week. Luckily it was the week we got those 38 degree days so they dried up super fast.

This was a huge lessons learned for us. Next time we are definitely not going through the trouble again, as there are plenty of nice new carpets for around $60-80. 

Dining Room

Dining Room

Entrance

We have quite a bit of space in the entry way so I decided to put a secretary desk there. We found something on Kijiji and picked it up for $40.

Entrance

Entrance

Other Household Items

There were a significant amount of random household items that we had to get, and they did really add up as well:

• Drawer liners - $20
• Door mat, shoe tray, garbage bin - $40
• Hooks, new door lock, fire extinguisher - $100
• TV casting dongle - $30
• Body wash, shampoo, conditioner, toilet paper, salt & pepper, oil, sugar...etc - $40

Bathroom

Bathroom

Another thing that's important to us is a clean and well functioning bathroom. There's nothing like a hot shower that gets rid of all the fatigue and washes the day away. In certain countries, space is very limited and it can be hard to get a spacious enough bathroom, luckily the bathroom in our suite is very large so all we have to make sure is that it's well kept and clean.

Total

In the end, we were able to furnish the entire suite in about 3 weeks and our total set up cost was $483.73. 

Our home & Airbnb location

Since launching our listing on Airbnb, we've been getting really great traffic and already have 5 bookings. Seeing how busy it got, I immediately went back and purchased a ton more additional stock so we can turn things around quickly in case we need to. We've also upgraded our exterior motion censor light, and made custom thank you cards for our guests. So definitely check our our listing if you're curious, and if you or your friends / family are ever visiting Calgary, we've love to host you!

Check out our listing: https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/51250134

An Evening Walk

The pink of the sky has never been this bright

Illuminating an otherwise dark grey-ish sky

It was so beautiful I got choked up

As I take my next steps, the strain in my calves, the pain in my hip, and the heavy breathing of my lungs reminded me that my time on earth is also limited

How many more pink skies will I be able to admire before I perish?

When will my spirit shine as bright as the pink glowing sliver piercing through the grey, overweight clouds?

A silent gasp frightened me so much I got choked up again

Could I have lost my chance to live passionately all together?

That gut wrenching, irresponsible, visceral passion I felt nightly when I was young, is nowhere to be found.

Like bringing a child to a market. You turn away for just one second, and it’s gone.

I hold my breath, trying to control the panic that’s starting to creep up

I got choked up again

And what about home?

Yes the one I grew up in, the one I left when I was still a minor

The one that comforts my soul, sets me free

The one with not just pink slivers but an entire canvas of pink and purple clouds

The one with mists that veils the mountains just right, making them as luscious as they are mysterious

My guts ache now

I take a quick inhale and let it out, “whooo”

I gotta keep controlling my breathing

Can’t cry in the middle of my evening walk like a crazy person

But when will I finally be able to develop that relationship I really want with my home?

Oh right, there it is again. I thought it had gone

But like a teenage first love you never got over, I remembered

I am chronically. home. sick.

It’s been 20 years and

I still don’t know how to cope

I only know how to forget

My accomplishments have been wonderful distractions

But it’s quiet now as I walk through an easier stretch of my walk

The annoying dog isn’t visible today

I hope he doesn’t suddenly bark because I might not be able to hold my breath if he does

No solution

So this I shall be

Someone who’s approaching the end of her walk

Some who’s desired at work, who’s reliable

But like that bruised apple we picked up from the bottom of the fruit bowl the other day

Completely liquified from the inside

Brown, bleeding

Empty

I take another quick breath, and put my brave face back on

Tomorrow’s another day

As I extend myself beyond my limit one more day

So this I shall be

Until I figure it out

How Yoga Helped Me During the Pandemic

As some of you might know, I completed my first 200 hours yoga teacher training 5 months ago. It was an incredible journey, and I learned so much more during my training than just bendy poses.

Recently my yoga teachers asked me to share how and what yoga has taught me about dealing with a pandemic, and although mine wasn't specifically about the pandemic, it was about my life during the pandemic. Here's what I wrote.

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Life wasn’t super easy these past few months. We experienced a mass layoff at my organization. Everyone’s nervous systems were already in overdrive going into February.

I was given a new role and jumped right into the deep end. The learning curve was daunting, and before anyone had a chance to figure anything out, there came Covid. Not only were we working with new roles/responsibilities with fewer people, we now had to do them remotely. What once was the deep end of the pool, now seemed like the deep end of the ocean.

Yoga helped, beyond asanas. I could hear the words of my teachers, reminding me of the things I learned during yoga teacher training:

• They reminded me that it’s ok to grieve the loss of my colleagues, to know that they will now struggle a little more and that it’s ok to feel the hurt and pain with them. 
• They reminded me that I have a duty to lift people up, to lead the change and be the example I wish others would be for me. 
• They reminded me that imperfection or even failure is ok, because I am intrinsically worthy and valuable even if I’m currently stumbling every other step I take.

It took more courage than I could muster, but I leapt, and life embraced me.

By being vulnerable, I felt more connected than ever. Acknowledging the pain helped my colleagues heal, and many of them are now in a better position than before. Too many things were out of control, so I simply had to let go of control. There were too many stressors, so I simply had to just stop being stressed. I learned that instead of changing the external world, changing my internal state was a much more direct path to peace.

It's been a couple months now, and I have a profound gratitude for everything I’ve lost but also everything I still have. This pandemic showed me that we are all human, flawed, and equal, and yoga taught me how to be a little more forgiving of myself and others.

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To my teachers: Thank you for all the wisdom and knowledge that you shared, thank you for loving us with your whole heart, and thank you for showing us that success can be built on integrity and the purest intention to serve. My practice was and continue to be enhanced by the foundation you've built for us, I think about you often, and you will forever have a special place in my heart.

Inspired Yoga Institute: https://inspiredyogainstitute.com/ or @inspiredyogainstitute on Instagram
Teachers:

• Nora Maskey: https://www.noramaskeyyoga.com/ or @noramaskey on Instagram
• Alice Hong: https://www.alicehong.com/ @alicehong108 on Instagram
• Erin McCaig: https://www.erinmacaig.com/ or @erin.macaig on Instagram

Connect with me through Instagram:

• @joyliuyyc - Joy's photography collection
• @joyliuyoga - Joy's yoga journey
• @inasplitsecondtravel - Joy's travel adventures

I am Light

About an hour into Saturday’s yin yoga sequence, I could see the light leaking through the gaps in the blinds. He always gets us to lie down facing the window, and today was no exception. My mind wandered in and out of my body and around the room. I was still preoccupied with the new role I had gotten after the recent layoff. Insecurities and doubt had been plaguing my mind for a few days now.

“I’m sorry you’re thrown into the deep end again” said my manager, who himself had just been thrown into the deep end too. I smiled and reassured him.

“Well, luckily I know how to swim”, but I was scared.

I’d been struggling to sleep through the night, and sometimes have woken up with my heart seemingly beating out of my chest. I’m worried I won’t be able to learn fast enough, I’m worried I’d be of no value if I don’t pull my weight. I worry, that’s who I used to be. And although I thought I’d gotten better at cultivating internal validation, it’s quietly snuck back.

“Take a deep breath” I said to myself as I moved my face slightly. But there really was no point, with the way my mat was set up, the sun was bound to be in my face for another good 10-20 minutes.

The sun shined through the blinds hitting my face in just the right way. Rays of light reflected in my eyes without blinding it. I swore I could see specks of light inside my eyes, and before I knew it they floated up towards the sun. It was as if I awoke from a long dream. I remembered. I remembered who I was (or am) before I became this girl currently lying here. I was a speck of light, not bound by space. I used to float around in the universe and my existence represented that of millions of others just like me. I floated around day after day, year after year, until I heard of this amazing experience of “being human” everyone told me I had to try at least once, and so I did. It was something I decided to do on a whim, while I was on my way to my next destination. Afterall, time was on my side. The entirety of a human life represented only a tiny sliver of time compared to my real life.

It was really just a casual decision, stopping by earth trying this “human experience”. I had stopped by like any tourist would. As if the entire human experience is as unique, temporary, and special as a trip to Paris. I had the same intention / attitude as well. Like a tourist in an exotic land, I’d try all the cool things. Perhaps I’ll visit the Eiffel tower, get some wine, a pizza and eat dinner by the Seine. In this human life, perhaps I’ll get a job, or become partnered with someone, just like all the humans do. A sort of “when-in-Rome” kind of mentality.

My eyes widened as I realized all this, and the specks of light escaped my view. But I could still hear the other specks of light teasing me.

“She’s taking her human life way too seriously” they said, “have you forgotten who you really are?”

I almost felt like defending myself.

“Oh no, of course not. It’s been great, I’ve truly lived to the max. In fact, this girl’s just recently gotten this new role and that sounds fun, right? Pfft, I’m not too attached.”

So there it was, a sort of out of body experience. If even for a split moment, I felt how it feels to not be afraid; if even just a silly day dream, my mind was opened to a completely new perspective. One that feels so much more full of life and sees so much more excitement instead of worry. One that cherishes this life like the vacation you’ve been dreaming of, the kind you’ve saved up for and vowed to try everything you could think of. And even though that mid-day surf by Kuta beach gave you the worst sunburn of your life, that street stall ceviche made you bond with the toilet for the next 3 days, any discomfort and suffering is all but a part of this amazing epic adventure.

As the weekend comes to an end and the stress sneakily returns with almost too much ease, my chest starts to tighten again. But it was as if I was let in on a huge secret, my heart fills with gratitude. If I close my eyes, I can still see the light and feel the sun in my face. Life is but one detour I took, I’m not sure I’ll remember this one after I’m done and I’m not sure I’ll get another one, so may tomorrow be just another exciting day on this precious precious trip.


Image by StockSnap from Pixabay