In the wonderful journey of life, the encounters between some people seem to be destined. Although each other's trajectories are exciting, they are inadvertently intertwined. Today I want to share with you the wonderful story of how me (Lily Maran), Lee-Ann, and Phoebe (our cat roommate) started living together.
In 2016, I was working as a substitute teacher in a piano store in Beijing and was holding ukulele experience workshops to save on travel expenses. And Li An, who was still a "working dog" in Beijing, took advantage of the opportunity that he didn't have to work overtime on weekends and came to the workshop where I taught. At this point, our fate quietly began. In 2018, Ang Lee launched the "100 People Who Don't Work" interview plan, and I was fortunate to be his fourth interviewee. I was studying Spanish in Mexico at the time, and I almost delayed my date with the Mexican guy because of the interview!
From that point on, our lives became exciting and connected. In 2019, a photographer and I went to the Middle East and North Africa to shoot a couch surfing travel documentary. After returning to China, I was arrested by Ang Lee in Shanghai to shoot "100 non-working videos". In the same year, I started my own entrepreneurial journey, investing in the production of ukuleles of my own design and establishing a brand. During the epidemic, Ang Lee was surprised by the remarkable results achieved by online sales. In 2020, Ang Li founded an online growth community for freelancers. We all transitioned from independent freelancers to entrepreneurs, and our identities and statuses have undergone tremendous changes.
In May of this year, I held a concert in Hangzhou as an original musician and invited Li An to come. After the concert, I stayed at his house for a few days. These days of getting along have allowed us to better understand each other's personalities and clarify each other's life goals for the next stage. We were pleasantly surprised to find that our rhythms matched up very well. I want to get rid of the state of "living and working in peace and contentment" in Dali and go to work in a more dynamic place, and Li An also wants to get rid of living alone and work with others. Life. So, we hit it off immediately and decided to move to Liangzhu, Hangzhou together and start sharing an apartment.
It has been more than a week since we moved to Liangzhu, and everything here surprises us. The natural environment is beautiful and pleasant, with temples, parks, mountains and historic sites, full of tranquility and mystery. There is a stronger community atmosphere and many freelancers live here. They often meet acquaintances when they go for a walk or visit the bird market. Moreover, dating with friends here becomes easy and convenient. No need to make reservations far in advance. If you make an appointment tomorrow, you can meet today. This change makes us feel the warmth and kindness we have not seen for a long time.
For those friends who are eager to travel but are restricted due to various reasons, we think finding roommates is a great way. Not only can you share the rent and reduce financial pressure, but you can also have someone to take care of your pets when you go out. Just like me, I can’t keep pets when I’m running around, but now I have a roommate’s cat, which can be considered a “cloud cat”.
In the future, we will not only record daily life, but also hope to invite interesting friends around us to our cabin to have in-depth discussions around the confusions and topics of this era. If you are curious about our life in Liangzhu, or expect us to update specific types of topics, please leave a message. We look forward to working with you all to explore and inspire each other in this life journey full of unknowns and surprises.
We hope our story can bring you some warmth and inspiration, and we look forward to interacting with you in the comment area!
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