Pearl, 65

Occupation: Retired Nurse
Oakland Neighborhood: Chinatown

Personal Background

Pearl may have retired from nursing, but that hasn’t stopped her from helping! Her elderly mother, Li Xiu Ying, only speaks Cantonese and has lived with Pearl since Pearl's father passed away four years ago. They do everything together, including caring for their plot in the Lake Merritt Community Garden. Recently Pearl has been helping new gardners how to convert their lawns into drought-resistant gardens. She started with one class every Saturday, but a lot of people are signing up, so she’s thinking about adding another. She’s looking for venues to teach in and heard from a neighbor in her condominium in Chinatown that the library rents out the big room for not very much money. This would be perfect since her mother has a hard time getting around, and the library is close to home.

Pearl didn’t plan on becoming a small business owner after retiring and has a lot of questions. Her taxes were really stressful this year and she hopes she did them right. She knows that she could learn more about landscape design and wants to get some books from the library, but because of COVID closures, she isn’t sure when it's open.

Pearl has an adult son, Charlie, who moved to Seattle for work. She has met her two grandchildren, Rosie and Paul, only a handful of times and because of the pandemic, hasn’t seen them in over a year. Her daughter-in-law, Samantha, introduced her to Zoom and they have been talking on it ever since. Rosie and Paul don’t seem too interested, though. She wishes that he hadn’t moved away and has considered following him, but Li Xiu Ying doesn’t want to leave Chinatown, where she has lived since she came to the US and everyone speaks her language.

Motivators

Pearl really wants to learn what she needs to grow her business until it becomes more profitable and less work. She is very committed to caring for Li Xiu Ying even though they fight a little bit over the small stuff. She’s hoping that her business will give her more money so she can visit Charlie and his family more often.

Life Stressors

Pearl doesn’t know her grandkids and really wants to. She has a hard time accepting that Charlie is culturally American, even as her mother tells her that she is too American. Her mother is beginning to show signs of both vision and memory loss and has difficulty walking more than 30 minutes at a time. Meanwhile, Pearl is glad that her business is taking off but is worried that she will be able to balance it with her mother’s care.

Internet Knowledge

She knows how to use the internet and has a few favorite gardening websites. She's tried to teach Li Xiu Ying to use email with little success.

Computer Skills

Pearl had to stay in the know for her work until she retired about three years ago. Her computer skills are mostly up-to-date but are centered around the Microsoft Suite. She has gotten better with Zoom during the pandemic, though.

Mobile

Pearl loves to have the newest iPhone, just because.

Social Networking

Pearl doesn’t have any social media accounts but is thinking about creating one for her new business. Plus then she can see all of the pictures of her grandkids that Charlie and Samantha post.

Favorite Media

She LOVES to read mysteries and gardening books. She doesn’t watch much tv but her mom always has Chinese tv shows playing in the background. Her favorite music is the Beatles' first album, but she loves them all.

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