2025: Non-Stop Movement
2025 Ornament by India Barnardo
This year’s ornament is by Director & Animator India Barnardo. India is an animator and filmmaker currently working at Walt Disney Animation Studios with additional experiences at Sony Pictures Imageworks, Bron Studios, and more.
With a lifelong love of drawing, painting, sculpting, and life-drawing, creativity has always been central to her world - much of which she channeled into her own creative project: Cat & Moth (which you can watch here!). She grew up in a small countryside town with her cats, an early bond that would later shape her directorial debut. The playful short reimagines classic animated rivalries (think Tom and Jerry, Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner) through an energetic blend of CG and 2D animation. The project brought together a global crew of over 90 artists and remains a meaningful creative collaboration for those involved - including Emily, who had the opportunity to help produce the short during early phases of its journey.
India Barnardo
This year’s ornament artwork feels especially fitting alongside our update below… Between the personal history of the project and the unexpected arrival of Shader this year, the piece feels like a full-circle reminder of how deeply intertwined creativity and our relationships with animals can be.
An Important Update
Before jumping into our year-in-review, we wanted to share an important update. We recently rescued Shader, a sweet 2-year-old kitty who had been living outside in our backyard since he was a kitten. We had been feeding him twice a day for the last couple years, but he mostly spent his time on his own outside, until one day he showed up with a dislocated, fractured leg and a BB pellet lodged in him. After surgery, Shader is now a tri-pawd and must live indoors full-time.
While he’s adjusted beautifully and remains an affectionate, gentle boy, he’s very afraid of Luna. For his long-term happiness, we’re looking to find him a loving forever home that’s dog-free and without young children - a calm space where he can truly feel safe.
If you or someone you know might be a good fit for Shader, please reach out. He’s been through a lot and deserves the very best next chapter.
A Reflection on 2025
2025 felt like a year of momentum. Not the loud, dramatic kind, but the kind that comes from putting one foot in front of the other and before you know it, you are running at full speed.
There were fewer life shocks than in 2024 (which we definitely won’t complain about). Instead, this year asked for consistency, patience, and showing up, even when tired, jet-lagged, or stuck at an airport. We spent a lot of time balancing work, projects, community, travel, family, friends, and learning (again) that you can’t do everything perfectly, but you can do a lot of meaningful things imperfectly.
Work-wise, Emily continued to grow into her role at Epic Games while also pouring an enormous amount of energy into the Society for Game Cinematics. Austin continued crushing it professionally while also being the steady, grounding force that keeps everything else from tipping over at home and ensuring that Emily stays fed or touches grass every so often. We’re still fully remote, still co-workers at the kitchen island, and enjoying every part of it.
And then there were the furry babies. A full year with Luna and a whole adoptiversary marked with a visit to the brewery where we first met her. Mushu underwent a feline hyperthyroid treatment, complete with radiation and a 12-day stay at a treatment center in Irvine. We also unexpectedly rescued Shader, which felt very on-brand for us at this point. Our house is filled with more fur and pet toys than ever, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
We traveled more than we expected, did more than we planned, and said “yes” to things that felt important even when they stretched us thin. There were celebrations, reunions, big industry moments, small family gatherings, and a lot of meals eaten on the go. Through it all, we kept coming back to the same truth: Showing up matters. And life feels better when shared.
May the end of your 2025 be calm, joyful, and restorative. Fingers crossed for us!
Here’s hoping 2026 brings a little more rest, a little more ease, and plenty of moments worth writing down.
Stuff we did this year:
Rang in the year with trips to the Safari Park and Disneyland for Lunar New Year
Went to Disneyland for Round #2 because… best friend and godson, obviously - that’s what we get for living in Anaheim
First-Time San Diego adventures to LEGOLAND and Fox Point Farms
Finally made it to Circle Bar B Ranch after postponing a Santa Barbara trip for literal years
Catamaran ride with friends (rescheduled from almost a year ago!)
Weddings in Dana Point and Mesa, Arizona!
Total SGC & Epic travel & planning domination for Emily: GDC, OC & LA meetups, two Summits at Epic HQ in Cary, Frisco National Videogame Museum, Annecy Festival, SGC Party Pre-Game Awards, and so much more
Prepared backyard patio for future big events… we’ll see how we do with hosting family Christmas for the first time coming up!
2024: A Year of Ups & Downs
2024 Ornament by DANIEL HSU
This year’s ornament is by San Diego watercolor artist Daniel Hsu. Yes, Emily’s father! Dan is the eldest of 6 siblings who immigrated from Taiwan to the United States. He is a true Renaissance man with a lifetime of wisdom and experiences from helping the family run a Chinese takeout restaurant, working on holograms for scanner technology, managing an avocado ranch, and finally running his own landscaping company before his retirement.
Ever since Emily was young, watercolor paintings by Dan have been hanging up in her homes. Although the artistic talents didn’t quite pass down the family tree, it is undeniable that this influenced the way she saw the world and her career path appreciating and working directly with artists. At Austin and Emily’s wedding in 2019, Dan’s speech had everyone in tears and culminated in a beautiful gift of a painting that was particularly meaningful for Austin’s mom Beverly.
This year, Daniel turned 70 and the family celebrated in Temecula doing Daniel’s favorite things: teaching everyone around him how to cook Chinese food and… painting!
A Reflection on 2024
2024 saw a lot of major life-changing events for us. We experienced devastating heartbreak saying goodbye to our beloved Ollie after the very sudden onset of an illness in April. The entire Hsu clan experienced the loss of Mike (Emily’s 3rd Uncle) after his long battle with cancer. Emily’s project at Netflix was cancelled and her time at the studio ended in July after nearly 3 years. All things considered, that last one sucked but that’s the business. It was the least painful part of the year in the grand scheme of things. Let’s not even talk about the election. Life has a funny way of reminding you of what really matters.
We kept going.
Austin has been thriving in his work at an aerospace consultancy. Emily took a little time to reset and fully enjoy SIGGRAPH before starting a new role as a Senior Producer at Epic Games in September and loving it so far. Both of us are working fully remote and getting used to being each other’s co-workers at home around the kitchen island/watercooler. And at a time when we were least expecting it and when it felt like something we would never be prepared for again, we adopted Luna into our lives from a local husky rescue event. (Yes, beer was involved). We think about our Ollie everyday. Every dog is unique, special, and deserving of a loving family so we opened up our hearts and home again. Life has been a little bit more fun and interesting ever since. A lot more walks, chew toys, and fur cleanup - we got ourselves a Dyson and it’s been a game-changer!
May the rest of your 2024 be full of cheer, wonder, and love. Hope we all get to enjoy more of what matters in life in 2025!
Stuff we did this year:
We finally used gift certificates for cooking lessons (A Taste of Spain!) AND a winery tour at Oak Mountain Winery Temecula that were gifted to us all the way back in 2021 and 2022.
Got wine drunk at Oak Mountain and signed up for their wine club - join us for a trip out there and free wine tasting as part of our membership!
Attended our first Hollywood Bowl event and laughed our faces off at Netflix is a Joke Presents: Jerry Seinfeld, Sebastian Maniscalco, Nate Bargatze, Jim Gaffigan
Experienced our first ever cozy craft at a Color Me Mine - Emily painted a seashell candle holder. Austin painted a little knight figure. Says a lot about us.
Attended an incredible event in support of the release of Ultraman: Rising where we could cheer on the creators and where Emily ran into old childhood wushu friends. Chinese food adventure in LA ensued.
Won 3rd Place at Radiant Brewing’s Trivia Night - the theme: DreamWorks/Illumination Animation / team name: Lord Fart-Quads
Incredible beach days and random hangouts with friends
SIGGRAPH 2024 in Denver, CO - Emily returned to the conference as Real-Time Live! Chair
Emily officially became the President of the Society for Game Cinematics with lofty goals for the next year!
Attended the Ocean Institute Pirate & Mermaid Ball - got dressed up, felt fancy, won an auction item. (More drinks involved)
First Disneyland trip with the godson
Saw family & friends in Oregon for a quick weekend early Thanksgiving visit
