In Practice: Cheryl Ong

Cheryl Ong works full-time in the secondary art market, while freelancing across marketing, community, partnerships and music writing. She studied Fashion Media and is interested in the ways people build their lives around the things they care about, and how we find our way through work, creativity, and life. She tends to explore these questions through conversations and following her curiosity wherever it takes her. Outside of work, she’s usually listening to music, bouldering or cycling around the park.

Peter: Cheryl, hi! To start, might you be able to share a Ping that is speaking to you in this moment?

Cheryl: Tough question, because I ping across a few categories: epiphanies, self-reflection, memories or conversation threads I want to hold onto, quotes, and phrases amongst some random stuff (plus I was wondering which Ping was the most representative of myself at this moment!).

This entry stood out in particular. I’d been randomly thinking about my Europe trip back in June, and pinging it helped capture the spirit of that moment of what I was feeling toward Barcelona. I can’t recall where I was when I wrote it, but catching myself in that kind of nostalgic, wondering reverie was a good feeling to hold onto, especially against the backdrop of everything I’ve been disillusioned by lately.

Peter: In January of this year, we started exchanging emails about Ping Practice. Then in July, you mentioned that you and a friend had started sharing Pings with each other IRL. When I learned this, I felt eager to learn more.^[1] This leads me to wonder: how has Ping Practice shown up with you and your friend? What do you recall about how y’all started Pinging together?

Cheryl: I shared Ping Practice with my best friend Daphne, because I knew this kind of intentional, seamless note-taking would resonate with her. Almost immediately, or as far as I know, she started pinging quotes she’d read.

One day, we were hanging out at a Tim Hortons in a mall, catching up on our relationships with our jobs, creative ideas we were tinkering with, routines versus rituals. I said something that I can’t recall exactly what now, and every time it landed, she’d say “Ping,” and log it. It became a fun, interactive way of capturing the key moments in our conversations. Sort of like taking meeting notes, if you will.

These pings are timestamps and prompts to come back to, for conversations we don’t want to lose.

Peter: Might there be a Ping you captured while talking with Daphne that you enjoy returning to?

Screenshot of Ping #165 from Cheryl that reads, whatever you want is already within your reach

Screenshot of Ping #166 from Cheryl that reads routine or ritual

Ping 165 was in reference to Wild Geese’s podcast that Daphne shared with me. The episode is about fighting self-abandonment, plugging into yourself, and embodying your desires.

Peter: Mmm. You're now the second person who's referenced this podcast to me (the first was Natalia). I'm taking this as a sign to listen! Noted. Okay, now: by the time we publish this conversation, it’ll be early October. Here in Oakland, California, this is around when I tend to notice the wind. It usually “gains a voice” as it blows through the drying leaves. You’re in Singapore, I think? Might there be a subtle shift you notice around this time?

Cheryl: Yes, I’m in Singapore! It’s summer all year round because this tiny Southeast Asian country sits on the equator. Weather-wise, the only thing that changes is humidity, or whether it's raining nonstop. Right now, we’re experiencing the haze, drifting over from forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

I realised a good number of people on earth have seasons to mark the passage of time. Perhaps the lack of it for me has given me a strange, not entirely healthy relationship with time, where every year starts to feel like its own complete lifetime. So September arrives and it's suddenly Q4, I feel slightly anxious about it like I'm running out of time inside a year I thought I had more of. But there's also a pull toward looking forward to the end of things. I use this stretch to look back at January-me, March-me, and ask how I’ve grown or what I’ve done. Mostly, I try to stay grateful and blessed that I got to do and experience what I did.

Peter: What a joy it’s been to travel through these memories, Cheryl. Thank you for being open to this conversation and conducting it in this way. Before we head out, I wonder: what is a question you’re sitting with right now?

Cheryl: How do I move with more conviction and allow it to grow through experience rather than waiting for certainty first?

Peter: Mmm. I share this question too. Thank you for bringing language to it.

If something here resonates with you, Cheryl would be eager to know what. You can be in touch via email or direct message. And if participating in a conversation of this sort feels energizing to you, I hope you will let me know.

Thank you for experiencing this transmission —
From: Cheryl Ong & Peter Pelberg
Began on: August 31, 2026
Sent on: October 7, 2026
Last edited on: October 4, 2026

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