Looking back on 2009…

2009 blew by incredibly quickly. I feel like I blinked and it was gone. Looking back, though, there were some big events. I’d planned on going on a huge trek with some friends that would take us through at least 4 countries in Asia early in the year, but in the end I just joined them for 2.5 weeks in Taiwan and then visited Clement for another few days in Hong Kong. That in itself was a big experience since it was my first time leading non-Mandarin speakers throughout the island. Nice to know that, when in need, my (slowly regressing) Mandarin skillz are good enough to get us around and order food haha.

Soon after that trip it was my Dad’s 60th birthday party surprise, which was a ton of fun… although I spent the first night I snuck home hidden away in the guest bathroom so my Dad wouldn’t know I’d come home and then find out about the party the next day haha.

After that I survived a second round of layoffs at my company… started thinking about what the next step in my career should be… and along the way a whole summer in SD just blew by. I devoted myself to learning as much as I could about front-end work and coded the days away haha. But it was good… it put me on the track I’m on now and gave me perspective and insight into starting my own company some day.

My youngest sister graduated from college!! Time really flies haha.

Left my first full-time job out of college after being there for 3 years, and went to Thailand for a week in November on a Habitat for Humanity build with the JRCWP (photos) in Chiang Mai. This was by far the most influential and defining event of my 2009. Maybe it’s because it happened so recently, but every time I get a message from someone in my House Crew or come across a photo from that trip I feel so happy and uplifted, it’s awesome! :) When I returned from the trip I wanted to blog all about it, but I couldn’t do it… it’s something that just has to be experienced first hand and can’t really be put down in words (and I’m not eloquent enough to even try either).

Hello, Twenty-Ten!

2010 started out strong. I drove to Diamond Bar on New Year’s Eve to hang out with Susan C, Jenny, Shayna and Nisha and their family and friends too. The party at her house was reminiscent of our times in college, so it was a ton of fun. We even played Taboo against the older and wiser adults hahaha… oh man, not only were they older and wiser, but they were also drunker than we were lol… I think I was about to fall off the seat I was on from laughing so hard at their Taboo playing. We also played Bananagrams well into the early hours of the new year. Good times :)

New Year’s day we hung out in Downtown LA after a late start haha, went to Urth Cafe and toured Susan’s brother Tim’s architecture school, Sci-ARC. It’s housed in a warehouse and it totally fosters open communication and collaborative creativity. I was really impressed with all the architectural installations inside the building. Amazingly there were even some very dedicated souls in there on new year’s day trying to finish their respective projects.

And my resolutions for 2010…

• Excercise more (standard resolution haha)
• Cook more and eat healthier
• Go on an international Habitat trip, hopefully to Nepal
• Restart Project Stickies and make the companion site that Allen is encouraging me to do
• Keep in touch with friends better, especially now that we’re all so spread out and don’t see each other as often anymore
• Photograph more! I want to define my photographic style more this year and improve my technique

I think that’s it. I bet I’ll think of more as the month progresses haha :)