how can so many things happen in one year?




this year was like a potpourri of many many many things good and bad, big and small. hence, let's begin.

this year, i:

sank into the lowest of lows with The Thesis of Thesises that plagued me like a horror that won't go away - somehow in the darkness i was really interested in my work but The Fear of Not Passing got into me real deep and i couldn't see the light for months; finally at the edge of giving up, upon total surrender, i was showered with miracle after miracle. i think i totally plagued my family and mingyao too with the residual stress heaped upon them - through the course of the year, more so at the end, i got to know many new friends, people i could connect with, some juniors and some seniors. i'd say repeating my course was a non-regret. i met friends i could totally speak to, share obscure music and stuff with i never really could with many of my original peers, people i can meet outside for coffee or a meal and whom i don't feel judged by. people i could talk to about anything frivolous or serious. i'm grateful for that.

two weeks later i went for interviews and started a job a week after my interview at a great firm with - awesomely cool and inspiring bosses i can really talk to/ fun and wonderful collegues/ a very nice working space, even though the roof leaks when it pours and we have to walk up and down 5 stories everyday) in a shophouse in an old street and the work is interesting and i worked an talked to people and learn new things.

i started reading jack kerouac who wrote about san francisco and new york. and in september and october i was in those two cities, plus albany to visit my dear sister whom i sorely miss ( it was lovely, she cooked lovely dinner and i ironed our clothes whilst watching youtube; jogging to her school and waiting for her to finish class) and our road trip up to quebec city for three days - i never thought i'd go back there when i was there in 2003 with wynnie shivering like mad in the cold but it was nice that we could go about now and see sights and apple farms in the slighty chilly but sunny weather and walking the artisan shops together with my sister - and boston for lunch to meet jerrold and andrea, and seeing wesleyan college that i've only read about; before that to yald (yale!) to visit cheng and sit in an aki theory class and meeting up some relatives for the first time in queens, nyc and taking the subways and going up to columbia uni all by myself to meet dionne for lunch (that was so surreal really, we haven't met since our chance meeting just before uni) and having mingyao come over and us gallavanting all about the different museums and shops (oh broadway shopping!) and taking chere to lunch and meeting up with alfred in k-town and with kim li near columbia again and having awesome roast duck rice in san fran and just walking, taking buses, spending too much in supermarkets (two tubs of icecream just so we couldn't decide) and discovering 'the wonder years' on television in nyc and going home to catch it and watching a free concert in the lincoln area and the gorgeous golden gate bridge and going to citylights bookstore in san fran and the strand bookstore in nyc and central park and going to places and everything. i've only read about in books like the solomon guggenheim museum/passing by sejima's museum of contemporary art at the bowery/ the MOMA and The Met and Renzo Piano's musuem extension along fifth avenue/ yale/ central park/ de young museum in golden gate park by herzog and de meuron/ mario botta's san fran MOMA...

and joining the cell grop in march which was filled with awesome people - i had so much fun and encouragement from this group of people whom i can really connect with.

plus i had an awesome year with mingyao - both of us starting on jobs we like and the long long trip and just happy being in each other's company and still learning from each other and growing with each other and the little things and big things he does for me, i super love.

and some miscellaneous randomness; this year i discovered yves saint laurent touche eclat, bobbi brown eyeliner, shu umera eyeshadow in THAT pink and benefit eyeshadow with that lovely cream texture.

i suppose the only resolution i need is to improve my walk with God. let's see how things go from there.