Year Of The Rat

(blog started sunday which might seem why the timing is a bit off) the better part of this afternoon was spent trying to ready myself for work tomorrow and the start of a new year. i've been on vacation for the past two weeks and within that time, there hasn't been much downtime just play play play so today i finally unpacked the rest of my suitcase from san diego and set up my new planner and 2009 calendar. i always buy the exact same planner except that this year they were out of black so i had to settle for red which in retrospect might be nice as it could represent a new start for me as i hope this year will be a big one. why i have no idea but the 30th has got to be right? that's what i keep telling myself anyways. and for my calendar, two years ago, the theme was pigs. last year it was bulldogs and this year it's monkeys. my three favorite animals.

now that i have my life a little more organized, what to make of 2008? it's hard to say. there really isn't any one thing that stands out but i'm definitely ending the year on a much higher note than how it started which is always a good thing. the biggest thing probably is that i turned 30. an age that i hit with mixed feelings as i always thought that i would of been married by now and while i hate to give in to societal pressures, i would be lying if i said it doesn't bother me a little bit. those lectures from my mom must really be getting to me. i can just hear her now "your eggs are slowly drying up". the truth hurts doesn't it.

another notable thing was that i was single for pretty much the entire year except for a little over a month of it and that's the longest i've gone without a boyfriend since my sophomore year in high school. not only that but it was probably the first time i've had to go through a real breakup and while it was a real bitch at the time and i was convinced i would never snap out of it, lo and behold one year later, not only am i happier but i can see now that it was for the best. what a grown-up thing for me to say.

and as an added benefit to having more time by myself, i started going to kickboxing class two or three times a week and i'm proud to report that that has been the case for this entire year. coming from someone who was never able to consistently go to the gym more than two or three weeks at a time, it's a big accomplishment for me and now i find myself getting antsy if i don't go. so much so that i found myself waking up early on christmas eve and will even forgo sleeping in on weekends for it. i also started to try to take up running outside more (with new running shoes which are amazing!) but i'm still a big wimp about it so it's something i will still need to work on in the next year.

i also purchased my first iphone and am more addicted to it now than jon is. that sentence alone says a lot but i couldn't be happier with my purchase. and while i thought the highlight of my year was going to be a we're 30 and hot trip to southeast asia with jon and two other friends (we had been talking about this since january), it fell through towards the end but what i got instead was lots of mini fun trips which isn't too bad of a consolation prize.

there were the weddings in hawaii and puerto vallarta, my first destination weddings ever. it doesn't get much better than having 60 or so asians running around a secluded beach in pv having a team usa and team canada beach olympics complete with tug of war, build your own raft and a kayaking event. if only i was smart enough to think of it for my 30th bday party.

then there were the three or four different visits to sf from james, jon, des, even steve! and then the whole san diego gang and then some during labor day weekend which really rounded out the year perfectly. ever since labor day weekend and with the additions of some new friends and old ones who i got reacquainted with and some who recently moved here, my social life has changed completely. of course i still see my san jose friends and the peanut gang (who i'm most grateful for because they allowed me to be part of their group and was always so good about including me in everything that it really helped make me feel like i wasn't completely alone here), i finally feel as if i have a circle of friends (who actually live in the city) that i feel completely comfortable calling up in the middle of the afternoon to hang out without any prior planning. and that takes a lot for me. i always feel as if i'm imposing myself on them so it's rare that i'll just call at random.

and this has made a world of difference for me. this is how i always imagined and wanted city life to be when i made the decision to move to sf. being able to wake up on weekends and send out a quick text to see who is free to do what, having a study buddy, trying out new places to eat, playing board games or just lounging around at someone's apt with no real plans and being able to have people around to watch movies with. it sounds so simple but it really helps to have some good friends in close proximity for some peace of mind.

and finally...i feel like i finally grew up. just a little bit but still a small improvement. i have no idea what 2009 holds in store for me. hopefully i can get my act together and pass the cpa once and for all although that is proving to be a bigger challenge than i thought and besides that, i have no real new year's resolutions but i don't typically make them anyways.

so on that note, i say goodbye to the year of the rat and hello to the ox!