An interim review of my goals and expectations.

These were my 2006 goals as created at the beginning of the year...

2006 "anticipations"


1. Continuing Education - never enough school for me, and Boeing will pay for it! muwahahaha.

I tried this for Winter and Spring 2006 quarter at UW while working full-time. Just one class each quarter. I also took the GRE over the summer and did fairly decent, especially on the math section. So I have the beginnings ready for an application for grad school, and was planning on taking another class this quarter and so on, but my job is taking way too much time out of my life that school would basically kill all the remainder of it. SIGH! I do want to keep doing it though.

Score: 6/10



2. Move out - not that I don't like living at home, but I just need to, well, move out!

I was going to move out with by friend, and that didn't happen and that's mainly because we ended up being cube mates at work. Funny how that goes. I then tried to look for single BR apartments and saw that they cost way too freakin' much and then went on to open a 1 year CD at BECU to save money for a down payment on a house or condo next Spring/Summer. I feel so grown-up, saving money and all.

Score: 1/10


3. Go international - as in... a vacation yo! Japan?

Dangit, I had to cancel my Western Europe escapade because of work-issues. The trip would have been for work, but I would have tacked on some extra personal time before and after my main business. Argh, it would have been a fun adventure. I still have a trip lined up to Germany however and at least one to Japan sometime, but not sure when those will happen and very unlikely by the end of this year.

Score: 0/10


4. Snowboard better!! - yea.

I dont think I ever made it to the slopes following the new year. I think I went twice in December but that was it for last season's winter sports for me. How sad and depressing. This year, I'll try to go more. I bought new pants too...

Score: 0/10


5. Girl or Girls

strike out. or struck out. Strike out looking, that's a better term for it. Or maybe it's just me sitting on the pine waiting for nothing.

Score: 0/10


6. Play more tennis - cause i didn't get to play alot this year. Adria? Ted? Dean? where you at?

Well for a time I did play on quite an occasion with Adria in the Spring. Then summer went around, and we had a softball league together and my work load increased so never did do much more tennis. I think I played once with Albert and it was OK. I also played with Adam Soh a couple times like the good ol' days and recently played twice with John.

Score: 6/10


7. Meet more friends and people - i need more friends cause alot of my really good ones are moving away, Scott especially...

Reading this makes me feel melancholy and nearly infinite sadness. As I mentioned many times on previous occasions, I've seen many of my closest friends move on and move out. Scott being the first and foremost, but also my good friends Neil and Melissa to Denver and Chicago, respectively. Recently I saw two friends i hangout with leave for the bay area, Meaghan and Damon, and then two others moved down there over the past year as well -- Jay and Martha. I've also seen others leave too... sigh.

I havent done a spectacular job meeting new friends. I guess I have but I think the one happy note is that I believe I have soldified or at least, broken new ground with some people from the past that I knew but did not know so well and wish I knew better then because they are great and wonderful people who are alot like me. I've also been able to go to every Seahawk game so far because of this awesome group of individuals, and this I'm talking about Griffin, Prashant, Sean, Dan, Dylin, Challie, etc. etc. and I can thank Adria for having such cool friends and re-introducing me to them. Granted, I have met all of them many years ago but never did hang out with them that often or at all.

Score: 5/10


8. oh yea, Save Money!! - that'll be my goal for every year until i can actually do it.

Opening up a BECU account was step one. Then opening a 1 year CD was step 2. I've also hurt my savings by buying a new car and dropping a big down payment on it, but thats sort of a savings in its own way via Interest payments. Anyway, I think I'm doing satisfactorily, though I could be doing alot better job if I didnt eat out every lunch day and drank less coffee, and spent less money on going out and buying random toys.

Score: 7/10


9. be more outgoing, assertive, and open - i'm told i'm way too outgoing. i think not.

Getting there, but also took a step back I guess? I'm not the communications director that I used to be. I also am lazier these days about trying to go out and do things. Work has a little bit to do with it. Running myself into a wall also does too.

Score: 3/10


10. be more serious at times, and more sensitive perhaps? -- cause although i care alot about things, i don't show it externally... if that makes sense?

I think I'm terrible at this. I'm downright sarcastic all the time. People dont change too easily and I can try to work on it but I doubt it'll ever be to a level I'd be 100% happy with, but I should just accept it and move on?

Score: 1/10



11. i need to be more assertive. - repeat.

I'll take this in a slightly different context, and I think I meant it this way when I wrote it originally. And yes, I would call this a total outright failure too. I'm too shy and scared of failure to really say that this will ever be improved. I need to work on that... i think my last goal goes hand in hand with this.

Score: 1/10


12. more confident in myself. i'm confident in others, but not myself, almost ever.

Getting better, but requires much work.

Score: 3/10


TOTAL: 33/120

That's a little over 25%. Great. I got 2 months to do 75% of my 2006 goals. Lets get moving.

nothing.

waiting too long is the crux of my pains.

huskies... what a crazy three game losing streak. ARGH!

seahawks... what else can happen?

why is my life so destined for disaster?

The Office Part II and other tidbits

Alright, I must admit, The Office was a wonderful television series on BBC. I enjoyed every single minute of the 14 episodes I watched (2 seasons and a 2 part special). Quite a genious method of making a television show and being able to put a plot buried in-between the reality tv-like style. The main draw of the show was the hidden romance and that was exceptionally well done and I'm actually really interested now in buying the box sets of the American NBC version of this show cause I've only seen random episodes here and there of the one on network TV here. It'll be my next fun purchase.

The Seahawks play the poison pill Vikings tommorow. I'm so freakin excited cause I am going to the game!! I found this one out earlier today with Prashant gave me a call cause his roommate Corey couldn't go. Yay! Also, if the Vikings lose, theres a strong possiblility I may be a Viking for Halloween, otherwise I already have most of my pirate costume ready to go.

Ghostland Observatory show was excellent again. I think I lost some of my hearing though temporarily. My ears were still ringing the day after. Adria and I got a nice spot right in front of the lead singer so that was awesome.

Ok, I'm done typing for now. I've drank way too much bier this weekend already...

The Office

Yay! I got my Office DVD box set (series 1 and 2 and specials) in the mail today! Its the BBC original series, and I'm excited. Scared actually cause the building they work in looks alot like the Boeing Materials Technology building I do alot of work in, at least exteriorly. I've never seen the UK verison so this will be neat.

One of these days I have to get Season 3 of Arrested Development too, and its funny cause I own Season 1 and 2 box sets and I have never even see the show before. I will have to have a marathon on both of these shows soon.

I also need to get Twin Peaks DVD sets too...

Growing Up

The last thing I wrote was quite a downer. Its hard to see your friends go away. I'm also seeing that its a lot harder to meet people now that I'm not in school anymore. In school, people were there all the time, and I did not have to try to meet anyone; it just happened. Now, in the next part of my life, you really do have to go out and meet new people. It's not as simple as going to class, walking around campus, dorms or parties, and meeting a million people through your small group of friends. I don't know if I'll ever find friends as good as the ones I have now, but I hope I will find equivilent or a notch below. My friends, I believe, are pretty high up the food chain to beat. :)

In other news, Dean is in the process of buying a house! Though in some cases he's lucky cause hes getting a little support for it, I am more than excited and thrilled for him! He's one of the first one of my friends to take a stab at owning a home. It's a bit crazy to think actually. I know I am not too far behind. I don't think I have taken living at home for granted at all. I actually do enjoy living at home, and don't worry about it at all. There are some obvious disadvantages, but I think it'll pay off in the end, at least from an investment standpoint. I do like the company whenever I am at home, which isn't as much as it used to. Anyway, I'm excited for Dean.

Which comes to my next point... so many of my co-workers who are my age are the same very people I went to school with and had classes and stayed up all night studying with and in many cases partied and hung out with. It's one of the most opportunistic coincidences that I get to grow up with all of these people from our confused school years to the beginning and maturity of our career life, which is exemplified by today's news of Dean buying a home. Crazy!

New Photo Gallery

I put up a new gallery using the Google Picasa web galleries. Link on the right.

A Lack of Color

I'm beginning to feel like I've lost alot of excitement in my life. I guess the past few weeks I've been feeling a bit underwhelmed about many things. I lost touch with so much that I feel at times lonely, but not really depressed? I miss my friends. I miss being able to hang out and talk to someone about whatever it is I feel like talking about. I don't have that as much as I used to. My closest friends have all left this city and moved on to bigger and better things. I'm still here. I'm not saying I'm not happy about my choice; I am more than excited about my career right now. But I sorely miss my best friends:

Scott, who's moved to Japan. He was my buddy for everything. We did everything together. I can't wait til you come back for the holiday.

Neil, who moved to Denver and in a year to the east coast. Again, he was one of the very few people I could talk about anything about to and he'd understand. Whenever I needed something or wanted to go do something, Neil or Scott were always there for me. I don't think I have that too much anymore.

There's also Ted, who hasn't moved anywhere, in fact he still lives 8 blocks away, but he's so busy these days that he's never around. And we've drifted apart "socially", if that makes sense. But down inside, we're still able to communicate our ordeals without a problem. He knows me better than any of my friends. More than the ones I currently hang out with and only Scott or Neil are up there. But Ted is different, he catches on and knows me before I know myself. I miss hanging out with him, getting a drink, watching sports, and being nerdy playing video games or whatever we are doing. I hung out with him and his brother a couple weeks back and it was just like old times again. Fun times.

There's others that have left too, and more notably, Melissa. But these were the three friends who I think I had a very strong bond to and now its broken to an extent. I still talk to Scott and Neil on AIM or on the phone every once in a while, but it's not the same. I can't just pick them up and go to the coffee shop or go get a drink or lunch/dinner and just hang out, and catch up. It doesn't work that way anymore.

At least I still have some people here and there. I'm not saying I'm a caged animal stuck in my room all day long sobing and weeping. I still go out and do things with people but at the same time I miss my closest buds. You know? Friday I went to watch a movie and Saturday to watch the husky game with some newly adopted friends, who I guess aren't new to me, but it is more recent that we've been "hanging out" and I really appreciate their acceptance. It's nice to know that there are groups of people just like me around. :)

Saturday night, I guess, was when I really came to feeling this way. I was getting fairly lonely about things, and Jake and Kristina told me to come over and hang out at Jake's new place. Its great to have a friend like Jake too. I like my friends. They are good people. I miss some of them alot though. Sigh.

I think I need a coffee shop talk sometime soon, only thing is, I don't really have anyone for that nowadays. I have so much I want to talk about... life love and the pursuit of happiness. Stuff like that. I can only take so much of talking about this stuff to my cousins. They listen, but at the same time, I can't always rely on them for advice or listening stuff. Sometimes they drive me insane, sometimes they are wonderful. I don't know. I'm confused about alot of things, and I wish I knew an answer for everything, but that would make being alot less exciting?!

I think I'm running myself into a wall these days. Reluctant and timid, afraid and lackadaisical. Unfortunate and unconfident. Too hesistant for my lack of color, knowledge, or sense of chivalry. I want to take the steps to change all of this, and show what I really am; the ant within the anthony to everyone and not the people I feel comfortable around, but it's hard sometimes, especially when you have other emotions or attachments standing in the way. That could be one of the corniest things I've written, or in this case, typed, but its basically, in all its earnest, true.

In the words of Ben Gibbard, I want so badly to believe that there is truth and that love is real.

A to Zed

A - Available: i am single
A - Age: 24
A - Annoyance: vagueness, though i am the same way. so i'm annoyed by myself

B - Best Friend: Scott, Neil, Jake, Ted
B - Beer: mmm good. i'm a beer snob though.
B - Birthday: August 22, 1982

C - Crush: Orange. I'd admit I have one as many of my close friends know.
C - Car: 2006 Scion tC in silver
C - Candy: Haribo Gummy Bears and sour patch kids and cherries and sour brite crawlers

D - Day or night: the night, though its harder now that i work full-time
D - Dream Car: not really sure. i think it'd be something that was environmentally friendly, sporty, fuel efficient, and had some punch to it. There's a Lexus GS450h hybrid thats pretty close sorta. A hybrid bio-diesel car would be sweet too. plug in hybrids.
D - Dog or cat: cat probably. they look cooler.

E - Easiest person to talk to: Ted or Neil, who do override my best friend Scott.
E - Eggs: are good. Scrambled with lots of tabasco.
E - Email: I use it. I read through between 20 and 50 and send out about 20 or so a day at work, and then get at least 5 personal emails a day and then a bunch of spam too.

F - Favorite Month: December, winding it all down and starting anew, plus its family fun times.
F - Favorite color: green or orange
F - Favorite Memory: being a kid with no responsibilities

G - Gummy Bears or Worms: ah geez, tough choice as described above in C
G - Giver or taker: I am so much more of a giver
G - Gum: the light blue mint one.

H - Hair Color: black, though on occasion i have dyed it in the past a reddish color.
H - Height: 5'5"
H - Happy: i would not say i am really happy. i am happy about many aspects of life but there are some things in life i consider higher than others that i am not happy in.

I - Ice Cream: mint and superman icecream
I - Idol: grandma
I - Instrument: sorta can play piano/keyboards, have the bare basics of turntablism, and want to learn guitar and drums someday.

J -Jewelry: no
J- Jail: no

K - Kids: i want kids, but thats a far and away thought
K - Kindergarten: i came into kindegarten not being able to speak a lick of english. i think ive come a long way.

L - Longest Car Ride: seattle to san francisco

M - Milk Flavor: white
M - Most missed person: that's passed away: grandma, ; that hasnt: scott
M - Movie Last Watched: The Departed

N - Number of Siblings: 1
N - Number of Tattoos: 0
N - Nick Name: ant

O - One Wish: that everything will work out in the end
O - One Fear: disruption from the present calm; failure
O - One regret: passiveness and reluctance

P - Pet Peeves: people who ramble way too much that it starts to stress me out
P - Part of your body you like best: i dont know
P - Part of your Personality you like best: laid back attitude i guess? i think being a sports nut is my favorite part though cause i love the intensity of anything whether it be a thrilling football match or a pulsating concert

Q - Quote: "you're so money and you don't even know it!"
Q - Question for the next person doing this: dont stoop to my level.
Q - Quick or Slow: this is in reference to what? quick usually i guess.

R - Reason to smile: the state of being
R - Reality TV Show: no
R - Reasons to cry: superbowl.

S - Song Last Heard: just listened to Rolling with Heat by The Roots and Talib Kweli
S - Season: Summer for the most part. Winter too.
S - Shoe: Pumas

T - Time you woke up: Today I woke up at noon cause i was out til 5am. weekdays i get up at 6:30am usually.
T - Time Now: 1:45pm
T - Time for bed: tonight, around 11pm

U - U love someone: family and friends
U - Unpredictable: i am not unpredictable though i have so many ideas of crazy things to do but never do them
U - Underwear: what about them?

V - Vegetable you hate: mushrooms
V - Vegetable you love: peppers and spinich
V - Vacation spot: europe, soon hopefully

W- Worst Habit: too much sarcasm
W- Where are you going to travel next?: japan, denver, or south carolina again? or maybe germany or luxembourg
W- Who do you love?: family and friends

X - X-Rays: electrons that are shot into your body and reflected out to a collector that assembles it into a visual indication of your body
X - X-Rated: porn.
X - X-tra special someone: yes, there is one or two.

Y - Year you were born: 1982
Y - Year it is now: 2006
Y - Yellow: racist! just cause i'm asian! :) yellow is cool.

Z - Zoo Animal: penguins and monkeys and koalas oh my!
Z - Zodiac: leo
Z - Zoolander: one of the funniest and stupid movies of all time. i love it.