January:
Don’t think a whole lot happened this month. I started dating the greatest guy on earth (at least in my opinion) at the end of December, so I guess that doesn’t technically count within the month of January, but seeing as how our first date was like a week before I went on vacation for like two weeks, January was when I really got to hang out and get to know him.

February:
Hrmmmmmm…went to the Russian River for the first time since living in the bay area? Had a couple friends visit from Hawaii, so we got to hang out, go wine tasting, and see the sights of the city (i.e. play tourist).

March:
Ah yes, the month of March…this would be the month where 2/3rds of engineering got laid off…I still think it was a stupid move on their part, but oh well…I figured that just meant bigger and better things were out there for me. Too bad it wasn’t one week earlier, because that was when my friends were in town!

April:
I think this was the first time, in the history I call my life, that I’ve ever gone to a show two nights in a row. Now, if you know me, you know I know nothing about music WHATSOEVER, so it must’ve been a pretty compelling reason for me to go not only see a band once, but twice in two days. And it was…

May:
May was a pretty busy month! We went a few trips, took the boy to LA with me for my friend’s daughter’s first birthday, and we also went to Big Sur to camp. That was my first trip to Big Sur since living in the bay area and it was beautiful! Mom also came up to visit for mother’s day, and she, my aunty, and uncle got to meet the boy. I also went white-water rafting for the first time ever! I didn’t paddle but definitely had lots of fun regardless of my fever (yah, I was sick for my first white-water trip).

June:
I went to the Midwest! Took a trip to Iowa to meet the boy’s family. It was somewhat spur of the moment, but it was a lot of fun (despite the crazy mosquitoes that devoured me)! Prolly went camping at some point this month too (we did a lot of outdoorsy things over the summer)

July:
Went tubing down the river…it was the second time we’d done it over the summer, but this time, most of the tubes did not survive! Although, granted, half the people didn’t have actual tubes, but instead children’s inflatables like airplanes and dolphins…but it sure made for a good story!

August:
I’m not sure what happened in August…oh! I did FINALLY, manage to get a job! It only took 6 months…but I got a job, that’s all that matters, AND I’m still there so we’re doing okay so far…

September:
The dreaded “3-0″. I turned 30 this month. We planned a day at the park for a free concert and then we went bowling with a group of my good friends. It was a blast, and despite no longer being in my 20’s, I’m still having the time of my life.

October:
Halloween! We started cooking at home a lot more around this time, and I’d like to think that my cooking skills have improved some. We also dressed the boy up as man-bear-pig for halloween, and if I do say so myself, it was a great costume! This was the first time he’s dressed up in a costume in years, and we even made it ourselves! We also made a decision that’s gonna affect us this year, but more on this later…

November:
Went to Vegas again for Thanksgiving. Dad got to meet the boy for the first time, and it was actually his first time to Vegas! Our other friend came along as well, and in the spirit of what is Las Vegas, they both got tattooed on the strip. I opted against getting one, although I do have a good idea of what I’d want next…

December:
December brought quite a few travels with it! We went on a very unexpected trip back to Iowa right before Christmas. This trip involved flying into Denver and driving across the state of Nebraska! Despite the length and flatness of the drive, I enjoyed myself and the company I was with. I then flew back from Iowa and turned right back around the next day to go home for the first time in a year! So not only did I get a white Christmas (close enough to Christmas), but also a warm one as well!

Closing Thoughts…
The year of 2009, at least to me, seemed to fly right on by. Despite some bumps and bruises along the way, I consider it a good year. I didn’t lose my house when I could have easily done so, I found another job that I’m enjoying, and I got to spend it all with great people. Who could ask for anything more? As I look forward to what 2010 is going to have in store for me, I am already getting excited for its prospects. Take, for example, the decision we made in October. As most people who know us know, we’ve made a decision to leave the bay area, which has been our home for quite some time. It was by no means a rash decision, even though I know people think we haven’t completely thought it through. I know that I need a change, and the boy is in the same boat. We’re sad to be leaving all our friends here, but are looking forward to the future we have ahead of us. Soooo, come the end of March/beginning of April, we’ll be packing up, and shipping out to the wonderful state of Colorado! Yippee! Next year’s summary will I’m sure have this move highlighted within it, so if for some reason you only stop by once a year, be prepared for that one!

January:
Hmmmmm…did I even do anything important in January? You know…I don’t think I really did. I picked up the kid from boot camp? Yep, that’s all I can think of that I did.

February:
Well, aside from the leap year, nothing important happened. Moving right along…

March:
Yep, can’t think of anything important…

April:
April was actually a pretty good month for me. My nephew Ryden was born as well as my cousin’s baby. Oh, and I moved to the Inner Sunset. For me it was a great move. Keala took a bit to adapt, but she eventually got over it.

May:
May marked the first trip home to Hawaii for 2008 (unless you count my being there for new years, then I guess that would make my second trip). Hew, one of my very good friends got married so of course I had to fly home. It was a extremely fitting wedding (our other friend did the ceremony and incorporated their love for anything alcoholic into it and surprisingly it worked really well) and it was great to see friends that I haven’t seen in years.

June:
Hrmmmmm…I don’t think anything important happened much in June. Although it’s entirely possible something did and I just can’t remember it. Oh I take that back. I remember something. This was the month that Keala popped a disc in her neck by getting into a fight at the dog park. Yah, that was so not fun. But, I did learn something. Doggie acupuncture is AMAZING! You may laugh, but it was the only thing that relieved her pain. Steroid drugs didn’t do it so I will never again mock acupuncture. Oh! and I joined a book club. I have never been in a book club before, and I figured it could be fun and wanted to do it for a while now. So I took the plunge, found a newly forming club on craigslist, and have been enjoying myself ever since!

July:
This was a fun month. I went on my very first backpacking trip with my friend Diana. We had signed ourselves up to do a guided trip with REI to go to the backcountry of Yosemite. Neither of us have ever been to Yosemite before and we thought it would be the perfect trip for us. Diana of course has been backpacking for years and years, but I had never gone. I had a blast though and made some cool friends. I learned that I’m definitely stronger than I thought I was, and that given enough time, I CAN climb the aptly named “hill of death” with a 30 (okay maybe 25) pound bag on my back!

August:
Hmmmmmm…nope, got nothing.

September:
Let’s see…I went home again in September, this time for Clayton’s wedding. Oh and I broke my eye this month. Ha! Yeah, I found out, ON MY BIRTHDAY that I had a bacterial eye ulcer. That required the use of eye drops with a very intensive schedule (every fifteen minutes for quite some time). Thanks to my eye issue, I had to wear glasses to Clay’s wedding so that wasn’t ideal, but oh well. I did get to know my eye doctors and everyone who works with them very very very well though. Hahaha.

October:
Halloween happened. I think that’s pretty much it.

November:
I did something this month that I thought would never actually happen. I bought a condo! So yes, I moved AGAIN. I had to move outta the sunset, which I still dearly miss, but at the same time I can now say I’m a homeowner. I never even imagined that was in the cards for me. I guess that means I’ll be in SF for quite some time. Hehe. I also went to Vegas again with my parents for Thanksgiving and then they came back to see my new place. I’m glad I closed in time that they were able to see it. It’s not a big place by any means, but more than enough room for me and the kid so that’s all that matters.

December:
I tried not to go out too much in December since I’m on a budget now, so I tended to stay in a lot more. Aside from once in a while hanging out with friends and going home for Christmas, December was a rather quiet month. I did bowl my highest score ever while I was at home, oh and I witnessed first hand an island-wide blackout. Hahaha.

Looking Forward to 2009:
I’m not much for making resolutions or anything like that as I tend to believe in living in the moment and enjoying what life has given me to this point. I feel that I am incredibly lucky to be working for the company that I’m working for (we’ve so far been spared the woes of the economy), and I hope that things will continue to look up for me. As it stands, 2009 has in general been rather pleasant (aside from the cold I woke up with on 01/01/09) and I’m looking forward to see what this new year brings. Happy new year everybody!

January
Uh…I can’t remember this far back! Let’s see…I went home for Christmas, stayed for new years, and blew things up? okay moving on…

February
threw a superbowl party with friends. This involved the smoking of a pig and lots and lots of drinking. I also went to vegas with my mom and saw a bunch of really cool shows. I made her go to shows since I don’t really gamble. Oh, and I went home for my cousin’s wedding!

March
I don’t think anything spectacular happened in the month of march, at least not that I can remember. I started looking to move apartments?

April
Yep, still nothing happened of significance

May
Uh…I think bay to breakers happened this month? We dressed up as playboy people (the girls as bunnies, the boys as hefner). I think that was it…

June
Um…we found an apartment to move into?

July
Things got interesting in the second half of this year. I moved into my new apartment with two of my friends. I also went home for a vacation. Then my popo passed away the day I came back from my vacation so I ended up flying home again the following weekend. That was not fun.

August
More changes happened this month! The main reason for my move out of Pac Heights was so that I could get myself a dog, and that’s just what I did! I added Keala, a 1.5 year old beagle to the household! My roommate’s dog Tanner (also a beagle) loved it. I also went to Denver with my parents for a weekend, oh, and I started a new jobby job!!!

September
After all the changes in August, I hid out this month and didn’t really do much.

October
So I was supposed to go home for another cousin’s wedding, but I opted not to go since I had just started a new job and all so didn’t really have much vacation. As it turned out, I ended up having to fly home twice in one month (well kind of, the first trip was at the end of September, but it was close enough) because my grandma went into hospice and a couple weeks later passed away. I flew home once to see her when she went into the hospital, and again for the funeral…once again, not a good month…On a brighter note, though I did get to go see UH play SJSU in San Jose. A couple of my friends drove up from LA to go to the game and we had a fun-filled weekend. Oh, and a couple of my friends got engaged, I found out lots of people I know are pregnant and all due in the first six months of 2008!

November
Thanksgiving happened, and I had a great time having an orphan Thanksgiving with a bunch of my friends. I had both kids (the 4-legged ones) for the weekend so I made the most of it and snuggled with them all weekend long. I also went to Reno with a couple friends to watch the still unbeaten UH Warriors play Nevada.

December
This month started off with my driving of Keala up to doggy boot camp! I love her to death, but believe me when I say she needed it. I also went home (again) for a rather somber Christmas. It rained everyday that I was there, although a friend stayed at our house for a couple days and we had fun. I also found out another friend got engaged!

2007 Remembrances
To my two grandmas who passed away this year: You both in your own way helped me to become the person that I am and for that I am eternally grateful. I will always hold you close to my heart, and although I may not see you again here, I know that I will see both of you again in the future. I love you!

2007 Closing Thoughts
The past year was, to put it mildly, a year of change. It started off pretty slow, but all kinds of changes happened within the last six months of the year. I lost the last two of my grandparents, changed jobs and houses, and got myself a new dog. I’d say that’s a lot of change for one year. Part of me hopes that this year will not include quite so many changes, but as I’ve learned from last year, you can never predict what will happen to you, nor when it’ll happen.

I do know that as I look ahead to the new year, I have quite a few things to look forward to. For starters, I get to pick my monster of a pup up from boot camp and she’ll be back in our happy household. I get to look forward to the birth of new children into the world. My sister-in-law is due in April, my cousin-in-law is due in May, and a handful of friends are all due by June. I also get to look forward to going home for two different weddings this year, and another one the year afterwards.

I guess as my parting thought, all I can say is enjoy life and make the most of all it gives you! Have a great year everyone!