As I sit here on Boxing Day, I thought I would look back at 2009. My main inspiration for such a compilation comes from an entry of a similar vein from someone I have learned a lot from... so why not apply what we learn eh? So, what happened in 2009? A lot of things happened.
For much of the early year, I was, like many around the world (and most in the DC area and the United States) engrossed in the impending swearing in of the first non-White President of the United States. If I could use but one word to describe it, that word would be spectacular. I don't think I have ever been in a crowd that large and I will certainly not forget the sense of happiness and pride those people had. I know a lot of democracies cry about the disconnect between the voters and their government and the level of apathy that takes over the populace but the time leading up to the inauguration was indeed marked by the opposite.
February and March seemed to creep by far too slowly. Most of it was filled with work and the knowledge that I would not get a raise for the year due to the economic woes of the day. Those were not fun days. I did get to meet some really interesting characters from my company; we had our annual meet-up of people from around North America, Europe and Asia. I did make it out to Las Vegas for a bit in March with a dear friend of mine and I was glad to get away from work for a few days. Vegas was awesome and a lot warmer than DC. I got to see some really cool parts of America... including the Grand Canyon. The word there would be spectacular as well.
By April, I had made up my mind to make a rather big change in my life. I was going to leave DC for home. How I would get from that decision to implementing it was not that obvious to me. I think that's about when I started following the foodwishes blog and started trying some of the stuff Chef John talked about. I am hooked.
I can't think of what I did in May. I am sure it wasn't really all that awesome. I saw New York City in June. I went there with a few friends. Not to take away from any of that, but for me, the best part of this New York City trip (even after considering the Halal cart at 53rd and 6th) was the chance to meet up with a friend of mine from India. I saw him after 13 or so years by the Empire State building. It was awesome. I was truly thrilled with that trip. It also gave me a chance to see NYC when it wasn't cold or miserable. I was there a year before that with my grandmother and mother... but the weather wasn't all that great. I also grew a year older somewhere along the way...
Then came the craziest part of the year. My landlord lost her house to the bank in a foreclosure. I had to bugger off. I had to also go to Texas and do an awesome benchmark at Dell and eat really really good barbecue. I also had to present at a conference in July. Did I mention I was going to be homeless? It was quite a crazy few weeks but somehow, I got through it all. I managed to get all my stuff packed and taken to storage. I did my presentation, got to stay at the hotel the conference was going on in thanks to an ex-coworker (and now customer) and finally found a couple of really good Canadians to take me in for about 10 days. After the 10 days, I left for Vancouver. My departure from DC was quick... I never did get to see all those other places out there... but you know what? I was home in Vancouver!
Coming back to Vancouver was bitter sweet. I was thrilled to be home. To see my friends and go see the city. To hike Grouse Mountain. To go see the mighty Pacific Ocean. But some things change. People change. Things you expect to exist no longer do. Having said all that, I would still not trade any of those days for anything. I had an awesome summer in Vancouver. I went looking for apartments to buy. I watched as their prices rose like crazy. I didn't buy. I went to the Okanagan, had a fun weekend, spent some awesome time with friends and generally enjoyed British Columbia.
I enjoyed working from the time I got back at the old office on campus once more. Even though it was a quarter the size and filled with very quiet people, I had fun. Once school started up in September, it was a lot more interesting. For one thing, there were lots and lots of people on campus once more. Somehow, September and October just went by with Thanksgiving being something of a blip along the way. Work was crazy busy so I guess that's why I remember so little of it. Not that November was much better work-wise, but at least we had a day off in the middle with Remembrance Day. Remembrance Day is always something sombre here and I watched all the activities on TV. I didn't make it to Victory Square in Vancouver to watch anything unfortunately. I think I also started running around then getting ready for a couple of races in the Spring. Hopefully, I will be able to make it without injuries and under the times I set for myself. We'll see.
November was also the time I was trying to get tickets to the upcoming Olympics in February. The one word sentiment for that was frustrating. So far, I got tickets to a couple of curling games after hours and hours and hours of wasted time trying to get logged in. Nothing special, but at least I will be able to go be a part of the exercise. I'll probably never again be able to say I was at the Olympics. I think I managed to meet up with a few former co-workers for dim sum somewhere in November.
December is almost over and I got a few things done. I finally got my stuff shipped in from DC. Thankfully, it has arrived here, and so far, I think I have everything I packed up on the other end. Still outstanding though is a place to put it all in... so for now, my stuff is in a storage locker. I am not too thrilled that I don't have a place of my own to stay. I got off work for a little over half a month which was very nice. I went skiing the other day for the first time and didn't break anything. That was a relief.
So what's in store for the rest of the year? I don't know to be honest. I don't know what I am doing for New Year's eve, but I doubt it will be anything that interesting. I got to get back to my storage locker and search for more stuff that I am missing. I suppose that is something to look forward to.
At any rate, I am quite glad that 2009 is coming to an end. Some really good things happened during 2009 including me moving back to Vancouver. As for what there is to look forward to for 2010, I am sure there is a lot. For one thing, we should have a kickass Olympics in Vancouver in February. And hopefully, I will finally find a place I can afford and can be happy living in. What about the rest? We'll see.
For much of the early year, I was, like many around the world (and most in the DC area and the United States) engrossed in the impending swearing in of the first non-White President of the United States. If I could use but one word to describe it, that word would be spectacular. I don't think I have ever been in a crowd that large and I will certainly not forget the sense of happiness and pride those people had. I know a lot of democracies cry about the disconnect between the voters and their government and the level of apathy that takes over the populace but the time leading up to the inauguration was indeed marked by the opposite.
February and March seemed to creep by far too slowly. Most of it was filled with work and the knowledge that I would not get a raise for the year due to the economic woes of the day. Those were not fun days. I did get to meet some really interesting characters from my company; we had our annual meet-up of people from around North America, Europe and Asia. I did make it out to Las Vegas for a bit in March with a dear friend of mine and I was glad to get away from work for a few days. Vegas was awesome and a lot warmer than DC. I got to see some really cool parts of America... including the Grand Canyon. The word there would be spectacular as well.
By April, I had made up my mind to make a rather big change in my life. I was going to leave DC for home. How I would get from that decision to implementing it was not that obvious to me. I think that's about when I started following the foodwishes blog and started trying some of the stuff Chef John talked about. I am hooked.
I can't think of what I did in May. I am sure it wasn't really all that awesome. I saw New York City in June. I went there with a few friends. Not to take away from any of that, but for me, the best part of this New York City trip (even after considering the Halal cart at 53rd and 6th) was the chance to meet up with a friend of mine from India. I saw him after 13 or so years by the Empire State building. It was awesome. I was truly thrilled with that trip. It also gave me a chance to see NYC when it wasn't cold or miserable. I was there a year before that with my grandmother and mother... but the weather wasn't all that great. I also grew a year older somewhere along the way...
Then came the craziest part of the year. My landlord lost her house to the bank in a foreclosure. I had to bugger off. I had to also go to Texas and do an awesome benchmark at Dell and eat really really good barbecue. I also had to present at a conference in July. Did I mention I was going to be homeless? It was quite a crazy few weeks but somehow, I got through it all. I managed to get all my stuff packed and taken to storage. I did my presentation, got to stay at the hotel the conference was going on in thanks to an ex-coworker (and now customer) and finally found a couple of really good Canadians to take me in for about 10 days. After the 10 days, I left for Vancouver. My departure from DC was quick... I never did get to see all those other places out there... but you know what? I was home in Vancouver!
Coming back to Vancouver was bitter sweet. I was thrilled to be home. To see my friends and go see the city. To hike Grouse Mountain. To go see the mighty Pacific Ocean. But some things change. People change. Things you expect to exist no longer do. Having said all that, I would still not trade any of those days for anything. I had an awesome summer in Vancouver. I went looking for apartments to buy. I watched as their prices rose like crazy. I didn't buy. I went to the Okanagan, had a fun weekend, spent some awesome time with friends and generally enjoyed British Columbia.
I enjoyed working from the time I got back at the old office on campus once more. Even though it was a quarter the size and filled with very quiet people, I had fun. Once school started up in September, it was a lot more interesting. For one thing, there were lots and lots of people on campus once more. Somehow, September and October just went by with Thanksgiving being something of a blip along the way. Work was crazy busy so I guess that's why I remember so little of it. Not that November was much better work-wise, but at least we had a day off in the middle with Remembrance Day. Remembrance Day is always something sombre here and I watched all the activities on TV. I didn't make it to Victory Square in Vancouver to watch anything unfortunately. I think I also started running around then getting ready for a couple of races in the Spring. Hopefully, I will be able to make it without injuries and under the times I set for myself. We'll see.
November was also the time I was trying to get tickets to the upcoming Olympics in February. The one word sentiment for that was frustrating. So far, I got tickets to a couple of curling games after hours and hours and hours of wasted time trying to get logged in. Nothing special, but at least I will be able to go be a part of the exercise. I'll probably never again be able to say I was at the Olympics. I think I managed to meet up with a few former co-workers for dim sum somewhere in November.
December is almost over and I got a few things done. I finally got my stuff shipped in from DC. Thankfully, it has arrived here, and so far, I think I have everything I packed up on the other end. Still outstanding though is a place to put it all in... so for now, my stuff is in a storage locker. I am not too thrilled that I don't have a place of my own to stay. I got off work for a little over half a month which was very nice. I went skiing the other day for the first time and didn't break anything. That was a relief.
So what's in store for the rest of the year? I don't know to be honest. I don't know what I am doing for New Year's eve, but I doubt it will be anything that interesting. I got to get back to my storage locker and search for more stuff that I am missing. I suppose that is something to look forward to.
At any rate, I am quite glad that 2009 is coming to an end. Some really good things happened during 2009 including me moving back to Vancouver. As for what there is to look forward to for 2010, I am sure there is a lot. For one thing, we should have a kickass Olympics in Vancouver in February. And hopefully, I will finally find a place I can afford and can be happy living in. What about the rest? We'll see.
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