summary of the 2005 in 40 questions that have nothing original whatsoever

i’ll just cut out the ones where i don’t have an answer (like “did anyone close to you died” – “no”)

1. What did you do in 2005 that you’d never done before?
went skydiving

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
i didn’t make any

5. What countries did you visit?
Russia, US, Canada

6. What would you like to have in 2006 that you lacked in 2005?
more health

7. What date from 2005 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
february 10th and 24th. first two dates with tim.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
overcoming my fears and going for my solo skydive (specific event)
improving my photography abilities (general event)

9. What was your biggest failure?
not spending more time nurturing my photography (as in, i keep shooting, but i don’t post/edit, and thus its a slower improvement curve. besides, i want to show my work to people, i just don’t know why i procrastinated so much).

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
i got really sick during the reading week, but thus i spent all my time online talking to tim.
i smashed my toe … wait, that’s 2006, never mind :)

11. What was the best thing you bought?
sigma 12-24mm wide angle lens. i love it.
tickets to LA during the summer.
upgrade to laptop.

14. Where did most of your money go?
travel, photography, fun (in that order, decreasing)

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
falling in love
australia
in that order

16. What song will always remind you of 2005?
there are too many :\ no song (or collection) as far as i can think

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? happier
ii. thinner or fatter? neither
iii. richer or poorer? richer (emotionally, intellectually, creatively, and financially not that much as i’m spending all of it on travel)

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
reading

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
sleeping

20. How did you spend Christmas?
with tim’s family

21. Did you fall in love in 2005?
yup

24. What was your favourite TV program?
CSI (las vegas)!11oneoneone!!

26. What was the best book you read?
i started read GED, but unfortunately still didn’t finish.
its pretty sad otherwise… i read a lot of grisham, new book of harry potter, and da vinci code, and the latter one stands out, i guess. this is pretty sad.

28. What did you want and get?
love.

ha, i knew all of you expected this:
sd500!!1oneone

29. What did you want and not get?
absolutely nothing. life’s perfect!

30. What was your favourite film of this year?
sin city

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
i ate and drank with friends and family, 22.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably satisfying?
tim staying in toronto for the summer

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2005?
ultra casual with breakthroughs of french hottness

34. What kept you sane?
partying

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
jessica alba

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
creationism debate in US schools

37. Who did you miss?
my grandad (mom’s dad)
tim (over summer)

38. Who was the best new person you met?
with no question about it, tim. i met a lot of other awesome people this year (hi diny!) too.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2005:
it is when you stop looking for what you think you want, is that you find what you didn’t know you need

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
the world is mine

a whole lotta nothing

little people

essentially, the new year started off with a lot of pain (after the a lot of pleasure).
3 days ago, monday night, after spending a pleasant evening in VIP with a whole lotta people (rokham, meto, andrew, and others), tim and i went home where we found a beautiful stand for his kitchen. we successfully carried it in, but about 3 minutes after we did that i tilted it and dropped it on my foot. the next 2 hours were spent in me dying from pain and tim taking the best care of me that i could ask for.

next day we headed to the er, because i got worried that it was looking like it could get infected. they took an xray and it turned out that nothing is broken, and that within a week i should be feeling fine.

at the moment i’m on painkillers – the moment they stop acting i start hurting like a …. like, a lot. a real lot. but, thankfully its only 2 advils/12 hours, so twice under limit. and today i even walked around the block!

today was a very strange day. got up late (as usual), around 2, tim was a sweetie and made me tea, and i dipped head first into work until around 4, when i walked tim to the bus, and did my walk with shady around the block.

i was hoping hesi would come back by today, and we’d go see superkev, but alas, i had neither hesi nor a car until 7:30, thus superkev was not to happen. next week!

christina and i were trying to meet up downtown at her place, so i scheduled that for around 11 so that i have time to meet with kev (if that’d happen). but, she left home with her aunt, so that didn’t happen.

tim and i were going to go out tonight, but after i picked dad up i went shopping, which turned out to be the biggest outing of the day: i got a sweatshirt, and 2 cute tshirts, and a toiletry bag (beige, 3 fold, transparent pockets, hanger for shower), and after i came home, i spent some time with parents and when i was going to leave, turned out that tim fell asleep. so, i stayed home!

and that’s where i am now. watching reruns of csi on tv, and terribly craving some burger king. i wish i moved the car out of the garage anyway so that i could go spoil myself (not like i deserve anymore spoiling… that little silver camera has earned a permanent residence in my pocket, within a little velvet bag that suits it perfectly). i should go and whip something tasty and healthy anyway, cause my parents fridge has about 40 times more variety and content than tim’s :))

tomorrow: work on the project. meeting with oleg + co for a going away party. eat. drink. talk.
saturday: dave (friend from cs program) has his birthday dinner. drink. eat. talk.
sunday: work!
monday: work!
tuesday: submit work!
wednesday: get haircut! and hopefully get hesi to go to superkevs for an evening.
and more!

i am preemptively missing everyone.

how i was reduced to a crying happy mess, or the story of how my friends gathered up and shocked me to my core, also known as the day after after my birthday

birthday present (reverse) birthday present me and my cameras me and my cameras

p.s. happy new year everyone! i have no doubts that it will be exciting, interesting, and if yours wont, just read my blog. :P i love you all!

new zealand index

01 – jan 19: new zealand trip, flight there
02 – jan 20: due north
03 – jan 21: island in the sun
04 – jan 22: everything in this garden is lovely
05 – jan 23: rotorua – the fumes are chocking me
06 – jan 24: rotorua to national park with stop at thermal wonderland
07 – jan 25: whole day at national park
08 – jan 26: national park to wellington
09 – jan 27: trip to the south island
10 – jan 28: kaikoura to geraldine – long drives and changing cars
11 – jan 29: geraldine to twizel, the day hike that killed us
12 – jan 30: sunrise over mountains (twizel to all day bay)
13 – jan 31: all day bay to dunedin, penguinds and internet
14 – feb 1: dunedin to fjordland
15 – feb 2: milford sound sea kayaking
16 – feb 3: full of doubtful sounds
17 – feb 4: fjords to queenstown
18 – feb 5: queenstown to wanaka
19 – feb 6: whole day in wanaka
20 – feb 7: wanaka to haast
21 – feb 8: haast to frans joseph
22 – feb 9: at frans joseph
23 – feb 10: frans joseph to hokitika
24 – feb 11: hokitika to arthur’s pass
25 – feb 12: arthur’s pass to christchurch (day at christchurch)
26 – feb 13: flight back

time goes by so slowly: happy birthday morning!

after leasurely waking up around 11:30, and lounging in bed until 12, my parents walked in as usual saying “22 years ago, you were just a little baby!”.

its my birthday!

i got a yellow towel (weee), a big bouquet of pink roses (smells so nice!) and an ansel adams calendar (weeeeee!!!!!).
Trig

i’ll post photos of myself, my towel (heehee), my roses, my happiness and my trip to south carolina later. now i’m gone to buy groceries, be happy, pretty and enjoy life! its the start of another year full of great things!

and i got a hesicard! weeeeeeeee

south carolina

i should write a huge update on whats happening, or reply to all of my 30 emails backed up since november with updates to my life. but i’m so. lethargic. and. tired.

life’s good. i’m chilling up here, with +15C weather, sunny skies and no to-do or to-read or to-study list. good food and good people, good weather, and lots of sleep (14 hours yesterday).

i need to vegitate before the upcoming whirlwind. i still haven’t bought new running shoes, sporty pants and a sweatshirt! and i MUST get all those before i leave to NZ. anyone up for a shopping trip?

dundunDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE!!!!!!!

freedom (from exams)my exams are DONE.

i am done my exams

i am free, free FREE!!!!

the blue skies of south carolina await me. and then – my birthday (i am beginning to feel more and more like a little kid awaiting presents), and then and then and then new years and then some work and then a haircut and then i’m flying to new zealand and i SWEAR each time i think that this is all true, real and i can finally enjoy it i almost begin to cry.

and that’s after a *3 hour hot bath with a silly romance novel*.

i’m gone to the cssu dinner @ mandarin. flight is at 6:25am. WEEEEEEEEEEEEE.