whoa, it’s 2008! how’d that happen?

the past few months have been whirlwind. the holidays exemplify dichotomies. good: bad. relaxing: harrowing. enlightening: disappointing. sentimental: obnoxious. exciting: ennervating. some things caused my blood pressure to spike, but whatever, december was filled to the brim with all kinds of stuff to remind me of how lucky i am.

WORK
we had a free day at the museum to celebrate a big grant it had recently received to beef up its education program. lots of families showed up. it is so sweet when little humans extend their baby paws for some trusting hand holding.

EARTH SHATTERING ACCOMPLISHMENTS (not mine)
on december 7, after two+ years of unimaginable dedication and laborious pregnancy, derek and alec gave birth to their gorgeous, innovative baby, AQUARIA. i know nothing about video games, but i do know that this beauty has blown the gaming community out of the water (hyuk hyuk). it’s nothing short of mindblowingly spectacular. do yourself a favor – if you haven’t seen it yet, watch the trailer. you can practically taste their blood, sweat, and tears. this is the ultimate labor of love. filled with pride and awe, i was moved beyond tears when aquaria made its highly-anticipated debut.

derek could barely stay awake. peg said his eyes looked like coin slots

the staggering number of netizens hot for buying the game caused the commerce site to freak out

finally, he sleeps for the first time in two+ years

EXPLORATIONS
revisited san jose’s japantown and flippin loved it. got to snack on chi chi dango and eat a satisfying meal at gombei. just another reason to have san jo pride. quiet and down-to-earth, in a lot of ways it’s different from but complementary to sf’s nihonmachi. you can savor the poignant community vibe and history in the people, the architecture, the calm in the air. pretty refreshing and charming.

goodies from the famous shuei-do manju shop

also had the fortunate pleasure of getting away to the central coast, specifically morro bay and paso robles, templeton. beautiful roadtrip destinations, i got a bit of the nautical and a bit of cowboy country. went carousing through wine country with good people, and got to stay in a built-from-scratch southwestern palace.

BIRTHDAYS

REUNIONS
it’s exciting to get together with the girls you grew up with, especially when some of them disperse all over the country in pursuit of incredible achievements. rarely can we gather, but it always feels special when we do.

FAMILY
my grandma used to intimidate me, but she’s really cool. mellow but spry, her crafty skills are intact (girlfriend practices calligraphy on a daily basis) and she’s still a badass in the kitchen

it’s nice to see your aunt and uncle, especially if it doesn’t happen too often

bonus: spending lots of time with my sister. it’s an extended mirthquake

FESTIVITIES
board games bring out the bloodthirst in people, especially us asians

a museum tradition, a cultural tradition, and over the years a sacred tradition of mine – the japanese new year bell ringing ceremony at the museum. it’s a magical and auspicious way to make peace with the exiting year, while greeting the impending one with warm open arms.

and of course, new year’s eve!

one resolution for this year? cease with the epic eyesore posts, and post more frequently in bitesized servings.

so that was my december 2007.
hope yours was sweet.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 9th, 2008 at 3:14 am and is filed under family, friends, yay area. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.