2011 in Instagrams

I've decided to pull a 2009-Jordan (lovelikeapolaroid.blogspot.com) and attempt taking a Picture of the Day in 2012...  another buddy of mine did this on Facebook too in 2011, so I need to ready to start tomorrow. I have my phone on me all the time anyway, and I like using Instagram, so that's likely where they'll be. 

But I did want to do a quick photo review of the past year in snapshots, so here goes... 

(Note: I really didn't take much pics throughout year, or have pics taken with me in them, haha... So some months I struggled to find a pic in my library, or I had to pic just one in eventful months like August where Chicago easily trumps seeing Adele in concert.)

JANUARY - Completed leg 1 of the Triple Crown series of San Diego half marathons by running in the Carlsbad Half

FEBRUARY - A shot from Sunset Beach in Orange County, during a trip when I came to visit Sarah and we went to see Hair

MARCH - ...uhhhhh I bought a new computer. :P But I do love this thing!

APRIL - Completed the 2nd leg of the Triple Crown in La Jolla... and totally kicked that Torrey Pines hill's ass. (You try running it and let me know how it goes.)

MAY - Was in my first musical production and had the support of friends and coworkers coming to see me

JUNE - My parents enabled me to celebrate my birthday at work by bringing in lunch for me and my awesome coworkers

JULY - My cousin and his longtime girlfriend tie the knot in a beautiful ceremony (that I had the honor of officiating)

AUGUST - Family vacation to Chicago! My favorite snapshot of just a part of the gorgeous skyline. San Diego's got nothing on you, Bean Town. 

SEPTEMBER - Hiked the long trail at Mt. Woodson and got to the Potato Chip cliff! 

OCTOBER - New York City trip! Checking out the amazing views from the Top of the Rock observatory with my friend Suzy

NOVEMBER -  Seeing Jason Mraz in a special acoustic intimate setting was a nice way to end the Thanksgiving weekend

DECEMBER - Christmas Day at the San Diego Zoo with my cousin and the cutest little 10 month old in the history of ever who even though she was tired, whenever I'd give her a goofy grin, she'd give me this huge smile back with both her mouth and eyes, and those smiles were like a gift in itself that day...  

So there's 2011! Cheers to more pictures and memories in 2012...

Audition #2

In a little over one month, I have my next theatre audition. And now that I'm comfortable with being back on stage and the whole song/dance process again after having taken a decade-long sabbatical, I'll definitely take the process more seriously this time. :)

(Not that I wasn't serious on my audition for Joseph, but I totally just went on a whim to that one.)

What this means:
1) I'm thinking I'll be around SD a bit longer, which I'm perfectly okay with for right now.

2) Time to select and practice a good audition song! I don't know if I want to select something from the show in question (Bye Bye Birdie) or go with something that'd be fuuuuuun for me (i.e. something from The Book of Mormon)...

3) I had no idea that song "Put On A Happy Face" came from the show! As much as I enjoy theatre, I'm not as much of a theatre geek as I'd like to be.

4) Even if nothing comes of the audition -- which I'll be honest, the directors told me that they would hunt me down and make me audition, but let's say I can't for whatever reason -- I'll relish the anticipation and the process leading up to it in the meantime.

SBoR: ...things that make me go "awwww"

Getting a text message from my cousin to tell me that the toy I got for my little niece is her favorite right now brings a huuuuuge smile to my face. :D

And also makes me not wanna leave SD, lol.

SBoR: ...A Quote Before Lunch

"A recent definition of happiness is 'a sense of pleasurable satisfaction.' If this kind of happiness is our main goal, where will people place their focus each day? It will be on themselves, and the result will be a culture of self-absorbed narcissists who cannot live for something bigger than they are." -J.P Moreland, "The Lost Virtue of Happiness"

Textual Healing

So I'm a little inebriated. But I'm in the best of moods... I just took two of my cousins out to dinner tonight at BJs to celebrate their birthdays over the last two weeks (John turned 24, his sister Cheryl turned 23 one week later). And it was great to spend time together and catch up. It's still trippy to me that he's married now (and that I performed the ceremony) and that his little 9 month old is the CUTEST thing in the history of ever. EVER.

Disagree and I will cut you.

And Cheryl's student teaching now and developing lesson plans and doing all those teachery-things that teachers do, and I'm so very proud of both of them. They've both got very level heads on their shoulders and they were the closest things I had to siblings when we were growing up. So even though we're all adults and doing our own things now (even when I was living with Cheryl - she was my last roommate - we were always both out and about), it means the world to spend quality time with them.

Anyways. I think I like to be textual when I've had drinks. But it's never in a really bad way where I'm texting people things that I really shouldn't be saying... and my grammar is still pretty in tact, I feel. Auto spell correct helps too though. :P

Time for bed.

Short Blogs of Randomness: ...On Dancing

Every time I happen to catch a bit of "Dancing With the Stars" on TV, a little part of me wishes there was a TV show called "Dancing with the Data Analysts".

And I would want IN.

It just looks such so much fun! The routines, the glitz, the passion of certain dances and the whimsy of others. And it'd be a great workout. Now I don't know how well I'd actually do... but I have Asian in me, so I think with some dedication and a hot partner (*cough*Cheryl Burke*cough*) I'd make it to at least the halfway point.

Maybe I should look into ballroom dancing again, like I did a few years back. Even my old roommate confessed to taking some classes to experience something different, and if he can do it, I can certainly get back in the mix!

Drunken Post... ish...

WASSUP!

So it's past 3AM, NYC time, and despite having a lot of drinks (sangria, beer, cocktails and shots) I think I'm still pretty coherent and capable of spelling and typing things out in a readable format. We've had 1.5 days in Manhattan so far, and it's been interesting in the following ways:

1. Manhattan is HUGE. And that's only ONE of the five boroughs! But you have upper Manhattan which has the Empire State building, and then lower Manhattan which had (and will have again) the complete World Trade Center... it's like one ginormous skyline. There's so much to see and do here...

2. But I'm not super impressed. Granted, it's only been a day and a half that I've been here, but I remember going into downtown Chicago for the first time and being in awe of how beautiful the skyline was, and how clean things seemed (for a downtown area) and how "cultured" and historical the downtown area felt... I didn't get the same impression here. Right now, it feels like a bigger LA to me. As in, lots to see and do and a center of American entertainment, but a nightmare to drive through and seemingly pretty dirty and seedy in areas. I mean, a hot girl walks by and you want to offer a free hug? Really?

3. (removed upon the sobriety of the next day)

4. The bartender at our hotel is very cool... this is the second night we've been there til closing, and he's been giving us free shots... which is why I'm feeling all "wooooo" like...

5. Because we were at the bar, we've met cool people, including a guy tonight who expressed dismay at the whole typical American cycle where we make money and then spend money, but how he was over that and it wasn't making him happy. Man, can I relate... he's going back to Africa next year to work on the non-profit he's part of... he gave me the info to look it up, and I will definitely do so in the AM.

Anyways. Thursday daytime awaits!