this year saw many exciting events for me:

• i saw Eriko three times
• Eriko met my family and the love was mutual
• i took a course at UW and received an A
• i was promoted twice and now i'm a dev-lead
• i am living on my own for the first time in my life
• i took swimming lessons
• Bailey is able to come and go freely again
• I became an Uncle

• i was denied admission to the UW master's program
• i failed to increase my GRE math scores (they went down)
• Eriko and i had some rocky times
• i was unable to communicate in Japanese with Eriko's family

• i will be leading a team that (hopefully) will grow by 2+ people
• i will apply to UW with improved stats (and hopefully accepted)
• i will (hopefully) begin exercising regularly and get in shape
• Eriko will (hopefully) visit me in my new place
• i will (hopefully) aggressively improve my Japanese skills
• i will (hopefully) find and purchase a condominium of my own
• i will (hopefully) continue to apply downward pressure on my expenses
• i will (hopefully) find more time to work on my lathing and computer projects
• i will (hopefully) find more pleasure in reading and learning

i don’t know what i’ve done but Bailey has spent the last two nights sleeping with me – the whole night! last night was a bit painful as she kept stabbing me in the throat with her claws (when i say ‘sleeping’ with me, that also includes time she sits on my chest and cleans herself). ;P

there is no way this movie deserves to be ranked number 3 on the imdb top 250 movie list. it had some really neat battle scenes and i enjoyed them. but the ending was soooo boring and there were a lot of transitions that weren’t all that exciting either. i’d probably rank it an 8 or something. alex bought the movie for me otherwise i might rank it lower…. ;P

one of my most elaborate breakfasts yet: hash browns, eggs with ham & cheese, pancakes, and bacon. maybe i’ll take a nap now…

i had a great time visiting my family. it is pretty amazing to see everyone progressing and growing; yet as we grow older we grow closer at the same time. now i’m back to the ordinary routine… being busy!

my christmas shopping is finished. the presents are wrapped and under the tree. i’m going to bed.