we didn’t actually talk, but she dialed. =) not sure why it didn’t work but after i got over my initial dissappointment i realized it is the thought that counts. ;P she’ll try again soon and i bought a phone card just in case. =)

Alex invited me to dinner with him and Kellie and we were joined by their friend Jenny. Dinner was yummy, but a tad pricey. Afterwards we went to Alex’s house where we had some drinks, watched some TV, ate more food, and laughed. =) We were joined by Wig and some young people (apparently she likes it rare now) but they were well behaved and everyone had a good time. now i have the day off… what will i ever do? ;P

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…