eat dessert first

January 3rd, 2009

the pensieve

As I get older, it’s harder for me to distinguish one calendar year from the next. Unless, of course, it’s bad; 2004 sucked, for instance. On the other hand, 2008 was such an amazing year that I felt sad counting down its last seconds, as though saying goodbye to a friend who had been particularly kind to me. It felt wrong to let it pass without commemorating it in some way. So here goes:

Highlights

Stuff I will tell my kids about 20 years from now: Obama’s historic election & Michael Phelps 8-gold-medal run in Beijing. I’ll always remember where I was when these happened, and how hopeful and inspired I felt.
The official end to my formal education and living on the east coast: Graduated from business school, sold our first condo in Somerville, moved 3X in 3 months (including a 2-month stint living with my parents), before finally getting settled in the South Bay.
Watched many of my favorite people get married, including my sister, Kerry, Grant and Feng, Brian, and others.
Saw the world: Spent the first month of ‘08 in South America, two weeks in Africa in April, one week in May in BVI and two weeks in Europe in July.
Still pretended to be outdoorsy: Climbed Villarrica and ziplined in Pucon, Chile, white-water rafted in Brazil, hiked the Cinque Terre trail, went on safari in Tanzania, sailed through the British Virgin Islands, participated in several Yung family holiday “death marches.”
Took three whole months off. I’ve never had an entire summer off before. Ah laziness, how it becomes me.
Started a new job.
Memorable consumption: Carnival 2008 in Rio, Gossip Girl, David Archuleta performing Imagine; Chelsie & Mark dancing to Bleeding Love on SYTYCD, Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight saga; Harry Potter books on audio tape (perfect for long drives to Los Angeles); and new discoveries Paper Raincoat and Jon McLaughlin.

Lowlights:

The US and then global financial markets imploded, resulting in the destruction of trillions of dollars of wealth. I avoid opening my 401(k) statements now.
Shattered a glass shower door in my hotel room in Sao Paulo, resulting in stitches (& an upgrade to a VIP suite). Being surrounded by shards of glass without contacts or clothes makes one feel extremely vulnerable.
Got three fillings.

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January 2nd, 2009

farewell, first home

I wrote this in August after I arrived in California. Wing was still living in our condo at the time. The new owners moved in three days later.

Buying the first house we saw on our first house-hunting trip ever may seem rash. It was only days before that we’d thought that it “might possibly be time to buy something”—but sometimes you just know.

Wing’s already explained a few of the reasons why we love our house: the natural lighting, hardwood floors, and the tall trees that offer shade and privacy (and a whole host of bird droppings to any unlucky car parked underneath). There were our upstairs neighbors, who we met as an unmarried couple but moved out as a family of three, and Henry, the friendly gray cat that came around whenever he sensed some action. And of course, there is all the food we ate in our disproportionately large kitchen with our friends who became like family.

This place only got better with every happy event, every home improvement, every piece of furniture schlepped in. Even when we passed the honeymoon stage and realized that the toilet seat never stood up and the closet space was non-existent, we stayed enamored. It’s true we would have needed something bigger at some point, but we left before we outgrew it.

I know it’s silly to have such a strong emotional attachment to a condo, but our “home” was the first thing that Wing and I built together. It’s the setting of some of my happiest memories.

The same can be said for Boston. College and grad school come with very clear endpoints after which people scatter in all directions; this changes the very character of the city. But over the course of the six years I lived there, Boston became more than just the sum of my school experiences. Every memory became so woven into the backdrop they became impossible to separate.

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