2007 Recap
Sharpen those pencils, ladies and gentlemen. It is December 31, and that means only one thing. It is time to play How Did Fe Do on His Goals! As always, a completed goal will get one point, a missed goal will net zero, and there is no partial credit. Come on now, this isn't the Stanford Chemistry department. So let's see..
Goals 2007:
1. Get a raise and/or promotion.
Hmm.. no promotion because of all the corporate happenings, and technically I guess I could have pushed a little harder like I did last year by threatening to leave, but I don't like to play that game more than once. I did, however, obtain a modest 3% merit increase in March. And next year should be even better. 1 point.
2. Be a good Chinese person and visit the Great Wall.
Bingo! This one was pretty easy since I had planned to visit David and Carrie in Beijing anyway, so in June, I got to climb the freakin' Great Wall of China. Well, a part of it anyway. 1 point.
3. Take a real class (Piano doesn't count).
Enrolling in a project management class and then dropping it before the quarter started does not count. 0 points.
4. Make a new friend, and bonus points if he or she is gay.
I am blessed since this year, I was able to branch out some more and met a lot of good people through different activities and friends of friends. None of them, to my knowledge, are gay though, so the search continues. 1 point.
5. Double my housing down payment savings total.
Living is expensive! I barely made it, but a little self control helped me get there. Would have been a different story had I decided to splurge on an XBox 360 and Rock Band though. Teehee. 1 point.
6. Pick up a new hobby that doesn't involve dance, video games, or sports.
What did I do in 2007 other than having gotten myself more involved in dance (with DL), video games (with RB and GH), and sports (softball, bowling, *and* Sunday sports) than ever before? I played a lot of board games, and more specifically Scrabble, towards the end of the year. Hey, it counts! 1 point.
7. Cook at home 3 times a week, and ramen doesn't count.
Ha! Okay, next. 0 points.
8. Read a good book per quarter (1 finance, 1 non-fiction, 1 classic, 1 interest).
I don't have a lot of time to read nowadays, and I don't think I technically finish one book per quarter, but I did start one every three months or so and I finished the last one just two days ago. The list includes: Bogle on Mutual Funds: New Perspectives for the Intelligent Investor (John Bogle), The Fine Art of Small Talk (Debra Fine), The Jungle (Upton Sinclair), and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (J.K. Rowling). 1 point.
9. Reconnect with my old high school and college friends.
This one was by far my favorite! Having gone out of state for school, I lost touch with a lot of my high school friends who tended to stay under the radar (no cell phone, no Facebook account, no blog, etc.). So imagine their surprise when I randomly called to say hello, after I had to do a little digging to uncover some old phone numbers among other similar tactics. I also managed to stay in touch with a few of my buddies that I saw most often during my junior and senior years of college. Yeah, the last thing I want is another "Holy shit!" type of response when I don't talk to them for seven years only to call around the holidays and be like, "Whaddup!? What? You have two kids now??" 1 point.
10. Volunteer, teach, or coach little league.
On Melisa's recommendation, I signed up to be a bilingual wish granting volunteer for the Make-A-Wish Foundation! I have not led any wishes yet, as I am still in the observer role and will continue to be for one more wish at least, but I feel like I am actually making a difference, and that is such a great feeling to have. Bravo for taking the initiative, I suppose! 1 point.
So were you counting with me? Check my math, but I believe the final score is 8/10! It is not bad, but it could be better. Check back in a week or two for the 2008 version.
Goals 2007:
1. Get a raise and/or promotion.
Hmm.. no promotion because of all the corporate happenings, and technically I guess I could have pushed a little harder like I did last year by threatening to leave, but I don't like to play that game more than once. I did, however, obtain a modest 3% merit increase in March. And next year should be even better. 1 point.
2. Be a good Chinese person and visit the Great Wall.
Bingo! This one was pretty easy since I had planned to visit David and Carrie in Beijing anyway, so in June, I got to climb the freakin' Great Wall of China. Well, a part of it anyway. 1 point.
3. Take a real class (Piano doesn't count).
Enrolling in a project management class and then dropping it before the quarter started does not count. 0 points.
4. Make a new friend, and bonus points if he or she is gay.
I am blessed since this year, I was able to branch out some more and met a lot of good people through different activities and friends of friends. None of them, to my knowledge, are gay though, so the search continues. 1 point.
5. Double my housing down payment savings total.
Living is expensive! I barely made it, but a little self control helped me get there. Would have been a different story had I decided to splurge on an XBox 360 and Rock Band though. Teehee. 1 point.
6. Pick up a new hobby that doesn't involve dance, video games, or sports.
What did I do in 2007 other than having gotten myself more involved in dance (with DL), video games (with RB and GH), and sports (softball, bowling, *and* Sunday sports) than ever before? I played a lot of board games, and more specifically Scrabble, towards the end of the year. Hey, it counts! 1 point.
7. Cook at home 3 times a week, and ramen doesn't count.
Ha! Okay, next. 0 points.
8. Read a good book per quarter (1 finance, 1 non-fiction, 1 classic, 1 interest).
I don't have a lot of time to read nowadays, and I don't think I technically finish one book per quarter, but I did start one every three months or so and I finished the last one just two days ago. The list includes: Bogle on Mutual Funds: New Perspectives for the Intelligent Investor (John Bogle), The Fine Art of Small Talk (Debra Fine), The Jungle (Upton Sinclair), and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (J.K. Rowling). 1 point.
9. Reconnect with my old high school and college friends.
This one was by far my favorite! Having gone out of state for school, I lost touch with a lot of my high school friends who tended to stay under the radar (no cell phone, no Facebook account, no blog, etc.). So imagine their surprise when I randomly called to say hello, after I had to do a little digging to uncover some old phone numbers among other similar tactics. I also managed to stay in touch with a few of my buddies that I saw most often during my junior and senior years of college. Yeah, the last thing I want is another "Holy shit!" type of response when I don't talk to them for seven years only to call around the holidays and be like, "Whaddup!? What? You have two kids now??" 1 point.
10. Volunteer, teach, or coach little league.
On Melisa's recommendation, I signed up to be a bilingual wish granting volunteer for the Make-A-Wish Foundation! I have not led any wishes yet, as I am still in the observer role and will continue to be for one more wish at least, but I feel like I am actually making a difference, and that is such a great feeling to have. Bravo for taking the initiative, I suppose! 1 point.
So were you counting with me? Check my math, but I believe the final score is 8/10! It is not bad, but it could be better. Check back in a week or two for the 2008 version.
Labels: life
