Almost back to 2pi
Another year has gone by, well almost, and the course of time is uninterrupted as we get older every moment. The year has not quite ended, but I do not expect anything enormous happening in the next 3 weeks. So I will kind of look back on this past year, since I am home alone now and bored.
2006 started with me being the heaviest of all my life - 261 pounds! That was early January after all the holidays in November and December. The fact that I had gone into the 260's shocked me. I knew I was overweight for the past 5 years, but now I was fearing becoming huge and I was feeling the effects on my body. I was having back pains and neck pains a lot, not severe but enough to annoy me. I did not do well in soccer whenever rarely I played. My resolution was to really slim down and attempt to get to 200lbs by the end of the year. However, it turend out to be more difficult than I expected and although I started going to soccer 1-2 times a week in summer, I lingered around 250-mark. Then in August, about the time I started school at SJSU for my Master's program and parked my care 8-10 blocks away so I wouldn't pay parking fees, I began losing weight. At about the same time I started going to Saturday pick-up soccer where I had not gone for a long time, as well as indoor pick-up once a week. I have continued doing those, and Emmy and I are eating at home more, and I am not around 235 lbs. About a 25-lb weight loss is still something, and I am really excited. I have maintained a good linear downhill since August and will try to keep it going into 2007.
Speaking of soccer, the guys on Saturday decided to make an indoor team and we signed up at Off The Wall Soccer. We signed up for level 5 our of total of 15, so it is competitive. We have played 4 games, and our record is 2-1-1. We have not been spectacular as a team yet, and I think most of us are too used to playing outdoors that it may take the whole season to really gel together. I myself have not been particularly impressive for the team. The ironic part is that I have done relatively well on Saturdays, and especially well in indoor pick-up games at the same place and another indoor place. However, no matter what, I will keep playing and trying hard and enjoying myself. Soccer is my passion. Go Barca by the way, who avoided elimination from the Champions League group stage!
School has been exciting as well, although difficult and demanding especially while working 30+ hours/week. I feel that I am doing better than in my undergraduate courses in Davis where I was struggling to keep up and get C's and B's. I shouldn't speak too early as finals are next week, but it appears that I should at least get B's. I have made nice friends with 2 or 3 people and we study together and do homeworks whenever we see each other. It is nice and helpful especially since I don't have much time to spend on homeworks. I may also teach a lab next semester, and that will be exciting, but surely challenging. I want to overcome anxiety and nervousness speaking in front of people, although I am not bad at all compared to others whose emotions are more severe. I have been wanting to be a teacher at some point in life since high school, and that may be the first step.
This year I also bought my first car ever (also first brand-new car that my family has ever owned) - 2006 Mazda 3 Sedan. I love that car and feel very comfortable with it. I love the style and the silver-metallic color. Payments are killing me, although I got it for under 20K, which is not bad for a relatively gas-efficient car. I get somewhere between 27-30mpg highway. City is lower, maybe around 22-24mpg. My parents did help me with some downpayment, but the rest, including insurance, is all paid by me. It feels good to be working and getting steady income. One always wants a higher pay, but I am grateful for what I have, and hopefully the higher pay will come with time. Intel has already gotten me this computer, new cell phones that I recently got, my car, and anything else that I have paid for. So be thankful, it is much worse elsewhere in the world. Speaking of Intel, I was converted from a temp employee to a regular full-time Intel emloyee in March, and that was a nice early birthday present. I also purchased an awesome 6Mp 10X optical zoom Olympus camera and have taken hundreds of wonderful pictures.
The highlight of the year was also in January - January 6th. That's the day that Emmy and I got engaged in Half Moon Bay after spending an amazing day. We went to the Pigeon Point Lighthouse and had a great time there, then we stopped at some remote road leading to the coast because we felt like taking a walk. And the fact that there was a huge field of bright yellow flowers covering the ground like a carpet. We were staying overnight in a hotel there, what was Emmy's parents' Christmas present for us, and after such a perfect day, I made my decision and proposed. The funny thing is that a challenge came up as soon as we were "official" - ants had crawled all over the little box that holds the ring, because I had put it right where a soda had dripped earlier and left a sticky spot. But to show the strength of our relationship, the war was won swiftly and unceremoneously. Hehe, can Bush speak like that I wonder?
Overall, I would have to say that 2006 has been a good year, and although we are both struggling to lose weight and get in better shape, the picture has brightened a little, and there are cracks in the walls. Looking forward to 2007, there is the second semester of school that promises to be extremely busy and quite challenging, my brother's 21st birthday, and our wedding and honeymoon (maybe?)! I have not really thought anything about the remainder of the year, but the first half promises to be busy enough.
Well now that you have read all that, you can go write a plan, then a draft, and submit the final paper by Monday.
Good luck to all in 2007, even for those "friends" who refuse to speak and have lost contact with me.
2006 started with me being the heaviest of all my life - 261 pounds! That was early January after all the holidays in November and December. The fact that I had gone into the 260's shocked me. I knew I was overweight for the past 5 years, but now I was fearing becoming huge and I was feeling the effects on my body. I was having back pains and neck pains a lot, not severe but enough to annoy me. I did not do well in soccer whenever rarely I played. My resolution was to really slim down and attempt to get to 200lbs by the end of the year. However, it turend out to be more difficult than I expected and although I started going to soccer 1-2 times a week in summer, I lingered around 250-mark. Then in August, about the time I started school at SJSU for my Master's program and parked my care 8-10 blocks away so I wouldn't pay parking fees, I began losing weight. At about the same time I started going to Saturday pick-up soccer where I had not gone for a long time, as well as indoor pick-up once a week. I have continued doing those, and Emmy and I are eating at home more, and I am not around 235 lbs. About a 25-lb weight loss is still something, and I am really excited. I have maintained a good linear downhill since August and will try to keep it going into 2007.
Speaking of soccer, the guys on Saturday decided to make an indoor team and we signed up at Off The Wall Soccer. We signed up for level 5 our of total of 15, so it is competitive. We have played 4 games, and our record is 2-1-1. We have not been spectacular as a team yet, and I think most of us are too used to playing outdoors that it may take the whole season to really gel together. I myself have not been particularly impressive for the team. The ironic part is that I have done relatively well on Saturdays, and especially well in indoor pick-up games at the same place and another indoor place. However, no matter what, I will keep playing and trying hard and enjoying myself. Soccer is my passion. Go Barca by the way, who avoided elimination from the Champions League group stage!
School has been exciting as well, although difficult and demanding especially while working 30+ hours/week. I feel that I am doing better than in my undergraduate courses in Davis where I was struggling to keep up and get C's and B's. I shouldn't speak too early as finals are next week, but it appears that I should at least get B's. I have made nice friends with 2 or 3 people and we study together and do homeworks whenever we see each other. It is nice and helpful especially since I don't have much time to spend on homeworks. I may also teach a lab next semester, and that will be exciting, but surely challenging. I want to overcome anxiety and nervousness speaking in front of people, although I am not bad at all compared to others whose emotions are more severe. I have been wanting to be a teacher at some point in life since high school, and that may be the first step.
This year I also bought my first car ever (also first brand-new car that my family has ever owned) - 2006 Mazda 3 Sedan. I love that car and feel very comfortable with it. I love the style and the silver-metallic color. Payments are killing me, although I got it for under 20K, which is not bad for a relatively gas-efficient car. I get somewhere between 27-30mpg highway. City is lower, maybe around 22-24mpg. My parents did help me with some downpayment, but the rest, including insurance, is all paid by me. It feels good to be working and getting steady income. One always wants a higher pay, but I am grateful for what I have, and hopefully the higher pay will come with time. Intel has already gotten me this computer, new cell phones that I recently got, my car, and anything else that I have paid for. So be thankful, it is much worse elsewhere in the world. Speaking of Intel, I was converted from a temp employee to a regular full-time Intel emloyee in March, and that was a nice early birthday present. I also purchased an awesome 6Mp 10X optical zoom Olympus camera and have taken hundreds of wonderful pictures.
The highlight of the year was also in January - January 6th. That's the day that Emmy and I got engaged in Half Moon Bay after spending an amazing day. We went to the Pigeon Point Lighthouse and had a great time there, then we stopped at some remote road leading to the coast because we felt like taking a walk. And the fact that there was a huge field of bright yellow flowers covering the ground like a carpet. We were staying overnight in a hotel there, what was Emmy's parents' Christmas present for us, and after such a perfect day, I made my decision and proposed. The funny thing is that a challenge came up as soon as we were "official" - ants had crawled all over the little box that holds the ring, because I had put it right where a soda had dripped earlier and left a sticky spot. But to show the strength of our relationship, the war was won swiftly and unceremoneously. Hehe, can Bush speak like that I wonder?
Overall, I would have to say that 2006 has been a good year, and although we are both struggling to lose weight and get in better shape, the picture has brightened a little, and there are cracks in the walls. Looking forward to 2007, there is the second semester of school that promises to be extremely busy and quite challenging, my brother's 21st birthday, and our wedding and honeymoon (maybe?)! I have not really thought anything about the remainder of the year, but the first half promises to be busy enough.
Well now that you have read all that, you can go write a plan, then a draft, and submit the final paper by Monday.
Good luck to all in 2007, even for those "friends" who refuse to speak and have lost contact with me.