2014 Year in Review

2014 was going to be all about the moments.

It wasn't particularly momentous but sometimes that's how life is. It's not always going to be a big year but the little things that happen along the way make up for a lot.

Here's a look back:

Healthy moments- When you’re taking care of yourself so you can have many more moments to enjoy in the future.

Year-End Thoughts: I managed to not eat fast food for a whole year but I didn't feel particularly healthier. I still ate a gross amount of food. And I ended up spending more money eating out too much at restaurants. I did walk more over the summer- mostly to and from work and I can't wait for nicer weather again!

Writerly moments- Hopefully I’ll have these kinds soon and plenty of them!

Bookish moments- When you’re taking time to enjoy a good book.

Year-End Thoughts: I'll share my writerly and bookish moments on my other blog. But for April I did write a poem a day.

Learning moments- Can refer to professional and personal development or from life experiences.

Year-End Thoughts: I'm carrying "Learn Spanish" and "Learn Sign Language" over to 2015! How many years is that now?

Productive moments- When you’re just getting things done.

Celebratory moments- When you accomplish what you set out to do. Celebrate big and small victories!

Year-End Thoughts: I got to spend time with family and friends during my annual trip to Las Vegas. I also managed to visit San Francisco which was a highlight of the year.

Festive moments- Times you’re just happy because you’re with people you love and doing things you’re passionate about.

Year-End Thoughts: I finally got to see The Nutcracker this Christmas. I also went to a Christmas Eve Christmas Carol before the vigil. I continued a couple of my holiday traditions: giving books out on Halloween and volunteering during Christmas Day.

Kinder moments- Not just kind, but kinder as in “be kinder than necessary.”

Year-End Thoughts: To be kinder is something I want to carry over to the new year as well. I volunteered about 160 hours. I donated blood 3 times. In November, I posted something I was grateful for everyday.

Other moments- I went to a Blazers game. I got really sick for the first time 16 years. I moved to a new place. I had jury duty service. I also started to let things go. As I wrote on Facebook, "It's actually more positive than it sounds. When you let go, you create more space for the people and things that make you happy. When you let go, you give others the opportunity to be happy. When you let go, make sure you do it out of love."

How was your 2014? What moments did you enjoy?

Moments

2014 is all about moments.

Healthy moments- When you’re taking care of yourself so you can have many more moments to enjoy in the future.

-No fast food. No food court. No TV dinners.

-More Vegetarian Days. Eat less meat, only 3 times a week.

-Drink more water.

Festive moments- Times you’re just happy because you’re with people you love and doing things you’re passionate about.

Writerly moments- Hopefully I’ll have these kinds soon and plenty of them!

Bookish moments- When you’re taking time to enjoy a good book.

-Visit North Plains and Banks Public Libraries to complete my Washington County Library Hop.

- I shared other writerly and bookish moments I want to happen on my other blog.

Learning moments- Can refer to professional and personal development or from life experiences.

-Be a better bookseller. Remember regular customers’ names and their reading preferences to give them better recommendation.

-Learn Spanish.

-Learn Sign Language.

Productive moments- When you’re just getting things done.

Celebratory moments- When you accomplish what you set out to do. Celebrate big and small victories!

Kinder moments- Not just kind, but kinder as in “be kinder than necessary.”

-Donate blood quarterly.

-Look into volunteering with an LGBT non-profit.

-Add one hour to my regular volunteer commitments for every day I complain about TriMet’s service.

Creative moments- When you can express yourself through art or music or dance.

-Do some sort of craft project monthly.

Another thing that’s going to happen this year is me moving out. My housemates are nice but I want somewhere closer to where things are happening.

I’m excited about what the future holds for me. I love envisioning what waits for me there- and figuring out the way to that life.

What moments are you looking forward to?

2013 Year in Review

I started 2013 claiming it would be TRIUMPHANT. So, was it?

Let’s pull up what I wrote in the beginning of the year and see if I accomplished them or not.

-Remember people’s names- I still need to work on this. I figure I can focus on some of our regular customers and get to know what they like.

-Be nicer to baristas- I’m always nice to people who do their job properly.

-Be less gossipy- I quit reading all those websites and magazines earlier this year because they were usually so full of hate, lies and negativity. And the people that were getting the most space were the worst examples of human beings ever.

X- Lose 10 pounds- This definitely did not happen but neither did I gain 10 pounds so I consider that an accomplishment!

-Exercise more- I’ve walked more often than not, making it part of my daily routine when the weather and time allows for it.

-Eat less fast food- I’m definitely more conscious about what I eat. I really do think all the processed food we’re eating is causing us to be unhealthier and affecting us earlier on affecting our way of life in the future.

X- Build my savings back up

X- No more lending money

Finances are tricky.

-Read more local and new authors- This wasn’t really worded well but I did read a lot of local and new authors this year.

X- Complete my Agatha Christie collection- I will most likely do this by 2014.

X- Buy from a local bookstore once a month- This didn’t happen.

-Read at least 60 books that aren’t picture or board books- Completed

X- Read the books in my bookshelf- Ongoing

-Finish my A to Z Picture Book Series Reading Challenge- Completed

-Read all of Eric Carle books- Completed

For more on my literary write up check out this post: http://thechroniclesofachildrensbookwriter.wordpress.com/2013/12/31/celebrate-this-year-2013/

-Learn how to cook- Not only did I cook Filipino once, I did it again. I’ve also baked and made dinner for people on several occasions. I’ve definitely been experimenting more with what ingredients I already have and what I can make out of them. Sometimes, it tastes fine. Sometimes, it tastes like failure.

X- Watch the Star Wars and Brat Pack movies- I really don’t have time to watch movies but I’ll keep trying with those Star Wars movies.

X- Monthly write

-Go to Vegas for my 30^th birthday in April

X- Send out new Christmas cards- Time and finances were against me on these!

X- Go to San Francisco for Christmas?

X- Save money to go to the Philippines Christmas 2014

As much as I want to be with families, time, finances and sometimes the weather just don’t work for me.

As for going back to school, I did end up taking some non-credit classes online. And I did send for my transcripts and talk to an advisor this summer but once again finances were the hold up. Plus, I have to re-evaluate my plan on becoming a teacher because the idea I have of it is very romanticized.

I learned not to be too hard on myself. I can’t expect things to work out the way I want them to all the time and when I want them. I can only do my best, keep trying, and not give up

Another thing I was working on last year was to DO LESS BUT WITH MORE MEANING. I stuck with the things that made me happy while still exploring other opportunities. I wasn’t trying to fill up my days with things to do just for the sake of it.

While checking off things on this list, in no way were they the only factors in determining whether I had a good year or not.

I’m a lot happier now. I’m excited about what the future holds for me. I love envisioning what waits for me there- and figuring out the way to that life. So, yes, I’ll declare 2013 TRIUMPHANT!

Summer of Spark- The Sequel

I was looking over one of my blog posts “Season of Service, Summer of Spark” and reflecting over what a difference a year makes.

What may have been one of the worse times (being laid off and all) actually turned out to be one of the best summers of my life in terms of experiences and opportunities that opened up to me. A great takeaway was the importance of taking some time off for yourself, to rejuvenate and find that spark within you again.

I’m not crazy volunteering but I do have my regular shifts at the library and the Children’s Book Bank. Plus, being a board member for Friends of the Library is time consuming. I should hit 100 hours next week. And I’m always on the lookout for any volunteering that seems interesting and that works with my schedule.

I’m still promoting literacy through my blog. As part of my Commitment to Literacy, I will end up having to donate 200 books! Now I just need to figure out how to do that without going bankrupt. 

There are two things that happened last summer that are worth mentioning since their anniversaries are coming up.

First, I came out. Not that there’s actually anything exciting to report there but it still was momentous for me. More thoughts on this for another time!

Second, I’ll have my one year anniversary at Green Bean next month. I love my job.

Other things I’m keeping to myself for now but hopefully there’ll be more exciting things to share!

It’s Summer! Have sunshiny and #beautiful days!

Triumphant 30's/ Dreams

The first quarter of 2013 wasn’t exactly as triumphant as I had hoped it would be so I’m looking forward to being thirty and focusing on Dreams. Not just mine but everyone else’s. I feel like I’m going to be awesome eventually but I want everybody to be their awesome selves as well! In fact, I am happier when the people I care about are happy also. I’m inspired when I hear about their dreams and the actions their taking to achieve them.

(Coincidentally, Mariah Carey has a new fragrance called Dreams so it’s very fitting.)

The past few months haven’t been a total dud though. Being a bookseller continues to be something I love doing. I was in a writers’ group- even though it was short lived. As the chair for the Friends of the Library’s Marketing and Membership committee, I helped organize a fundraising event. I’ve been walking consistently as part of my exercise routine.

I’ve been having festive birthday moments with family and friends. Whether it’s being treated to a Josh Groban theater concert or a play at Portland Center Stage, a library hop road trip, a surprise party, a weeklong Vegas vacation involving buffets, bowling and books, and multiple other things, it’s all been a blast. You may be wondering how I’m able to talk so much about my birthday considering I’d already about it on my other two blogs. But I love birthdays- especially my own. It’s usually these moments I feel the happiest and most celebratory and therefore inspired.

I’m looking forward to a Triumphant 30’s and realizing my Dreams.

February Challenge: In Which Blogger Won't Let Me Use Symbols

I’m calling my February challenge "Heart/Love Symbol" Strong. Besides it being completely adorable, it’s timely and appropriate considering it’ll be Valentine’s Day, however commercialized that is. But before I go into details about what "Heart/Love Symbol" Strong entails, here’s a recap.

 January was a mixed bag. I could have been nicer to baristas. I could have exercised more. (I didn’t even go to the gym once!) Surprisingly, I’m not beating myself up over not meeting or starting certain goals as much as I normally would have. As long as I keep trying and never give up, then I know I’ll be fine!

For the Triumphant moments, there were a couple of stand out moments. I cooked a real Filipino meal for a houseful of people and no one got sick! I also started attending a monthly Writers Group! It was nice to have a rough draft of a complete short story!

My Commitment to Literacy is going well. Volunteering at the Children’s Book Bank has been, for the most part, rewarding especially when the people are incredibly passionate about books. Working at Green Bean Books has been great even if I do feel exhausted sometimes. A little girl said “Thank you, Mr. Book Man” to me after I rang her up the other day. It’s those little moments that remind me why I love books and why I want to promote reading as much as possible. My other blog, “Chronicles”, has gotten 34 replies so far this year which means that almost 3 dozen books will be donated!

And, now, for "Heart/Love Symbol" Strong.

The first aspect is Relationships. While I’ve decided to not to be so closed off (as in, for the longest time, my mindset was to be single forever), the real focus here is still Family and Friends. I’m looking forward to hanging out- and making plans to do so. I’ll be buying my plane tickets to Vegas once I cash my paycheck! “29 Again” will be Festive!

The second aspect is to be Heart Healthy. I’ve asked my friend for an easy-to-prepare Vegetarian meal I can make. I’ll eat more fruits and vegetables (at least one serving of either one every day) and less fast food (probably, no fast food at all February 10-28). For my monthly cooking challenge, I was thinking of baking some sort of chocolaty dessert but perhaps I’ll make carrot zucchini muffins instead.

Of course, I’ll have to make of an effort to exercise more. While I probably can’t afford a gym membership again, I can exercise in the comfort of my room everyday. Goals aren’t effective without specific, quantitative points so I’ll have to figure this out more.

The third aspect is to Do What You Love. I’m excited about writing again. I love being a bookseller and I just want to keep getting better at it. I just have to manage my time better to do everything I want! Plus, if I’m serious about going back to school to be a teacher, I need to look into that more. (Of course, I also need to do something about finding an additional job!)

And, I just want to say thank you to everyone who takes time out of their busy lives to read this and replies to my Facebook or Twitter pages or any of my blogs. Like when I was feeling bleh, and you guys shared the goals you were working on and the books you were reading. That made my "Heart/Love Symbol" "Happy Face Symbol."

IN WHICH you’ll eat what may be the best or worst food of your life

No one has reported getting food poisoning so I’m going to declare the dinner a success.

One of my goals for the longest time had been to learn how to cook a meal. And I finally went through with it!

I always thought I would make some sort of Italian dish- fettucine alfredo with chicken and vegetables- since that’s my favorite. But I think it’s because I’ve also been trying to reconnect with my Filipino culture that I decided on pancit and lumpia. Those were definitely food I remember growing up and which I enjoyed eating.

I also decided to invite a few people since I didn’t want to go through all the trouble to cook for myself. Where’s the fun in that? In the end, there would be 16 people (including myself) and I’ve got to say I was overwhelmed. But I’m so appreciative to everyone who came to the dinner, brought a meal or drinks, helped out, actually ate the food, and didn’t get sick. (And, thanks to my Mom for giving me the recipe and instructions!)

The best part for me wasn’t being able to finally cross this item off my list but seeing people come together. Thanks, again!

Filipino Fun Facts cards that I made so there would be an educational component to the evening!

Filipino Fun Facts cards- Basic information

Filipino Fun Facts cards- A very abstract rendition of the Philippines

Filipino Fun Facts cards- The flag

Filipino Fun Facts cards- The alphabet

Filipino Fun Facts cards- Someone said I should have mentioned Corazon Aquizon, the 11th President of the Philippines, and the first (and, so far, only) woman to have held that office.

Filipino Fun Facts cards- Phrases

Filipino Fun Facts cards- Phrases

Filipino Fun Facts cards- A little information about the food being served

Filipino Fun Facts cards- Some more phrases. I tried to pick ones that people might actually end up using in everyday life

Ingredient for the pancit

Ingredient for the lumpia

Lumpia wrappers

Carrots. Not fingers.

Pancit

Lumpia

My super helper of the evening!

Another helper! Another Asian!