2014 A Year in Review

One year and 120 posts. It's quite a milestone for me. Getting back to blogging since x years ago has certainly sharpened my writing skills a bit. A lot of stuff has happened and I think my wishes have came true. In January, I had hoped that the new year would strengthen some bonds of friendship, bring progress to my design skills and job finding, and welcome a bit of love in my life. Though these wishes came late in the year, they still happened. A friend that I haven't seen in three years came back and we are hanging out more. Two of my design pieces during the school year were recognized as good design. I got accepted on a very good internship (I'm so grateful for it, believe me). As it turned out, Yoshiki was the "love" I had been searching for. I needed a celebrity to look up to and keep me motivated.

There were many new things I tried out ranging from music to movies. The places I went to eat were also a pleasure to try out and learn more about. I think there were great findings this year for me in the different range of categories.

Food
BCD Tofuhouse
Mango Mango
99 Favor Taste
Tendon Hannosuke
Hanamichi
Muk Eun Ji

J-drama
Rich Man, Poor Woman
Take Five
Kagi Kakatta no Heya
Hungry!


Movies
The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug
13 Assassins
Julie and Julia
Rise of the Guardians
Onmyouji I and II

Anime
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Nobunaga Concerto
Zankyou no Terror
Hoozuki no Reitetsu
Magi: Kingdom of Magic

It was an emotional roller coaster for me. I had hit some hard rock-bottom lows during the school year mostly, but also a bit during my internship. I had fear and lack of confidence holding me back on my abilities. After seeing good progress, I would almost always celebrate with a friend over food. Those were my happiest moments of the year. It almost felt like I hadn't been happy in such a long time which is true to some extent. School was making me feel depressed a lot and it was hard for me stay positive. After experiencing happiness, I remembered how important it was to share things with friends. I had been fighting things alone for so long that I had forgotten how to interact with people. Perhaps there was a mixture of trust issues in the past and my own weird refusal to change that created this side of me. I really am a lone wolf like some people describe me.

However this lone wolf enjoys solidarity and company of others. I enjoyed meditating and my own personal research of the occult to understand more about myself. I think I will continue to do so in the future. Self-reflection is the best things to do as a Buddhist-Taoist. There's more food for me to try and more dramas to watch in the upcoming year. I even made a list for 2015. There's probably a few more posts to write before 2014 ends, but before then I wish everyone Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!