Things happened. So much happened that I quit blogging because it seemed like too much to capture. But now that it's the last day of 2017, it's easier to highlight just the top moments in summary. This only covers things that happened in my world (as it is my blog).
January
I quit my job on the last working day of 2016. I spent a good hour debating what the subject line of my resignation letter to my boss should be. I can't remember what I landed on, but I do remember mildly panicking after hitting "send."
Then I started my new job. I realized that I hadn't been in the presence of so many humans in a long time, and I came home every day overwhelmed.
February
I turned 30 and had a banana-themed birthday party. There were banana craft and illustration stations, a smoothie spot, plantain casserole, banana desserts...it was a very banana day and my friends were so great to go all-in on going bananas with me.
Mark and I went to Spain. We ate a lot of things and that was fun. My favorite spot was Street XO, an Asian-Spanish fusion spot that was totally worth the wait. We tried a good portion of the menu and it was all wonderful.
March
What happened in March? I think the most notable thing I can think of right now was getting assigned to the shared mobility project at work.
April
Ho Etsu had our Rotations CD launch party at Township in Logan Square. My new manager came which really touched me, since we'd only known each other for a couple months. She brought her husband and their good friend.
That same weekend, Mark and I started breaking up and by the end of the weekend we were broken up. I learned about heartbreak and I learned about heartfelt support from wonderful friends and wonderful Melodie.
May
The Tang family went to San Francisco for the Fei Show. All in all, it was a good time. Even the part where Mom had a slow dramatic fall in the hotel room when she sat on a broken chair while eating dim sum from Oakland Chinatown. We also met the Midwife and Baker who makes my favorite levain in the world.
June
Ho Etsu went to Michigan for a combined concert with Raion Taiko. We stayed at Ryan's uncle's house which is a mansion sitting on its own lake. Highlights included when Emily fell into the water before we left with all of her clothes on.
July
Joy came for an extended July 4th sister weekend. Melodie's doodle for this weekend was packed because we did and ate a lot of things.
I went to Austin and remembered that Texas is truly hot. We ended up spending most of the weekend lying on April's living room floor because that's all the energy I could muster up in that sweltering heat. I met Susan's Austin home, her chickens, and learned she was expecting!
August
I think this was the month I dedicated myself to going to bed by 10. I felt awesome, but it was short lived and I have fallen by the wayside and I'm back to the land of too-little-sleep. Oh well, you try sometimes.
Ginza Festival is always a highlight. In addition to the regular warm fuzzies of Ginza, it was especially fun with all of our new apprentice folk joining the Midwest Buddhist Temple family. Cleaning up a parking lot has never been so fun.
September
I started digging in to networking and practicing my new industry jargon. It was around this time that I felt like work really started to meld from all directions in cool ways. Life and synergy are cool like that.
October
In October, things really started going on the up and up. There was a ton of taiko stuff still with Edo Bayashi workshops, playing a SoFar concert, and learning new pieces for November shows. I went to a conference in Detroit that really started linking things and people together for me at work. I met new people that impacted my perspective on relationships. I appreciated being and feeling connected so I could enjoy so many facets of my new life.
November
Melodie and I went to Brooklyn for a fun sister weekend. We hadn't been to NYC in a while, and I'd never spent much time in Brooklyn either. Williamsburg is their Logan Square, and I didn't mind rubbing shoulders with the beautiful hipsters of New York. Our favorite spot ended up being Butler Coffee in Williamsburg, with their cute house-made bakes and lovely coffees. Jenny ended up being in Brooklyn that weekend also as a happy coincidence, so we got to meet up with her too.
We played a show at The Hideout with On Ensemble, which was a ton of fun. We got a lot of good footage that we're enjoying now. We also performed Emily's new piece Poston at the Alphawood Gallery which went really well too. Learning and playing that piece really helped me appreciate Emily and her artistic mind even more. I truly know a lot of talented people.
I decided to stay put for Thanksgiving. I turned down going home, and I turned down going to Breckenridge with Melodie and Lius even though that sounded fun. I ended up with several days of so much me-time and it was awesome. I read a really dense existential short story by Jose Luis Borges out loud to myself. This took me 2 hours. Then I ate Bonci pizza. That's some of the finest luxury you could ask for.
The month ended in going to the Automobility LA portion of the LA Auto Show. I test drove a couple cars which reminded me I haven't touched a new car in a really long time. They've changed since 2005 - this is my detailed review. I stayed at the LA Athletic Club which is like an older-school version of the SOHO House, and I loved every minute of my king-sized bed and full- length lap pool and hot-buffet breakfast. Leaving was kind of sad. Oh, the conference was great for me too.
December
December passed in a blur. I went to Austin again to attend Susan's baby shower. It was really lovely to spend time with her and her family. It gave me the chance to reflect on how special it is to have people in your life for decades, and how special it is to remain friends through many life-changing events. Being friends with Susan really shaped a lot of my interests and principles that continue to impact who I am today.
Mochi-tsuki was wonderful. I committed to going so I wouldn't flake out this year, and again I got to appreciate the wonderful community of MBT. I brought my good work friend which made it even more fun, to experience it like it was my first time again.
Christmas happened. Mom's tree had a bumper crop of kumquats, reportedly because she and Allen gave it extra fertilizer last winter. I ate about 50 kumquats a day and tried to clip off all the kumquats on my tree. But, the tree won and I couldn't get to all of them. I'm still eating kumquats that I brought back.
And now it's the last day of the year. I'm going over to my work friend's house in a little bit to hang out with her and her friends. I've made so many friends at work this year, it's incredible. It will be a nice way to end the year - by celebrating with one of my new friends from one of my new communities I've gained in 2017.
Hopes for 2018: continued growth, more trips with April, at least one international trip, more learning, and more participating in the outcomes.
