2014

On this first day of 2015, I offer a list of 80 thoughts, actions and memories of 2014…

1. I took Nik to his first ever football game because my college class decided to meet up 10 years after graduation
2. I found out that a college professor is working at the San Francisco Planning department…I should get in touch
3. My hair is short. I mean SHORT.
4. My nieces rode bikes with me, their parents and Nik through Golden Gate Park
5. We hosted our first sleep over for those nieces and served mac & cheese for dinner
6. Nik and I beat my parents in Rummy once
7. My parents beat us in Rummy at least 8 times
8. Nik redesigned my blog
9. We went to the top of the Knoxville Sun Sphere…I lived there for 5 years, and never went
10. We made an origami star for the Christmas tree
11. Alex came to visit and we ate really really well while chatting about everything
12. We had dinner with Katie and my cousin Emily weeks before they both moved to New York City
13. We bought road bikes and saw small towns in the Bay Area that I never knew existed
14. We rode an informal century (100 miles in a day)
15. I fell off my bike twice because I could not clip out of my pedals quick enough
16. We swam in an infinity pool overlooking rice terraces in Ubud, Bali
17. Dominic & Charinee were wed in Borneo, and we were there
18. I contributed to at least 4 successful construction projects
19. My sewing machine is collecting dust because I haven’t had the gusto to sew
20. We missed another opportunity to move across the hall into my dream apartment
21. I was given a pretty fantastic art print by my bosses
22. My health has been exceptionally good, and I am thankful for that
23. Christy came to visit and I took her around to my favorite places, and then we had dinner with our guys
24. We went to visit Christy and she took us around to her favorite places
25. Chris & Keisha facilitated our first ever family shrimp boil on the porch of a coastal South Carolina vacation home
26. Lindsey made her famous cinnamon rolls
27. Mom & Dad took us all out for dinner, mini-golf and ice cream
28. Nik & I made raspberry sorbet from the America’s Test Kitchen recipe
29. The Sinz family took turns swinging in the hammock
30. Nik swam in the Atlantic Ocean for the first time
31. We went stand-up paddle boarding for the first time
32. We stayed at a fire-lookout cabin in Mendocino National Forest
33. We almost stayed at a fire-lookout cabin in Tahoe National Forest, but wimped out because it had snowed the week before
34. I rode my bicycle in a charity ride with Jonas
35. The Vespa served as my commuting vehicle to work most days
36. California continued the 3-year drought for most of the year, and then nearly shut down because of rain storms in December
37. The Giants won the world series again, and I watched most of the games from bars I had never been to before
38. The Johnke family celebrated 100 years on the Ranch in Montana, and I got food poisoning
39. Donna & Mark hosted us poolside for a few summer evenings
40. We sat ringside under the big top for Kurios
41. We watched America’s Test Kitchen, Parks & Recreation or Anthony Bourdain’s Places Unknown during dinner
42. Mom & Dad gave us a coffee maker, and our morning meal has been 1000x better ever since
43. We acquired very nice desk chairs…with head rests
44. We rode the Tilden Park steam train for the second time
45. We saw a pod of whales off the coast from Sutro Heights Park
46. Matt & Olivia hosted us for happy hour in Atlanta
47. Keith & Lindsey joined me for breakfast
48. The most beautiful black wool dress hangs in my closet, and I haven’t found a place to wear it to
49. We talked a lot about our future
50. I let the year slip away without asking for a raise
51. I learned a lot about how to lead a team
52. We called the cops on our neighbor for trying to break into his own apartment, and then he gave us a cheesecake as an apology
53. I soaked in a mineral spring spa for the first time (in Santa Fe)
54. We met up with an old friend from high school that also went to architecture school, rowed crew, and moved to San Francisco
55. I stumbled across the largest neighborhood of Eichler homes on a day where I circumnavigated the San Francisco Bay in a Zipcar
56. At Hardly Strictly Bluegrass I shared my huge bag of ice and a 6-pack of beer with a few other couples sitting near by
57. I left work early one day to have a cocktail at the Palace Hotel
58. We walked along the new east span of the Bay Bridge to see the old span being dismantled and over run by birds
59. Mom & Dad joined us for wine tasting
60. The first project I ever worked on after college completed its final phase in October
61. We went scooter camping in Samuel P Taylor State Park
62. One cousin got married while another cousin got engaged
63. I worked on a quilt made up of 100s of 1”x1” squares
64. We built a Lego VW Bus on Nik’s Birthday before and after having dinner at Aziza
65. I was the target of an attempted robbery in Kuala Lumpur, but they didn’t get anything and they did ruin my favorite purse
66. Nik continued to do sporadic freelance work while I did the 9-5 (really…8:30-6) every day
67. I started compiling books of photos from 2006-2008, but haven’t finished
68. We had a better time with my college classmates than I ever could have expected
69. A friend hosted a successful kickstarter campaign which means I get to have an awesome shelf very soon
70. My nephew has this back and forth with my brother all the time…”Dad?” “Yes, Aaden.” “I love you.” “I love you too, buddy.”
71. Our stag horn ferns are getting bigger and bigger
72. I paid for a very expensive professional organization membership, and did not use my benefits once all year. Not gonna do it next year.
73. I slid down a concrete slide in Cole Valley
74. We hiked around Point Lobos for the first time
75. I chatted with a B&B owner over a glass of wine about how I want to be like him one day
76. A Malaysia Airlines flight that left from Kuala Lumpur was lost the day after we took a Malaysia Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur
77. Day dreams of big travel began again
78. We started looking at real estate websites with a true interest in investing, and decided that San Francisco is way too expensive
79. We talk more and more about what we will do with the home we own one day…part of getting older I suppose
80. I turned 33 and worked on my birthday