Life always gets so much busier when the holidays approach. As work culminates to the busiest time ever for MTV International for the Europe Music Awards in early November, social activities increase with Christmas gatherings and holiday celebrations.
You would think things would ease up after the holidays but instead, work picked up to the point where I’m constantly swamped with multiple development and production projects (iphone apps, flash games, tentpole websites, etc) and I added on continuing education classes at NYU with the goal of achieving certification in Advanced Web Development by the end of June. I have a love/hate relationship with my current situation. I welcome opportunities to improve and expand my skills with open arms but I’m constantly in the brink of burning out. I just need to remember to breathe once in a while and just relax, calm down, and enjoy life.
NOVEMBER 2009
Oct 31 – JFK->Berlin
4 – MTV EMAs
It was so great to be at the actual event location in O2 world. Even though we were working throughout the show, it was so worth it to sneak backstage whenever I could to hear and feel the performances of all the great artists live.
7 – Berlin->JFK
Despite the Euro trip being mostly work, Berlin was still such as a great time for me.
Some memorable moments:
* EMA After Party (great European Dance music, great dancing, great company). We spotted Daniel Merriweather, an australian singer and British Actor Paul Danan hit on me o.Oa.
* Getting fake interviewed by Joss Stone and MTV Germany VJ Joko Winterscheidt during Red Carpet Rehearsals
* Grabbing lunch at the cafeteria of the o2 Arena and passing by Katy Perry while getting food.
* Watching/Hearing artists during rehearsals (especially Shakira, also Beyonce, Tokio Hotel, Foo Fighters, Leona Lewis, etc) and hearing them play live from backstage.
* Having Tokio Hotel walk by me as I headed towards Pete Wentz (from Fall Out Boy) at the All Access Backstage area.
* Delicious food at expensive restaurants, especially Gugelhof Restaurant (great server, awesome juices ever – will never forget Elderberry and Rhubarb and Sour Cherry)
21 -Paintball at Cousin’s, Long Island
21 – Star Wars Concert (Henry’s Surprise to me)
23 – Redeemer Hip Hop Class By Henry
26-29 – Thanksgiving Holiday
28 – Thanksgiving Day
29 – Hat Tournament – My first hat tournament ever and we won first place!
30 – Massage from Water Front Spa – Needed a sports massage badly. I found that massages are like workouts. They really work on the sore muscles and it hurts a lot during the process but it’s good for the body in the long run and the after effects make it worth it.
DECEMBER 2009
4 – Hellgate Christmas Party
5 – Katrina’s Baby Shower; Sean’s Birthday (Happy Birthday, Sean!)
9 – mtvnAZN Christmas Party
17 – MTV INTL Christmas Party
18 – Allen’s Bday Dinner at Delmonico’s Steakhouse
19 – H&M Christmas Party
20 – Ate’s Webcam Conference Baby Announcement
Wow.. I was so shocked and surprised to find this out. I know our family isn’t the greatest at showing our emotions but we probably just don’t know how to best express it. I was so happy for my sister for the wonderful miracle she was blessed with. It was such a new thought to me – that our family tree was branching out in that way, that there was a life growing inside my sister’s tummy, that I was now an aunt. I know this is all new to my sister too and I wish nothing but the best for her and the family she is creating for herself.
25 – Christmas
I could never stop loving Christmas. It brings me such joy just to think of what could possibly be the perfect presents for everyone. I love seeing people get excited and touched over gifts. I love how kind and generous people become. I’m thankful that the Lee Family shares their Christmas with me. This year, I got three guitar hero games for the Xbox 360 from Henry! Thank you! I got him a GPS – mostly a gift for Henry but also, since I am Henry’s primary navigator, sort of a gift for myself . =)
31 – New Year’s Eve at Andrew and Amy’s Place
JANUARY 2010
9 – Movie: Sherlock Holmes (Thumbs Up); Movie: Youth In Revolt (Thumbs Down)
15 – JFK-> SFO
16 – 5th Year Anniversary Celebration at the Tonga Room
17 – Dad’s Birthday Celebration (Happy Birthday, Dad!); Dad and Sean Arrive in SF – Welcome to America!
It was great having Sean and Dad in the US. It was a great reunion that was long awaited. I just wish Sean will stay open minded about living in the US. I know he has great hesitations because he isn’t comfortable here yet. I just hope he finds genuine friendships here since that seems to be what matters to him a lot and of course a means of providing for himself too. I’m looking forward to having Nikki join us. I hope both Nikki and Sean and the rest of the Martinez family will end up feeling at home in the US just as I did.
18 – SFO-> JFK
22 – (Work) Hope For Haiti
23 – Musical: Mary Poppins (Thumbs Up); Henry’s Mom’s Birthday Celebration
The coolest thing about this musical was the magic from the movies coming to life on stage. It was a great musical that left us the classic songs stuck in our heads.
26 – Visited Shawn at Sloan Kettering Memorial Hospital
It’s great knowing that Shawn has a lot of support from his friends. He is the type of person that is so nice and kind to others that people just flock around him and shower him with love when he needs it the most. I wish I had that kind of impact on people. I’m so glad that he’s done with chemo and surgery. I hope he is well and is going through a speedy recovery.
FEBRUARY 2010
2 – Lost Season 6 Premiere
4 – Tango Class
Watching all these dance shows I get obsessed with such as Dancing With The Stars and So You Think You Can Dance makes me want to be like them, want to dance again. I got some ballroom classes from a groupon offer and Henry was up for these. We settled on Tango classes but Henry got sick for the next two months and we couldn’t do the Tango class every week. The first beginner Tango class was mostly walking. When we took all the make up classes at the last week of the 4 week cycle, it ended up being great for Henry and I since we could pick up the steps faster (Henry naturally picks up choreo quickly since he was a pro dancer and all I had to do was follow). In the end, it was a good deal for us to get a sampling of different types of ballroom. I don’t know if I would stick to any of them though, it doesn’t seem quite as exciting in class as it is on the show.
6 – Capoeira
It was great doing Capoeira with Helen and her friends. I just wish I could commit to going more often. Every Saturday is hard, especially with weekend classes and with Ultimate coming up. It’s always a great workout and always fun though. We’ll see if I could go again someday.
7 – Superbowl
17 – StarCraft 2 Beta Released
20 – H&M 1st SC2 Game
Oooh man Henry and I have been waiting for this for a long time! We were hooked once we started playing. Towards the end of the day we started going on a 1v1 rematch rampage. Just like old times. I really do wish I had a lot more time to play this game. I haven’t had much time because of the late nights at work. All I know is the 1 hat queen build to roach rush (thanks to Insane). I have yet to play my ladder matches. I hope I can make time for this one of these days.
21 – NYU SCPS – Advanced Client Web Development 9am-6pm; Chinese New Year Dinner with Henry’s family
23 – West Coast Swing Class
24 – Hustle Class
25 – Tango Class
MARCH 2010
10 – JFK-> DEN
12 – Snowboarding: Winter Park
13 – Snowboarding: Steamboat
Snowboarding was surprisingly warm but the snow was still great. Every year I come to Colorado I revive my love for Snowboarding. I had the same initial fear as I shook off the rust but I soon felt one again with the mountain. It’s such a perfect sensation to feel like you’re gliding down smoothly down the slopes. I was so proud that I could carve into the mountain now. I still slide down right after my turns but I can dig my board into the mountain to the point where it reduces friction and the snowboard just moves naturally. Henry tells me I have graduated to Advanced Beginner. =)
13 – Strawberry Park Hot Springs
I was so skeptical about the hot springs experience. I just heard that it was pitch black, outdoors in the freezing cold air and the springs itself was really hot. Frankly, it wasn’t a very appealing thought but I didn’t want to dismiss it completely and I’m glad that Henry and I went for it. After we waited in the cold for the ticket guy to tell us all the rules, our group fumbled in the darkness with two flashlights leading the way towards the springs. We stripped to our bathing suits in the cold air and headed for the rocks that served as steps leading into the springs. It was so hot that I was freaking out but as I went in further, I started to get used to the temperature and it became soothing after a while.
It was actually a nice feeling to have the body submerged in the warmth while the head felt the slight coolness of the air underneath the clear and starry sky. Never mind the fact that there were some naked college kids moving about since you could hardly see them anyway. I told Henry that I felt a bit left out whenever people tell me about experiences they have had that made me feel like they have lived life and I had not but this very night made me feel like I was doing just that – living life, feeling a unique experience. Overall it was great for our sore muscles too after two days of snowboarding. After about an hour, our group headed back to the car. It wasn’t so cold anymore since the springs heated up our bodies. Our bodies felt so relaxed after. It’s definitely worth trying out.
16 – DEN->JFK
21 – NYU SCPS – Advanced PHP and MySQL 9am-6pm
22 – Dancing With The Stars Season Premiere
23 – Musical: Lion King (Thumbs Up)
This is one of those musicals that gets me listening to the songs over and over again right after. That opening scene just blew me away. We had such great seats and it was good that Henry’s family could commit to watching this early enough for me to get those at a special discount. This is easily one of the best musicals I have ever seen. Much props to Rafiki. She was probably the most impressive.
25 – Karaoke with Henry
26 – Movie: Green Zone (Thumbs Up); Mom and Dad’s Anniversary (Happy Anniversary!); Nikki learns of her UC Berkeley Acceptance (Congratulations Nikki! Go Bears!)
What’s in store for the future? I foresee a lot more work, more demand to manage time, Ultimate League I signed up for starting up, more NYU SCPS classes, more time needed for family, a trip to Chicago in May, a Chicago wedding in October, a HK trip to plan in the fall, a great need for more gym time during the mornings before work, more time needed for SC2, and a plan needed to organize my life again because that is the only way I feel like I can be on top of all this craziness. At least I always have our birthdays to look forward to in July =).
