Here’s a recap of how the year 2009 has been for me so far…

I ended 2008 with a trip to London for work (EMA 2008) and a trip to Germany for World Cyber Games 2008.   After four years of serving the StarCraft community, I decided to take a break from it all and just be a regular gamer.

I thought I was done by 2007 but during my family vacation in Denmark, MYM ended up snatching me up and sending me to BlizzCon.  How could I say no?  And after I realized I was going to be in Europe already when WCG was going to be there, I decided to hop on over and go for the sake of going, this time representing nobody else but myself.  I realized it might be my last hurrah so instead of just documenting the event from an outside perspective, I wanted to be part of the event, taking pictures among people and talking to people more so I could at least say that I was there and I met some good people.

Taking a break from the community meant being able to take a step back and looking at the bigger picture, having more time to focus on other goals and progressing in other aspects of life.  According to Stephen R. Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” it’s called “taking time to sharpen the saw”.  That is exactly what I did:

• Physical – Exercise, Nutrition, Stress Management
  • I went snowboarding in Colorado.
  • I was part of a group dance/skit performance that took four months to prepare for.
  • I took  Breakdancing Classes from Ms. Vee and Lyrical Classes from Derek Mitchell at Broadway Dance Center.   This is where I get most of my flexibility training.
  • I’ve been going to the gym before work three times a week.  This is where I get my strength training.
  • I’ve been playing Ultimate as part of an organized group once or twice  every week.  This is where I get my cardio.
  • I’ve managed to stay pretty consistent with my physical training.  Because of my regular routine, I would say I am in the best shape I’ve ever been in my life.
• Spiritual – Value Clarification & Commitment, Study & Meditation
  • I’ve been learning from Tim Keller’s sermons at Redeemer every Sunday morning.
  • I discuss the messages with Henry and note applications of what we learn.
• Mental – Reading, Visualizing, Planning, Writing
  • I’ve opened up recently to opportunities to learn how to be more successful in life through reading books/magazines and going to work sponsored workshops.
  • I took a month long Advanced Flash Programming class at work.
  • I’ve been learning web development techniques and enterprise solutions through self-teaching and exposure to the tech team and I’ve been getting a lot of practice programming.
  • I’ve also been writing a lot more blog entries.  I’m trying to expand outside of just writing about the daily grind to writing more thought provoked entries.
  • Planning is just something I do on an almost daily basis.  It’s a part of me.  I can’t help but plan and organize or else I will feel overwhelmed by chaos.
  • Taking Chinese classes not only helps me communicate and understand Henry and his family more but it also trains my memory.
• Social/Emotional – Service, Empathy, Synergy, Intrinsic Security.
  • Back in 2005, I struggled to break out of the shy/quiet shell I had built around myself. I have since learned so much about interacting with others.  I open myself up to opportunities to meet people once in a while through work, through sports, through friends.  I see people as interesting beings that have a lot to share about their lives, their interests and their knowledge now.  Although I am still introverted by nature, I am no longer bound by that nature.
  • Even though I am half a world away from my family, they are still a big part of my life.  I went back to Asia at the beginning of the year and intend to go back early next year.
  • I have expanded way beyond my team at work.  I work very closely with other teams, so much so that they can consider me to be part of their groups as well.  I put a lot more effort in talking to people and to be quite honest, it has become something I enjoy now rather than dread.
  • Watching TV and Movies isn’t exactly a social activity but just this very act gives me a lot to choose from in terms of topics to talk about with others.  I’ve gotten sucked into Battle Star Galactica, How I Met Your Mother, Lost, Dancing With The Stars, America’s Best Dance Crew, So You Think You Can Dance, America’s Got Talent, Deadliest Warrior, Two and a Half Men and WSOP.  I also got hooked on a few games on the Xbox 360 – Fable 2, Gears of War 2, Call of Duty 4/5, Guitar Hero World Tour – but this is less of a topic to discuss among people I encounter.

StarCraft doesn’t exactly fit into the above categories but I do still play.  I did take a break for a few months (unfortunately, this also deleted my account and my record and my friends list on USWest) but I’m back to my old 3v3 BGHing ways.  I do miss playing 1v1 though.  I don’t have enough time to dedicate myself to training my 1v1 game.  I wonder if I would be able to find anyone my level anymore out there.  That may just be a goal for another time.

For now, my sights are set upon pushing myself further in life, going to the next level at work while keeping everything else in life balanced.    I want to improve.  I want to achieve.  I want to succeed.  As I mentioned in my blog before, I just want to level up.

Ever since the sixth grade when I got the chicken pox and had to catch up to everyone else because I missed the first few weeks/months of school and I, by some sort of miracle, managed to go above and beyond even my expectations on what I could achieve, I’ve been setting my sights on improving myself.  At first, the focus was primarily academically throughout the end of elementary school and most of my high school life.  Then I expanded my learning to popular culture, web development, and hand eye coordination (gaming) from high school to college and even after.  When I met Henry, many other doors opened for me as opportunities to learn.  I focused on increasing my confidence by learning how to improve my physical appearance, increased my body control and physical abilities through sports and dance, and increased my social skills by learning how to better interact with others and improve my character.  It’s an endless journey of leveling up thats why so many of my journal entries focus on self-improvement.

Part of my motivation is wanting my parents to be proud of me.  It’s a thought that was instilled in me growing up and its still in the back of my mind.  I think the first time it was communicated to me that they were proud of me was during my retreat in elementary school, seventh grade, when I read my palanca letter from my parents.  (“Palanca is a spanish word that means “lever.”  Just as a lever enables a person to move something which is beyond normal strength, palanca, as used in Tres Dias, empowers the accomplishment of things which would not be possible without the Grace of God.”)  It made me feel so good to know that I, as their child, was an accomplishment in their eyes.  I felt like I was able to pay back all the hard work and effort they put into raising me and I had not disappointed them.

Part of my motivation was a motto that was driven into my brain very early on.  My older sister’s motto back then was “Never settle for mediocrity, strive for success.”  I didn’t even realize back then but that statement that was drilled into my head over and over (because my sister kept saying it to herself or something along those lines) was going to guide my path.  I am never satisfied.  I always feel like I’m the average, I’m mediocre, and I need to do something to make myself better.  It may seem like a very unsatisfactory life but rewards are endless when you keep seeing yourself advancing in one form or another.

Part of my motivation now is Henry’s availability as an endless resource to learn from.  With his wide variety of skills in sports and dance and his wide breadth of knowledge, I can never tire from gaining what I can from his experience.  It also helps that he himself is the type to seek knowledge and seek out attaining new skills as this makes him a positive influence on me.

So going back to my original point of this post, here is what I see as my past, my present and my future:

[Recent] Past (Goals Achieved):

• Two 12 week Chinese classes under my belt.  I have a good working knowledge of conversational Chinese and I can read and write some.

Present (Current Focus):

• Three days of working out every week.  I have a good routine in place and I feel like I’m in great physical shape.  I have a lot more energy now which helps motivate me to do more both at work and outside of work.
• Dance Classes at BDC.  Three Beginner Breakdancing classes down.  Two out of eight Beginner Lyrical workshop classes to go.  I am working on increasing flexibility and balance.  I hope to be able to control my movements better.
• Saving up for a downpayment and for retirement.  I am pretty much on track for my financial goals as long as I can keep up not spending too much for the rest of the year!

Future (Goals to Focus on):

• Character Development.  With the Leadership Workshop and Career Development Workshop thanks to MTV, I have focused my goals, created action plans, met with people, discussed goals and worked on improving my value at work.

It is my hope that by next year, and future years to come, I will still have this motivation, this drive to succeed.  I don’t want to lose faith in myself.  I can’t settle for complaining that I’m not as good as someone else or feeling like I can’t achieve certain goals.  I’ll be happy, even if I’m taking baby steps, as long as I’m heading the right direction.

Financial = 45% of goal saved for downpayment, “excellent” credit report

Education/Employment = Advanced Flash Interactive Programming classes in August c/o MTV, Plans for Advanced Web Developer Certification next year c/o NYU, Chinese Class Beginner Level 2 ending July 6

Gaming = Playing StarCraft again (improving teamplay with Henry), fulfilled all goals in Mafia Wars.

Spiritual = Active in Performance Ministry (led warmup and taught learned Breakdancing choreography, brainstorming skit ideas)

Website = Updated the calendar today. I also updated my xanga photo blog and managed to link my xanga from my facebook and my facebook to my xanga. -_-a. There is apparently a three hour lag in updating though. I don’t yet have an RSS feed for this journal so I can’t do external imports but I may work on one sometime.

Fable 2 = I bought the Up In Arms weapon shop today! After achieving Artisan with my Blacksmith job! Currently working on gaining renown to get to the Crucible in Westcliff. Next goal is to save up for Miracle Manor (for Health Regen) in Bowerstone and a Master Cutlass from the Westcliff weapon shop (or a Master Longsword if I can find it at the Bowerstone Blacksmith, then later a Master Katana, etc).

Health = Made eye exam and dental exam appointments. Waiting to hear back about physical exam. I ate a Caesar salad yesterday! Hoping to keep up the salads. Having a hard time getting myself to get away from my desk to eat lunch.

Finance = Planning to sign up to check out my credit report on Friday.

Physical
- Fitness (Strength, Flexibility, Cardiovascular)
- Sports (currently Ultimate. Tennis/Basketball, Bowling, Ice Skating, Football?, Martial Arts someday?)
- Nutrition (Pyramid, Fiber, Vitamins, Water Intake)
- Skin Care
- Clothing/Fashion
- Hair and Make-up

Financial
- Savings for Downpayment (Money Market, CD, spending less)
- Investments for Retirement (401K, ROTH)
- Credit Report

Education/Employment
- Website Development (LAMP, Perl/CGI, JS, AJAX/HTML/XHTML/CSS, UNIX/Linux, Java, GWT, Python, .NET, Flash/AS/Flex, C++, Cold Fusion, Ruby on Rails, iPhone, FBML, Drupal, SEO, Web 2.0/3.0 etc, etc, etc)
- Certification?
- Social Networking, Leadership and Management, Initiative

Gaming
- Fable II (current addiction.. I like escaping to a virtual life)
- StarCraft (I will love this game forever but the competitiveness is stressful)
- Guitar Hero
- Gears of War II and other FPS
- Mafia Wars on Facebook (o.O;;)

Spiritual
- Church, Accountability, Prayer, Bible

I’m on my way to learning as much as I can about everything I can – technology, programming, basic courses from college, life, etc. I’m also determined to keep pushing myself to going to the gym more (Henry and I started up again last Friday at Andrew and Amy’s gym), eating better, taking care of my body, etc. With all this its so easy to get tired and just want to rest.

I’m so ridiculously antsy though. I can’t focus and keep learning. I want to just do something. I want to get my hands dirty in programming. I want goals, tasks. It’s weird now that I don’t have much on my plate. I don’t feel like I’m going anywhere when I don’t have a path to go through. The level up game play can only take you so far. There needs to be much more to this. Otherwise, what’s the point?

webcast.berkeley.edu

I found fun hobbies for my character to do. The more time I get my character to play games I enjoy, the higher it’s skill level becomes and the better I get at these games. This does increase my character’s overall happiness and even it’s social skill level but it just didn’t seem as productive. I wanted to go through bigger level-ups.

I did a lot of research online and found strategies that will help me increase my finance level through wise allocation of money through investments. I also got a book that gave me an idea of what I needed to do. Excited with all this new knowledge since I found out how to optimize my money long-term, I reallocated my money and put them into highly rated and recommended mutual funds and the best interest bearing CDs and money market accounts. I feel like this is a great way to level up my character in the long run. Sort of like building moon wells in my base in the best locations.

Health and nutrition is another aspect of my character which I had neglected. I made sure to bring my character in for regular check ups and maintenance. My character is healthy but I have found strategy guides on improving nutrition. As of now, I am researching this and I will figure out the best way to optimize my character’s nutrition. When that happens, I will feel fulfilled again!

Here are the categories I focus on:

- Relationship – I think I’m doing great with this aspect of my character’s life. I’ve chosen to match my character with an amazing character that helps boost my level for every category.

- Happiness – I can never be satisfied. I always need to improve. I am happy with life overall but I always want to make things better.

- Job (Incoming Money) – I feel like I’ve made great job choices. It is always something that gives me a good flow of income, adds plus points to my happiness, and doesn’t stress me out too much.

- Finance (Money Management) – I think I’ve optimized this as much as I can. I am glad to have done my research so that I don’t have to worry about it anymore. I can just leave this alone now and let it grow. http://www.morningstar.com/ was my best friend.

- Intelligence – I feel like I haven’t done much since I graduated college. I have been increasing knowledge in a lot of areas in life to improve myself in multiple categories but I do want to be more up to date with the latest in web coding and technology. This will also help me increase monetary intake through work (not only through my main job but also through side jobs). I need to know http://www.w3schools.com/ inside out.

- Fitness – I am going to the gym twice to three times a week and I have dance once or twice a week. I feel like this puts me in about an average level in fitness. I do want to push some sort of exercise to five days a week and research more about how to optimize my strength, cardio and flexibility. I’ve learned a lot about men’s fitness and I’ve been following along with guy exercises but I want to see how to optimize toning within a woman’s physique and see if it’s any different o.Oa.

- Spiritual – I get a healthy serving of God in my life through church and small group every week.

- Social – I am constantly exposed to people. I do have fun with social activities but I get tired out quickly since I am highly introverted. I know I’m supposed to be reaching out and making new friends and networking more. I just need a lot of time alone to ‘reboot’ and get energy to hang out with people.

- Health/Nutrition – This is my next research project. I don’t like food much and I am not the healthiest eater but I do wanna figure out how to eat a balanced diet. http://mypyramid.gov/ is going to be my new best friend.

- Family – Considering I am no longer surrounded by my family, I can only keep touch by phone call, email and infrequent visits. I am doing what I can and flying to California once in a while and to the Philippines once a year lately. I do hope to be reunited more often in the future.

What is your strategy for optimizing upgrades to your character?

I do feel like I am my own character in this game of Life. I strive to improve. I want to be better. I guess that is the competitive gaming side of me coming out. It’s difficult to want to be better at everything since I have a tendency to spread myself out too thin. I guess my only way to focus is to obsess. The problem with this? I can’t relax. I can’t clear my head because I keep wanting to get back on my favorite MMORPG and use the time to upgrade. If I don’t relax I will stress myself out. Sometimes I just need to force myself to turn ‘it’ off, to relinquish control of the game and leave the character be, idling and having it go on automatic, or maybe even have it sleep more. I need balance in my life.. balance and sleep.

TL Blog Post: http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=79119