Posts Tagged ‘recap’

Winter Recap 2010

Monday, March 29th, 2010

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 =).

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2009 Half Year Recap

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

Teamliquid Blog Post:

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.

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