it's now the time of the year when i recap the things, good and bad, that i did and/or happened to me during the past twelve months. i can't remember the exact order of all the cool things that happened so i guess i'll just list them and write about them as i remember them. it's been a super awesome year. i don't really know where to start.

[MARLA SINGER] yes! my super amazing oh-nine three-seventy-zeee was born! i love her. i want to take her to my deathbed, then to my grave. and if it was legal in california, by god, i would marry her. hahaha. she is the best thing that ever happened to me. every morning when i drive to work, i think about how good it is to be alive and be driving her and have a hundred people turn their heads to get another glimpse of her. oohhh...the joy of when people roll down their windows just to tell me how awesome my car is. i can't even begin to explain how it feels. but i guess you could think of the best day of your life, raise it to the tenth power, and that'll give you an idea of how awesome Marla is. happy face.

[BARTENDING SCHOOL] my plan A career path. i never tell people this, but engineering really is my plan B career. i know it turned out to be the main money-maker, but i've always thought of it as a safety net just in case my bartending career fell through. but this year has been so good to me that i got the opportunity to go to bartending school. yay! it was cool. i even got a diploma. i'm now a certified bartender! i've never put my new skills to use, but i like it because at least now i'm not just an engineer who has an eight-to-five cube job. just ask, and i'll mix you some pretty cool alcoholic concoctions. wink.

[SKYDIVING] wow. this is one of highlights of my life! it was more exciting than college graduation. haha. all the adrenaline just came rushing, and i was jumping off a plane, and then i was floating in the sky, and i was strapped very tightly to a hottt boyyy, and the view was simply amazing. the ocean was so blue and the farms were so green, and there was deer hundreds of feet below me, and yes...i was still strapped very tightly to a very hottt boy. i remember thinking, man...the only time i was ever this close to a boy was when i hooked up with him. double-wink.

[VALENTINE'S DAY WEEKEND IN VEGAS] you just had to be there. i don't know if it's appropriate to be blogging about it. all i can say is, i had a great time. thank you, boy from the minor leagues. laugh.

[JAPAN TRIP] one of the best trips i ever had. a lot of firsts: my first time on a train. the first time i had sushi for breakfast. first time i ate raw octupus. my first flan-flavored ice cream. my first apple tea. yum! my first sake. my first mango beer. my cute umbrella with orange stars on it. "i don't understand!" "is this real?" "okay...you guys go...please don't leave me!!!" and notice the quotation marks. too funny. laugh.

[MICHIGAN TRIP] Alcoholic Chick and i visited Major Instigator. i love the midwest scenery: the leaves in three or four different shades of orange, yellow, red, green. i also love how time felt like it slowed down. it wasn't like the LA/OC area at all. it just felt more laid back and more in touch with nature. i love the apple orchard and the apple cider and doughnuts, the hay bale ride and the corn maze. it was cold, but i think it's something i could actually get used to. halfway through the weekend, i thought of moving to a colder place and ditch the seventy-degree weather here at home. i don't know, i just felt so inspired to move. something-face. oh yeah, i went to my first musical too. Legally Blonde.

[DODGERS] division champs! woot! enough said.

[DOUGHNUT'S CAR] poor kid. his car wants to die, and it's partially my fault. sad face. but i swear i didn't mean to kill your second gear. will you ever forgive me? i think not, because you're mean! and i was kidding when i said i'd demote you to three. you're always a five to me. please don't assassinate me for my life insurance. i know you love marla, but marla doesn't love you. i hope you succeed in getting laid in twenty-ten. smiley face.

[JAGER NIGHT] no, i'm not talking about camping, but that was a lot of fun too. i still get sick just thinking about how much jager we drank that night. i think i need another six months to detox myself from all that jager. ugh. gross. but it was fun while it lasted. don't we all have to move on? yes, we do. and now it's time. i'm sorry. i'm very sorry. double sad face.

[SECOND TATTOO] one day in the summertime, i got so bored i decided i'd get another tattoo. it was pretty random, and i didn't know what to get so i got my lastname on the back of my left shoulder. i really like my lastname, and i'll eventually lose it when i get married so i might as well ink it in. maybe i'll get my future husband's name tattooed there too, but i'll have to careful about that. i don't want to marry someone who has a long ass lastname. if you must know, tattoos hurt like sons of bitches. kidding.

[FIRST YEAR WORK-SARY] yes, i've been working full time for over year, and i thought i wouldn't even last three months. but work has been good. i don't feel so alienated at work anymore, and i'm becoming more social with my coworkers. i'm also glad that i got to keep my job despite the horrible economy and how some people i know lost their jobs. i'm very grateful that i'm still at five-five-three-wald. i'm still adjusting to the daily grind of it all: the waking up early, the ten-plus hours i spend every week just to commute to and from work, the monotonous eight-to-five desk job with very high cubicle walls with no sunlight. but i'm with Marla now, so it's okay. happy face.

[SNOWBOARDING] i got a little tiny bit better. the goal now is to get even better. laugh again.

[HALLOWEEN] i was a ladybug. i remember being bored for an hour, then the girl came, and then i woke up the next morning. i had never been more confused. if i had a Top Ten Most Confusing Moments of My Life, that night would come in at least in the top five. i had no idea what happened, but according to the pictures and eyewitness accounts, i had a great time. winking face.

[NEW FRIENDS] i made a few new friends this year. some people would say this isn't even important, but to me it is. i mean, if you're caged in a 3-walled cubicle every day and don't get to go out and see people much, you learn to appreciate little things like meeting new people. because it's all very unexpected and non-routine-ish.

[I OFFICIALLY SAY GOOD-BYE TO SECRET LIFE] what else is there to say? i'm glad he'd been a part of my life. but it's time to move on to bigger and better things. no numbers. no facebook. no emails. nothing now. i just don't understand why you had to ask if i hated you (looking back now, it was sort of nice that you facebooked me on my birthday weekend, even though you only wanted to know if i hated you). no, i don't hate you. i never hated you. i'm glad you happened. if/when i see you again, i'll hug you. but until then, let's pretend neither of us exists. we need to grow up and figure out what we really want.

so this is my Top Fifteen. overall it's been a great year. i learned new things, saw new places, expanded my social network, cut ties with some people, bonded with the others, got things i wanted, grew a little everyday. but i like how it's almost the new year now, so i can do everything all over again. except this time, it'll be grander and more awesome, and more things will be accomplished, and more goals/dreams will be achieved.