2008 Reflections

I don't normally reflect and resolve at the start of a new year, but I liked Richard's posts, "Some of My Favorites From the Past Year," Parts I and II. He tagged his Blog Roll to do something similar, so here are my sets of reflections.

Things Done For the First Time (Or First Time in a Long Time), 2008

-Broke a bone, which is better than collapsing a lung

-Karaoked in Japan (I believe I am singing "Friends" by Rebecca here)

-Enjoyed sashimi at the Yokohama Intercontinental Hotel, which I will probably never experience again in life (thank you John & Joan!)


-Dressed up for Halloween for the first time since 1996 (here as Grape Crush, with Nik as Holy Shit, expressing what he would be like emerging from a butthole)

With Mai @ Niketown getting matching sweatshirts (I basically live in mine)


With Mitsutaka, hanging out with and inspired by Obama

-Hung out with Mai and Mitsutaka for the first time since 1995!

TV Series Watched in 2008
-Twin Peaks
-Beverly Hills, 90210
-Arrested Development
-My So-Called Life

Best & Most Influential Reads
-James Tully, "Political Philosophy as a Critical Activity"
-Stanley Cavell, bits of Conditons Handsome and Unhandsome that I could understand
-Neal Grossman, various essays on academia and philosophy
-Nabokov, Lolita
-Various fashion blogs, which have changed my internet surfing ways

Resolutions
I'm not big on resolutions--I don't think I've ever really made one and if I have, it was either a stupid one or I'll bet I didn't keep it. But I've thought about what kind of resolutions I'd make, and here's how my thought process went. I'd be tempted to make changes in my life: to be a better student, to be more organized and less messy, to cook and bake more and eat out less, to be more frugal, to stop cleverly and arrogantly justifying my flaws, and so on. But I don't think that I would be able to change in these ways this year just by, however adamantly, making a resolution in January. Like mochi, I will forget about resolutions by March. I actually thought about something related in November, when I wrote a note to myself to stop thinking so much about what I need to do tomorrow, later this week, next week, and so on. Everything that happens in the future is up to what I do now, so it's the present that's more important in terms of what I need to do or should be doing. In a way, this can be interpreted as a resolution, but for me it's a way of looking at what I need and want to do in a more realistic way, something I've been working on over time.

In the Year 2009...

(Photo by Mitsutaka)
I'll be getting married! Adulthood 1, Youthhood 0, in a way, but win-win for MordeKei.

Thanks for the tag, Richard! Here's to a productive 2009.