2008 - A look back at one of the most interesting years of my lifetime
This is the first time I've had a planner to assist me with writing the yearly wrapup I've done since 2004. This will be a long retrospective on all 12 months of the year. First, it's time for resolutions, statistics and best ofs.
RESOLUTIONS
- Get accepted to a 4 year university. Hopefully Cal.
- Be able to afford to continue going to all these sporting events and concerts.
- Get a hug on January 14th. It'd be the first time I got one on the first day of a school semester, ever!
- Make the most of my final semester at Laney/BCC.
STATS
Concerts attended - 5 (2001 - 1. 2004 - 2, 2005 - 5, 2006 - 7, 2007 - 6)
March 17th The Pillows w/ Noodles and All Ages (Slim's)
April 30th Colin Meloy w/ Laura Gibson (The Fillmore)
May 28th The Cure w/ 65daysofstatic (HP Pavilion)
August 22nd Outside Lands Festival, saw Radiohead, Beck, Cold War Kids and Steel Pulse (Golden Gate Park)
November 25th The Decemberists w/ Loch Lomond (The Warfield)
Sporting events attended
February 7 - Golden State Warriors vs. Chicago Bulls @ Oracle Arena (L 108-114, 2007-2008 season)
March 14 - San Jose Sharks vs. St. Louis Blues @ HP Pavilion (W 4-1, 2007-2008 season)
March 29 - Oakland A's vs. San Francisco Giants @ McAfee Coliseum (exhibition, W 6-2)
April 16 - Golden State Warriors vs. Seattle SuperSonics @ Oracle Arena (L 121-126, 2007-2008 season)
June 6 - Oakland A's vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim @ McAfee Coliseum (L 1-3)
July 30 - Oakland A's vs. Kansas City Royals @ McAfee Coliseum (L 3-4 in 10 innings)
August 8 - Oakland Raiders vs. San Francisco 49ers @ McAfee Coliseum (exhibition, W 15-3)
August 17 - Oakland A's vs. Chicago White Sox @ McAfee Coliseum (L 1-13)
August 23rd - Oakland Raiders vs. Arizona Cardinals @ McAfee Coliseum (exhibition, L 0-24)
September 9 - Oakland Raiders vs. Denver Broncos @ McAfee Coliseum (L 14-41)
September 19 - Oakland A's vs. Seattle Mariners @ McAfee Coliseum (W 2-0)
September 28 - Oakland Raiders vs. San Diego Chargers @ Oakland/Alameda County Coliseum (L 18-28)
October 19 - Oakland Raiders vs. New York Jets @ Oakland/Alameda County Coliseum (W 16-13 OT)
November 2 - Oakland Raiders vs. Atlanta Falcons @ Oakland/Alameda County Coliseum (L 0-24)
November 9 - Oakland Raiders vs. Carolina Panthers @ Oakland/Alameda County Coliseum (L 6-17)
November 30 - Oakland Raiders vs. Kansas City Chiefs @ Oakland/Alameda County Coliseum (L 13-20)
December 14 - Oakland Raiders vs. New England Patriots @ Oakland/Alameda County Coliseum (L 26-49)
December 21 - Oakland Raiders vs. Houston Texans @ Oakland/Alameda County Coliseum (W 27-16)
December 23 - San Jose Sharks vs. Vancouver Canucks @ HP Pavilion (W 5-0)
December 29 - Golden State Warriors vs. Toronto Raptors @ Oracle Arena (W 117-111)
Records
Sharks games: 3-0-0 Lifetime: 3-0-0
Warriors games: 2007-2008 0-2 2008-2009 1-0 Total 1-2 Lifetime 1-3
A's games: 1-3, Lifetime 4-5
Raiders: 2-6 Lifetime 6-19
BEST OFs
Favorite months of the year: May, June, July, December
Worst: March, August, December (no that's not a typo)
Game of the year: Grand Theft Auto 4
Runner up: Braid, Super Smash Brothers Brawl
Album of the year: Coldplay - Viva La Vida
Runner up: The Cure - 4:13 Dream
Song of the year: The Killers - Human
Runners up: Coldplay - Viva La Vida, Violet Hill; The Cure - Underneath the Stars, Switch, Sleep When I'm Dead; The Decemberists - Days of Elaine, Record Year for Rainfall; Death Cab for Cutie - I Will Possess Your Heart, Long Division; Dave Gahan - Love Will Leave
Movie of the year: Wall-E
Runner up: The Dark Knight
I only saw 3 movies though.
Best concert attended: The Cure (May 28)
Runner up: Colin Meloy (April 30)
Best moment of the year: Trips to Bolivia & Washington D.C., especially staying up till 4am walking around the National Mall with friends
Runners up: Singing my composition for Voice class, Raider tailgates, Obama's election, getting Fluffy back, getting new kittens, the major improvement i've made socially at school, recording Youtube videos of the Guitar ensemble
Worst moment of the year: The death of several of my neighbor's pets (not at the same time)
Runners up: Election day after it became apparent Prop 8 was passing, closing the year with depressing news about Gaza, losing $200 to the IRS in December (which is all I had), some of the worst local sports I've seen lately
MONTH BY MONTH - Keep in mind I do not hide much here, so pathetic and sad things that will haunt me later when it's being mocked in IRC are in here, maybe I shouldn't say that?
January
I was fresh off one of the better semesters of school. Fall 2007 started off like any other, boring, mostly antisocial, but in December I had picked it up significantly. While my winter break wasn't very interesting. I did play my Christmas presents in Super Paper Mario and actually I think that was it. College bowl games were on and so was the NFL playoffs.
The biggest news was that my sister was moving out to San Francisco, and my dad elected to move to Oakland from Berkeley because rent would be cheaper. So much was spent going to SF and Oakland moving stuff around. I guess some bonding came out of it.
School started on I believe the 17th. Most of the first day was just attending classes for like 10 minutes as usual on a first day, and I believe only Spanish actaully lasted the entire class. It was a nice surprise that many of the people I knew from the Fall 07 was around somewhere, but not everybody I wanted to see again the most. (see 2007 wrapup) On the first day of guitar class, I received my first ever hug from a female in the month of January. I don't know why, but I thought I'd include that. I ended the year still without one ever in the months of February, March and April.
My birthday was very dull. It fell on the one day of the week where I was at school from 9:30am-9pm, and I didn't tell anybody until guitar class. In retrospect, revealing it at Spanish class would have been a good idea.
February
My birthday was celebrated late, on February 1st the family went to the Cheesecake Factory in San Francisco, where I had the usual four cheese pasta <3. On the 7th I saw the Warriors play the Bulls. I had expected a win since the Warriors were good and the Bulls were bad, but the Bulls would pull up an upset. Bad luck, because I had intended to go to the Knicks game a week earlier, which the Warriors won, but I procrastinated and tickets for that game weren't available by the time I decided to buy them.
At the end of February I got a good ol' fashioned cold. Oh I hate those. One of the worst in recent memory too, and cost me some time at school.
I can't recall many interesting things from school, BUT I remember getting into the hang of Spanish and Choir. I was bothered by constant snubbing in Spanish though.
March
Spring break was spent watching the Sharks and Warriors dominate their leagues. Kind of. I went to San Jose for my first ever Sharks game, where they dominated the St. Louis Blues 4-1. I would have liked a more dramatic game, but it was their 11th straight victory. (Incidentally, their streak ended the very next game) The Warriors would fade late in the season, but at this time they still seemed sure for a playoff spot.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl came out this month, and I also got Sonic and the Secret Rings. I spent a lot more time with Smash Bros. (in fact, Sonic was very lame), and that dominated the month of March. I also downloaded DKC1, 2, and 3 around this time, and completed them all.
Choir was just getting fun, but the fun would almost stop when two girls left unexpectedly and unannounced with personal reasons for the rest of the semester. I was having a better time in Guitar than last semester, and Jazz Piano was fun.
I attended the Pillows concert with my sister, and it was a great show.
April
Following Easter, i decided to take a month of eating meat. Just to see what it was like. It was hard, obviously, but I pulled it off. Don't plan on doing it again, even though I lost 5 points in the process.
Well the Warriors eventually choked in big games against the Nuggets and Mavericks and were eliminated well before I attended their final game against the Seattle Sonics. Surely they'd still try to beat one of the worst teams in the league, playing their final game EVER? Nope, they packed it in, and the Sonics won. Sigh. The Warriors were like 27-14 (don't quote me on that) at home and I had to attend two of their losses and none of their wins. In both cases, the Warriors won their previous home game.
So only one of my teams was going to be in the playoffs. It was time to grow the Playoff Beard! The Sharks entered the playoffs against the fierce Calgary Flames. It was a tough series, and the Flames took a 2-1 lead in a best of 7. The Sharks would come back, and one of their most memorable comebacks was in Game 4, when Joe Thorton scored the game winning goal with 9 seconds left. (I couldn't see it on TV, I listened on the radio after Guitar class and waiting for my ride) The Sharks would win the series 4-3.
Also in sports, the NFL Draft was on, so I went to a party with tailgating buddies, most of whom I had not seen yet in 2008 (I had seen a few in March at an animal shelter event)
School was nearing the end, so the pressure was on to get the social monkey off my back. I got a break when on April 24 (coincidentally my dad's birthday, but he was out of town) when I joined Spanish class friends to lunch, even that could have ended better, but it set a precedent. That precedent didn't mean crap in the end, because it was the only time it happened, but still a highlight.
The month ended with a concert, Colin Meloy (of the Decemberists) at the Fillmore. He put on a great performance. I loved it. I saw my first movie of the year on a day off visit to San Francisco. I chose Forbidden Kingdom because I didn't have time to watch Forgetting Sarah Marshall or I would have missed an appointment. I liked FK though.
The Sharks season was looking dim, when the Dallas Stars went up 3 games to nothing. I actually listened to the Sharks first win while at the Fillmore.
May
On the 2nd I attended a school recital featuring people from a voice class I was not in, but had been in the Fall 07 semester. It was a memorable night because I knew nearly everybody, but I was also a little jealous that I couldn't perform in it. Maybe next year. I decided to join the class again in the Fall of 08 and Spring of 09.
The Sharks season ended on May 4th, on a fateful Sunday night in Dallas. The game would be decided in a fourth overtime, and lasted a good 5 hours.
May was the last month of school, and it was huge. May 13 would be remembered as one of the biggest comebacks at school ever. It started off with one of the worst performances (socially and academically) at Spanish, when I could not discuss with my partner (who happened to be a real you know what) a story, mainly because I didn't read it, and I looked like a big dummy. Really uncomfortable and awkward. I followed it up with a fun time at Harmonic Analysis and Guitar class. Let me talk about what happened during Guitar class: Our group of intermediate students performed an ensemble piece called Flor Amorosa that we recorded and put on Youtube. To celebrate our accomplishment, we went out at the Pacific Coast Brewery and we all had a great time.
The following week was the official last week of school, and in both Spanish and Guitar, the last day was spent at a restuarant (Cancun for Spanish and the same Brewery for Guitar) where much fun was had, but it was emotional too because I was seeing people for probably the last time, although that turned out not to be the case with a good portion of classmates.
I had decided, after going to school on the 27th to get my Spanish grade, that I would take Intermediate Spanish Conversation in June. May 28th was the Sight Singing final, and also the night I was going to San Jose with my mom and sister to see the Cure. Their performance was really special, it was over 3 hours, and a lot of fun.
June
The two week Intermediate Spanish Conversation class went well, even though I was spending 5 hours a day 5 days a week for one class and that gets tiring. It was two more weeks to spend with my Spanish family, so to speak, most of whom I have not seen since. We'd also go out quite a bit to Cancun and Au Coucolet (?), restuarants in Berkeley. On the last day of class, I tied the number of hugs I received last year (7) and we're not even halfway through the year. Can I get to 14? Could I ever...
I went to my first A's game of the year against the Angels, and the A's lost. This would become a regular occasion this year.
One of the additions to the family was a white kitten that Mom found on the street taking me to Spanish class. Her official name is "Jenny", but my sister and I call her "Mocci" because we called her that before she got an official name. She's deaf, too. My neighbors got two kittens around this time as well, to replace his two previous cats, who unfortunately passed on in March/April.
Well, June was the biggest month of the year, because it was time to leave the country for the first time in my life. I went to La Paz, Bolivia with my dad and sister, along with many relatives who went there from Florida and I met my relatives who already live there. I was only there for a short 18 day stay, and we didn't see many tourist destinations (Lake Titticaca in the first weekend and that was it) but it was a great time seeing another country and culture, adapting to the surroundings and mile high air, and I enjoyed meeting all my relatives.
Surely I can say more about the Bolivia trip, and I can. A lot of money was spent buying cheap (but high-quality) clothes, and pirated software and CDs. The quizine there was mostly good, and everything was fresh. This did cause some problems with my digestive system, which brought out some of the flaws in a third-world country that I as a priviliged American couldn't stand, and it taught me a lesson on how well I have it.
July
I began July still in Bolivia, but it was getting time to leave. Late shopping for souveniers and gifts, as well as visiting people late, and it was quite stressful.
Instead of going directly to California, because of flight schedules, I was forced to stay in Miami for a night. Well, I happen to have family there, so staying there was going to work out. I managed to find time to go to Miami Beach and walk around and enjoy the sights as well as being in the US again. I remember having some special Colombian hot dog which was super good. I also had one last year.
I got back to San Fran the next morning, and settled in for two or three days, watched an A's game or two, saw a school counselor about the Fall 08 semester, and then had to pack again. Why? Well, it was time for LemoCon back in the East Coast.
Tuesday night was not that hectic, and my JetBlue flight was one of the comfiest I've been a part of. It was after I got to D.C. that there was a problem. I took the Metrobus out, but I wound up still in Virginia mistakingly, so I had to spend some money on a taxi to the Holiday Inn and when I got there I was several hours early. I went around, with bags intact, around the neighborhood, checked out a Whole Foods, and spent time at a coffee shop (free internet) before I made my way back to the hotel and this time there were people around and it was time for fun.
The D.C. trip was memorable because of that Thursday night, when at about 10pm our group went to dinner. The dinner was awful (mine anyway) but afterwards, despite it being near midnight, we decided to visit the National Mall figuring that it may get too busy later and it would be hot in the day. We wound up spending until 5am walking around and seeing the Washington Monument, the World War 2 memorial and the Lincoln Memorial. Friday night was known for a regrettable encounter with a homeless man, some kids on the street, and a resturant that refused to believe that my ID was legit. Kind of a sad way to end what was a great trip. I still enjoyed the trips to the Air and Space museum and the Portrait Gallery.
After LemoCon I stayed a few extra days with the one aunt I didn't see during the Bolivia/Miami trip, meaning I've seen all 7 of my dad's sisters and brothers in a month span. We went back to downtown and I saw the Natural History museum (really nice) and the Jefferson memorial. Then I went home, ending a long vacation that I will always remember.
At the end of July I went to the A's vs. Royals game as it was the annual Root Beer Float Day at the Coliseum. I got pictures with media personalities and hoped to see the A's win for the first time in '08, but it would not be as KC would win in 10 innings.
Also notable was The Dark Knight, which I saw a day or two prior to the A's game. What else can I say but a really good movie. I also purchased Viva La Vida by Coldplay, and it's a good album, despite that it's popular to hate them.
AUGUST
Well, with no more vacations, it was time to await the beginning of the Fall 08 semester. The last few days of vacation was spent playing Zelda games, visiting Berkeley a few times, watching Wall-E, bumping into old friends, and watching the A's lose a buttload of games. At least it was time for football season. Oh right, my team is the Raiders. Well, anyway it was pre-season time which meant tailgates and seeing old (well, I met them in 2006) buddies.
I tried once again to see the A's win a game. The White Sox were in town and that means Nick Swisher was returning to his old city. Who would have guessed that he would be rested the day I saw him? Didn't play, I came too late to get a free jersey, and the White Sox won 13-1. Couldn't think of any positives about going to the game except maybe seeing Ken Griffey Jr. It was the third straight year (out of the three years I've gone to A's games) that I witnessed the A's lose a blowout. At least in '06 and '07 those were the only losses I've seen. Instead, I'm 0-3 in 2008 and have now fallen to 3-5 overall.
School already started when I went to the Outside Lands festival in San Francisco to see Beck and Radiohead. Things already started off shaky when my camera wound up dead and I couldn't take any pictures. I had a tough decision when I saw Beck, whether to leave early to get a good spot for Radiohead or whether to not even watch him at all. I saw his performance, nearly all of it, and wound up not being able to see Radiohead AT ALL until the encore. I was way in the back, and a brick wall of taller people ahead of me meant I was just listening to them play. Tainted the concert for me honestly. I can at least say that I've seen them before.
It was tough adjusting back to the schedule of going back to school, and also adjusting to certain friends not being around anymore. It just made me closer to those who were still around, and I did meet plenty of new friends, especially in the music department. Geography and Psychology also had interesting people I'd enjoy the next few months with.
My cat Licorice gave birth to kittens, again, but unlike in May, some of the kittens (3 of the 4) survived birth. We still have them today, meaning we have a lot of cats...
Howabout that win by Cal over Michigan State to close out the month...
By the beginning of school, I had already received 20 hugs, trashing last year's record (7 from school, 2 from Bolivia, 9 from LemoCon, 1 from school-related encounter in Berkeley). Whee.
SEPTEMBER
It just started to appear that school was going to become a fun semester. Refer to the SCHOOL UPDATES for a full synopsis. But I will say that around this time I was struggling in quizzes early on. Things were not looking very good in the Psychology class, and Geography didn't look much better. I did attend a group outing at Dimond Park to gain extra credit, where I made new friends and got in good standing with the teacher, always a good thing! (And something I typically do with all my teachers anyway)
The Raiders season began with a blowout loss to the Broncos. Losing their season opener is a tradition anyway. They would beat KC and nearly upset Buffalo and San Diego but mostly looked bad. I made one last chance to see an A's victory. They played Seattle, and won 2-0. Never was I that happy to see a team win, when they were playing a horrible team and they had nothing to play for. Cal played well but lost a tough one at Maryland.
Tragedy would strike again for my neighbor. One of his new cats got run over and since our family was close to all our neighbor's pets, it hit us real hard too. I'm still not over it. In a strange twist of fate, one of our cats who we lost in November 2007, was found a few houses down. We got our Fluffy back, and that was good news.
I got Madden 09 and Braid. Braid was something special, I really enjoyed that game.
OCTOBER
This was a kind of slow month, only one Raiders home game (although that was a win), and I didn't do anything for Halloween. The Sharks and Warriors begun their seasons, and I think it's the first time I've followed both teams from the start, although I'm sure I watched the openers for both teams last year I didn't pay attention to much of their early games.
Drama started to unfold at school over a former classmate of mine as I started to see her on Mondays and Wednesday afternoons. This would start a long storyline about trying to ask her out. Check out the school updates for more on that.
NOVEMBER
One of the biggest months of the year, because of Election Day. I voted at like 8 in the morning (which resulted me in making my Geography class on time for the first time all semester!) and was busy in classes that I couldn't follow election coverage but I did know that Obama won when I looked in another class which had a TV on. Of course it was exciting finding out that Obama won the election, but then I found out that gay marraige was likely going to be banned here, and that really depressed me. I still hope there's a chance the supreme court may overturn it, or that CA voters may revoke it in 2010, but it was still a sad day for civil rights in America.
Sports wasn't all that good. I attended possibly the three worst games of the year for the Raiders. They were shutout by the Falcons and were dominated by the Panthers. They were then "upset" by Kansas City, giving up KC's second win of the year. Warriors showed that they were infact going to be one of the cellar dwellars of the NBA, and Cal lost a bunch of huge games at USC and Oregon State. At least they kicked Stanford's ass. The Sharks were surprising everybody, winning a buttload of games and making a historic early season start. The lone bright spot, and it's in a sport hardly anyone here cares about.
School was getting better and better. The Choir performance went well, and a lot of people watched. Guitar class was getting funner, and Psychology class was something to look forward to.
A few days before thanksgiving I attended a Decemberists show, but I had to sit way in the back. That took away from the show but they had a nice setlist and I still had a fun time.
Thanksgiving was interesting itself, because I had a friend over. Not much else to say about this month.
DECEMBER
December was an up and down month, featuring moments like asking a girl to lunch for the first time, three great sporting events I attended (one bad one), partying with friends at school, socializing like a normal person, and performing one of my own compositions for two classes. Did I also mention that I completed the school semester with yet another high GPA?
This month also featured many lows - Losing money to the IRS which resulted in difficulties traveling to San Jose, getting lunch at school, going to a Warriors game, and enjoying movies and concerts during Winter break. It was my fault, as I should have put the money in my account to my Savings, but I procrastinated... Certainly world news wasn't any better. Obama's decision to have Rick Warren do the Invocation at his inauguration, a middle finger to homosexuals, along with the struggling economy and Israel's bombing of Gaza doesn't make me feel any better about the direction the US and the World are going. And it just downright upsets me.
And that's why December is both in my "best months" and "worst months" of the year.
A huge writeup of how December went on, grade wise and social wise is up. Other than that, I think I'm done here.
RESOLUTIONS
- Get accepted to a 4 year university. Hopefully Cal.
- Be able to afford to continue going to all these sporting events and concerts.
- Get a hug on January 14th. It'd be the first time I got one on the first day of a school semester, ever!
- Make the most of my final semester at Laney/BCC.
STATS
Concerts attended - 5 (2001 - 1. 2004 - 2, 2005 - 5, 2006 - 7, 2007 - 6)
March 17th The Pillows w/ Noodles and All Ages (Slim's)
April 30th Colin Meloy w/ Laura Gibson (The Fillmore)
May 28th The Cure w/ 65daysofstatic (HP Pavilion)
August 22nd Outside Lands Festival, saw Radiohead, Beck, Cold War Kids and Steel Pulse (Golden Gate Park)
November 25th The Decemberists w/ Loch Lomond (The Warfield)
Sporting events attended
February 7 - Golden State Warriors vs. Chicago Bulls @ Oracle Arena (L 108-114, 2007-2008 season)
March 14 - San Jose Sharks vs. St. Louis Blues @ HP Pavilion (W 4-1, 2007-2008 season)
March 29 - Oakland A's vs. San Francisco Giants @ McAfee Coliseum (exhibition, W 6-2)
April 16 - Golden State Warriors vs. Seattle SuperSonics @ Oracle Arena (L 121-126, 2007-2008 season)
June 6 - Oakland A's vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim @ McAfee Coliseum (L 1-3)
July 30 - Oakland A's vs. Kansas City Royals @ McAfee Coliseum (L 3-4 in 10 innings)
August 8 - Oakland Raiders vs. San Francisco 49ers @ McAfee Coliseum (exhibition, W 15-3)
August 17 - Oakland A's vs. Chicago White Sox @ McAfee Coliseum (L 1-13)
August 23rd - Oakland Raiders vs. Arizona Cardinals @ McAfee Coliseum (exhibition, L 0-24)
September 9 - Oakland Raiders vs. Denver Broncos @ McAfee Coliseum (L 14-41)
September 19 - Oakland A's vs. Seattle Mariners @ McAfee Coliseum (W 2-0)
September 28 - Oakland Raiders vs. San Diego Chargers @ Oakland/Alameda County Coliseum (L 18-28)
October 19 - Oakland Raiders vs. New York Jets @ Oakland/Alameda County Coliseum (W 16-13 OT)
November 2 - Oakland Raiders vs. Atlanta Falcons @ Oakland/Alameda County Coliseum (L 0-24)
November 9 - Oakland Raiders vs. Carolina Panthers @ Oakland/Alameda County Coliseum (L 6-17)
November 30 - Oakland Raiders vs. Kansas City Chiefs @ Oakland/Alameda County Coliseum (L 13-20)
December 14 - Oakland Raiders vs. New England Patriots @ Oakland/Alameda County Coliseum (L 26-49)
December 21 - Oakland Raiders vs. Houston Texans @ Oakland/Alameda County Coliseum (W 27-16)
December 23 - San Jose Sharks vs. Vancouver Canucks @ HP Pavilion (W 5-0)
December 29 - Golden State Warriors vs. Toronto Raptors @ Oracle Arena (W 117-111)
Records
Sharks games: 3-0-0 Lifetime: 3-0-0
Warriors games: 2007-2008 0-2 2008-2009 1-0 Total 1-2 Lifetime 1-3
A's games: 1-3, Lifetime 4-5
Raiders: 2-6 Lifetime 6-19
BEST OFs
Favorite months of the year: May, June, July, December
Worst: March, August, December (no that's not a typo)
Game of the year: Grand Theft Auto 4
Runner up: Braid, Super Smash Brothers Brawl
Album of the year: Coldplay - Viva La Vida
Runner up: The Cure - 4:13 Dream
Song of the year: The Killers - Human
Runners up: Coldplay - Viva La Vida, Violet Hill; The Cure - Underneath the Stars, Switch, Sleep When I'm Dead; The Decemberists - Days of Elaine, Record Year for Rainfall; Death Cab for Cutie - I Will Possess Your Heart, Long Division; Dave Gahan - Love Will Leave
Movie of the year: Wall-E
Runner up: The Dark Knight
I only saw 3 movies though.
Best concert attended: The Cure (May 28)
Runner up: Colin Meloy (April 30)
Best moment of the year: Trips to Bolivia & Washington D.C., especially staying up till 4am walking around the National Mall with friends
Runners up: Singing my composition for Voice class, Raider tailgates, Obama's election, getting Fluffy back, getting new kittens, the major improvement i've made socially at school, recording Youtube videos of the Guitar ensemble
Worst moment of the year: The death of several of my neighbor's pets (not at the same time)
Runners up: Election day after it became apparent Prop 8 was passing, closing the year with depressing news about Gaza, losing $200 to the IRS in December (which is all I had), some of the worst local sports I've seen lately
MONTH BY MONTH - Keep in mind I do not hide much here, so pathetic and sad things that will haunt me later when it's being mocked in IRC are in here, maybe I shouldn't say that?
January
I was fresh off one of the better semesters of school. Fall 2007 started off like any other, boring, mostly antisocial, but in December I had picked it up significantly. While my winter break wasn't very interesting. I did play my Christmas presents in Super Paper Mario and actually I think that was it. College bowl games were on and so was the NFL playoffs.
The biggest news was that my sister was moving out to San Francisco, and my dad elected to move to Oakland from Berkeley because rent would be cheaper. So much was spent going to SF and Oakland moving stuff around. I guess some bonding came out of it.
School started on I believe the 17th. Most of the first day was just attending classes for like 10 minutes as usual on a first day, and I believe only Spanish actaully lasted the entire class. It was a nice surprise that many of the people I knew from the Fall 07 was around somewhere, but not everybody I wanted to see again the most. (see 2007 wrapup) On the first day of guitar class, I received my first ever hug from a female in the month of January. I don't know why, but I thought I'd include that. I ended the year still without one ever in the months of February, March and April.
My birthday was very dull. It fell on the one day of the week where I was at school from 9:30am-9pm, and I didn't tell anybody until guitar class. In retrospect, revealing it at Spanish class would have been a good idea.
February
My birthday was celebrated late, on February 1st the family went to the Cheesecake Factory in San Francisco, where I had the usual four cheese pasta <3. On the 7th I saw the Warriors play the Bulls. I had expected a win since the Warriors were good and the Bulls were bad, but the Bulls would pull up an upset. Bad luck, because I had intended to go to the Knicks game a week earlier, which the Warriors won, but I procrastinated and tickets for that game weren't available by the time I decided to buy them.
At the end of February I got a good ol' fashioned cold. Oh I hate those. One of the worst in recent memory too, and cost me some time at school.
I can't recall many interesting things from school, BUT I remember getting into the hang of Spanish and Choir. I was bothered by constant snubbing in Spanish though.
March
Spring break was spent watching the Sharks and Warriors dominate their leagues. Kind of. I went to San Jose for my first ever Sharks game, where they dominated the St. Louis Blues 4-1. I would have liked a more dramatic game, but it was their 11th straight victory. (Incidentally, their streak ended the very next game) The Warriors would fade late in the season, but at this time they still seemed sure for a playoff spot.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl came out this month, and I also got Sonic and the Secret Rings. I spent a lot more time with Smash Bros. (in fact, Sonic was very lame), and that dominated the month of March. I also downloaded DKC1, 2, and 3 around this time, and completed them all.
Choir was just getting fun, but the fun would almost stop when two girls left unexpectedly and unannounced with personal reasons for the rest of the semester. I was having a better time in Guitar than last semester, and Jazz Piano was fun.
I attended the Pillows concert with my sister, and it was a great show.
April
Following Easter, i decided to take a month of eating meat. Just to see what it was like. It was hard, obviously, but I pulled it off. Don't plan on doing it again, even though I lost 5 points in the process.
Well the Warriors eventually choked in big games against the Nuggets and Mavericks and were eliminated well before I attended their final game against the Seattle Sonics. Surely they'd still try to beat one of the worst teams in the league, playing their final game EVER? Nope, they packed it in, and the Sonics won. Sigh. The Warriors were like 27-14 (don't quote me on that) at home and I had to attend two of their losses and none of their wins. In both cases, the Warriors won their previous home game.
So only one of my teams was going to be in the playoffs. It was time to grow the Playoff Beard! The Sharks entered the playoffs against the fierce Calgary Flames. It was a tough series, and the Flames took a 2-1 lead in a best of 7. The Sharks would come back, and one of their most memorable comebacks was in Game 4, when Joe Thorton scored the game winning goal with 9 seconds left. (I couldn't see it on TV, I listened on the radio after Guitar class and waiting for my ride) The Sharks would win the series 4-3.
Also in sports, the NFL Draft was on, so I went to a party with tailgating buddies, most of whom I had not seen yet in 2008 (I had seen a few in March at an animal shelter event)
School was nearing the end, so the pressure was on to get the social monkey off my back. I got a break when on April 24 (coincidentally my dad's birthday, but he was out of town) when I joined Spanish class friends to lunch, even that could have ended better, but it set a precedent. That precedent didn't mean crap in the end, because it was the only time it happened, but still a highlight.
The month ended with a concert, Colin Meloy (of the Decemberists) at the Fillmore. He put on a great performance. I loved it. I saw my first movie of the year on a day off visit to San Francisco. I chose Forbidden Kingdom because I didn't have time to watch Forgetting Sarah Marshall or I would have missed an appointment. I liked FK though.
The Sharks season was looking dim, when the Dallas Stars went up 3 games to nothing. I actually listened to the Sharks first win while at the Fillmore.
May
On the 2nd I attended a school recital featuring people from a voice class I was not in, but had been in the Fall 07 semester. It was a memorable night because I knew nearly everybody, but I was also a little jealous that I couldn't perform in it. Maybe next year. I decided to join the class again in the Fall of 08 and Spring of 09.
The Sharks season ended on May 4th, on a fateful Sunday night in Dallas. The game would be decided in a fourth overtime, and lasted a good 5 hours.
May was the last month of school, and it was huge. May 13 would be remembered as one of the biggest comebacks at school ever. It started off with one of the worst performances (socially and academically) at Spanish, when I could not discuss with my partner (who happened to be a real you know what) a story, mainly because I didn't read it, and I looked like a big dummy. Really uncomfortable and awkward. I followed it up with a fun time at Harmonic Analysis and Guitar class. Let me talk about what happened during Guitar class: Our group of intermediate students performed an ensemble piece called Flor Amorosa that we recorded and put on Youtube. To celebrate our accomplishment, we went out at the Pacific Coast Brewery and we all had a great time.
The following week was the official last week of school, and in both Spanish and Guitar, the last day was spent at a restuarant (Cancun for Spanish and the same Brewery for Guitar) where much fun was had, but it was emotional too because I was seeing people for probably the last time, although that turned out not to be the case with a good portion of classmates.
I had decided, after going to school on the 27th to get my Spanish grade, that I would take Intermediate Spanish Conversation in June. May 28th was the Sight Singing final, and also the night I was going to San Jose with my mom and sister to see the Cure. Their performance was really special, it was over 3 hours, and a lot of fun.
June
The two week Intermediate Spanish Conversation class went well, even though I was spending 5 hours a day 5 days a week for one class and that gets tiring. It was two more weeks to spend with my Spanish family, so to speak, most of whom I have not seen since. We'd also go out quite a bit to Cancun and Au Coucolet (?), restuarants in Berkeley. On the last day of class, I tied the number of hugs I received last year (7) and we're not even halfway through the year. Can I get to 14? Could I ever...
I went to my first A's game of the year against the Angels, and the A's lost. This would become a regular occasion this year.
One of the additions to the family was a white kitten that Mom found on the street taking me to Spanish class. Her official name is "Jenny", but my sister and I call her "Mocci" because we called her that before she got an official name. She's deaf, too. My neighbors got two kittens around this time as well, to replace his two previous cats, who unfortunately passed on in March/April.
Well, June was the biggest month of the year, because it was time to leave the country for the first time in my life. I went to La Paz, Bolivia with my dad and sister, along with many relatives who went there from Florida and I met my relatives who already live there. I was only there for a short 18 day stay, and we didn't see many tourist destinations (Lake Titticaca in the first weekend and that was it) but it was a great time seeing another country and culture, adapting to the surroundings and mile high air, and I enjoyed meeting all my relatives.
Surely I can say more about the Bolivia trip, and I can. A lot of money was spent buying cheap (but high-quality) clothes, and pirated software and CDs. The quizine there was mostly good, and everything was fresh. This did cause some problems with my digestive system, which brought out some of the flaws in a third-world country that I as a priviliged American couldn't stand, and it taught me a lesson on how well I have it.
July
I began July still in Bolivia, but it was getting time to leave. Late shopping for souveniers and gifts, as well as visiting people late, and it was quite stressful.
Instead of going directly to California, because of flight schedules, I was forced to stay in Miami for a night. Well, I happen to have family there, so staying there was going to work out. I managed to find time to go to Miami Beach and walk around and enjoy the sights as well as being in the US again. I remember having some special Colombian hot dog which was super good. I also had one last year.
I got back to San Fran the next morning, and settled in for two or three days, watched an A's game or two, saw a school counselor about the Fall 08 semester, and then had to pack again. Why? Well, it was time for LemoCon back in the East Coast.
Tuesday night was not that hectic, and my JetBlue flight was one of the comfiest I've been a part of. It was after I got to D.C. that there was a problem. I took the Metrobus out, but I wound up still in Virginia mistakingly, so I had to spend some money on a taxi to the Holiday Inn and when I got there I was several hours early. I went around, with bags intact, around the neighborhood, checked out a Whole Foods, and spent time at a coffee shop (free internet) before I made my way back to the hotel and this time there were people around and it was time for fun.
The D.C. trip was memorable because of that Thursday night, when at about 10pm our group went to dinner. The dinner was awful (mine anyway) but afterwards, despite it being near midnight, we decided to visit the National Mall figuring that it may get too busy later and it would be hot in the day. We wound up spending until 5am walking around and seeing the Washington Monument, the World War 2 memorial and the Lincoln Memorial. Friday night was known for a regrettable encounter with a homeless man, some kids on the street, and a resturant that refused to believe that my ID was legit. Kind of a sad way to end what was a great trip. I still enjoyed the trips to the Air and Space museum and the Portrait Gallery.
After LemoCon I stayed a few extra days with the one aunt I didn't see during the Bolivia/Miami trip, meaning I've seen all 7 of my dad's sisters and brothers in a month span. We went back to downtown and I saw the Natural History museum (really nice) and the Jefferson memorial. Then I went home, ending a long vacation that I will always remember.
At the end of July I went to the A's vs. Royals game as it was the annual Root Beer Float Day at the Coliseum. I got pictures with media personalities and hoped to see the A's win for the first time in '08, but it would not be as KC would win in 10 innings.
Also notable was The Dark Knight, which I saw a day or two prior to the A's game. What else can I say but a really good movie. I also purchased Viva La Vida by Coldplay, and it's a good album, despite that it's popular to hate them.
AUGUST
Well, with no more vacations, it was time to await the beginning of the Fall 08 semester. The last few days of vacation was spent playing Zelda games, visiting Berkeley a few times, watching Wall-E, bumping into old friends, and watching the A's lose a buttload of games. At least it was time for football season. Oh right, my team is the Raiders. Well, anyway it was pre-season time which meant tailgates and seeing old (well, I met them in 2006) buddies.
I tried once again to see the A's win a game. The White Sox were in town and that means Nick Swisher was returning to his old city. Who would have guessed that he would be rested the day I saw him? Didn't play, I came too late to get a free jersey, and the White Sox won 13-1. Couldn't think of any positives about going to the game except maybe seeing Ken Griffey Jr. It was the third straight year (out of the three years I've gone to A's games) that I witnessed the A's lose a blowout. At least in '06 and '07 those were the only losses I've seen. Instead, I'm 0-3 in 2008 and have now fallen to 3-5 overall.
School already started when I went to the Outside Lands festival in San Francisco to see Beck and Radiohead. Things already started off shaky when my camera wound up dead and I couldn't take any pictures. I had a tough decision when I saw Beck, whether to leave early to get a good spot for Radiohead or whether to not even watch him at all. I saw his performance, nearly all of it, and wound up not being able to see Radiohead AT ALL until the encore. I was way in the back, and a brick wall of taller people ahead of me meant I was just listening to them play. Tainted the concert for me honestly. I can at least say that I've seen them before.
It was tough adjusting back to the schedule of going back to school, and also adjusting to certain friends not being around anymore. It just made me closer to those who were still around, and I did meet plenty of new friends, especially in the music department. Geography and Psychology also had interesting people I'd enjoy the next few months with.
My cat Licorice gave birth to kittens, again, but unlike in May, some of the kittens (3 of the 4) survived birth. We still have them today, meaning we have a lot of cats...
Howabout that win by Cal over Michigan State to close out the month...
By the beginning of school, I had already received 20 hugs, trashing last year's record (7 from school, 2 from Bolivia, 9 from LemoCon, 1 from school-related encounter in Berkeley). Whee.
SEPTEMBER
It just started to appear that school was going to become a fun semester. Refer to the SCHOOL UPDATES for a full synopsis. But I will say that around this time I was struggling in quizzes early on. Things were not looking very good in the Psychology class, and Geography didn't look much better. I did attend a group outing at Dimond Park to gain extra credit, where I made new friends and got in good standing with the teacher, always a good thing! (And something I typically do with all my teachers anyway)
The Raiders season began with a blowout loss to the Broncos. Losing their season opener is a tradition anyway. They would beat KC and nearly upset Buffalo and San Diego but mostly looked bad. I made one last chance to see an A's victory. They played Seattle, and won 2-0. Never was I that happy to see a team win, when they were playing a horrible team and they had nothing to play for. Cal played well but lost a tough one at Maryland.
Tragedy would strike again for my neighbor. One of his new cats got run over and since our family was close to all our neighbor's pets, it hit us real hard too. I'm still not over it. In a strange twist of fate, one of our cats who we lost in November 2007, was found a few houses down. We got our Fluffy back, and that was good news.
I got Madden 09 and Braid. Braid was something special, I really enjoyed that game.
OCTOBER
This was a kind of slow month, only one Raiders home game (although that was a win), and I didn't do anything for Halloween. The Sharks and Warriors begun their seasons, and I think it's the first time I've followed both teams from the start, although I'm sure I watched the openers for both teams last year I didn't pay attention to much of their early games.
Drama started to unfold at school over a former classmate of mine as I started to see her on Mondays and Wednesday afternoons. This would start a long storyline about trying to ask her out. Check out the school updates for more on that.
NOVEMBER
One of the biggest months of the year, because of Election Day. I voted at like 8 in the morning (which resulted me in making my Geography class on time for the first time all semester!) and was busy in classes that I couldn't follow election coverage but I did know that Obama won when I looked in another class which had a TV on. Of course it was exciting finding out that Obama won the election, but then I found out that gay marraige was likely going to be banned here, and that really depressed me. I still hope there's a chance the supreme court may overturn it, or that CA voters may revoke it in 2010, but it was still a sad day for civil rights in America.
Sports wasn't all that good. I attended possibly the three worst games of the year for the Raiders. They were shutout by the Falcons and were dominated by the Panthers. They were then "upset" by Kansas City, giving up KC's second win of the year. Warriors showed that they were infact going to be one of the cellar dwellars of the NBA, and Cal lost a bunch of huge games at USC and Oregon State. At least they kicked Stanford's ass. The Sharks were surprising everybody, winning a buttload of games and making a historic early season start. The lone bright spot, and it's in a sport hardly anyone here cares about.
School was getting better and better. The Choir performance went well, and a lot of people watched. Guitar class was getting funner, and Psychology class was something to look forward to.
A few days before thanksgiving I attended a Decemberists show, but I had to sit way in the back. That took away from the show but they had a nice setlist and I still had a fun time.
Thanksgiving was interesting itself, because I had a friend over. Not much else to say about this month.
DECEMBER
December was an up and down month, featuring moments like asking a girl to lunch for the first time, three great sporting events I attended (one bad one), partying with friends at school, socializing like a normal person, and performing one of my own compositions for two classes. Did I also mention that I completed the school semester with yet another high GPA?
This month also featured many lows - Losing money to the IRS which resulted in difficulties traveling to San Jose, getting lunch at school, going to a Warriors game, and enjoying movies and concerts during Winter break. It was my fault, as I should have put the money in my account to my Savings, but I procrastinated... Certainly world news wasn't any better. Obama's decision to have Rick Warren do the Invocation at his inauguration, a middle finger to homosexuals, along with the struggling economy and Israel's bombing of Gaza doesn't make me feel any better about the direction the US and the World are going. And it just downright upsets me.
And that's why December is both in my "best months" and "worst months" of the year.
A huge writeup of how December went on, grade wise and social wise is up. Other than that, I think I'm done here.