[Note:  I started writing this near the end of 2011 and have finished it now near the end of January.  That’s why some of the tenses may sound weird.]

2011 is coming to a close and I’m kind of ready for it to be over.  I was re-reading my old posts and was looking to see what 2010 was about and it seemed as if everything was just moving so fast, quick and non-stop.  Speed and growth – I guess growth was a huge part.  2011 seemed to be pretty speedy too.  I remember early on in the year, I had planned on doing so many things and really didn’t do much.  Every weekend was booked with something – at least that’s what it felt like.  I think it calmed down a bit towards the end of the year which was good.

Usually when I’m up in LA, I have a lot of time on my hands so I spend it re-reading old posts or making multiple posts in a day.  Haha.  I remember one post saying that 2011 was the year of conflict which is kind of a sad thing.  I would say that it was sort of a reoccurring theme in many parts of my life but it seems like things have been looking a bit on the bright side towards the latter part of the year and by that I just mean a few weeks.  Not everything was bad throughout the year – I mean there were a lot of good things too!  I think sometimes though, it’s easier to let the bad things weigh more than the good things.  But really, it should probably be the other way around.

So what all happened this year?  A lot – not in chronological order.

Team United

Team United happened early in the year and it happened in November and it’s happening now.  We WON Mission Bowl earlier in the year.  It seems like a blur to me.  I can’t even remember much of it.  In fact, I actually don’t feel pressured to win this year.  I think the pressure I usually feel is just to play well and make sure that people are having fun.  Read more about Team United Turkey Bowls here.

Baptism

I got baptized on April 10, 2011 at La Jolla Shores, San Diego.  Read the short version of my testimony.

SoCal Mayhem

Hey, I was a semi-pro basketball player for 2 days!  I went to two practices and got my butt kicked.  I dragged C. and K. along with me.  We even made the team picture which we did not want to be in since we didn’t want to play.  Ok, ok, we weren’t really on the team but it sure is funny that we made the roster.  Totally not good enough to be playing this kind of basketball.  Craziness.  But at least now I can sort of say I was on the team.  Haha.  =P

Business Travels

I traveled a lot throughout the year.  If you don’t know…I don’t actually like traveling.  I don’t like the act of traveling – if only we could teleport!  I don’t like planes, trains, buses, and I especially dislike boats.  I had to travel a lot for work – way too much.  I went to Chicago in February where I saw it snow for the very first time!  I’ve seen snow before but I had never seen it actually fall from the sky.  It was pretty awesome.  It was also freaking cold.  Let’s just say this Southern California girl has no apparel fit for snowy weather.  In my business clothes which consisted of slacks (that I wore black long tights under), a tank top, dress shirt, sweater, jacket, and pea coat, plus a scarf, and gloves, I walked to the client office from the hotel.  It was kind of neat to walk to “work”.  It was not cool when I nearly slipped while crossing the street and spilled coffee all over myself.  I also went to North Carolina in April for a conference.  I got to visit Duke’s campus.  It was pretty and I really liked it.   I also went up to LA for a conference and stayed in SD for another conference.  That’s a lot of traveling for someone who doesn’t like it that much.  Conferences are tiring.  Thinking about all this traveling makes me tired.

Non-Traditional 5Ks

A bunch of us participated in Warrior Dash and Beach Palooza 5Ks.  Both obstacle 5Ks, we were looking to have some fun.  F., C, and I got awesome “costumes” from Walmart for Warrior Dash.  We had Agent P, Cookie Monster, and I was Oscar the Grouch (how fitting).  The Warrior Dash was fun because we all waited for each other and were able to cheer each other on.  The obstacles were much more fun than the Beach Palooza.  The Warrior Dash was also cool because we had a bunch of people who normally wouldn’t sign up for this type of thing do it and complete it and enjoy it!  I love it when that happens.  Though we took so long to go through the course, we nearly came in last place.  Haha.  Next time, we run.   After all the excitement of Warrior Dash, we quickly jumped on Beach Palooza.  Beach Palooza was lame!  The obstacles were weak and the whole thing was on soft sand.  Have you ever tried running on soft sand?  For miles…?  OMG, it sucked.  I gave them a pretty bad review.  It’s okay though because we had good company and were able to make a mini road trip out of it which is always fun.

Housing

Wow, housing was a whirlwind.  Talk about major major conflict.  I’ve never been in so many uncomfortable conversations and situations in my life.  It was really hard and it was really stressful.  Not everyone can live together – it’s true.  Different living styles can totally conflict.  Different expectations can also create a massive amount of drama.  Communication is key.  Lessons learned:  communicate, evaluate, speak early, and extend grace.  All of which I think everyone can take away.

The Great Black Out of San Diego

I can’t even remember when this was – I think it was in the summer.  Nearly all of San Diego was blacked out.  It was a little crazy.  I remember we were at the office thinking it was just the area when I started checking the Facebook on my phone and realized it was a much larger area.  We should have left the office immediately to avoid the crazy traffic but by the time they let us leave, the traffic had already gathered onto the street our office was on which is an inside street!  It took me a long while to get to MOL’s but not nearly as long as F’s 2 hour trip.  We spent the night playing Poker, newly named, “Well, I have a flush.”  We hoped that the power would stay out so we wouldn’t have to go to work tomorrow.  People freaked out.  We stopped by the grocery store to buy ice to keep O’s milk cold and the grocery store was crazy packed.  It was like some crazy disaster had happened and everyone and their mom had to stock up.  It was ridiculous.  We left upon seeing the craziness.  It was fun to just hang out with friends all night.  I’m so blessed for these awesome people in my life.  It’s amazing to see how much of people’s lives can be affected by no power.  It really shows you how much we rely on.  It’s like people couldn’t function!

Running

I started running.  At first, we started running to train for Beach Palooza.  We’d run around the neighborhood sometimes, though F. was much more disciplined about it than I was.  We would run on Saturday’s with C.  Then, I started running more with C.  I remember I couldn’t even run 1 mile back in the middle of last year.  Now, I’m at about 6 miles!  It’s crazy.  Progress is crazy and it’s doable.  It was slow and takes effort.  I remember I would still continue to go with C. to run around the park at her house.  At the beginning, it was do 1 lap, rest, and do another lap.  Then, I pushed myself to do 2 laps without resting.  It was tough.  Really tough.  Then, 3.  Then, we started running the canyon loop.  I remember the first time I did it, it was so hard.  I had deemed it one of the most difficult runs.  Nowadays, that’s the loop we do when we run in the mornings.  When I started running it, it took me 39 minutes.  The goal was under 35 minutes.  Guess what?  The last two times, I made it under 35 minutes!  I’ve been trying to run faster and more efficiently throughout the loop so that I don’t have to push myself so hard at the end.  I think it really works out to work on building up to distance first and then speed.  Then one time I tried to push myself to make it around Miramar Lake.  I think I’ve run the lake 2 more times since that first time and I still haven’t been able to hit that time.  The past few Saturdays, we’ve been running the canyon.  It’s tough but it’s good.  And now, I even go and run in the mornings around here on my own!  I’d never thought I’d ever say that it feels good to run.  But it does, I’ve never been so fit in my life.  Being able to see and remember progress is awesome.  Although, I really wish I could run as fast and for as long as C.  Crazy.  What’s next?  Maybe a half.  Maybe the La Jolla half.  That’s at the end of April.  Maybe.

Weight Loss

I already kind of wrote about this in another post but it’s been amazing as well.  I figured out how to do it.  To lose 1 pound a week, you need to get rid of 3,500 calories whether it be from food or via exercise.  I just started changing my eating habits, eating healthier foods and eating less.  When I was hungry, I would eat fruit instead of chips or other snacks.  I would eat pretty well during lunch and I also stopped eating out for the most part.  Different eating habits paired up with running/exercising and bam, that’s how you do it.  It is that simple.  It just takes a lot of will power, discipline, determination, and effort.  It’s totally doable though!

Gong

Yeah, that’s in Chinese, you can figure it out.  It’s been crazy.  Actually, it always is crazy.  It’s stressful.  I’ve lost the passion, I’m less happy.  My role is unclear.  The straw that broke the camel’s back hit.  It’s over.

Baby O

I’m so blessed to be a part of Baby O’s life!  He is so cute and adorable.  I love him.  I love watching him grow – he’s grown so much mentally and physically.  SO CUTE!

CMC

CMC came and went.  It was an amazing conference put together with a lot of hard work and dedication from a lot of people.  It’s impressive to see something like that come together – it’s amazing to see God move His people.  I heard so much positive feedback about it, it’s crazy.  The stories that S. tells are pretty mind blowing.  As we begin to do what God calls us to do, we can see Him orchestrate everything right before our very eyes.  To see the whole year of work that S. put in and all the stress she dealt with come together in full production is neat.  To hear that it was all worth it – that makes me happy.

Yeah, I can’t think of what else right now.  I guess this post was a bit different from previous years – mostly listing a bunch of things that happened.  There was also just a lot of conflict in all parts of my life that happened throughout the year.  I think 2011 was really about trusting God and relying on Him for everything.  People are messy.  Really messy.  It’s tough.  We all have a lot of pride and we’re self-absorbed and self-seeking.  That’s why there’s so much conflict.  Can’t see eye to eye.  People will always fail you but God will never fail us.  I also spent a lot of time in prayer and seeking God throughout the year.  Prayer is so crucial and so powerful.  And this is something I have to constantly remind myself of is to pray and seek God ALWAYS not just whenever things aren’t going well.  I’m doing better at that but really need to be more active about it.  I think 2012 will be on trying to bring God into every aspect of my life.  Seeking Him for all parts – not just for what I want but what He wants.  Admittedly, I know it’s going to be hard but I know that’s where He wants our hearts to be.  Delight yourself in the Lord.  I also want 2012 to focus on a lot of praying for others, not just for myself – intentionally praying for others.  Also, displaying acts of LOVE.  Just giving and not seeking anything in return.  Show what true love is like, just like how God’s gift to us.  Free gift – all you have to do is take it.  Let us, as followers of Christ, exemplify what it means to follow Jesus, show His love to all, that’s it.  Easier said than done right?  Let’s at least try.  :)