12/31/13

1. Getting to sleep in in the morning.
2. Not taking too long to pack together all my stuff.
3. Going to visit my grandma!
4. Getting one last round of laundry done.
5. Learning to play mahjong with the family.
6. Watching the ball drop together.

A year ago today.

Top good things in 2013:

1. Getting into and going to Hackbright.
2. Leaving Google on good terms.
3. Getting a job as a software engineer at a place with a great culture fit.
4. Following through on moving to the west coast.
5. Moving into a place in a great location, affordable and cute, and with a washer/dryer.
6. Dan getting a job in Oregon.

12/30/13

1. Buying fun patterned and colored lingerie.
2. Better lunch at Google than last time, with AT/EM/AM/MM.
3. Making it to Guggenheim in plenty of time to meet up with AL/JPH.
4. SHAKE SHACK.
5. Successfully meeting up with SD on his way back from Philly for a bit at Penn Station.
6. My dad coming to Middletown to pick me up after I missed my stop.

A year ago today.

12/29/13

1. Doing a Google Hangout with EN/DC/LW/MS!
2. Pork/chive/shrimp dumplings for breakfast.
3. Spending the whole day in my PJs.
4. Getting to catch up on internet and email stuff.
5. Watching random movies and TV.
6. Going to bed at a more normal hour for getting up early the next morning.

A year ago today.

12/28/13

1. Sleeping in until 11. 
2. Going for a walk with my mom and the dogs.
3. So warm out that I didn't need my coat.
4. Heating up salmon and rice for dinner.
5. Going out for a double date bowling with CK/LK and Dan.
6. Making it back safely after driving on 18.

A year ago today.

12/27/13

1. Going to Quicksilver with my sister to help her pick out jewelry with the gift certificated I got her for Christmas.
2. Finding a round purse on sale at Nordstrom's for a replacement daily bag.
3. PG happening to be at the mall to help us kill time by playing another game of Dominion.
4. Seeing the 2nd Hobbit movie with AL.
5. Getting up for a bag of popcorn in the middle of the movie.
6. Making it to the gas station before running out of gas.

A year ago today.

12/26/13

1. Finding a couple packs of holiday cards on sale at Marshall's for next year.
2. Making it to the movie theater just before it started.
3. Quite enjoying Frozen, a Disney movie that passes the Bechdel test.
4. Mom bringing us back some bubble teas from Kam Man.
5. Going out to a diner with PG/AL/SR/CP and Dan.
6. Winning the last game of Dominion thanks to lots of Tribute cards.

A year ago today.

12/25/13

1. Talking my sister in dressing up as twinsies.
2. Going for dim sum with the whole family in the morning.
3. Opening the presents under the tree.
4. Getting compliments on my outfit (red Madewell dress with Peter Pan collar, aqua cardigan, black sparkly loafers) as being Christmassy but not overly so.
5. My pancreas plush gift for KS and bearded hat for Dan going over well.
6. Making a salted caramel apple tart for my mom.

A year ago today.

12/24/13

1. Going back to sleep for another 5 hours after waking up at 8.
2. Oxtail and braised lamb for lunch.
3. My sister lending me her car to run out for an errand.
4. Getting to Red Bank to pick up a last gift.
5. Finding that there was free parking in the lot for the holidays.
6. Yummy foods in Shrewsbury, with corn pudding, cookies, and a smores cake.

A year ago today.

12/23/13

1. Thinking to pick up a bottle of peppermint schnapps and hot chocolate packets for the party.
2. Caramel coming out of the pot after soaking without needing to do a lot of scrubbing.
3. Making the chocolate chip cookies successfully without burning anything.
4. Happening to turn off onto the right street after I couldn't read the sign for the previous one.
5. Hilarious and fun time of a Festivus party at PG's, with AL/CP/SR/RC/JH and Dan.
6. PG teaching us how to do York Peppermint Patty shots with the peppermint schnapps and chocolate syrup.

A year ago today.

12/22/13

1. My family coming right on time to pick me up from the airport.
2. Getting bubble tea and dim sum.
3. Taking a nap in the afternoon.
4. Watching White House Down with my mom.
5. Finishing up most of the Christmas gift wrapping.
6. Figuring out how to use adhesive bows with the gift tags that are technically for wine bottles.

A year ago today.

12/21/13

1. Sleeping in until noon.
2. Remembering to take out the compost/recycling/trash and turning off the surge protectors to prep the house for being empty for awhile.
3. Getting all holiday postcards written.
4. Finding a mailbox on the walk back from the library and checking out the local food truck pod finally.
5. Eating up the rest of the soup and pumpkin pie oatmeal for dinner to clear out the fridge.
6. Making the bus to the airport just in time.

A year ago today.

12/20/13

1. Getting a really juicy burger from Sideshow Eatery.
2. Meeting AL's friend and fellow hackbright grad, KY.
3. Going back to Lulu Vintage to pick up the purple coat.
4. Dinner of pizza at the office.
5. Getting to see DC play in his band.
6. Catching the bus before my 2 hour pass expired.

A year ago today.

12/19/13

1. Blue skies peeking out.
2. Keeping warm from wearing 3 layers.
3. Coming up with a good gift idea for my mom finally!
4. Getting a sparkly ruby red gel manicure.
5. Going to see the gingerbread exhibit at the Benson Hotel (1913 Portland) and the Christmas lights on Peacock Lane.
6. Wrapping up presents while watching The Mindy Project.

A year ago today.

12/18/13

1. Making both 75 buses just in time.
2. Only waiting 30 minutes at the DMV.
3. Passing the written test to get an Oregon driver's license!
4. Heating up frozen dumplings for a quick dinner.
5. Crawling into bed to watch The Mindy Project.
6. Going to sleep at 10.

A year ago today.

12/17/13

1. Making it to the bus stop with a minute to spare.
2. Successfully getting the extra data line to show on a chart!
3. The stuffing I made with sausage being much more filling for lunch.
4. Catching DS before leaving the office to ask about recruiting efforts.
5. Video chatting with Dan.
6. Watching a rerun episode of The Mindy Project.

A year ago today.

12/16/13

1. Cinnamon chip cookies being a hit at the office.
2. Going out for coffee and a nice long chat with ELV.
3. Thinking to get apples from the snacks area at the office instead of having to find a grocery store.
4. Making it just in time for the bus ride home.
5. Using up a bunch of other ingredients in the fridge to make another attempt at apple-herb stuffing, this time with sausage.
6. Warming up the cookies I left for myself in the microwave and enjoying them with a cup of milk while watching Once Upon a Time.

A year ago today.

12/15/13

1. Getting up in time to go with Dan to the airport.
2. Just making our bus and then the connection to the MAX.
3. Went to see the Sherlock Holmes exhibit at the OMSI, really well done interactivity.
4. Browsing through various vintage shops on Hawthorne on my way back.
5. Caught up on Once Upon a Time.
6. Made cinnamon chip cookies to bring in to the office.

A year ago today.

12/14/13

1. Sleeping in and lounging in bed until after noon.
2. Dan going out for groceries and getting my books from the library for me.
3. Dan vacuuming the place and making dinner.
4. Doing several loads of laundry.
5. Catching up on the The Mindy Project and its adorable dance scene omg.
6. Going to bed in clean PJs, clean sheets, knowing all the dishes in the kitchen were done and the house vacuumed, and finances in order--wonderfully satisfying feeling.

A year ago today.

12/13/13

1. Pairing with CD on some his Javascript work, he said he hadn't paired before but he was actually great at explaining everything.
2. Getting lunch at the big food carts with a delicious porchetta sandwich from The People's Pig.
3. Polishing off a few 1pt stories/bug fixes.
4. Getting a good 90-day review!
5. Biking back from the office and finding it much easier in the warmer temperatures.
6. Cooking up some frozen dumplings for dinner.

A year ago today.

12/12/13

1. Having enough time to cook up some noodles in the morning to bring in for lunch.
2. Figuring out how to do stubbing properly for our tests.
3. Good and filling food at the holiday party.
4. Starting a game of Dominion with Dan.
5. Playing another game of Dominion with Dan, KL and her partner K.
6. Making it to an alternate bus route to avoid a long wait time.

A year ago today.

12/11/13

1. Others agreeing with me about meeting efficiency at the retrospective.
2. Another day of fried rice with roast duck for lunch.
3. Thanks to the pre-planning work the day before and meeting attendance requirements changed, afternoon ended up being pretty free to get started on some of the work with KL.
4. DC and KM validating my choice not to bike when it's around freezing temperatures.
5. Finally getting over to Nordstrom's to pick up my hemmed leggings.
6. Dan packing away the leftover tomatoes and eggs I made for lunch tomorrow.

A year ago today.

12/10/13

1. Finishing my shower before the plumber came.
2. Discovering fancy fudge chocolate in the kitchen that someone brought in.
3. Chatting with KL about our common feelings of awkwardness.
4. Fried rice with duck at lunch.
5. Making good progress with KL on a story.
6. VC not minding that I forgot about our 1:1 from being engrossed in pairing.

A year ago today.

12/9/13

1. Finding that Dan took all the Ikea boxes out to the recycling in the morning.
2. Getting started on figuring out Christmas gifts with Dan.
3. Making it to the bus stop just in time.
4. Making up a dinner of noodles with bok choy and roast duck.
5. Organizing my shoes and coats into the newly built armoire.
6. Going to bed early.

A year ago today.

12/8/13

1. Getting a blueberry muffin from the upstairs apartment for breakfast.
2. Taking the rental car to Fubonn and getting a bunch of prepared food, including a whole roast duck and a bahn mi.
3. Taking a nap in the afternoon while Dan returned the rental car.
4. Fitting all my laundry into one large load.
5. Organizing my closet armoire with the new shelves we picked up from The Container Store.
6. Putting together the new Ikea armoire successfully in the end.

A year ago today.

12/7/13

1. Catching crabs being easier than I had expected, though requiring more upper body strength.
2. Borrowing ELV's gloves to warm up my hands.
3. Eating lots of delicious, fresh crab.
4. Dan successfully staying free of cross-contamination.
5. Playing many more games of Dominion, including one where I did really well in keeping a lean deck!
6. Fun time with Charades.

A year ago today.

12/6/13

1. Getting a Korean burrito for lunch.
2. Having the rest of the sausage and peppers for dinner, whose flavors had mellowed out a bit.
3. Dan taking care of the dishes while I packed for the trip.
4. Finding Jean-Luc (the cat) in the back looking still healthy.
5. Fitting in a trip to Ikea to acquire an armoire to use as a coat closet.
6. The neighbor coming home and letting us know Jean-Luc's been staying in her basement at night over the last few weeks, so we gave him and the new litter box over to her.

A year ago today.

12/5/13

1. Going on a morning coffee walk with the group.
2. Managing to defrost the rest of my soup under hot running water.
3. Getting a lot more clarity on what we were supposed to be doing after SE/KL and I talked to BK.
4. Hearing good news from a friend.
5. Learning to play Dominion at board game night and catching on to the strategies fairly quickly.
6. Making it to the bus stop with a minute to spare. Next one would have been another 30 minutes, in the freezing cold.

A year ago today.

12/4/13

1. Sunny day to get back into biking.
2. Successfully putting together my standing desk with scavenged screws.
3. Double monitor setup at SE's desk for easier pairing.
4. Coming up with a few insights for debugging our navigation woes.
5. A fairly engaging security training.
6. Dan making sausage and peppers for dinner.

A year ago today.

12/3/13

1. Mom making dumplings for me for breakfast and to bring with me on the plane for lunch.
2. Managing to sleep for about 3 hours on the plane.
3. Reading Eleanor & Park.
4. Getting to the office earlier than I had expected, not too long after noon.
5. Going to bed early.
6. Dan being there when I had a bad (and weird) dream.

A year ago today.

12/2/13

1. Making the earlier train so I had time before the office visit to run errands.
2. Fitting in eyebrow threading and picking up truffle salt from Chelsea Market.
3. Lunch with AT/EM/MM.
4. Seeing the DSM eng team and hanging out with JE and AS.
5. Nutella hot chocolate as recommended by the barista.
6. Watching The Heat with my mom and sister and finding it quite funny.

A year ago today.

12/1/13

1. Mom coming with me to return stuff at the outlets.
2. Getting another bubble tea in the morning.
3. Dim sum with my sister and some cousins.
4. Going to see my grandma and holding the one fluffy small chicken she kept.
5. Seeing CB and my mother-in-law.
6. Making another apple tart for my sister to bring over to her friends'.

A year ago today.