Friday, December 31, 2010
It's Been the Strangest Year
Do you ever have one of those years where you end up at a very different place from what you expected at the start? Yeah, it’s like that.
At the beginning of 2010 I was getting ready to be promoted to Colonel on July 1st, and go on to teach at a military university in Washington DC. But all of that changed. In March, I got word they were planning to send me to Baghdad instead, in a job that really would not make use of my talents and education. Not wanting to waste the next 3 years of my life (1 year in Baghdad, and no idea what would come next), I decided it was time to jump, and jump I did.
I’ve returned to my first love, teaching, at a major university in DC. I am about a million times happier than I was at the start of the year. The pay is not quite what I was used to, but my job satisfaction is so much greater. I am much, much happier doing this job than I have been in a long time, and that’s worth more than money.
I also started my own consulting firm, which I haven’t dome much with yet (the transition to teaching took a lot of my focus) but I expect to do something with that in the coming year.
This year I also moved to a new apartment, which has been fun. I’m in a better neighborhood, and in the same building as my best friend, which has been great.
Running went very well this year. Despite the problems I had with the Hong Kong Marathon in February, I recovered and went on to run the Flying Pig Marathon with Ethan in May. That was my first “run for fun, not for time” marathon, and it was great, despite the rain. In November, of course, I danced at the big dance by running in the New York City Marathon. I set a new Personal Record there, and in two years of running I’ve cut half an hour off of my marathon time, and with any luck the improvements will continue.
It’s been a big year for travel, but that’s not really new. As part of the Hong Kong trip I went on to Bangkok as well, to go to Thai massage school. A couple weeks later I flew off to Lisbon with Linh, the first time we’ve travelled together, and to a new place for both of us. Once I’d made the decision to retire and had some vacation time to use, I decided to visit Honolulu and use that as a jumping off point to return to Tokyo. That was pretty much it for a few months (well, except for some New York and San Francisco travel, and a great weekend in Boston visiting with Stan), but I’ll be spending New Year’s in Singapore and will go to Cambodia for a weekend…yay for the flexibility of an academic calendar!!
There are still things I didn’t really accomplish this year. I wanted to get better at photography, and didn’t really pursue that much. I’ve been trying to get to know more friends, and that’s gone a bit slower than expected.
But all in all it’s been good. I have gotten to know a couple new people, like Julian and Xiaohan and Kris, and finally got to know some of Linh’s Vietnamese friends, like Linh and Frank. I do see the potential to get to know some folks better, and that’s good, I really wanted to expand my circle. I dated some this year, and have met a couple very nice guys, so who knows how all that may work out. And of course, I can see again now that I finally gave myself the gift of LASIK.
Despite the huge transition this summer, which was very stressful at times, I’ve got to say it’s been a great year. Though I’m at a very different place from where I expected to be, I love the place I’m at, and am really happy with the way the year has worked out. I’ve had some “first time” experiences this year that have been everything I had hoped they would be, and I’m so happy to have some very wonderful people in my life.
As for next year…well I have some ideas, but as we saw this year, anything can happen…and it probably will.
Happy New Year!!!
At the beginning of 2010 I was getting ready to be promoted to Colonel on July 1st, and go on to teach at a military university in Washington DC. But all of that changed. In March, I got word they were planning to send me to Baghdad instead, in a job that really would not make use of my talents and education. Not wanting to waste the next 3 years of my life (1 year in Baghdad, and no idea what would come next), I decided it was time to jump, and jump I did.
I’ve returned to my first love, teaching, at a major university in DC. I am about a million times happier than I was at the start of the year. The pay is not quite what I was used to, but my job satisfaction is so much greater. I am much, much happier doing this job than I have been in a long time, and that’s worth more than money.
I also started my own consulting firm, which I haven’t dome much with yet (the transition to teaching took a lot of my focus) but I expect to do something with that in the coming year.
This year I also moved to a new apartment, which has been fun. I’m in a better neighborhood, and in the same building as my best friend, which has been great.
Running went very well this year. Despite the problems I had with the Hong Kong Marathon in February, I recovered and went on to run the Flying Pig Marathon with Ethan in May. That was my first “run for fun, not for time” marathon, and it was great, despite the rain. In November, of course, I danced at the big dance by running in the New York City Marathon. I set a new Personal Record there, and in two years of running I’ve cut half an hour off of my marathon time, and with any luck the improvements will continue.
It’s been a big year for travel, but that’s not really new. As part of the Hong Kong trip I went on to Bangkok as well, to go to Thai massage school. A couple weeks later I flew off to Lisbon with Linh, the first time we’ve travelled together, and to a new place for both of us. Once I’d made the decision to retire and had some vacation time to use, I decided to visit Honolulu and use that as a jumping off point to return to Tokyo. That was pretty much it for a few months (well, except for some New York and San Francisco travel, and a great weekend in Boston visiting with Stan), but I’ll be spending New Year’s in Singapore and will go to Cambodia for a weekend…yay for the flexibility of an academic calendar!!
There are still things I didn’t really accomplish this year. I wanted to get better at photography, and didn’t really pursue that much. I’ve been trying to get to know more friends, and that’s gone a bit slower than expected.
But all in all it’s been good. I have gotten to know a couple new people, like Julian and Xiaohan and Kris, and finally got to know some of Linh’s Vietnamese friends, like Linh and Frank. I do see the potential to get to know some folks better, and that’s good, I really wanted to expand my circle. I dated some this year, and have met a couple very nice guys, so who knows how all that may work out. And of course, I can see again now that I finally gave myself the gift of LASIK.
Despite the huge transition this summer, which was very stressful at times, I’ve got to say it’s been a great year. Though I’m at a very different place from where I expected to be, I love the place I’m at, and am really happy with the way the year has worked out. I’ve had some “first time” experiences this year that have been everything I had hoped they would be, and I’m so happy to have some very wonderful people in my life.
As for next year…well I have some ideas, but as we saw this year, anything can happen…and it probably will.
Happy New Year!!!
Labels: Friends, Life, Running, Travel, Work
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
I Can See!!!!
After thinking about it for years, I finally took the plunge and got LASIK. The procedure was not too bad...only about 10 minutes long, with no pain and only the tiniest discomfort. (the rest of the afternoon was another story, but that's why I slept through it) I'd always heard people say "when I got up from the table I could see the clock" and yeah, I could see the clock...before the procedure, I couldn't even see the wall!
Linh's friends Linh and Frank volunteered to get me home, which was a huge help, as my eyes didn't want to open once I stepped outside. We got a cab and they got me back to my apartment before i took a pill and dropped off to sleep for 6 hours. I was fine when I got up.
It's been three weeks now and my eyesight is still stabilizing, and may be for another couple months. But I was able to go back to work the next day and spend the next 2 weeks grading papers, and everything worked out fine. It's so nice to be able to see without worrying about contacts or switching glasses (my near vision and distant vision require different prescriptions, which was the reason I finally made the decision to do this).
However, I know some people think I look better in glasses (and i think I look pretty good in them, especially the oes designed by my friend David in Malaysia), so I'll be putting clear glass lenses in some of my favorites and keeping them available as accessories. :-)
Linh's friends Linh and Frank volunteered to get me home, which was a huge help, as my eyes didn't want to open once I stepped outside. We got a cab and they got me back to my apartment before i took a pill and dropped off to sleep for 6 hours. I was fine when I got up.
It's been three weeks now and my eyesight is still stabilizing, and may be for another couple months. But I was able to go back to work the next day and spend the next 2 weeks grading papers, and everything worked out fine. It's so nice to be able to see without worrying about contacts or switching glasses (my near vision and distant vision require different prescriptions, which was the reason I finally made the decision to do this).
However, I know some people think I look better in glasses (and i think I look pretty good in them, especially the oes designed by my friend David in Malaysia), so I'll be putting clear glass lenses in some of my favorites and keeping them available as accessories. :-)
Labels: Life
