2009 gone, welcome 2010

2009 has ended, and boy was it a long year.  here's a recap of 2009:

emmanuell met my mom (last person to meet in my family)

v-day wknd in sd

sd wild animal park

drenched in champagne on my bday

lil bro and 2nd bro's graduations

sequoia national park camping trip

ne-yo w/ keri hilson concert

met emmanuell's parents and extended family/first east coast trip

channel islands

moved in w/ emmanuell

one year anniversary

lbc half marathon (w/out training!)

first time going to karaoke

death valley camping trip

promise ring =)
first thanksgiving together

geminid meteor shower

winter xmas holidays in the east coast/first xmas together

i stole this survey from jeannie (hehe, thanks!):

1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?
went to the east coast & met my significant other's family.

2. Did you keep your New Year's Resolutions from last year and will you make any for 2010?
i don't think i made any resolutions for 2009.  for 2010, try to be cc debt free.  oh, i guess to make sure i work out (since i have a few half-marathons i've registered for)?

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
close to me? nope.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
no one i could think of.

5. What countries did you visit?
none, never been out of the country =( 

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
a better job

7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory...and why?
10/6 - our 1 year anniversary <3

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
finishing a half-marathon w/out training.  i guess some would think of it as stupidity instead of an achievement. =/

9. What was your biggest failure?
not working out as much as i wanted to - commuting is draining. =(

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
i am severely anemic (and have been for a while). 

11. Did you take any risks this year?
does job hunting count? 

12. What was something that you celebrated in 2009?
sandy and triet's wedding (finally!)

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
no comment.

14. Where did most of your money go?
my debt

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
receiving a promise ring from my love 

16. What were some of the best things you ate in 2009?
rei do gado brazilian steak house in sd, fresh delicious berries from arroyo chophouse, home-made sweet potato pie from one of emmanuell's aunts

17. What fears did you conquer in 2009?
meeting emmanuell's family and getting their approval.  it surprisingly went very well, both he and i were surprised!

18. In what way were you pleasantly surprised this year?
we went to watch the geminid meteor shower.  since the city lights and the storm clouds made it difficult to see the shooting stars, we drove around for over an hour to find a spot.  we ended up somewhere off the 14 freeway (still la county), and i saw a dozen shooting stars!  even though the clouds were still in the way, i was surprised to see that many.

19. What were your favorite new TV programs of 2009?
flash forward

20. What was the best book you read?
i only read one book in 2009 (which i started on nye) - dear john by nicholas sparks

21. What did you want AND get?
a warm jacket & mbt shoes 

22. What did you want and NOT get?
a new battery for my laptop (gonna wait til i pay off my cc bills)

23. What was your favorite film of the year?
i have two fave films of the year - up & avatar

24. What was the best thing you bought?

the drawer chest for emmanuell's bday.  my clothes are stored in there (while his clothes are in the big dresser).  it was the last drawer chest available in stores (which was the same model as our bedroom set), and we got it! =)

25. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
just get back up when it knocks you down, knocks you down

i'm hoping 2010 will be a better year w/ happiness & more smiles.