ode to 2011

Yay! It's finally December... This year really flew by! Many milestones happened for me this year. And as it is now coming to a close, I am looking back at this past year and remembering all the months filled with accomplishments, realizations, and growth.

I rang in the New Year with my best friend and sweetheart Paul, and our good friends Jerry and Sylvia. We had a nice quiet dinner that I cooked (eggplant parmesan, and all kinds of other delicious dishes) and lit firecrackers out on the streets and threw confetti all around. We shared hugs and kisses and talked about upcoming travels. I drew a picture with colored pencils of the champagne we drank and the candles we lit.

  

A week later, we left for the number one destination city on our list: Rome, Italy and spent almost two, unbelievably romantic and dream-like weeks we've ever experienced. We rented a nice villa on the outskirts of the city of Rome, and took our time walking everywhere and seeing everything. I got to shed tears under the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and took a walk around the Colosseum. I got to touch the walls of the 2,000 year old Pantheon and stood on the rooftop of St. Peters Basilica in Vatican City. We walked the beaten, cobblestone pathways of the Roman Forum and tried to imagine what it was like when the Romans were conquering most of Europe and how it all must have looked back then. We saw paintings and statues made by Bernini and Michaelangelo, Raphael, and many others, and took a bike ride around the streets of Rome. We learned some Italian and tried the finest pasta, pizza, and Italian gelato our tongues will ever taste. We stood in front of the Trevi Fountain and tossed lucky pennies into the water, hoping that the old fable would come true that if you toss the penny into the fountain, we would be sure to return to Rome.



We will never forget any of trips, but Rome was magical.

We returned from our trip and I resumed work as field representative to Assemblymember Alyson Huber. I enjoyed most my stint directing and managing the intership program and recruited some great interns who a few of them have become dear friends of mine.



I continued studying for the LSATs and ended up taking it twice, in February and June. In the midst of the LSAT frenzy,  I was offered a new job as executive assistant to Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, and began working for the Department of Insurance. I applied to McGeorge shortly after starting this new position. I've made great friends at the Department, and I've learned so much witnessing Commissioner Jones fight the insurance companies and fight for healthcare reform.



Paul and I have made a few more of our yearly trips to Yosemite, ran races, competed in the Sierra Century for the second time, and shared many nights of laughter, good food, and wine. I got to climb Mount White, the third tallest mountain in California. Now I can say that I've peaked the top three tallest mountains in our state. I also visited the oldest trees on the face of this planet.





We got to explore Hetch Hetchy and Kings Canyon. We saw many wild animals, and enjoyed sleeping under redwood trees and stars. In May, we ran my third marathon (Paul's fourth) in the Avenue of the Giants race.

 

In July for my birthday, I got to run the Bix race with Paul in his hometown of Davenport, Iowa, and got to meet his mother for the first time. I got to hold her hand and kiss her cheek. I got to meet almost all of Paul's wonderful brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, and walked the streets where Paul grew up and saw the house he spent his childhood in. His entire family welcomed me into theirs with love and kindness, and I feel such a closeness with them.

 

In August, I got accepted to McGeorge, School of Law. After four LSATs and over two years of turmoil, studying, taking prep courses, getting tutored, and spending many nights and weekends mulling over practice tests while working and doing events and campaigning, I got into the one and only school I applied to. It was a realization of a dream I had for a very long time. The day I got the phone call from the dean of admissions, I remember shouting "I got into law school!" and everyone at my work cheered and clapped. The next morning, on my daily 5-6 mile jog, I ran a 8 minute mile pace from the excitement and triumph I was feeling. I was literally high for that whole entire week.

The sweet victorious feeling of this accomplishment was mixed with the sad loss of Betty, Paul's mother. She passed away just days after I learned of my acceptance to McGeorge. I am so grateful that I got to meet her before she left this world of ours. I think about her kindness and calm, caring way she spoke to Paul, all the time, and am always mindful to speak to him in the same tender, patient way that she spoke to him. We climbed Mt Gibbs in honor of her life and the wonderful spirit she had, and put up prayer flags to wish her a smooth transition into the after-life.



I also got to experience my first Iftar dinner and developed a new level of respect for a different culture and religion when I fasted for a day. It opened my eyes to all of the people in the world who are without food and water, and it was a beautiful and humbling experience to learn this lesson with a close-knit community of people who dedicate themselves to teaching these lessons.



In November for Paul's birthday, we got to experience the Ashland Shakespeare Festival and saw a total of four plays. The autumn leaves and the fall colors were beautiful. The drive to Oregon was a really nice drive and we got to see our old friend, Mount Shasta. She was looking very big and majestic and I recalled very fond memories of climbing it two years ago.



The following weekend we ran the Stinson Beach 25K and had a blast in our rented beach house with Paul's brother Chuck and his two daughters. I earned my first ribbon for coming in third place in my age division at the Stinson Beach run. I don't even remember the last time I ever got a ribbon or "won" anything.

 

Paul harvested 67 pounds of honey and produced almost 100 jars that we gave away to friends and family. Sac Bee writer Blair Anthony Robertson took interest and offered to put his own spin on the wonderful story behind Paul's honey harvesting. We were mostly happy that we put smiles on so many people's faces, and added a touch of sweetness to their morning tea and toast.



I also got to run the Run to Feed the Hungry for the first time and was moved and inspired by all the people from old to young, running out there in the pouring rain.

My dad turned 60 this year and I am proud of him for maturing into the man that he has become. Other family members have passed, like my cousin I haven't seen in almost 20 years, and my grandmother is slowly fading from this world, but it's taught me to treat each day as a precious gift and to always tell my loved ones that I love them.

In two more days, I take my first law school exam. It's been a crazy, eventful, wonderful year. And it's not yet over. I am so grateful and happy to have done so much this past year, and I am eager to spend the remaining days of 2011 being nothing but grateful for everything and everyone in my life.

Thank you for being a part of this journey with me. It is an honor to be here with you all in this world of ours. We only live once, and then we die. So not a single moment should be wasted.