I can’t believe that 2005 is almost done. I’ve been in the Puget Sound area for just under 2 years now, but I still feel like I’m a newcomer. So much has happened in the past 12 months that I can’t even begin to reflect upon each and every item and how it has affected my life. I guess I’ll just pick one big thing from each month, however exciting or dull it may be.
January 2, 2005 - I upload my very first photo to Flickr
When I first started using Flickr, it was just another fun little thing to play with online. Then it became an addiction as I explored every little nook and cranny on the site. Now it is as integrated into my life as email, chat, and eating. Yes, it is a sickness, but I do so love it.
February 8, 2005 - Mei returns to Taiwan
It sucked when she left. It still sucks that she’s not here. At least we’re still in touch nearly every day. Nothing more to say at this time.
March 22, 2005 - Poo-Poo Platter moves from TypePad to WordPress
I got tired of paying for TypePad and wanted more control over my blog. WordPress seemed to be the best choice at the time, and I’m still loving it to this date. This is also when my blog basically took over my website. I still have the main part of my site with my portfolio and whatnot, but those sections have been sorely neglected. My blog gets all my attention now and, apparently, most of my visitors’ as well.
April 3, 2005 - My cousin Pam gets married
This is a big deal for me, because, being the oldest child of my generation in the family, I got a lot of pressure about marriage and family. The pressure was even stronger from the older members of my family, because I’m the oldest male of my generation in a very large and mostly traditional Chinese family. Pam is one year younger than me, and her marriage took some of that heat away from me. Now my family isn’t as concerned with me getting hitched and having little kiddies running around anytime soon. I can relax a bit.
April 4, 2005 - I start contracting at Amaze
April was a good month for me. I started my contract at Amaze doing character animations for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest for PSP. My first assignment was doing secondary animations for Jack Sparrow. Now I’m responsible for all of the enemy characters, the multiplayer ships, and something else very cool. This is my first full-time job that is completely devoted to animation. No modeling, no texturing, no damned UV mapping. Just make stuff move.
May 20, 2005 - I get a Nikon D70
A day that will forever change my life. After spending weeks researching and testing different cameras, I finally settled on buying a Nikon D70 digital SLR. It started off as a mostly tech-head purchase for what I thought was going to be just a fun hobby. Little did I know that using my D70 (and other cameras now) would become a way of life.
June 30, 2005 - I turn 30
Yeah… I turned 30. I definitely feel older – metabolism isn’t what it used to be, I’m thinking about “the future”, I don’t understand today’s youth, blah blah blah – but apparently I don’t look like I’m 30. A bunch of guys at work thought I was only in my mid-20s. I guess that’s a good thing.
July 28, 2005 - Cross processing invades my photography
I wasn’t shooting film yet at that time, so I wanted to simulate the cross processed look in Photoshop. I spent a week or so checking out the Lomographic Society’s site as well as the LOMO and Cross Processing groups on Flickr and figured out some good base settings to use to create cross processed images digitally. I’ve refined those settings since then, and I’m actually shooting actual film and cross processing them. In fact, some of my most popular images on Flickr are my cross processed ones, real and digital.
August 22, 2005 - I hit 999,999 points in Lumines
This was very much a geek moment, but when I reached 999,999 points in Lumines on my PSP, I was stoked. It took me four months to accomplish this, which is far longer than I play most games. I pretty much stopped playing after that day.
September 17, 2005 - I move to Bellevue
Definitely a big day for me. I got really tired of commuting from Renton to Kirkland everyday, so I decided to move a bit closer into Bellevue. This was a major change for me, because, for the first time ever, the apartment is entirely my place. Every other place I’ve lived in was either shared or shared and then left for me. My apartment is all mine. Well, mine and Sheena’s. She’s here more than I am. ;)
October 1, 2005 - I go back to shooting on film
I revived my film shooting with the purchase of an Olympus XA2. At first I thought it was just going to be a novelty thing that would wear itself out in a few weeks. Three months later, I added a LOMO LC-A to my collection, I’m looking at possibly another film camera, and I’m going through about a roll per week.
November 1, 2005 - I am officially a regular full-time employee of Amaze
The team liked me and my work enough to hire me on regular full-time. Along with the job came all the usual benefits of working for a large company (insurance, 401k, salary, etc.) as well as a pretty good raise. Getting the job lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. No more worrying about how I was going to pay my bills in a couple of months. No more looking for freelance gigs. I can now start planning for the future.
December 1, 2005 - I get a LOMO LC-A
Shooting on film went up another notch with my acquisition of a LOMO LC-A. Although I carry both my D70 and my LC-A nearly everyday, I end up shooting with my LC-A much more frequently. In fact, my LC-A is always with me, and I try to take one or two photos a day. I’ve come to accept that I am addicted to photography. It is just another part of my life.
After typing up all of that and thinking about all the other things that have happened in the past 52 weeks, I’d have to say that, overall, 2005 was a good year for me. A great deal has changed in my life, but I feel like it was mostly positive change. Sure there were some low points, but the good far outweigh them.
I’m back to having a steady job that I love at a company that treats me well. I’m finally getting my act together and doing a better job of managing my finances (I didn’t buy a computer this year!). I’ve found a creative hobby that not only helps me to relax and unwind but is also a catalyst for seeing new things and places and meeting new people. I feel like I’ve gotten a bit wiser as I’m getting older. And I feel like I’m actually living life instead of sitting in limbo waiting for things to happen.
Yes, I’m happy with the way 2005 turned out. It’s actually the first year in which I have no regrets. Of course it would be better if Mei was here, but there wasn’t much we could do about it at the time. It happened. We deal with it and move on.
I don’t want to jinx anything, but I look forward to 2006 [knock on wood, cross fingers, dance around shaking chicken bones]. I’m excited to see all the new and cool things that will happen in my life. I’ll definitely have my cameras ready to capture the moments.
Speaking of cameras, I’ve put together a Flickr set of my favorite photos from 2005. I sifted through over 2600 images and narrowed it down to 100 photos that I personally like for one reason or another. I tried going for 50, but it was hard enough to hit 100. I’ll just leave it there.
With that, I think this will be my last post for 2005. It’s been a great year. Bring on 2006!
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