2018, a retrospective.
What a year
2018 was a great year. I went through some of the biggest changes in my life yet, all for the better. Obviously there were some areas I could have done better, but it’s one of those years that I can confidently look back and say, “What a year.”
As always, here’s a recap of what happened this year as a thank you to everyone that supported me this year.
Bought a condo in Emeryville
This June, I signed my life away under a mortgage and bought a condo in Emeryville. It was a long process: it didn’t happen in just a month like the usual apartment rental search. I spent the entire first half of the year researching home mortgage options, getting my financials in good order, and scouting for the right condo. Especially in a seller’s market like now, there were only a handful of condos that matched my criteria, and most of them had a ton of competition, making matters even harder.
I would like to thank my real estate agent Nikki Lui, for guiding me throughout the process. Buying a home for the first time is beyond just an investment. It was a great learning experience and one of the most important steps into adulthood, and I am glad I got to make that step this year.
Blitz joined Discord
It was a monumental year for my career as well, as we concluded our three year ride at Blitz and joined Discord. Looking back at the past three years at Blitz, it was the best decision I’ve ever made in my career. I grew so much as a product designer, produced awesome designs that impacted millions of gamers, and worked with one of the best teams I’ve ever met. You can learn more about my learnings and the journey here.
I’ve been at Discord for only two months so far, but I can already say it’s an incredible place to work. Simply put, Discord is a place where you can be proud to be a nerd. People at Discord are some of the quirkiest, yet brightest and hardest working people I’ve seen. At Discord, I feel I need to hold myself to higher standards, and I feel invigorated to work with them every day. We have some dope stuff in the works, and I can’t wait to share with everyone soon™.
Met Hallen
I’m thankful and fortunate to have met Hallen this year. Since we’ve met this summer, she’s been my greatest source of motivation and strength, and has made my life brighter than ever. Yes, my friends roast me now more than ever because of how cheesy I’ve become, but sometimes I can’t hide my happiness. I guess now they are going to unfollow me from Medium, too.
From exploring the most beautiful, grammable places in the city and talking about our dreams to nerding out like kids and simply sharing a part of our day, I treasure every moment we’ve shared this year. I am thankful for having her by my side, and I will continue to push myself to be a better person for us. I’m looking forward to more happiness, adventures, and everything ahead of us next year and onwards.
For 2019.
My mom used to say life is like a sine-cosine graph — she is a math teacher and this is her way of saying life has ups and downs. I still don’t think 2018 was the peak of that graph. If I were to say it was the peak, then next year will only get worse.
That’s why I write new year’s resolutions to promise myself and everyone reading this that I will not be complacent and continue to push myself to limits. As long as I continue to set high standards for myself and hold myself accountable, each subsequent year will only get better and better.
Here are three goals I set for myself next year:
Gain 12 pounds. 1 pound each month.
Go from Smol to Swole
Okay guys feel free to hate, but for some people this is actually really hard. This was the only goal I wasn’t able to meet this year — I was supposed to gain 20, but was only able to gain 5.
Next year, I want to make sure I reach a healthy level of weight by gaining 12 pounds, and keep myself accountable by gaining at least 1 pound each month. If I fail to gain 1 pound any given month, I will eat a half plate of sandwich + salad from Mezzo. Their portions are HUGE. And we all know how much I hate greens.
It doesn’t matter how often I work out if I don’t have the material, i.e. mass to bulk up. My biggest goal of the year is to be physically fit. To do that, I will try best to eat more and have a balanced diet.
Save 25% of paycheck each month.
A big win this year was my condo purchase this June, but I shouldn’t stop there. I feel without a strict division between savings, bills, and allowance, I wouldn’t be able to control my expenditure wisely.
20% is a good rule of thumb for savings, but I want to push myself to save a little more than that and save 25% each paycheck. I feel this is totally possible if I cut down on buying things I don’t need and watch my budget more carefully. I’m allocating 25% into savings and investment, 38% to my allowance account linked to credit card, and the remaining 37% stays in my primary account to pay for bills.
I hope to reach my target savings for next year with this monthly savings plan. Only then I get to celebrate with French Laundry.
Hold myself to higher standards at work.
Here’s a confession I want to make: looking back, I wasn’t challenging myself 100% when it comes to work this year. Maybe I was burned out, going through changes in life, or getting used to the transition at my new job, but really there are no excuses. I could have done better.
I feel that my career and my work gives me the sense of identity and pride, and I know I can do better. Though this goal is immeasurable, I want to make a promise with myself and with everyone that I will hold myself to a high standard at work. Whether it’s Discord, Witeboard, or personal projects, I believe I can pay more meticulous attention to detail and go beyond what’s expected.
TLDR, I want to make sure that at the end of the year, I can proudly say: “Damn, I really worked my ass off this year. And I am proud of all the work I produced.”
I would like to thank everyone that I shared a piece of this incredible year. Special thanks to my parents for always believing in me and supporting me, Jess’s bitches for roasting me and giving me source of memes, and Hallen for making my life brighter every day. Here’s to 2019!
