Happy Last Day of 2001.

I'm glad this year is done with. I don't know what's written in my stars but this year and last year were both very trying for me. So with that, I'm glad I'm going to start another year off anew, perhaps not with a clean slate but well, we can't have everything can we? 2001. Good riddance. That's not to say that there weren't any highlights in 2001 because there certainly were but we, as people always seem to remember the bad and it tends to outshine the good in our minds.

So here's a brief recap of my year in review [aka the best way to write an entry by using old entries that you have already]:

January started out with me recapping a lot of my journey adventures from Japan and Hong Kong. Along with trying to get back onto this time zone schedule, I wanted to get all my thoughts and feelings from my trip down on "paper" before I forgot all the details. It turned out to be a much bigger feat than I imagined and had me writing entries all throughout the year when I had the time and energy to get them down. I finally finished them and posted the links to all the entries here on September 1st.

February celebrated Aiyah.Net's 1st online anniversary. It was hard to believe that a year had passed since I started this site and journal. A lot of love, hardwork and sweat were put into this crazy site. I know you can't tell but I really do spend alot of time writing here. More than your average nutcase. In February, I also wrote my first swap entry with Jaycine on Valentine's Day that really rocked some of your worlds out there. Our dual Masturbation entries really got alot of people's attentions. But I had a great time writing my entry that's somewhere in Jaycine's archives I think. :) Another entry that got a lot of attention as well were the dual hapa entries written on 2 consecutive days. And the big news of February was that I *finally* got cable for house after living here for an eternity. Of course getting cable led to a life of excess in front of the tv.

March started off with my 31st birthday at the beginning of the month. Wasn't too excited about getting another year older but oh well, that's life. My sister, whom I rarely see, came to visit at this time as well and we went to do a surprise salon trip together. March was filled with alot of random entries, particularly on how my emotions were fluctuating at this time due to my health and how I was dealing with it as well. And I ended up writing an entry called fat asian girl that received an overwhelming response from both men and women. Also wrote several travel entries during this month too.

April had me going to my favorite place, Hawaii. Wrote 6 consecutive entries on my travels there beginning on the 18th. It was a great trip because I got a chance to hang out with my mainland friends who were there for a wedding, my friends from Osaka happened to be in Hawaii at the same time, PLUS hapa and wahine and local friends from the islands both from the on and off line world. April also has the distinction of being the first time showing you all what I looked like via a drawing by Scott of Medea Sin. It's an incredible feeling to be depicted in an artform. I was really honored.

May started off with a few entries that I liked such as 'lemonade'. I noticed that in 2001, I wrote alot of personal stories to share with you all. It was a nice segue from my usual writing style. It was certainly a positive thing for me to be able to write in various modes and not feel restricted to writing a certain way. I also at this time got my allergy testing, which may possibly be a breakthrough in my health situation. I was willing to try anything and be tested in any way just to find out the answer to my problem. So on the second day of testing, I got the results of my tests and was put onto a whole different living and eating (WOE) regimen. What a drastic change to my life.

June was relatively quiet as I began my life cooking in a whole new way and sticking to a strict eating plan. I didn't get to see much of anyone at this time, only the folks at the gym and the market. :P Did a new redesign on the site, which is what you're currently seeing now. Wrote a couple entries that I liked such as china deuce bigalow and spraypaint.

July started off with a 4 day trip to Vegas with K. And shortly after the trip, I had to begin learning how to inject myself with my weekly antigens. Oh. Yay. Also had my first entry on doing a cooking show and tell as well. And had a fun entry on blow. Remained on that diet and actually started liking the way I felt through the diet but the weekly injections were still too harsh on my body and so I began working with the doctors on adjusting a new formula for me.

August was a hot month and I spent alot of time complaining about it as well. It was also at this time that I wrote my own version of the 50 Questions, which kind of took off like wildfire. Everyone also seemed to enjoyed my entry on shy colon. It was this month that I revamped my workouts at the gym and began incorporating Pilates-Yoga in it. I loved it so much that I've been doing it weekly ever since.

September was a month for dim sum because I wrote alot about it. And not just only dim sum. Somewhere along the line, I began writing and taking alot more photos of food. I guess depravation does that to you but everyone seemed to love those entries on food. No surprise there. And how can anyone forget 9-1-1? A day that really hit home for alot of us out there. The month rounded out with a baby shower for my brother and sisinlaw.

October had me writing a couple of entries that I really liked entitled: twenties and hotel. It was something that I wanted to write about from my past and I found a good voice to do so in. How odd that during a time of really unmotivated writing that I brought forth those two entries. It was also in October that I began the first part of my tattoo work. Finally, after all these years of waiting to get one.

November began with a somber entry on being let down and is another one of those many entries on me reflecting about my current life situation. I also wrote a long entry for my friends who were going to Hong Kong and I tried to encapsulate my thoughts on a one day trip there for anyone who's interested. My niece Jasmine, arrived on the 14th and she was definitely one of the highlights of the year that we've all been waiting for. :) On the 21st, I finished up the rest of my tattoo and to me, that's definitely a personal highlight. And at the end of the month, I finished up an entry on saving-giving face.

December certainly came and went in a flash but during this holiday season, it was a period of ups and downs for me, especially when a couple of the programs I've applied for denied me. Of course in the face of depression, I began eating out at alot of new places and documented them all for you to read. We also had a fun pre-Christmas dinner with my friends at a buffet where my rage-o-meter practically blew up. I then baked a zillion cookies for friends and family right before Christmas. On Christmas Eve, I spent a fun night at my friend's place for a potluck get-together. And the month ended with me seeing a couple government appointed doctors for another program I've applied to.

As you can tell, it was a year for journaling more than anything else. There wasn't too much to talk about on my end without sounding like a broken record and that led to periods of unmotivated writing. However, if you have the opportunity, go through my archives and check out all the other entries interspersed throughout the year- just because I didn't mention them here doesn't mean they aren't worth reading either. It's just that there's too much to cover in one entry here.

Although I didn't mention it above, I appreciate all the friends who've supported me throughout this year, both from the online world and offline. I thank all those who took the time to meet up with me [even weekly] and to help keep me sane during this long road.

Anyway, cheers to a better year ahead for everyone. And let's hope I'll still be writing at this time next year.

I'm out for the last time in 2001.