Another year, another review. 2014 went by way too quick! Last year I discovered more of the world and more about myself - what I enjoy, what I excel at, what I’m bad at. This year, I embraced those discoveries and pushed my bounds and comfort zones further.
I spent more time thinking about the things that are important to me - improving myself and my relationship with others (topic for future posts). And I spent significantly less effort worrying about needless things.
Not getting internet karma didn’t bother me anymore. Criticism didn’t hurt as much as it used to. Rejections didn’t prevent me from continuing along. And in general I didn’t overthink nearly as much as I did before. I realized most people are driven by their own self-interest — there’s no need to take things personally or to analyze every little detail of what something could have meant.
More of my time went into being with friends. Living more in the present and building deeper connections. I’ve said it a thousand times already, but I really am grateful for the support and positivity of the amazing people around me. With them around, I feel like I can take on anything, overcome any obstacles.
And with that said, here’s some memories from the year. Most of the photos are stolen from my wonderful photographer friends, as I did a poor job of documenting this year (one of the downsides of living in the moment more / not being as attached to my phone). May it trigger some nostalgia for those I shared the memories with!
Munich. Eurail Episode. Christmas markets. Beer gardens. Deutsch Museum. BMW World. Olympia Park. River surfing.
Lindau. Walk to Austria. Rainbow sunset.
Budapest. Attic hostel. Vietnamese food. Ruin bar. Thermal baths. Communism tour.
Prague. Couchsurfing. Castles. Beer cheaper than water. Brazilians and Californians. Kutna Hora. Ice bar. Gastronomy museum.
Sean's visit. Chipotle. DDR. Korean hostel. No fireworks at New Years. Notre Dame. Mozart concert in Cathedral. Final night. Hostel girls, 6am walk.
Week of Alps. Catching the train with hangover. Les Arcs. Off piste. Raclette. 5m visibility in snowstorm.
Brussels. Magic the Gathering. So much waffles and fries. Best beer in the world. Natural Science Museum. Death bar. No Pants Subway Ride. Avoid the peeing boy!
Switzerland adventure. Lausanne. EPFL. UNIL. Swiss cheese by the lake. Randomly Milan.
#aeasf2014. Paper G whiskey. Twin peaks. Ice cream tour. Stripper battle. Dropbox Karaoke. Hella Asian club.
DDR / 'snacks' at Twitter. Weekly run. Thiel house party.
LA road trip. US 1. Fog. Seals. Ramen. Failed flyboarding. Cronut!! Stalking Ryan Gosling.
Hyde Interns (this is pretty much my only photographic memory with you guys...) -> Mission Peaks. Smash. Tahoe. Biking to Tiburon. All the foods on Polk.
Santa Cruz Boardwalk. Tinder girl from bike shop. Lambo mountain bikes. Mission BBQ.
Big Basin. 100% outdoors weekend. Pouring rain. Colorful fires. Climbing beach rocks. Zach almost dying. Was the GoPro on? Castle Rock.
Ellie Goulding. Just the finale. Local Edition / Grand dress code. Tinder 'duuuude'. Wo xiang qing ni zhen me yang?
Escape from the Time Travel Lab. Scrambling between the rooms.
Poker / Spades at Twitter. Wang vs Dong. Degens. House of Prime Ribs. Dat salad toss.
Twinterns. Go-karting. Desiye dunk challenge. Rock climbing. Worst Resistance and Pictionary players ever. Selfie with Dick.
Observability! House of Cards. Board games.
Term in Cali. Phantom Falls. Sequoia offsite.
Cottage. Trudeau. Meowtain. Learning to twerk. Trunk tetris. Epic foods. Roxanne's swollen eye. I'm the coffee maker! Volleyball. Frisbee. Miracle berries.
Whole day BBQ. Jon game strong. FIFA. John bite burgers. Numbers game. Cups made of oranges. Summer Lights Festival. Bar volleyball. Glowstick penis. Waterloo tour.
New York City. Dinosaur BBQ. Cow penises / testicles at Kenka. Speak Easies. Crepes at classy club. Central Park. Times Square. M&M Store. Daniel Radcliffe. Wall Street. Popup ramen shop Benkei. Pickle back. Bartender serenade / free shots. Fire escape. Yale.
Boston. Lucie passport. Kingston burgers. Trunk nap. Boston creme donuts. Pig instagram celebrity. Baby statues. Giant fountain. Bodega. MIT. Liberty Hotel. Lobster roll. Penthouse bar. Rager shirt exchange. Obliques. World Cup Finals. Charles River kayaking. Xuehai and the table. Harvard. Russel House. Dinosaur BBQ. Rainbow. Niagara Falls detour.
Ribfest. ALL the variations. Engineered wine opener. My Sassy Girl.
Laurel Creek. YMCA. Record / game shop. Pyrus Cafe. Running through the rain to the Chinese supermarket. Hot pot. Serial killer quiz.
Neighborhood run. Boulted Bread. Beasley's. Myrtle beach inquisition. The Quarry. 25ft jump. Pit BBQ. Full Steam Brewery.
State Bird Provisions. Wicked. Toss toss.
Beyond Wonderland (pictures NSFW). Blackout. Rox's lost/found phone. Invention of the WS dance. King game. How many of you are gay?
Highway 1. Monterey sandwich shop. 17 mile drive. Wing-shaped plant. ATV. Summer stuck in the sand. Getting towed / dented. Firestone Grill.
Farmers market. Dim sum. Bike to Sausalito. Rox vs Golden Gate Bridge. Twitter Karaoke. Pretending to be a bike.
Canadian Thanksgiving. Record shop. Learning to motor bike. Apple / Google sponsorship. Relationship stories. Sex god.
Yosemite. Airbnb with private landing strip. Night photography. Cloud's Rest. Hiking with the pie. Losti n the dark. Stars / galaxy watching. Roxanne's car mysteriously disappears. Denny's.
LA. OC diner. Long Beach. Santa Monica. Gamjatang dance. King game round 2. Cuddle puddle. Observatory. Outlet mall.
Fishing. Custom rods. Xuehai's catch = dinner. Agile relationships. Napa lunch. Fire Trail hike. Lost in the woods. Jajangman. Big Hero 6.
American Thanksgiving. Joshua Tree. OKCupid Stock Photos. Keys View sunset. Pasta by the wall. Lost Horse Trail. Camping atop the mountain. Charades. Freeze dried food. Cactus garden. Tommy self-penetration. Skull Rock. International Banana Museum. Liquor store. Bombay Beach. Salvation Mountain. East Jesus. Helicopter pad. Epic dinner. Uber Man. The Interview. Gun range. Peeing on the statue. Riding the boat through the desert to the hot springs. Hitchhiker.
Jon's birthday / loftwarming. The dance.
Nest skating. Halloween bear costumes.
Chocolate Tasting.
Bi-weekly Learning Night. Entrepreneurs = new working class. History of circumcision. Machine learning. Photoshop. Failure in payments. Popping. Psychology of liking. 4 rules of long distance.
Arizona. Airbnb mansion. Dinosaur tracks. Onesie encounter. Navajo flea market. Horseshoe Bend. Mexican restaurant. Hot Seat. Butt stuff. Roxanne's getting them I think. Lower Antelope Canyon. Denny's. Toadstool rocks. Walmart. More onesies. Grand Canyon. Onesie congo line. Don't Fuck the Driver. Serial.
Last day in California. Pho. Nap. Sunset by the Marina. Head in fence photos. Berkeley Ironworks. Gregoire's. Smokes Poutinerie. Cream. Ici.
XHF(art|an|ap|*)C. Kanya. ö. lol!'n.
Bojangles. World problems. Life is sad.
KOMM reunion. Crepes and Coffee. REI. Big Daddy's.
Shashank's birthday. Imagine you're on a road game. Timer photos.
Last year I proclaimed 2013 would be hard to top. This year undoubtedly did just that. Sure, the magnitude of the epic wasn’t any greater — that indeed was tough to beat — but I’d say the depth of friendships from this year was the icing on the cake. Hopefully the good vibes continue as I enter real adult life in 2015. Happy holidays everyone!