The Total Eclipse of my Early Twenties
On the eve of my 26th birthday and on the last night of my early twenties, I nursed a ceremonious final hangover (yeah, right - just kidding). Who knows, though? It could be my last bearable one.
After celebrating in a brand new apartment over a home-cooked dinner and candlelit dessert, I also chose to reflect back on the bucket list I created at this time last year -- to see how I did.
Me, last year, this time:
"Inspired by my friends' and my obsession with the bucket list phenomenon, I decided recently that I want to set out on the trail from 25 to 26 with a vision in mind. It's in line with the thinking behind my New Years Resolutions: It's not about setting goals just for the sake of completing them; it's about creating experiences for myself and planning around them in order to build the life I want to lead."
Turns out that little old Cory, hanging out at Mom and Dad's house amidst content uncertainty, was not far off. Setting my intentions helped me achieve the unknown, the unfathomable and quite a bit of fun along the way this past year. 16/25 and batting 600. Not half bad.
1. Go skydiving. Completed with two of best friends + unexpectedly, my sister! Waited until the last day of 2014.
2. Wine taste in Napa. Traveled for my 25th birthday from Feb 6-8th. Did five wineries in two rainy days.
3. Rent a car - with no fees! Did that too! Drove it home with Chels and Bayan after Napa. Rented cars routinely with work after August 2014.
4. Paint a mural. Did not complete. Purchased the supplies and used acrylics to paint some crafty woodwork. Canvas to come.
5. Do a Vegas trip. Returned to Vegas multiple times: for family trip in April, for Kirb’s birthday in the summer, for Chloe’s birthday in September, and back in October for Life is Beautiful. I am insane!
6. Go back to Seattle (and the Marysville mission) for a visit. Trip tentatively on the books for April of 2015. Family will potentially combine with Chels and Connor!
7. Visit headquarters in Cupertino. Completed on February 6 before Napa weekend.
8. Make a career step; be it lateral, upward or somewhere unexpected! Became a customer education consultant at LinkedIn on June 16, 2014.
9. Move [back] into my own place. Got my first SF apartment on August 1 (half-birthday = woot!) and moved into my first 1-year lease in a while in North Beach, San Francisco. This finally feels like my own place.
10. Go on my first cruise (if possible) or take a tropical vacation. Did not complete. Shopped and planned a trip to Maui, scheduled tentatively for late summer 2015.
11. Plan or embark on my next international trip - attention: Chelsea #20yearanniversary — Chels and I also have this in the works as careers and lives align.
12. Go to a city I've never visited. Chicago, IL for my summer learning excursion with LinkedIn!
13. Go to a ballpark at which I've never seen a game! Did that in Chicago too: Beers and hotdogs at Wrigley, July 2014.
14. Do volunteer work. Presented to students & Girl Scouts and became a career mentor within LinkedIn’s partner organization. Danced at TrojanDM 2014 in February.
15. Get into an extracurricular... activity. i.e. book club? See below
16. Join a sports team. Participated in Darren’s softball team and became a proud, recurring member of the Honey Badgers!
17. Go to a wedding (or be in a wedding!!) No wedding invites in 2014. But I got a Save-the-Date for May 2015 in Dallas!
18. Go to a rave. Didn’t do that. Went to a bigger festival and more live music in SF then I had ever been to!
19. See a concert (of someone I've never seen live). Saw Mikky Ekko and fucking Beyonce and Jay-Z.
20. Cook a gourmet, multi-course meal. Did not complete. Will be relaying this resolution over into mine for 2015.
21. Run a 10K! Race booked and ran on Sunday February 23rd. Completed in one hour!
22. Complete an even-longer fitness event, such as a half-marathon! Ran a 15K with my sister in January 2015 and completed my first half in November alongside both Kirby and Chloe.
23. Go to a Zumba certification class or conference. Did not practice or pursue Zumba like I once did. Became a devout yogi instead.
24. Connect with all of my USC, Apple and other professional mentors. Connected with some and have let it slip with others. Will continue to nurture my network meaningfully.
25. Fall in love. This one’s a toughie. I took a stab at love, I showed Cory self-love, and I fell in love with both a new work team (at LinkedIn and in CSO) and with the city of San Francisco. That counts in my book.
After celebrating in a brand new apartment over a home-cooked dinner and candlelit dessert, I also chose to reflect back on the bucket list I created at this time last year -- to see how I did.
Me, last year, this time:
"Inspired by my friends' and my obsession with the bucket list phenomenon, I decided recently that I want to set out on the trail from 25 to 26 with a vision in mind. It's in line with the thinking behind my New Years Resolutions: It's not about setting goals just for the sake of completing them; it's about creating experiences for myself and planning around them in order to build the life I want to lead."
Turns out that little old Cory, hanging out at Mom and Dad's house amidst content uncertainty, was not far off. Setting my intentions helped me achieve the unknown, the unfathomable and quite a bit of fun along the way this past year. 16/25 and batting 600. Not half bad.
1. Go skydiving. Completed with two of best friends + unexpectedly, my sister! Waited until the last day of 2014.
2. Wine taste in Napa. Traveled for my 25th birthday from Feb 6-8th. Did five wineries in two rainy days.
3. Rent a car - with no fees! Did that too! Drove it home with Chels and Bayan after Napa. Rented cars routinely with work after August 2014.
4. Paint a mural. Did not complete. Purchased the supplies and used acrylics to paint some crafty woodwork. Canvas to come.
5. Do a Vegas trip. Returned to Vegas multiple times: for family trip in April, for Kirb’s birthday in the summer, for Chloe’s birthday in September, and back in October for Life is Beautiful. I am insane!
6. Go back to Seattle (and the Marysville mission) for a visit. Trip tentatively on the books for April of 2015. Family will potentially combine with Chels and Connor!
7. Visit headquarters in Cupertino. Completed on February 6 before Napa weekend.
8. Make a career step; be it lateral, upward or somewhere unexpected! Became a customer education consultant at LinkedIn on June 16, 2014.
9. Move [back] into my own place. Got my first SF apartment on August 1 (half-birthday = woot!) and moved into my first 1-year lease in a while in North Beach, San Francisco. This finally feels like my own place.
Our gorgeous new rooftop!
10. Go on my first cruise (if possible) or take a tropical vacation. Did not complete. Shopped and planned a trip to Maui, scheduled tentatively for late summer 2015.
11. Plan or embark on my next international trip - attention: Chelsea #20yearanniversary — Chels and I also have this in the works as careers and lives align.
12. Go to a city I've never visited. Chicago, IL for my summer learning excursion with LinkedIn!
13. Go to a ballpark at which I've never seen a game! Did that in Chicago too: Beers and hotdogs at Wrigley, July 2014.
14. Do volunteer work. Presented to students & Girl Scouts and became a career mentor within LinkedIn’s partner organization. Danced at TrojanDM 2014 in February.
15. Get into an extracurricular... activity. i.e. book club? See below
16. Join a sports team. Participated in Darren’s softball team and became a proud, recurring member of the Honey Badgers!
17. Go to a wedding (or be in a wedding!!) No wedding invites in 2014. But I got a Save-the-Date for May 2015 in Dallas!
18. Go to a rave. Didn’t do that. Went to a bigger festival and more live music in SF then I had ever been to!
19. See a concert (of someone I've never seen live). Saw Mikky Ekko and fucking Beyonce and Jay-Z.
Me, Diana and Bey
21. Run a 10K! Race booked and ran on Sunday February 23rd. Completed in one hour!
22. Complete an even-longer fitness event, such as a half-marathon! Ran a 15K with my sister in January 2015 and completed my first half in November alongside both Kirby and Chloe.
Santa Barbara Half-Marathon, November 2014
23. Go to a Zumba certification class or conference. Did not practice or pursue Zumba like I once did. Became a devout yogi instead.
24. Connect with all of my USC, Apple and other professional mentors. Connected with some and have let it slip with others. Will continue to nurture my network meaningfully.
25. Fall in love. This one’s a toughie. I took a stab at love, I showed Cory self-love, and I fell in love with both a new work team (at LinkedIn and in CSO) and with the city of San Francisco. That counts in my book.
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