Like Spotify Wrapped, but a mix of all things, in no particular order.
I got into road bikes after trying out climbing a hill on one. Their light weight form makes those steep hills less intimidating! Got a used Specialized Roubaix and went to town. Clocked in over 250 miles in 2 months before rainy season started.
Also built a new e-bike with huge battery. Learned a lot on how bikes work. Favorite fun fact: the rear derailleur hanger exists to break, so that the rear derailleur itself can survive longer miles! Looking forward for an opportunity to go bike camping with it.
The e-bike from 2019 was okay, but its range (30 miles) became a limiting factor when I spend a day to the city and back (25 miles, lol).
What’s better than 2 bikes? 2 bikes and 0 cars!
Not using the car for daily commute made me realize the costs just don’t justify it. I don’t miss having one at all.
Turns out, I don’t really care about the operating system. What mattered more is having a device that can be comfortably operated with one hand: Pixel 3 was perfect and Pixel 4a 5G was too big. And so, I said my goodbye to Android after 10 or so years.
I made the decision before ASUS ZenFone 9 was released. No regrets now, but that would have been a strong contender.
Wrote more about the switch itself in a separate post.
Had not gone to shows in a while, but managed to see Jon Nakamatsu play Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto 1 with Peninsula Symphony.
Was hoping to get the tickets for Rachmaninoff’s anniversary in Carnegie Hall next year, but it was sold out in 5 minutes! Still excited to see Yuja Wang play Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto 3 in San Francisco though.
In the recent years, I realized that I don’t follow or listen to many artists. But the ones that I do, I would play them on repeat for basically a year or so. This year’s list:
Their show in Paris is phenomenal. Everyone sings so well and it’s mind blowing to realize that.
The whole discography. Absolute legends.
“Woman Worldwide” live album is basically electronic music orchestra playing concertos. Likewise for “Planisphère”.
Her song “Color” was featured as Spy x Family anime season 2 ending song. The vocal skills in her album “Versus the night” stunned me though, especially “The world is supposed to be beautiful”.
Learned about these artists from Chainsaw Man anime, though been listening to Eve and Kenshi Yonezu long before. Hard to believe one anime series could have so many bangers, but wow they actually made it.
Mostly upbeat songs, but hearing the artists perform the live versions really made me appreciate their skills and how well they have mastered the craft.
It has been a pretty fun year of eating out, especially during the summer months. Here are the places I discovered first-time in the year.
I decided not to include pictures in this section to not create bias towards places with more fortunate camera angle. Take my words and maybe I’ll see you in one of these spots?
The famous fish tacos served with salmon consommé. I was mind blown when I tried with after an invitation from Adrianna. Conversely, everyone I brought here had their mind blown. They are reopening soon in Spring 2023.
Also, go and eat anywhere that Adrianna recommends. I don’t make the rules.
No bullshit, just straight up carnitas. Still haven’t found a bite of carnitas that can compare to it.
Humble shop in Richmond neighborhood with solid claypot rice. The homemade tofu in their appetizer soup has such smooth texture with intense flavor.
Warm egg noodle curry soup with thick and rich broth. I mean, I’m a sucker for egg noodles.
Solid platter. The Daly City fog weather certainly amplifies the flavor.
Officially, they are “World Famous HotBoys Chicken”. It’s my benchmark for chicken sandwich now.
Fried chicken with mochiko batter with the satisfying crunch is hard to beat.
The menu of items I cooked for the first time ever in the year. Rather experimental and entertaining.
Not quite at “smoking brisket for a party” level yet, but have gotten better over several times I managed to do before rainy season came.
The preparation gets easier every time and it’s as delicious as ever.
Had a lot of bags from regulars this year, though some new ones were on the next caliber experience.
Managed to snag a bag of Rosso Coffee Roaster’s Kibingo Natural Inoculated Red Bourbon from Fellow Drops. So fragrant and entertaining.
In doing Advent of Coffee from Onyx Coffee Lab, they sent a bag of Colombia Inmaculada Gesha. Lovely cup.
It’s a year with the most games I played in. Having a Steam Deck definitely contributed to it too. The following lists include some from late 2021 — they were not forgotten.
Having co-op games that bring the house together everyday at 5 PM on the dot is quite a fun thing. Most are couch co-op, but not all.
Puzzles get me going. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I find visual novels to feel like interactive anime. I don’t care much about the game mechanics, but running around and choosing conversation replies which alters story line? Sign me the fuck up. Even better with humor.
Worth a mention as its own category. Had a ridiculously great time playing and finishing this game.