Looking Back at 2006

Posted on January 1, 2007 by Ching under Life.

The year 2006 brought us viral marketing campaigns gone wrong, more corporate scandals, new gaming consoles, crazy videos that you emailed to more than a dozen people, The Departed, Google bought YouTube, Ryan cheated on Reese.. This is an attempt to recap the less exciting things that happened to me in the past year (beyond the poker stuff which you have previously read about).

Work was very challenging in more ways than one. It was a trying time for me not only because there was so much work to be done and not enough time but also because people were literally making my life a living a hell. There were a few weeks that I just felt defeated and worn down but I persevered because I knew deep down that good people always prevail. Adversity will always exist. How we respond or overcome it is our choice. I always try to remind myself, that which doesn’t break you will make you stronger. And, of course, there are many lessons to be learned along the way.

School was both stressful and exciting. For my final undergraduate semester I decided to take the the road less traveled. Instead of taking it easy, I decided to challenge myself and try for a Computer Science minor. This would give me three minors instead of just two: Management and Accounting. The Computer Science course was a daytime class. Although I had received permission to attend the class, work commitments (like training seminars and meetings) sometimes prevented me from attending but besides that, I did not have the time to devote to completing the programming assignments. The class progressed really slow but the assignments increased exponentially in scope and difficulty. At first it seemed as though I was going to do alright and pass the course but by the last month it became obvious that I would not make it. By then it was too late.

It was in 2006 that I received my undergraduate degree. It was conferred during the Spring 2006 commencement of the Barton School. My degree is a Bachelor of Business Administration. My major is Management Information Systems and my minors are Management and Accounting. It’s not as impressive as the engineering degree that I had originally set out for out of high school but I am very glad that I decided to go back to school. I feel proud of my accomplishment particularly since I had to it while working forty-plus hour weeks the whole time.

Early in the year I decided that I would remain in school. I decided that I would pursue my MBA through Wichita State University. Having a tight deadline, I had to take my GMAT the week after finals. I wrote my essay, begged for recommendation letters, etc. all before June 1st in order to be accepted for the fall semester. I had to scramble but somehow I managed to pull through. I was one of the 54 accepted into the program. I think 97 had applied. There were many more applying throughout the summer but they would have wait for the next round.

Summer went by pretty quickly. I tried to get my fill of poker. We got a new car. It’s our first brand new car ever. We adopted Molly, the newest addition to our family. I lost a lot of shoes because of her chewing habit but that’s okay. We had our first set of joeys (we had two other sets since; we have our third set of joeys now in case anyone is interested). Yes, Brian and I became grandparents. LOL.

So much has happened this year. I feel that 2006 is significant in that I experienced a lot of personal growth. I took away from my experiences many valuable lessons. We met a lot of new people. All of them interesting and some of them quite impressive. I survived my first semester in graduate school, against all odds so to speak.

I look forward to 2007 and the challenges it brings. I have more knowledge and experience now so hopefully I can use these to make better choices. I made some mistakes in years past but, as with everything, I take it as a learning opportunity. Some of the things to anticipate in 2007 are:

Doing well in school (that is always a priority).
Giving my all at work (equally important).
Getting our passports (we actually have our application completed, we just need to go to the post office for passport photos and to turn it in).
Working on the house.
Playing more live, real-money poker (we’ve already made reservations for our first one; our room is booked for Harrah’s NKC during spring break; Brian and I are planning to do two of the $50 tourneys).
Gradually getting back into shape (hopefully in time for our cruise).
Cruising in September to celebrate our five year anniversary.
Indulging in more couples massages (and enjoying more quality time together).
Stressing out less and spending more time with family.
Taking up another hobby (maybe golf, but maybe I’ll just start bowling again).
Eating out less and cooking more (this is where Rouxbe comes in).

This is all I can think of for now. I’m sure this list will expand as things come up and some of the things may not take place. We’ll talk again around this time in 2008.

Happy new year, everyone!

Replies to "Looking Back at 2006"

Jo Alonso on January 2, 2007

Golf would be great! Find out where you can get cheap lessons and do take Logan, with you. I have initial talks with a friend on behalf of Logan about golf lessons at the base. I, too plan to keep in shape… see what activities we can do together, swimming would be great, too

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