Year in Review

January: I started off 2006 with a visit to Thailand. The majority of my family lives there so it’s really nice when I get the opportunity to go. Now that I’m older, I appreciate these visits even more. Its great to experience a different culture and to see where your parents come from and to interact with family members that you hardly see. As a little kid you don’t really understand it and don’t take in everything that you see. But as an adult I have a deeper understanding of how my parents were raised and have a better perspective of their values and ideals. And I am slowly learning the history of Thailand as a country. I was actually there during the starts of the protest of the Prime Minister and it was interesting to hear the different viewpoints from my aunts and uncles on that topic. When the coup d’etat happened, I wasn’t that surprised since there was so much dissent among the Thai people and from being there and hearing the stories it was inevitable that this was going to happen. Too many were unhappy with the way the Prime Minister was running the country and how greedy he had become.

Besides witnessing the protests, I spent a lot of time at the beach. I stayed at my cousin’s beach house in Hua Hin. I also got to visit the beautiful island of Phuket. That was amazing and definitely a highlight of my trip. Its remarkable how quickly Phuket was able to rebuild itself after the tsunami that devastated that area Christmas 2005. There are only a handful of areas where you can see the damage, but for the most part, Phuket is up and running. The island makes most of its money from the resorts and tourist attractions, so I was glad to see that the tsunami has not deterred people from visiting and vacationing there. I had a great time in Thailand and hope to visit every other year.

February: Which is my favorite month of the year ended with me turning 26. My friends D, Sean Kiah and I all have b-days within days of each other, so for the last few years we have celebrated our birthdays together. This year we had a party at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds where Sean works. Sean and I decorated the place and it reminded me of a high school gym during homecoming/prom season. It was lots of fun. The birthday peeps all got very drunk and it was a good time for all.

This month also marked the beginning of my relationship with my ex. Man, where do I begin? I guess I can talk later on about the falling apart of our relationship. This was still the beginning, so we were still in the honeymoon phase of the whole thing. The relationship started off very sweet. I have to admit that I wasn’t so open to the idea of dating him at first. And it wasn’t because of him. It had more to do with my commitment phobia and me. I am deathly terrified of opening myself up to someone, letting them in and then getting hurt by them. I also hate being that girl whose life revolves around their boyfriend or loses their identity in a relationship. So in the beginning I gave him a hard time, and to be honest, if I was him, I would’ve bailed on me a long time ago. But he didn’t. He stuck around and dealt with my insecurities and it was really sweet, and I adored him that much more for not giving up on me.


March: Goes in like a lion and comes out like a lamb. Umm, that could perhaps sum up that month for me. Can’t think of anything too significant that happened to me that month. I do believe this was the month where I started to panic when I realized I was still unemployed and depleting the money in my savings account. So began the job hunt.

April: I started to go on interviews this month looking for a new job. I had quit my job back in November ’05 and it was time to stop being lazy and get my ass back to work. I accepted a job with a company called Aptela. It was an inside sales position and I was selling VoIP. I hated this job. It sucked. I was a high-paid tele-marketer and that was not what I signed up for. They were totally misleading throughout the interview and training. I was not a happy camper and by early May had left the company.

My friend Reet had her wedding reception this month also. She got married in India back in December, but had her reception for all the people that couldn’t fly to India in April. It was lots of fun and kinda weird to see one of my really close girlfriends married.

May: I quit my job at Aptela. After realizing what the job really was, I couldn’t stand being there a moment longer. I figured I would be better off unemployed looking for a new job than being stuck there miserable until I found better work. I began to work part-time at my friend’s business called Edible Arrangements. This allowed me to bring in some money and have the freedom and flexibility to go on interviews.

June: This month marked the first breakup with my ex. Yes, I said first. Le sigh. We had been fighting, didn’t really know how to communicate with one another and had some trust issues. It wasn’t a pretty break-up. A lot of hurt feelings on both sides. I think we were both really angry at one another and neither one of us handled it well. At least I didn’t. I was severely depressed over the whole situation and did not want to break up. I knew we had problems but I wanted to work on those problems to get us to a stronger place. But it takes two people to be in a relationship and one person wanting it more can’t fix the entire thing. I was very upset throughout this and acted very immature and hurtful towards some of my friends, which I really regret now. I wish I had handled myself better, but at the time I wanted to hurt people and have them feel the pain that I was feeling.

I also started my job at my current company. My friend Reet, who used to work here, got me my initial interview and bam, I was hired. I am a Maintenance Renewal Analyst. I review contracts and price customers their technical support for the use of our software. It’s a very different job from my old radio gig. And a completely different work environment, much quieter, and while I am part of a team, all the work is individual and I spend all my time in front of a computer. There are some days where I won’t speak to any of my co-workers until lunchtime. The silence can get to me at times. I’m used to all the ladies of TTN sitting next to a box of cookies, chitchatting about our day and what we had planned for the week. Its not quite like that here, but I can’t complain.

July: This month welcomed the start of my blog, Suzy Homemaker is NOT Who I am. And this concludes my year in review. You can now just read my archives to find out what I did the rest of the year. Hahaha, just kidding. I’m actually really glad that I started this blog. It’s a great outlet to let out my thoughts and frustrations. It helps me get my creative juices flowing and keeps me in touch with friends in a way that myspace can’t. I also love reading other people’s blogs and seeing their points-of-view.

August: I began my foray into cooking classes this month. Eh, not bad, but also probably a huge waste of time and money. I probably have only cooked a handful of meals since then. Not exactly sure how I survive. I think I get take out a lot or go out to dinners a lot. I suppose it was valuable for me to take them. At least I have a foundation to start with and can progress from there. But again, it requires me to actual cook and I still don’t enjoy. Cooking for one person just isn’t fun, and I’m not a big fan of leftovers.

My roommate also moved out. Le sigh. Very happy for her cause she bought her condo, but sad for me cause we would no longer be living together. Those were some good times.

September: My ex and I got back together this month. It started off with a simple e-mail, and I wasn’t sure if he really meant to send it to me or not so I replied back to it. I wonder what would’ve happened if I didn’t, but its not good to think about what if’s. I was deliriously happy when we got back together. I had been missing him since the day we broke up and thought about him everyday. I honestly believe that I love/d him. When we were together, I felt it, I was euphoric and every part of me felt alive. I couldn’t stop smiling that first weekend and I was so happy to have him back in my life. He was the first guy in a long time that I opened up to and let in. And I really do think it helped that we were friends first before we started dating. We both agreed that we still had obstacles and issues to overcome – mainly learning to better communicate with one another. I was determined to make it work between us. I wanted a better outcome than last time.

My friend Jeff got married. Another one bites the dust. I also bought my new car this month.

October: This is the month where my ex and I officially broke up once again. The relationship started to deteriorate towards the end of September, but it was finalized until October. Some people just aren’t clearly meant to be together regardless of timing. I think that is him and I. While we both wanted to make it work in the beginning, we both fell into our old patterns very quickly and from there didn’t know how to recover. In the beginning of the breakup, I really was ok with the whole thing. I felt good that at least I knew for sure that him and I aren’t suited for one another and that I wouldn’t keep playing the what if game. And I really was happy that we did get back together, even if it only lasted for a month. I really did care a lot about him and I was really happy to have had him back even for just a bit.

But then things got ugly. Him and I don’t even talk anymore, and I highly doubt we ever will. Too many nasty things were said back and forth between each other and it’s too hard to take them back or forgive it. Even now I think he is still really mad at me. My anger has faded and now I don’t really feel much. I do miss him. I do think about him still. I miss our good days a lot, but I don’t miss our bad days at all. I do miss our friendship a lot. I think we were better friends than lovers. And I do have to thank him. He helped me open myself up and even though I got hurt by all of this, I think it was a good thing. It helped me understand how I am in a relationship, and realized there are things about me that I didn’t like and need to change. Being with him also made me realize that I’m finally at a point in my life where I’m ready to be in a serious relationship. I’m no longer afraid of them and will not run away from one next time. I also realized what I want out of a significant other and what I deserve. It was a great learning experience and I wish we could still be friends. Who knows, stranger things have happened.

November: I finally caved in and became Crazy Cat Lady. I adopted the sweetest little kitty from the Montgomery County Humane Society and named him Weasley. I am so glad that I did it. It definitely sucks sometimes to come home to a completely empty apartment. I was getting lonely and bored and needed some companionship. Weasley and I are a good fit. He’s more dog-like than cat. He loves to be picked up, and loves just sitting in my lap and letting me pet him. He is very friendly and is not afraid of people. Such a sweet cat and I’m training to walk him on a leash. Hahaha, I know, I’m nutso.

December: It was a pretty hectic month with the end of the quarter and the holidays upon us. I was very stressed out this month and was prone to be in a bad mood. I actually am so glad that the holidays are over and my quarter is done. My friend Shama spent the last week with me, and I’ll post our week up in pictures hopefully later on this week.

Overall, 2006 was a decent year. There were some great highs and some shitty lows. But that is life. You can’t expect everything to be perfect and those lows are the things that make you a stronger person and where you learn a lot about yourself. Everything happens for a reason and there are times when I hate that statement, but I firmly believe in it. People come and go in your life for a reason and I cherish all of my friends that have been there for me and all the new friends I have met at my new job. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for me in 2007. Biggest goal is to buy a condo!