Keshia's Top Ten 2012 Memories (and more)

Happy New Year everyone! I don't know how everyone spent the NY but I spent it all day doing one thing- reading escape literature.

I.e. fiction. And to make people gasp even more, Christian ROMANCE fiction.

Don't judge.

I was at a New Year's Eve Eve Eve Eve (Dec 28th) party for young single adults for my church, and one of the mini activities they held was a speed dating activity that I participated in FOR FUN (there's actually another story behind this but I really don't want to go into that).

Interruption: If anyone doesn't want to read about how my New Years Day or how 2012 in general went for me, well here's my gossip update in one sentence: I'm still single, and I set a record ZERO dates this year. I know, quite an accomplishment, huh...

Anyway, this speed dating activity. One of the questions was "What is the most recent book you read?" My "speed-date's" answer was this book that was on the top-seller list. My answer?

"A Christmas romance."

I could just see the wheels in my "speed-date's" mind turning, although he asked me to dance later, so maybe I misjudged him.

Anyway, I admit that yes, I enjoy reading "shallow" romance novels because I get to escape from reality for a few hours. I get paid to read at least 20x more scholarly, "deep" books in a semester than most people do in a year, so don't judge me for wanting to read some literature that is pure fun and fantasy.

And just so you really don't judge me, I try my very best to steer clear of trashy romance novels, and stick to clean, fun ones, especially Christian romance literature which is a burgeoning field- hooray! Christian romances such as Daughter of Joy by Kathleen Morgan [HIGHLY recommended, though make sure you prepare for a very emotional ride] or one in the Mirror Lake Series by Kathryn Springer, or Dead Reckoning by Ronie Kendig [surprisingly excellent romantic-suspense debut]. Debbie Macomber isn't a Christian writer, but most of her short stories are quick, clean reads as well.

Now that you have sufficiently formed an unfair opinion about me, I also did something productive for the New Year- I collated my annual list of Top Ten Memories of the past year. And I'm going to be nice and share it with you. Just so that your opinion of me rises higher.


KESHIA'S TOP TEN MEMORIES OF 2012
(sequence according to whatever came to my mind first):

1) I moved to Buckeye Land, i.e. O-H-I-O! This blog is all about how I am coping with the move. So far, (other than school) it's been great. I LOVE THE MIDWEST- who would have thought?!

2) I voted for my very first time and got entangled in Ohio-an politics (and met Paul Ryan!). Scroll through my blog archives for posts on my experience.

3) I went home to Singapore for 2 GLORIOUS MONTHS. It was soooo not enough time. Remember, I hadn't been home for 3 whole years, and had to cram all these things below in 2 short months:
- I went to my favorite place to eat in the entire world- PEACH GARDEN- 3 whole times!!! Thanks Mom and Dad, and Mm Gu Ma (5th Aunt).
- Visited some new attractions with my best friend who flew in with her husband to visit her family in Singapore and Malaysia. We went to some new attractions that even I've never been to, such as the Singapore Flyer, Marina Bay Sands, Esplanade Rooftop, ate dinner at Lao Pa Sat, and walked along the Singapore River.

Me, bestie and her husband atop the Singapore Flyer. Not the best shot of us, but whatever. It was a great night.

- Met up with tons and tons and tons of friends- cousins, old schoolmates, church friends...
- Ate and ate and ate - DUH!
- And of course, shopped and shopped and shopped. My parents took me to JB, Malacca and Ipoh (places in Malaysia). LOVED IT!!!
- Conducted interviews with a few Singaporean Mormon women about their faith and life
- Church activities
- Repacked my stuff in storage again, because my mom thinks it's still too much (are you kidding me?! It's called memories and histories)
I can't wait to go home again.

4) I finished up a year-long internship as a research assistant with the Church History Library. I had a blast! I don't think I will ever go back to work there on a full-time basis just because I don't want to live in Utah permanently, but I loved my internship.

5) I survived my very first semester of grad school. I won't lie- it was ROUGH. You can get a glimpse of why it was so tough from two of my previous posts HERE and HERE. They say the first semester is always the hardest, and I survived, but may I never go through that experience again. Cross my fingers for next semester.

6) My other best friend got married... and I was her emcee for her wedding reception. First time being an emcee, and it was cool, though a large part of it was because she wrote out her own script and I didn't have to wreck my brain to figure out what to say (she was afraid I would say something that would embarrass her. No my dear, I might say something embarrassing on other days, but not on your wedding day. I'm not that cruel, unlike a certain male cousin of mine whose name I shall withhold but you can guess who).
Anyway, the reception was held at the historic and very expensive Raffles Hotel and it was beautiful. The food was delicious, and my dad did a great job solemnizing them too.

My favorite picture:

When I get married, I want the reference to Wilson (who made her gorgeous cheongsum dress).

7) I drove cross-country with my sister for the very first time. 3 days of driving, driving, driving... You can read about it HERE. I never ever thought I would do something like this, but I guess this is proof of how well I've assimilated into the American culture. I don't even blink now when I have to drive 3-4 hours to visit friends in other states.

8) I drove through or drove to 10 states this year! Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois (twice!), Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Kentucky. That is A LOT of driving (and gas). And on that note, I took short road trips to Chicago (IL), Louisville (KY) and Canton (MI) and got to do cool things and hang out with even cooler people.

9) I went shooting for the very first time. Yes, SHOOTING. Me, who am super NOT pro-gun and who am super feminine (or trying to be), went shooting. It was for a Church activity (no kidding. I told some of my friends this, and the looks on their face made me realize that maybe, under those circumstances, I best not tell them I was Mormon), and I LOVED IT! Plus Miss B took some cool pictures of me that I LOVE because it says "DON'T MESS WITH ME." Pictures like:

I think this memory is so significant because of the multiple shootings that occurred this year, especially the one in Connecticut. I am still NOT pro-gun, but this activity has made me understand that under very controlled and exceptional circumstances, guns can protect. But this issue is still too complicated and raw.

10) I took care of my roommate's cat, and another friend's pet turtle over the Thanksgiving and Christmas break. They are sooo cute (yes, even the turtle). What's so significant about this memory? It sealed the decision in my mind that I am SO NOT getting a pet next time. Sorry to my future husband and kids, but this is non-negotiable. Well, maybe fish would be alright... if they take care of it and not me.

So apart from the fact that I'm still single and broke, this is my awesome year in a nutshell. Am I looking forward to 2013? Yeah!