First, Swift Auto Tech. My brother’s business has officially been up and running for over a year. These past 14 months or so have been extremely trying, and has put our family through an extraordinary amount of stress. But, you can’t always predict your next step. I am proud to say that business at Swift Auto Tech has been steadily increasing, and with all of your help and support, I have no doubt that 2012 will be a great year for us! So thank you friends, family, acquaintances, brothers, mothers, sisters, fathers, and cousins!

The start of the year was marked by what is to become a constant reminder of my age, a wedding of a peer. With this first wedding, we took the full opportunity to travel around the East Coast. We went to Miami, St. Augustine, and of course NYC. We met some great people along the way, and had some ridiculous experiences. Thanks to Jonathan Ling for an awesome wedding; not to mention the excuse to head East. Al for hosting us in New York and taking us around the Big Apple. Victor for being my cousin, and Brent for looking like Nick Swardson. This trip was a week and a half of madness and I couldn’t ask for more!

2011 was also a year I dabbled in the performances arts that don’t include dancing. I took a 2.5 month improv class at the Berkeley Repertory Theater with Edwin. It was honestly one of the most rewarding and purely fun things I have ever done. This is one of those things that reminds me why it’s important to appreciate simple fun and games. Every once in awhile you just need to get with your friends and be silly and laugh. This year also marked the first time I have ever performed music live; if you can call it that. I don’t really consider myself too much of a musician, but I was able to write a couple diddies and perform them live for a crowd of my friends at Lounge 3411 in Oakland. I would say my music is directly influenced from alcohol, laughing, and the need for attention. Thanks to all the friends that came to support, and thank you for throwing gigantic women’s underwear at me while I did my set.

Wedding #2: Dre Boogie. What can I say about Dre? This man always had a really mature way about him. He met his soul mate and didn’t let that go. It was a wonderful wedding, and it was awesome to see everyone having fun, having drinks, and being merry. Now Dre has a beautiful little family, and according to his brother, “beautiful interracial angels.” I’m starting to feel pretty old at this point.

Kat and Sor. I’ve known Kat for over 10 years (another age bookmark) and it’s great to finally see her find someone. This wedding is probably one I looked forward to most this year because this is the one where all my boozehound friends would be at. I drank, I bawled like a baby, I danced, I golfed, I gummy bear fought, and we all had an amazing time. Not to mention the hotel shenanigans. Maybe getting older and friends getting married isn’t all that bad…?

Endings are a part of beginnings. I finally quit my job at the Corporate Monster this year. It was finally time for me and the CM to part ways. Over the years I have met so many wonderful people that I really don’t have enough room in my life to keep them all. I cherish all of the ridiculous stories, memories and debauchery that I shared with these people. If you’ve ever worked in a large corporate restaurant, you would know that in 4 years you go through A LOT of employees. Most of you were great and positive, some of you were ridiculous and negative, but without you guys I’d be a dullard without a drinking problem. That’s not okay.

The holidays are too fresh for me to re-blog about them, so just dig back into the archives. 2011, you were a great year, and just like every year, I’ve learned a lot. This year more than most. I’ve learned that being happy with yourself, being nice and polite, and being a little light hearted can go a long way. Don’t take things too seriously, we’re all still young anyway right? With our advances in Medical Science, we’ve all at least got an extra 10 years (fact?) for us to play around. So why not play?

Cliche time: 2011 has been the ending of many chapters in my life, but this just means there will be more chapters to open. 2012 marks a new beginning in a new country, and hopefully the learning and growing will not slow down. I want more friends, more stories, more experiences, and more memories. Thank you all for a great year, and thank you in advance for a great next year.

Love, Peace, and Chicken Grease.

And this my friends, is the big daddy of them all; SANTACON 2011! I don’t even need to really explain it in words, the pictures do a better job. Shoutouts to Jesus, Santa, Elton John Santa, the Elves, Christmas trees, Gingerbread Men, and the rest of the crew.