Let's see, in 2010 I noticed that I picked up a lot of new interests some I'm still into today and some I have lost interest in. Here are just the things I got into throughout 2010.
I started getting into Street Fighter A LOT! I've wasted a large amount of money learning and playing the game at arcades. I'm still learning the game today trying to master some of the combos but I'm pretty happy with how far I've gotten in about a year of playing.
There was a period where I would be playing Monopoly nearly every weekend at good friend's place or even at home with my girlfriend. This was going on for nearly I month if I remember correctly but after a while it grew old and we all moved on. I still play every now and then on my iPhone though and I still lose, I've never won a proper game of Monopoly before either.
During the early months of 2010 my rego was due for my car and I was saving up for my stay in Japan so I didn't have enough money to pay for it on time. So I found myself in my garage late at night, pulling apart my old Haro BMX and bringing it back to life on a budget rebuild and I'm still yet to finish it completely. This is how it sits right now, there's still a couple of small things I need to do before I deem it finished. So keep an eye out for this when I get home in a couple of months.
Some more memorable moments in 2010 included my trip away with some friends to Terrigal before I left for Japan. I still reminisce about it every now and then since I had such fun times eating, fishing, swimming and just having a ball with some great company.
The next thing you know I was in Japan! It all happened so quickly and here I am 2 months before I leave here to come home. This has got to be one of the best things that I've done in my life, if not the best. The experiences I've gained so far and will continue gaining over the next couple of months will be priceless.
Being in Japan and surrounded by Japanese cars has also kept my interest of cars alive, I've also subscribed to a whole lot of online car blogs from Roadster_life to Speedhunters and I'm still quite active on a few car forums as well.
I managed to catch the 106th Kendo Taikai in Kyoto. This was a very memorable day, I was standing in the same room with some of the best Kendo Senseis in Japan and I still get goosebumps thinking about it today. Believe me some of them had this aura to them that could be felt from the other side of the room. Although I continued training kendo in Japan I must admit I've been really lazy and I didn't train as much as I would have liked but it was still good fun being able to train with the Gifu Daigaku Kendo Club.
I cooked for the first time in Japan, which didn't end to well the next day since I ended up in bed instead of class. But I've managed to improve and also add more recipes to what I can cook now, I think the count is at 5 dishes?
I got into sketching a bit and decided to design my own tattoo, which I'm still thinking about since it's a big commitment getting something that's permanent for the rest of your life. I pretty much stopped after designing my girlfriend's lotus flower as well but I still doodle a lot in class, which reminds me I have to get a few photos of that too.
One of the best times in 2010 was when my girlfriend and our two friends came to visit and we travelled around Japan for nearly a whole month. It was awesome being the tour guide and running a much wherever we went in Japan. Good times that I'll never forget.
During this time I managed to catch a Super GT race at Suzuka Circuit as well, it was so hot but so worth it.
My surprise trip back home was great fun! I still remember seeing my friends' faces as I sat down at their table during yum cha. In this period my uncle from Good Performance Centre let me take his NSX for a drive, boy did it feel good to drive my dream car. Although mine would be white, manual and look a whole lot better haha.
I also made sure I was at Defqon 1 for their second year in Australia. Not as good as 2009 I think but I still had loads of fun. Some friends even thought I came back from Japan just for Defqon too, they were right to a certain degree.
Speaking of famous people, I also got to meet Suzuki San of Car Produce ACT. He might not be as famous as Vettel but he is sure known very well among the Skyline owners here in Japan. An awesome, down to Earth guy that I was fortunate enough to sit down with and have a chat over some BOSS Coffee and chocolate. I have to thank Chris for taking me to visit Suzuki San.
For those that love Honda as much as I do will know how much this means to me. I managed to track down the full set of centre caps for my Mugen MR5 wheels, these are rare are hell! This was a big day for not only me but my car and my dad, who was on my back telling me to find stalk Yahoo Auctions for them. Much love to the old man for being as much of an enthusiasts as I am.
I celebrated my 22nd birthday without my family but it was my first birthday in Japan. I think it might be the only one I'll ever celebrate in Japan but you never know.
The next thing you know it was Christmas celebrations and a few days later it was New Year's Eve.
It has been a great year which I'll look back on fondly with great memories of both happiness and sadness but overall it's been one of the best years in my life with me living and studying in Japan after all. I'm also very glad I kept this blog going with frequent (more than the previous years) updates so that I could look back on the things I've accomplished and what I still have left to do in life.
Looking back over the year I think it's fair to say I've grown up a bit and my priorities have changed for 2011 which means some New Year's resolutions. They extend to all parts of my life and are in no particular order, so here they are:
- Apply myself properly to my studies and not fail any more subjects.
- Get a decent part time job, I'm aiming at working somewhere in the lower ranks at Honda Australia. I know it's going to be hard but I like a good challenge.
- Save up for a snowboarding trip to New Zealand in the winter months.
- Get the CR-X reliable and try to stop modifying it. Keyword there is "try".
- Finish off the BMX project and start on my road bike project, more on that later.
- If I save up enough I would like to get into go karting since it's the cheapest form of motorsport.
- Keep this blog going with some better photography.
- Save up enough for a working holiday in Canada at the end of the year.
- Win the Kendo Championship again at this year's Uni Games.
It's a big list, I know, but I'm a big dreamer. So there it is, hopefully by this time next year I will be checking off most of the list if not all of it and I'll be making another list for 2012. That's it from me for now, thank you to all those that have been reading my blog. It feels good to know other people are interested in what I'm up to even though it's meant to be more of a personal thing.
- Steven Le
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