How is January already halfway through? I’m running behind on my year-end/new year blog posts, but let’s have a look at what 2017 looked like for me:

Fun fact: I began and ended 2017 in China!

• Dyed my hair red – for real this time

  

• Walked across the tallest and longest glass-bottomed bridge in the world in Zhangjiajie
  
• Flew alone on an international flight for the first time
  • Which included my first ever visit – via layover – to the Middle East
• Signed up for ClassPass
• Attended my first-ever Washington Capitals game (and my first NHL game in well over a decade, if not my first NHL game ever)
• Dined at a DC Michelin star restaurant for the first time – Rose’s Luxury
  
• Sent off our panda cub Bao Bao before she goes to China
  
• Presented to a class of new hires who are me from one year ago
• Slept with a zillion wires for my first sleep study
• Visited San Francisco to see friends and support Ben presenting at a conference while:
  
  • Visiting the California Academy of Sciences
    
  • Visiting the Exploratorium After Dark
    
  • Visiting the Walt Disney Family Museum
    
  • Eating cioppino in the city where it was invented
    
• Asked Danny Boyle about how his movies are interpreted by audiences at home and abroad
  
• Sipped on drinks out of a lucky cat cup at a cherry blossom + Super Mario-themed pop-up bar
  
• Watched The Little Mermaid ballet on my own
  
• Met Representative Maxine Waters at the US Botanic Garden
  
• Experienced the repetitive patterns of profound genius at Infinite Kusama, the Yayoi Kusama exhibit at the Hirshhorn
  
• Attended my first-ever Washington Wizards game (and my first NBA game ever)
• Saw Chicago! at the Kennedy Center, starring Brandy (!!!)
• Tried acro-yoga and a bit of aerial yoga
• Danced the Charleston and put aside my aversion to flapper style for a Gatsby party
  
• Met Tim Gunn before hearing him speak about disco fashion at the Library of Congress
  
• Toured downtown DC while learning about the assassination of President Lincoln through an awesome immersive walking tour with the Ford’s Theatre
• Danced and sweated at 7AM on the Kennedy Center terrace
• Down-dogged at cat yoga
  
• Learned loads at RevolutionConf during my first visit to Virginia Beach
• Tasted samples prepared by 3 of the top Asian cuisine chefs in DC
  
• Asked Edgar Wright about the hidden details of his work
• (Finally) Cosplayed at AwesomeCon, my first ever convention
  
• Attended the opening day preview of Ai Wei Wei’s new exhibit at the Hirshhorn
• Showered my friend Gretchen with love and gifts for her soon-to-arrive baby
  
• Danced at 7AM beneath the new National Building Museum’s summer installation, Hiv
  • Namaste’d beneath The Hive, too
• Visited my brother while he was interning in Delaware
• Cooked 9 Blue Apron meals
• Slept through another sleep study, through the night and the day
• Floated down the river during my first river-tubing trip
• Witnessed the Great American Solar Eclipse in person with my family
  
• Returned to my home city of New York for Labor Day
• Revisited Paris with Ben
  • Visited the Louvre
  • Visited Versailles

• • *~*~Got engaged~*~*
  • Posed for 2 engagement shoots
  • Frolicked at Disneyland Paris
• Pondered color and interactivity at Artechouse
• Laughed watching Whoopi Goldberg do standup at the Kennedy Center
  
• Felt so many feelings watching Death of a Salesman at Ford’s Theatre
• Cheered on knights at the Maryland Renaissance Festival
• Nearly won a Disney trivia night with a 2nd place finish
• Experienced my first omakase dinner at Sushi Hachi
• Wore a week of Sailor Senshi-themed blazer-centric outfits
• Channeled Rey for Halloween as part of a Star Wars group at work
• Saw Christopher Nolan speak at the Library of Congress
• Partied at the National Air and Space Museum’s Found in Space
• Visited New Orleans for the first time!
  
  • Delivered a lightning talk about karaoke because it’s me
  • Received a chipped tooth courtesy of a drunk coworker (seriously)
• Walked with locals at my first ever WalkWithLocals instameet
• Watched another Washington Capitals game
• Traveled to Buffalo for a business trip
  
  • Saw Chad Michael Murray standing about 3 feet in front of me in the hotel lobby
• Celebrated my birthday with hot pot and karaoke and friends
• Flew to China to celebrate the holidays with my family
• Rang in the new year with about a million people in the streets of Hong Kong

  

For better or worse, it has been a really eventful year. I feel super motivated to go into 2018 and achieve so many things. Stay tuned for my resolutions post to see what specific things I hope to achieve and how I plan to achieve them!

Previous years: 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013