Lately, I have been taking a break from the old organized me. Not having every chunk of time clearly planned and to-do list efficiently checked off--I have started this year strong, at a slow yet firm pace. With more than eight hours of sleep, a month full of dinner dates, weekly trips around northern Taiwan, I have recharged myself on cloud nine to take new challenges in this prime year.

I read a lot. My current favorite reading is Thank You For Being Late, the guide into such age of acceleration, by Thomas Friedman. I spent a lot of time on Blinkist, reading through 10+ nonfiction summaries per week. Thanks to Blinkist, I am now able to make progress over my book list and continually be inspired by deep thinkers and entrepreneurs.

I met many old and new friends. I love to see how my friends from high school have changed (even a minor change). I can still recall the time when we chilled in the hallway, chatted on MRT, or endlessly messaged online. Even though distance has grown many relationships apart, the mixed feelings of old and new have intrigued me to look into the balance between moving forward and cherishing the old. I am still learning how to make sense out of the mess.

I discovered the beauty of food from Taipei to the world.

Din Tai Fung

I have missed this so much and learned that the crab in the picture represents a special kind of Xiao Long Bao.

Danzai Noodles

I am always looking forward to my bi-weekly lunch date with my grandparents. Danzai noodles is also one of my favorite Taiwanese food.

Pork Chop

There are so many Japanese restaurants in Taipei, and the best thing is that I can have a lot of Japanese rice.

Shabu Shabu

We cannot miss out Shabu Shabu in the winter! Here is to many more meal dates with my dear friends.

Meanwhile, I have also been thinking about my new year resolutions. In the past, I would write a long letter on Dec. 31st, kept in a folder, and read it after a year. In addition, I would make a list of new goals and dream of the possibilities. Yet, this year, I took a different approach. First, I gave myself a week to experiment with different goals and strike out the ideals. After the observational period, I am able to fairly gauge all the resources and make a feasible plan. After a rapid series of trying, testing, and failing, I have gotten closer to myself and learned how to plan my future accordingly.