Happy Lunar New Year 2024: Year of the Dragon

It’s that time again, my annual (almost) Lunar New Year post! I noticed I already had a Year of the Dragon post from 2012. It was a very different time in my life in a very different place too. I’m honestly not sure if my life is much better now than when I was in my early 30s, but it is more comfortable at least. I’d like to think I’m better off now, but I can’t say I am yet. I might have a better job and I’m closer to my family, but I currently feel very disconnected from my friends – or at least, people I considered friends back then. I know life changes for most people and I’m not complaining.

I had a weird dream the other night about being mad at my brother for missing a concert where I was meeting a friend, but in that dream, it was a band I didn’t care much about in a place I was far away from. Unfortunately, there was a show I missed meeting a friend at last year, which I was late for, and didn’t get to meet up with my friend because my brother wanted to leave early so that dream was partly based on reality. I’m really out of the loop with shows and friends who go to them.

These days, my life is all about work, family, mobile games, and MouseHunt – a game that I’m especially focused on these days. My brother is more interested in concerts lately than me, though mostly Japanese girl groups and the like. He did get tickets to the Just Like Heaven festival in Pasadena, which has a lineup that was made for him and his friends (who are also going). He also got tickets to a show I would worry about running into my ex at, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

Having an ex is new for me (but not him) and I’ve experienced how awkward he’s been running into exes. It was hilarious to me, but now I wonder if it would be. Though SF and the Bay Area aren’t huge, it’s unlikely I will ever run into him unless it’s at some big event my brother wants to go to. It does seem like I didn’t have much in common with the ex in the first place so there was a lot of compromising and not wanting to be certain places on both parts.

On a personal note, sort of, I have been learning more about Digital Marketing through Coursera and Arabic in Duolingo! I’m learning Arabic because my dad (who was born ina Dragon year) wanted to learn it, but he doesn’t know how to use apps or technology in general. However, he does know how to use the TV remote and turn on lights with Alexa. My sister and her husband know Arabic, but I haven’t mentioned learning it yet since I’m still in the early stages of learning.

Forgot to mention that the art on this post is from Tokidoki’s February 2024 downloadable calendar. They always have the best downloads for Lunar New Year!