Lol 11 months later...

Given that I haven't written anything in a long time, I figured it was time for an update...

As I noted while I was writing my master's thesis: Life is like a Sine wave. I noticed a period of about 4 years last time, and this time I've noticed a period of about 4 months. Interesting.

Among the highs in the past year:

Found a girlfriend
She moved in
We are in love
Reaffirming that science is real but metascience is also real
Contemplating the relationships among 3, 6, and 9
Started to notice numerology in life
Got a new job teaching physics at one of the best high schools in the city
Practiced ukulele for a while, can now play simple chord songs (it's quite easy if you put in a little bit of effort)
Still haven't had a cigarette despite frequent offers (1 year + 8 months)
Learned the secrets to cooking good Chinese food (garlic, ginger, fermentation, *rice wine*, *sauce*)
Learned to genuinely appreciate cigarette restriction laws in the US
Learned to appreciate Chinese people for not wasting the best parts of dead animals
Learned to appreciate American people for not using the horn in a car just because it's there
Made significant progress in learning Mandarin -- reading Chinese children's fairytales lets me feel like I'm learning more about the culture and practicing at the same time :]
Continued Qigong practice nearly every day
Completed five 34+ hour fasts (which feels really weird to say given how many days I haven't fasted)
Experimenting with frequent (shooting for daily) 12+ hour fasts -- noticing positive impact

Among the lows:

Learned lesson(s) about female companionship that I should have already known
Set aside self-improvement goals due to life pressure -- notice slight decline in mindfulness
Realized that cigarettes are probably a source of just as much greenhouse gas as factories in China
Still wish there could be half as many vegetarian options in China as there are in the US
Still haven't finished any new C. Masta tracks
^^ Partially due to constant noise pollution
Reaffirmed that most people still lack insight, many lack foresight, but most are good on hindsight

Neutrals:

Discovered that I am extremely fertile after accidentally getting my girlfriend pregnant
Decided to have the baby (currently ~11-12 weeks in)
Learned that the first trimester of pregnancy is hell for all parties involved, but it gets better
Got readdicted to coffee after discovering that, like everything else, it's also cheaper on Chinese internet despite being significantly more expensive in shops (quality ~0.75x Starbucks, still available for less than 1/2 the price of dirt-cheap coffee (quality ~0.1x Starbucks)!)
Discovered why Chinese people can't live without Chinese food (MSG is in everything)
Reaffirmed that we are, indeed, animals
Reaffirmed that it's actually kind of a luxury to have all the food we want every day
Reaffirmed that gloaty/arrogant/selfish people are still a joke but must be handled appropriately

There's some other stuff, but that's all I feel like typing now. Maybe I'll make another post next year :P

Peace, yo.