It’s been a busy three months.

February. I’m having difficulty trying to describe the month here, which I suppose is descriptive in its own right. Scattered, but productive, and more or less a catch-up month for myself personally. Ms. Pei has been in Taiwan for a few weeks, giving me a bit more time than normal to hunker down and get some long running projects moving.

Which has certainly happened. Multiple jobs are getting finished or pushing forwards towards beta ranges, and things are just getting done, definitely a good feeling. The new personal project has a name, and will hopefully be showing itself to the world soon. Feeling solid creatively. Doing good work – happy about that. Focused.

Recap. Genuinely ate a piece of fish which I loved. Finally got a hold of my dream lens (Canon’s 85mm 1.2L II), a gift from the lovely ladyfriend. Made a chicken pot pie from scratch. Got hit in the neck by a firecracker in SF for Chinese New Year. Cooked with wagyu for the first time. Saw Wicked in SF. Started the Mac/Chrome transitions. Slept in for the first time in years.

2010. This month was largely getting back to business. Days are consumed with the simultaneous work on four different sites at the moment. Two for work, one contract, one personal. The big, interesting personal project was just approved and is getting shipped off to be built by a pile of engineers. If I can bring this beast to life, it will become a major chunk of my life. For the time being though, it’s an exciting side project. Oddly enough, it kind of felt like a down month in goin’ out and doin’ stuff, but I did manage to squeeze in some time in Seattle/Vancouver and a quick jaunt out to Monterey. February is going to be busy – and it starts in exactly one hour. Bring it.

December. A month which has been hard to get to slow down, amplified by social ties and big projects, both work wise and on a personal level. Despite all this, it actually seemed like somewhat of a down month in activity, I suppose, given the insanity of November. I’m excited on what I’m working on though. Really, genuinely excited.

Fun photo stuff. Got to learn a lot in regards to strobes and did a portrait session of sorts. Tried the miracle fruit. Met an ex-horse cop who taught me how to cook pork belly. Ate a lot of macarons. Climbed a 5.11a. Stayed within California. Brewed and bottled beer in my house. Exchanged prints with some of the best photographers in the area. Purchased a labbit. Loathed humanity during the holiday prep, yet enjoyed the family time this year. Grateful for what I have, and looking forward to what this bizarre 2010 will bring to us.

November. A cold month with travels to cold places. In my scant one-week gap between positions, the lady and I packed our cold-weather gear and headed off to Europe to hit two places which I’ve wanted to hit for years, London and Iceland. Both incredibly photogenic and likeable places, but in very different ways. Iceland worked its charms on both of us – it’s already luring us back with it’s insanely pretty and desolate landscapes, and quite possibly one of the greatest spots on Earth, the Blue Lagoon.

The new job – it’s going fairly well. The first task which dropped on my plate is fairly massive, and I’m still wrapping my head as to how it will pan out – but I’m learning people’s names and becoming less awkward in the office. They have enormous faith in my design abilities and I already feel like I’m making a dent towards solving some of their larger UI issues, but time will tell if I’m successful. Two weeks in and I’m doing just fine – I think I’ll be alright.

Other news. Became an uncle. Brewed beer. Climbed a 5.10D. Rode the LA Metro lines. Ate breakfast in a city named Hella. Ate at Gordon Ramsay. Nearly was hit by a glacier-filled wave. Drove through snow. Said goodbye to a lot of good people. Ate some turkey. Made it through another month.

September has been a more difficult month, but in the grand scheme of things, life is still going pretty well. There are new challenges and new opportunities which are presenting themselves, and new adventures are being had. Also, I had cigarette flavored ice cream, and took my most popular photos to date (both in terms of views and interestingness). I’ve more or less given up on updating swanktastic with any kind of regularity – perhaps these once a month “hey I’m still alive” posts will suffice.