2014 goals

^I miss having titles unrelated to the post content, but this should be the last of them.

Happy New Years ^^

My last moments of 2013 was spent playing Chinese checkers and cards with family, none of us actually noticed when the clock ticked to midnight. It's strange that so much emphasis is placed on an arbitrary division in time. Regardless, a new year is a fresh start.

The theme of 2014 will be to do and create more.
My resting state of last year (ugh using this term makes it seem so far away yet in actuality it's only been less than a day) seem to have been seated in front of the computer and just endlessly scrolling through the interweb's offerings. While there are great content to consume, consumption is a passive activity dictated by the content creators. So I endeavor to be on the creating side more.

A random list of things I would like to do / make:

• blend facial oil and masks (so much cheaper than buying too)
• have a self sufficient supply of commonly used herbs (starting with basil and green onion)
• learn another cuisine (Japanese? Korean? Indian?)
• go on more walks, preferably with my camera in tow
• take more trips! Currently dreaming about Northern France attracted by the promise of the best sea salt. Also the tea producing regions of China. Or the Japanese countryside! As you can see, my travel ambitions are all motivated by food. 

For school, primary goal is to keep up the grades in hopes of funding third year with scholarships as well. Also trying to engage with professors more, but haven't figured out how exactly.

In terms of extracurricular, the main focus is on Sky Garden to ensure a good season with abundant harvests. It's the one thing I'm absolutely sure that I love doing, and through it I want to be more involved in local foods/sustainable agriculture movement. Related to that, UT has this cafe coop called Harvest Noon that has a weekly bread baking program! Volunteers can even take home half a loaf, which is clearly why I'm interested.
Unfortunately, my certainty regarding Sky Garden doesn't extend to WISE. While I believe in our mission, our dependency on sponsorship really bug me. It's almost like a catch-22, without the sponsors the events can't happen, with the sponsors it's no longer our events. Shall see how the rest of the year goes, though I want to stay and make it better, cause it definitely can be.
Otherwise, want to rejoin Solar House (the final design is pretty awesome harhar) in the summer and attend TEDxUofT! Also should learn some software in my spare time (SketchUp, Revit), but I've been saying this for a while now.

Oh yeah I should definitely visit waterloo, he..hehee..hehehe