Looking back, I can roughly group the phases of my life based on the places I’ve lived. I left my hometown of San Diego when I was 18 to go to college. Throughout college, I lived in various places in Irvine and the surrounding cities in Orange County. After I graduated in 2004 and got my first full time job, I moved into a house in Irvine. I didn’t know the landlord at the time, but through him and his social group, I ended up meeting some life long friends. In 2006, we moved into a larger house in Irvine and affectionately called it Mango, after our street name. The next 3 years were some of the most memorable years of my twenties. For a short while, we were going out close to 6 days a week. Living with 5 other people in a house is fun but after awhile, I wanted to live in a smaller space, possibly on my own.

I discovered Downtown Santa Ana and its Artist’s Village neighborhood after going to The Crosby one night to have a drink. I was amazed that such an area existed in Orange County which is mostly known for its conservative residents, suburban sprawl and Disneyland. I’d heard that one of the apartment complexes was having a move in special for new residents. So in 2009, I took advantage and moved into my first apartment I could call my own. I loved it. I loved having bars and restaurants walking distance from my place. I loved living in one of Orange County’s oldest and most historic cities. I loved having living in a place I could call my own, decorating how I wanted and knowing that the only mess I was cleaning up was my own. Living on your own can be difficult financially so in 2010, I moved in with one of my best friends into a 2 bedroom apartment within the same complex.

I’ve lived in Downtown Santa Ana for the past 3 years. When I look at this part of my life, I will always think of my time in DSA as one where I made the transition from my 20′s to my 30′s. I “grew up” from living in a frat house style arrangement to living on my own. I also grew up in the sense that I graduated from going out to clubs in Hollywood to the more laid back spots in LA and OC.

Now it’s on to the next phase of my life. At the beginning of March, I moved from Orange County, my home for the past 14 (!) years, to the Bay Area. I’m leaving the comfort of the familiar and living somewhere completely new to me. I’m moving in with my girlfriend which is also a first for me. I’ve transferred to my company’s Bay Area office so for the first time in a long time, I feel like I have some stability in my job. While I’m leaving Santa Ana with a bit of sadness, I’m more than excited to begin this next part of my life in the Bay Area.

“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”

Two thousand eleven was a very significant year. It was the anniversary for several big events. It was 10 years ago that I launched this site. It was 10 years ago that the iPod was launched. It was 10 years ago that our nation changed forever. And it was 10 years ago that one event put happenstance into perspective.

I worked at the UCI Bookstore during the last 3 years I was at UCI. It was probably the best job on campus job you could have. Your job was on campus so that made it super convenient. And they were understanding of your life as a college student so they would do anything to accommodate your schedule. While most of the times I had with my coworkers was fun and enjoyable, there was one shift I’ll never forget.

I was working a closing shift with one of my coworkers. It was pretty slow so we were just goofing around waiting for our shift to end. He goes into the back to grab his cellphone and is gone for a couple minutes. He comes back and he is visibly shaken. He tells me that someone close to him was suddenly taken away. His friend was in a motorcycle accident and he didn’t survive. I didn’t know what to say. I’d never been around anyone who has received news like that. After awhile, we started talking about his friend. I don’t remember much of the conversation but I do remember talking about the car club he was in. It turns out that I knew someone in that same car club but in San Diego. I talked about my high school friend and the car that he had. We talked about the picnics they would throw in the summer. We talked about how funny it was that we were able to make that connection. By the end of our shift, I felt that somehow I was able to make him feel a little bit better. I reflected on what happened that day and was moved enough to write a post on how people come into and out of your life.

Last March, I was out with my friends having dinner at the Gyu Kaku in Tustin. Towards the end of dinner, I check my phone and notice an old friend of mine checking in at a bar in my neighborhood. Surprised that she was in my neighborhood since she lived up north, I asked how long she would be there and she invited me to meet up. The rest, as they say, is history. Today, Mary is my girlfriend and I’ve never been happier than any other point in my life.

At the stage in our relationship where we went from flirty text messages and IM chats to late night phone conversations, we talked about that night in March. She was at The Copper Door to celebrate her younger sister’s birthday. She was also in town because it was her brother’s birthday as well. I knew that she had a brother and that he was no longer with us. We started talking about his passing and how it affected a lot of people. She started telling me about how one of our mutual friends even went to the viewing.

Light bulb.

My heart was beating out of its chest while I was trying to send her the link to a post I’d written ten years earlier. She read my post. We were both speechless. I’d written the post late at night, on December 18, 2001; the day after her brother had passed.

I’ve been meaning to write my annual year in review post for over a month now but didn’t know where to start. I decided to share these two stories to show that everything happens for a reason. Little insignificant decisions you make in your everyday life, may have an significant impact in your future, who knows how many years in advance. After our first date, I knew that Mary and I had something special. I connect with her on so many different levels; music, food, movies, sense of humor. I could go on. The one thing I couldn’t relate to with her was with her brother. I’d never met Clyde and I hope to never know what it’s like to lose a sibling so suddenly. When I wrote that post, I had no idea that this was the one way I would be able to connect to Clyde. I had no idea he had a younger sister that I would meet for the first time at a bar in Fullerton 5 years later. I had no idea that I would run into her again 5 years after that and fall head over heels for her.

It’s funny the way life works sometimes. Here’s to 2012.