Another old year is coming to an end!
This year came with a lot of milestones and high's and low's!
It's time to explore them all!
1) Finally started a full-time library position
In 2012, I decided to work towards becoming a full-time library worker and applied to UH-Manoa's Library & Information Science (LIS) program. I started classes in 2013 and graduated in 2015. That followed by more years of job applications, rejections, and depressions.
At the start of this year, I finally started a full-time library position at a local public middle school. So basically, now that this year is ending, I can finally put in one year of full-time library work on my resume. That should help me find another library position that comes with higher pay.
I like doing things to help organize our library's collections. Organizing shelves is what I consider fun.
We are currently in the weeding process (withdrawing older books) while also adding some new books to the collection. The books leaving outnumber the books coming in! Some shelves have already been moved out, with more to possibly go!
We at the library also organize the classroom textbooks for the school, which has its own challenges as it requires more communication with more stakeholders.
We are fortunate to have student volunteers who help out before school, morning & lunch recess and after school. These student volunteers give me hope for the future. :)
As for communication from staff, let's just say it's a work in progress. So many different personalities to deal with!
This job comes with a consistent monthly salary, union representation & benefits (ie. insurance plans, retirement savings). Something I've been waiting for a long time.
Hawaii's public schools have a 10-month staff (only work when classes are in session) and 12-month staff (year-round). I am a 12-month staff member! I work during school vacations. I actually love it because I love being on campus when hardly anyone is around. Peace & quiet, and I get more time to organize stuff! I didn't take an actual vacation, but I did request vacation-time off for New Year's Eve. It got approved! :)
2) Less time for other stuff
Now that I have a full-time, year-round position, I have less time for other stuff.
For example, this year, I only had 30 blog posts (including this one).
Last year, I had 58 blog posts. In 2013, I had 79 blog posts. For most years, I have above 50 blog posts.
There's much I was interested in blogging about, but I didn't have time.
In past years, I did an annual music-in-review blog post. Last year, I had a blog post with short memorials for some well-known people who passed away. No time for that this year.
I only did a few YouTube videos this year!
But I did end this year, with a video about how popping fireworks is a waste of time & resources.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR3OSKX55JM
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I also had less time to do some house cleaning. In the past, when I was a substitute teacher, on the days I don't get called to work, I would spend more time dusting shelves & throwing out accumulated junk.
Well, this past weekend, I did a lot of dusting & vacuuming!
And earlier today, I threw out some accumulated junk as well as dusted under the fridge. Tomorrow, on New Year's Day, I plan to at organize some of the stuff I keep.
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As for my music, I did make more instrumental tracks and finished up what I planned to be my next album. The next album will be more of an easy listening album, a huge contrast to my previous album which was filled with experimental heavy metal instrumentals.
I was actually planning to have it released this year. However, time constraints delayed finishing it. That part is done. Now, it's financial constraints. I wanted this next album to have both digital distribution as well as physical CD manufacturing. You can both bundled with CD Baby's distribution plan. However, I'm still saving up for that! For my previous album, I was able to pay for it when my credit line was increased. However, this year was about paying off old debts.
Speaking of debts ..............
3) Paying off debts
Over the years, I accumulated debts. This year, I focused on paying them off! Two loans got paid off this year, but I still have to pay off another loan (a student loan, that will take a while) as well as pay off revolving credit with PayPal Credit.This year, I plan to rely less on credit while continuing to pay off debts!
Easier said than done, but it is getting a little bit easier now that I have a full-time job with benefits.
It will probably be getting slightly easier if the new union-negotiated contract gets approved early January.
4) Two-decade anniversaries
2019 is 20 years after 1999, a special year for me. 1999 was when I graduated from high school and started college.
We had our 20th-year high school reunion in late June, which I blogged about it at
Previous reunions had no drama, but this one did! As the 3rd part of that blog post noted, there was a conflict with Patsaya Mounthongdy, a drunk who hasn't matured since high school. It is excessively naive to think it's OK to "take the high road" and shrug off this situation. What we should've learned from the #metoo movement is that silence about jerks like him only makes the problems worse.
So I made this YouTube video addressing this situation
And not even 24 hours after the Patsaya incident, I met with my father to talk about the letter I wrote to my parents earlier that week. Basically, that letter was addressing some of the grudges I felt towards them, especially during my high school years. After discussing what I wrote in the letter, my father broke down in tears when discussing he tried his best to help our family. He then told me that back when I was a teenager, he didn't understand my grievances, but now he understood. I broke down too, saying that I used to look up to him as a child, but that many things have gotten in the way over the years! We then hugged, as my father was ready to go home!
Learn more at
In August, it was 2 decades since I started college at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
I wrote this blog post about that time and how things have changed at the university (and my life and the world) since then
5) My grandmother
Earlier this year, I celebrated Mother's Day and my grandmother's 91st birthday at her unit. They were joyous occasions and we were confident there would be more.
However, only a few weeks after her birthday, my grandmother was in the hospital for irregular heartbeat. She remained there until she passed away on October 30.
I wrote a memorial blog post for her
I also wrote about her funeral here
6) Holiday season
We had our first Thanksgiving & Christmas without grandma. It took a while to get accustomed to that. Grandma usually sat on a chair on one side of a table. This time, we left that chair empty.
However, life does go on. My brothers & nieces had very interesting discussions on Christmas. We had our brunch. And we watched the movie "Two Popes", a docudrama about the communications between Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis!
As for our family relations, ever since that conversation with dad about the letter during the summer and my grandmother's funeral, I have become more forgiving and more appreciative of my family.
It could be a sign to a great start for 2020!
