{"id":33899,"date":"2013-01-02T22:00:05","date_gmt":"2013-01-02T14:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pikaland.com\/staging\/?p=33899"},"modified":"2016-08-23T20:45:01","modified_gmt":"2016-08-23T12:45:01","slug":"hello-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pikaland.com\/staging\/2013\/01\/02\/hello-2013\/","title":{"rendered":"Hello 2013!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I’ve never been a party animal, preferring to welcome the new year at home most of the time, so this year was no different. This year though, instead of thinking about the future, I spent most of my time remembering and recalling the conversations I had with my grandma who passed away last month, just a day after Christmas after being ill for three weeks. She was 87, fit as a fiddle for most of her life (except for the last three weeks where she was in and out of the hospital) and one of the strongest women I ever had the\u00a0privilege\u00a0of getting to know. I treasure the last 4 years that she spent with my family and words can’t describe how much I miss her.<\/p>\n

And while I reflect on the void that she has left behind, I can’t help but be thankful for what I already have; and for the achievements and experiments that I’ve been able to experience in the last year \u2013 here are some of the ones which I am most proudest of:<\/p>\n