2009 is here! It’s a new year, a new start. Although I believe that we can have new beginnings whenever we decide to, the start of the year is a great time to set some goals for ourselves, assess the past year, learn and move forward.

And with thaaaaaaaaat~ I ask, what are your New Year’s Resolutions? Do you still make them?

I know, sometimes it seems that making them isn’t worth the time and blog space. But I still believe in making them, because I think we should always look to improve ourselves, even little by little.

So, here are mine for 2009 (hey, they rhyme)!

1. To sleep earlier on workdays. I stay up too late, you can only rely on coffee so much!
2. To draw more. Yes I scribble a bit, but I’ve been neglecting it more and more as time passes. And that’s too bad, because I used to be really passionate about it.
3. To take cooking and baking more seriously. Meaning, learn at least one new recipe every month. This might not be a big deal for our talented cooks and chefs here in Sanriotown (hee) but to me it is! I only have time to play around in the kitchen on weekends!
4. To exercise more. For health reasons, I sit around too much and exercise too little!

So those are mine. I hope I can look back after a year and see that I’ve done well with these. Hahaha, good luck to me. Oh and I hope that if you have resolutions of your own, you do well with them too! Maybe we can even check up on each other!

Again, happy new year everyone! :]

Christmas is just around the corner — the air’s chilly, there are Christmas lights everywhere, and people seem to be generally happier! Not to mention, there seem to be so much more of them (us) at the malls nowadays.

I’m actually having some trouble finishing my Christmas list, it’s so hard to give gifts nowadays! Or maybe it’s just me — but interests are so diverse now, and I think it’s because there are so many options, that it’s hard to decide!

As for me, I have my own wishlist (not that I’m really asking for any of these from the people I know :P)

1. A NikonD60 DSLR Camera

2. Sleep

3. Good food

4.  New shoes

5. Time with friends!

I know, only 2 of those are really “valid” wishlist items, but hey I’m easy to please! I’m one of those people who just really like the feel of Christmas, and all the warm fuzzy feelings. So, what’s in your wishlist for this season? Let me know if you posted any lists so I can drop by!

Hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner tonight, and don’t let that diet stop you from enjoying great food! But more importantly, let’s stop and reflect on all the things we have to be thankful for — however small or seemingly insignificant they are.

As for me, I’m thankful that I got to wake up to a beautiful chilly morning. I’m thankful that while I was outside, I saw the most beautiful rainbow I’d seen since I can remember (True story!). I’m thankful that I got to enjoy a yummy buffet breakfast with my mom and brother, and I’m thankful for the good coffee afterward.

I’m thankful for the people I’ve met, the lessons I’ve learned and those I’ve yet to learn, and for all the opportunities that come my way.

For my family, friends, and all those around me. I’m thankful for the awesome players here at HKO, who have now also become my friends, and for all the fun we’ve had together!

Hope you guys can take time to post the things you’re thankful for as well.

I wasn’t there in time for closing time, I wasn’t in your screenies! Oh nooooooo! X<

*Sniff*

But even if I wasn’t in-game for what Bacon, AVA and Neverender say was quite an interesting couple of hours (for different reasons), I still have a LOT of memories to hold on to. And I also have a lot of screenies! Hurray F11!

So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you to all our Founders! Special mention to all those who gave us encouraging words, those who stood by us through trouble and those who celebrated and partied with us. I’d name names but I don’t want to miss any, so you know who you are! Big hugs to you all, and I miss you already!

*Sniff sniff*

Don’t worry Mr. Cat, we’ll be playing again soon. Soon…

[Credits: Original cat photo by Travis S. via Flickr; Screenshot by Waltrik from Sailoria]

A screenie by the giant cake, a simple celebration. I loved how something as simple gathering around some cake for a group picture became fun! :]

If you were there and you’re having trouble finding your name, don’t worry! We’re planning to have all (well, most haha) of our screenies of events like this up soon.

If you missed the parties, we’re thinking of hosting a few more maybe so everyone can experience it. The first party was.. *erhm* a learning experience. We tried a different approach the second time, and yay, it worked! Anyway thanks to everyone who joined, and for those who took a moment to drop us some kind words during the parties. :]

I’m really sorry I couldn’t answer all your PMs, but I truly enjoyed spending time with you all (plus my F11 key imploded). Haha~ Looking forward to more good times with all of you.

And again, happy birthday Kitty! :]

Ideas can only be good in theory, and once they’re put into motion in a game like this, things are bound to need some adjustments! So we’ve been looking around regularly in one of the best places to get your feedback, the SanrioTown forums, and we found a lot of urgent concerns.

And if they’re important to you, you can be sure they’re important to us, so today the earth will shake!

We’ve been having intense meetings (over coffee, HKO music and a lot of chips) these past few days and have decided on our first batch of improvement-geared updates and gameplay tweaks. You’ll find more details about those on Neverender’s blog. Hop on over!

One thing’s fore sure, guild will be adjusted (On that note, I hereby slap my forehead.)

Btw, please feel free to let us know what you want to see improved in the game. Our email is onlinegame@hellokitty.com, and that’s actually a direct line to  your GMs! We also check the forums a whole lot. :]

We’re really thrilled to see you all in-game, old and new faces alike. We made this Founders’ Beta so we could all spend some time with each other even before Open Beta, and of course for special (you-have-no-idea kind of special) events that lead to a fundamental part of Open Beta (stay tuned for that). So even as we line up these improvements for the following days, we hope that you continue to be open to us.

So thank you, truly, for your support and for telling us what you think. After all, this is what Beta is for! Founders, you have the power, and we are glad to be with you as we all shape Open Beta for the rest of the world. :]

I do! I love Jed! If you don’t know who he is yet, click this link and watch the new interactive Hello Kitty Online flash tutorial! I’m pretty sure he’s gonna make an impression on you too! :]