hey you! how has your year been? :)
it's the time of the year to be proud of accomplishments & make peace with disappointments!
opened my eyes & heart to alot of new things around me that i'll never be able to realize in the past.. this year has taught me so much, so many lessons learnt about life, love, family, friendships, work, money, and most importantly, about myself.. fortunately or unfortunately, i still cant judge people well. :/ it has been something that i really want to be able to grasp but.. i think i need more practice. lol.
2009 allowed me to meet alot of people, strangers they may be, people whom i may only meet once in my life,or people whom i know for a few hours which soon blossomed into friendship, have taught me so much. they showed me that kindness and goodwill in people still exist, that it is okay to not be financially able to buy the things that you want and be contented and happy with what they have.
2009 was the year that i put on my braces, cried so bad at the dentist because i know it will hurt (coward i know hahaha), but i'm loving it now!!! my friends accompanied me there, how sweet and niceeeeee. i think the 3 years that i got to know the ko3ers during the first year of poly was the best. we saw each other change, learn and grow throughout the years. times when we scrape our knees and picked ourselves up. laugh at each other, and laughed at other people. lol. helped me with my schoolwork, cleared my doubts, helped me get good grades for my projects. haha. but i always score badly for exams. :/
but school years will all have to come to an end. i'm so scared IF i ever go to university, i'll never be able to meet such kind, patient people. people who will help me with my schoolwork, and people who will entertain me even when i have stupid questions or when we are bored and i suggest stupid things to do. the spiderweb days where we sit under the dark sky and talk about ... love shitzz, trying to decipher how other people think and entangling the love knots in the heart. haha.
also.. the party times at phuture and butter factory.. i think my alcohol tolerance level is so much better now as compared to my birthday hahaaa right linus?? but i also come to realize that clubbing is such a waste of money hahahhaha. so.. i will cut down on that in the new year!
hung out alot with the boyzzz before they went into army.. almost everyday!!!!! except the weekends where we took a break from each other. haha. i remember there was a period of time when even though we do not meet, we'll either be texting, msning or facebooking each other. its like 24/7 communication hahaha.
we saw each other cry, gave each other the strength and courage to move on and get on with life. :)
there are also certain people whom i seldom meet, but we all make an effort to once in awhile. my HDCQ girls, eugenia tan & junior guides, china gang!!! and my primary school bestie (still is and always will be!!!) hazel lim :)
these people drop me messages once in a while to ask me how i'm doing and ask me out sometimes. they really surprise me! especially when we're all so busy with work, and its so hard to find a time for us to all go out. especially mike, kahwee, kim, jasmine and manu! really random messages sometimes.. haha. but you know they are always appreciated...... :)
2009 was also the year of rebuilding relationships. i really got closer to my family this year :) its really nice! :))))))) especially when there's always this "family rollercoaster" lately.. and i hope next year will be better! i really have to be very thankful to my parents.... for being so selfless and giving me the freedom all these years.. the trust they have in me. always there to help in times of need (and wants.. haha).
i try to visit my 2nd home, my 2nd father and my band of ice cream brothers every now and then.. haha. its hard because they end work so late and i'm usually in bed by the time they close the shop. but toad, sal & faizal, you're never forgotten!!! i'm so glad you guys are learning as much as i did when i first started out in the shop! it really isnt about the money right? ;D
i also got closer to my secondary school friends this year after the hong kong trip! we hang out more often now, and i love hearing what they have to say because i always learn new things from them :)
2009 is also the year where i'm introduced to new groups of people; my RWS call centre friends, my bro's and sis' friends!!! :D funny how its our friends who brings us closer together.....we're being introuduced into each other's circle of friends. haha.
RWS people are frigging awesome too, i've never expected so many of them to be around my age!!! hahaha! & i've also met someone whose thinking is very very similar to mine, & we share the same views & opinions on alot of issues. its nice to have someone like this becasue the way i think is quite different from alot of girls out there... haha. & she understands. :)
2009 was kind. i landed an awesome part time job which allowed me to fund alot of my trips overseas! pay was good, timing was flexible, boss is awesome. lucky! i took a break which allowed me to travel and decide on what i wanted to do (not that i made any decision during that time anyway haha). but i guess i just didnt want to end those days when i had all the freedom in the world and my committment free days. and i know that a 6 months break will probably not come soon (or probably never ever until i retire) so i can say that it was a good break! in retrospect, i'm really glad that i made the decision to not work or study full time so soon after i graduate.
in march.. i went to sanya & guangzhou..
memorable experiences were taking a 15hour train ride from sanya all the way to guangzhou..such a good way to travel. time consuming but i got to see so much more along the way! bathing in a bathroom that has semi transparent doors & no lock (what if my travel companions were up to some mischief FML).. tried to travel cheaply. haha.. i dont really care about living in a hotel anymore.. if i can get cheaper accomodation why not? :)
in april, i went to hong kong and dropped by macau for a day..
highlights were.. having the best mango dessert in the worldddd, the ultra mega small hostel room that the 5 of us squeezed in (about the size of a room in a cruise), ordering tooooo much dimsum till we had to play zong ji mi ma to clear the food, eating dimsum till i got so sick of dim sum i swore i'll never touch them in singapore till the end of year and having 3 guys propose to me (WTF hahahha)
and of course visiting DISNEYLAND!!!!!!! hahahaha! so happy coz i got to take photos with alot of Disney characters....... :D:D my dream ok haha cant wait to take more with Shrek and all those people when Universal Studios open!! and i got to meet Cinderella and Snow White *happy. CINDERELLA IS DAMN PRETTY hahahaha!!!!!
we were arguing if we should meet sleeping beauty and another princesss due to time constraints but i won muahahha. and the princesses really amaze me omg got chance must meet them ok and talk to them. your heart will melt!
in june, i went to manila, back to czarina's hometown!!! had a homestay in her humble home haha and ate delicious mango cake and home cooked food everyday course her dad's training to be a chef! i think when people open up their homes to you it means that they're willing to open up their lives to you! because a home is such a personal and private space and if people actually allow you to "invade" it, it means that they want to share their lives with you.. right..? it was a trip to eat & shop & i bought alot of chocolate pillows back home! she brought us to this wholesale centre and all the tidbits were so cheap!!!
in august.. i went to Cambodia!!! it was a new country to explore so we did alot of research ourselves *proud
from the finding of guesthouses to places of interest and boutique shops to visit.. how to get from one city to another.. the activites that we wanted to do.. the orphange to visit since we wanted to volunteer for a day.. haha. i fell in love with Siam Reap & its really a good place for a short getaway as well.. forget Bali and Bangkok, head to Siam Reap!
saw Angkor Wat in the dark until the sun rose, had seafood dinners while the sky changed its colours, the breeze, the sound of the waves.. the hospitality of the people!!! and the Khmer curry which i fell in love with..
we bought the kids at the orphange some food, they were all so skinny its really sad! but yet happy and contented that they get to wake up each morning and get to live and see another day.. their willingness to learn.. although have about 60 people in the classroom, children of all ages in a class.. wooden benches and tables, it was an eye opener especially when we compare to what we have in singapore.. computers, air con, school bags.. i was kinda "shocked" by the size of their school.. only 3 classrooms!
i've always wanted to do some form of volunteer work during my travels and i accomplished it this year! :D it really brings you satisfaction when you give to people!
in october i headed to Kota Kinabalu.. to learn diving ALONE, ALL BY MYSELF. *proud
it was such an impromptu decision, i think i made my decision about 3-4 days before the trip? it was such a big step that i took, i've never ever thought i'll be able to step into a (not so) foreign land all by myself! but this trip has brought me to people with big heartssssss! i met 2 very awesome people on this trip who made my solo trip so much better and easier :D:D
i finally got to learn diving & became a certified diver muahahaha happy! the underwater world is so damn beautiful!!!!
and a few days after i came back i flew off to melbourne to look for my brother and i got introduced to a bunch of very sweet and loving people. :) no wonder he's having such a good time there and dont wanna come back! haaa. reijing and michelle have very very big hearts and they took such great care of me when i was sick (not my brother ok FML). would be awesome if my brother marries one of them HAHAHHA :)
but i guess i went there at the wrong time when the weather was crap & they were all busy with their major final assignment.. but its okay, i know i can visit melbourne anytime and knock on their doors! :D the next time i'm there i'll make sure i visit Great Ocean Road and all the other wonderful placesssss! it was also in melbourne that strengthened my belief that the goodwill in people DO exist, even though we're just meeting for just a few hours ;)
and on Christmas day, i went on my final trip of the year to Batam hahahaha with some of my favourite people from work. it was such a last minute decision, my dad and I were scrambling around to find a hotel room with reasonable rates (since it was Christmas and is peak season!) & finally managed to get one at such an attractive rate that also serves damn yummy pancakesss!
headed there over the long Christmas weekend to have some A&W and for a 2hour SPA session!!! such a good way to unwind.... after being at work for 2 very long months haha its been so long since i last stepped out of Singapore ok. so damn happy to find such onzzz and steady people haha. really got to thank our 'tour guide' and driver for making the trip so fuss and hassle free :)))
in 2010, places that i intend to visit: Korea/ Japan/ India/ Nepal/ Turkey/ USA/ Indonesia/ one diving trip (hopefully!! kim are you up for this? ;) ) and if I have the chance, to do bungee jumping/ skydiving/ white water rafting!
but i know its gonna be hard because i dont have the luxury of time (and $$). but i'll still try to save by being as stingy and miser to myself as possible. lol. anyone up for any of these trips? hahaha!
i told myself that i had to accomplish 3 things this year:
1. to learn a new language
2. to learn diving
3. to learn driving
and i accomplished 2 out of 3! *proud
i feel that i've become much more of a go getter this year instead of waiting around for things to happen.. i took charge of my life and went ahead doing things that i wanted to do instead of waiting for companions to accompany me to do it together.. if i waited around for a companion i know i'll never be able to accomplish anything this year at all and would have wasted one year!
i've learnt alot of life lessons this year too! especially from those who still stood by me in times of shitzzz instead of abandoning me hahahaha. thank you!
in the coming year, i just wanna mould myself into a better person and do no wrong to anyone and to always be an optimist in whatever situations. :)))
i had a good year in 2009, what about you? i hope you have learnt something new and accomplished something that you've always wanted to!
cant wait to see what 2010 brings!