a brand new year...

i thought i'm not gonna do this new year post this year, but then it's my first new year in a foreign country! how can i let it pass just like that, right?

well, 2010 certainly has been an eventful year for me... among others, i was hired 3 times by 3 different companies, i moved house twice, and finally, i moved to a new city in another country near the end of the year.

the last move was a big step for me and i'm still adapting to all the different aspects of my new life here. but i'm happy and proud to say that apart from a few "glitches" in the beginning, things have been going well. and coming here has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me. other than the exposure i get from working in an international setting, i'm also learning a lot about people and their different cultures. it has indeed widen my horizons many folds.

ok, i don't normally do new year's resolutions but i just as i read back to my first entry for year 2010, i found that i did have some sort of "resolution" made, even though i didn't call it that! and i forgot that i made them too (which is another reason why i don't do new year's resolutions, coz i always forget about them!). so let's revisit my last year's resolution.

1. to move house, either to a rented studio apartment or a cosy crib of my own
i guess i achieved that, alright. twice! :D

2. to change to a better job in a better company
yep, done that!

3. to work smarter
hmm... i must say this is an on-going thing, so will continue to strive in this department!

4. to try to get more sleep and exercise more!
ok, i've failed to do much of these...

5. to do more craft, and maybe earn some side income out of it
i don't know. have i done "more"?

6. to have a bit more compassion and tolerance towards other ppl
ok, this one is really hard to gauge. i think i've not really consciously done this...

anyway, here's my target for 2011. yes again, it's not a resolution, but a TARGET! :P
1. to try to get more sleep
i'm not as young as i used to and i'm beginning to look really haggard with my puffy and black-ringed eyes. oh, but it's nearly 1am now, so let's start working on this tomorrow! :P

2. exercise more!
i've been experiencing some pains in my knee joints since a few months back. so prior to coming over to sandland, i thought i'd better get it looked at. and it was found that the cartilage in my knee joints have worn out drastically, which is why i feel pain when walking. it could be due to several reasons, with ice-skating and mountain and hill hiking (mount kinabalu, panorama hill and mount mulu) being the biggest culprits. anyway, i was on medication for a while, until my supplies ran out. so now i'm only taking glucosamine tablets that i bought from the pharmacy here. and the orthopedic who treated me in kl said that i should swim more to build up my cartilage, so that's what i'm hoping to do! but with the weather here getting quite cold and the water in the outdoor pool not heated up, i've been giving myself a lot of excuse to delay it... :P

3. to travel more
i wanna see more of the world!

4. to spend more time with my parents, and have more patience with them
ironic as it may sound, being so far away has strengthen the bonds between my parents and i. i'm able to tell them i love and miss them now without feeling awkward. i guess being far away has made such awkwardness insignificant and we grab every opportunity to cherish those dear to us. and my mom's sudden need for a ballooning procedure barely one week after i left the soil of m'sia, as well as my dad's car accident last week (he's ok, by the way!) have made me realized 3 things (well, i know about these 3 things already, but these incidents have slapped these realities in my face): they're not as young as before, they won't be around forever and life is fleeting! so i hope to be home as often as i can and spend more time with them.

ok, that's it, i guess. a much shorter list than last year, but i think these are the things that i need to focus on right now.

here's wishing everyone a year filled with much love, great health, utmost happiness and abundance wealth! happy new year!