Goodbye 2005... Hello 2006

So another year has come and gone. My, my, how time has flown! To end this year, I'd like to make a list of my hits and misses...

 

Career

Yessirree... I changed jobs again this year, to a whole new field. Was in IT for a good 3 years, and made the leap to education. Totally hated what I was doing and was really wondering what to do, when a friend suggested I try for her son's private school. Am teaching high school Physics, and the very first week I was there, I was burdened by exam papers to mark... Workload complaints aside, for the first time I really enjoyed my job and have never found anything so enriching. Of course I still have a lot more to learn (and I am not talking only about rereading my favourite Science subject)... such as better teaching methods and how to deal with teenagers. Fortunately I don't have a problem getting through to most of them as I'm quite close to them age-wise.

Career satisfaction (out of 10): 6 (for the whole year. The first half-year still has to be counted. It's an average of 3+9)

 

Dancing

Hmm... this is a rather depressing. This entire year was very bad for me. Up to last year I always made it to the finals of every comp I go into; this time I can't even sniff finals, the closest I got was semi-finals. And I only participated in one team event, and we didn't do well either. It's not a question of the lack of practice; I think I put in more hours than most do. I think I expected too much from myself this year and tried to push myself too hard that whatever I tried failed. Learnt a lot along the way about my own weaknesses and how to deal with them. Painful falls, but I hope to learn more.

Skills (out of 10): 8 (coach says my skills have actually improved tremendously, and my learning curve is much faster now)

Progress in the field (out of 10): -5 (yup... it's a negative! I have transgressed as I did very well in 2004)

 

Relationships

Hah! That's another one. A few guys tried to ask me out this year but they're all screwed-up cases. There was this engineer who, after one dinner date with him, started calling me and SMSing every day as if I was his girlfriend already and even got angry that I didn't call him upon my return from a work trip to Bangkok. I was like, HELLO, I've only gone out with you ONCE! And actually, after that dinner, I swore never to see him again because he was dreadfully boring. And then there was this guy who hasn't got a clue on how to woo a girl although he supposedly had a few girlfriends before. That's the main stuff, the other minor ones that happened throughout the year are not even worth mentioning.

Scale (out of 10): 2 (the experiences aren't great, but hey, at least I got to go out)

 

Music

Argh! Another depressing story. I used to pass every electone exam with a distinction, but this time when I went in, the moment I hit the keyboards, I knew I screwed up. It was mostly nerves. And probably underpreparation, even though I practised so hard the previous weeks. I was just not prepared for the exam, which was quite tough. I laid off the electone after the exam. I haven't touched it in 6 months. I still like music very much, but I just don't want to do it academically for a while until I feel ready again.

Scale (out of 10): 3 (I still enjoy it. All I did was screw up the exam)

 

Friendships

Ooh! My best friend has come back from Penang this year so we got to catch up on quite a bit. We go for supper once in a purple moon whenever he comes back (or when I came back for the hols when I was studying in Johor) to catch up. This time he's working in KL so now we can meet up more often. He's definitely one of those I can confide in without fear of judgement.

 

Also, have been getting closer to another wonderful friend's family. I've known this wonderful lady for two years but she has done so much for me, in terms of support, love, friendship, and advice. Her kids are also beautiful treasures who have accepted me as a firm friend to the point of being family. She's another one whom I can talk to about anything and I know I can rely on her sound advice.

 

Managed to catch up with a number of school friends too, through friends' weddings and baby showers, some of whom I barely spoke to when in school but now we meet up quite a bit. Great guys who celebrated my birthday with me. One of them even got me a memorable gift - a photo of us 10 years ago when we first got to know each other on a school trip.

 

On the downside, I hadn't been all that nice to someone who cares a lot for me. I must say that it was mainly my fault and I'm not going to delve into this too much. However I shall say that things are on the mend and I'm going to make up for it.

 

Overall scale (out of 10): 8

 

That brings to a total of.... 22 out of 50. This has been a below-average year! Yech. I hope next year's a lot better.

 

At least I have one additional highlight. I PASSED THE RADIATION PROTECTION FOR OFFICERS EXAMINATIONS! WOO HOOOOOOO!!!!!!

 

 

Got to end this properly, right? We've always got to count our blessings. Hmm, where shall I begin...?

1. I'm thankful for the privileges I have in life; that my parents managed to rise to a level of comfort and have always provided whatever I needed. I'm thankful that they brought me up well to be a good person, and to be independent ("I don't need no man to finance my life!"). I'm thankful that they have provided well in terms of home, education, and even beyond the basic necessities. These privileges have given me a good headstart in life and I wouldn't get to where I am (which isn't really very high at the moment, though) now otherwise.
2. I'm thankful that I have five working senses (I don't have 20/20 vision, but at least I can see) to enjoy my life. I'm thankful that I was born intelligent (well, not a genius... but I'm definitely above average. Yes, I'm blowing my own trumpet. Haha!) and that my brain learns quickly (did I say I passed the exam for Radiation Protection Officers?). I'm thankful that I have four functioning limbs which enables me to dance and play the electone. And that no matter how imperfect my body, I'm still better off than a lot of other people (at least I've got CURVES, babe!).
3. I'm thankful for my family and friends who have been very supportive of me no matter how I screw up. I know who my true friends are!
4. I'm thankful that the country I was born and bred in, in spite of its silly politics and downhill economics, is a still relatively comfortable place to be in, and it's peaceful. Here's to racial harmony! Oooh... and that we haven't been struck with any super-major disasters except for the tsunami last year, but we were nowhere near as badly hit as Sumatra, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

I think that's enough for now.

 

Well... here's to 2006!