moments

It's just a about a week left to the new year.

And time to take stock of the more memorable happenings in 2007. A reflection of my year as follows ...

The Good :

1) The most significant would be having my own home! I don't know how I did it but I did it. It was something that was the cards two years down the road. But due to unforeseen circumstances (high rental rates) and the nagging feeling of living like a nomad, I took the plunge and began house-hunting only in mid-April. By then, property prices were already on the upswing and it was tough finding a place that was convenient and within budget. Anyhow, it was love at first sight and I'm loving the small lil' hole in the wall which I now call home. It was and still is great fun buying stuff to decorate the apartment, albeit the bigger hole in the pocket. It has also been great having friends over and chilling over my not-so-comfortable seating arrangements. But what the heck, its the company that counts! I have never found coming home to and having guests over such a pleasure.

2) Driving - Something which I have not done for seven years since I first got my license. Its been a mental to-do note for the past few years which I never got round to cos' there was no real need to. The only thing that fuelled to desire to drive again was actually linked to the getting the house and golf lessons. Rather than rely on the movers and on chauffers to ferry me around, a greater boost to mobility would be to start driving again! So on came refresher driving lessons (just three) and the onslaught of struggles with directions (Streetdirectory.com is a god-send!), reckless taxi drivers, fearless pedestrians, etc. I have not fully come out of the comfort zone as yet, preferring to drive only to the places that I am comfortable with (that excludes the far flung eastern and western parts of Singapore) and preferring to drive at night and during off-peak hours. Hopefully, it will get better with more practice. The increase in taxi-fares are a real pain!

3) More travelling to places that are immensely rich in culture with plenty of photo-whore opportunities with fantastic travel mates no less - Cambodia in May and Greece in September ... and of course the annual shopping/feasting pilgrimage to Hong Kong which always leaves me floored for more ...

4) Golf -A new sport which I took up in July, 10 intensive lessons to learn the swing, chipping and putting techniques which ended with a rewarding Proficiency Certificate (which on hindsight was not difficult to get at all!). That said, it is a very difficult sport to pick up with lotsa practice, patience and investment both in terms of time and money.

5) Jogging - Okay, lame as this might sound, since everyone is capable of jogging right? I finally FINALLY went for my first run this morning. Probably about 3km or more? Not too sure, but it lasted about 25 mins. This is one activity which I hope to do on a more regular basis to build up stamina for tennis and golf. So @lloy, who knows, I might just do a marathon with you next year, altho' not the 42km or 84km ones!

The Not-so-Good :

6) Year after year, I have been bemoaning about the loss of really great colleagues who have left the firm for greener pastures. Beth to Beijing, Angie to Melbourne, Jacq and Shimin to the financial big-wigs, Amos to Famous Amos (joke!) ... but Tee made a come-back, which was absolutely wonderful in reuniting the original Seven! No one knows how much longer we can remain as a Seven ... it is very scary to think of who might be the last one standing ... altho' if anyone makes it to partner, its a not-so-scary thought after all ...

7) Work has taken on a more stressful turn. Life in the advisory team is not all a bed of roses as most would imagine. While it doesn't come with a portfolio of clients, its a constant sea of change which requires adaptation on an almost daily basis. It's a steep learning curve and a brand new arena which I am keen to embrace. At the same time, it also comes with high expectations which are a current struggle. Being, the only STC in the team, I feel like I'm treading on thin ice over the next six months. I can only hope for the best.

8) I was just reading through my musings over 2006 in last year's blog, and it sounds like I have done a lot more this year. Which is absolutely fantastic! And just a year ago, I was contemplating Lasik for that elusive 6/6 vision. It is something which I have been mulling over for a long time, since wearing contacts or specs on board long haul flights are such a pain. Before you roll your eyes and start the vanity debacle, I think waking up in the mornings with perfect eyesight without fumbling for that pair of specs or prying those half-shut eyes open to insert those contacts, is such a pure feeling. Anyway, I did give a shot at my chances at Lasik earlier this month. But my medical history of having done retina detachment previously put me at greater risk as compared to most patients. Rather than run the risk of being in the range of that 2 - 3% of complications and the possibility of going under the knife for another round of surgery or lose my sight, with much prodding from Mum, I decided to give it a miss. Well, at least I tried.

I guess the above summarizes my feelings at this time of the year as I wrap things up. So, here's looking forward to 2008! May there be more positive things to come!