Year End Note 2010

Well, here we go again.... Christmas is just around the corner again, which means that this blog is celebrating it's 2nd birthday!! Happy birthday, blog! May you always be filled with updates and ramblings, may you always be true to yourself and don't let anyone or anything prevent you from expressing yourself in writing. 

So, in case anyone wondering where I have been for the past few weeks..... we'll get to that in a minute. But first, as it is tradition, I would like to start with a recap of what I have done / accomplish this year. 

If I were to compress everything that happened in 2010 in one word, I would have to say it's a year of "EVENTS". Lots of things happened..... major decisions were made, and let's hope it's all for the better.

Let's do this feng shui style.....

Friendship

The year started off very good with not just one, but 3 very special events. Three couples from my group of friends got married....  two couples in January 2010 (same day!), and the other in March 2010. Congratulations again, Mr. and Mrs. Hendra, Mr. and Mrs. Ngamino, and also Mr. and Mrs. Chaidir :)

 

 

 

Following up to that, now we are expecting the arrival of mini Panda in May next year =D

Also, congratulations again to Mr. and Mrs. Pratikno, who got hitched in September 2010.

However, as hurtful as it is, not all things are going good in the friendship aspect. BIG DRAMA ensues in the middle of the year, and even though I have tried everything I can trying to salvage whatever's left, I guess things will never be the same again. It takes two to tango, and it's out of my hands now..... well, que sera sera, c'est la vie......

Work

Everything is going GREAT at work this year. I got a new boss early this year, and he might just be the perfect boss. Well, nobody's perfect, but he's a good mentor, a joy to work with, and best of all, he cares for me. I finally get what I deserve, after 3 years of being severely underpaid and nobody gave a damn about it. 

Also, the travel budget freeze is finally over! The crazy travels started at the later half of the year, starting with Seoul in September, USA (Columbus) in November, and ended off with Vietnam in December. 

The Vietnam trip is the one that is really an eye-opener for me. It started last Wednesday 4pm. (I have just got back from my US trip on the Sunday before that). 

I was in a meeting, and suddenly my boss called me outside the meeting room.

Boss (B) : "Do you need visa to go to Vietnam?"

Me (M) : "No"

B : "Can you go tomorrow morning?"

M : "........ Huh?"

B : "Yeah there's a new operations there that need help with reporting. The customer request this to be done by Saturday. Can you help?"

M : "...... Errr..... OK"

Then it's a mad rush to arrange all the tickets, hotels, contacts etc etc. Later that night, I got an email from my Vietnam colleague saying "Welcome to HELLLLL"...... and that's when the nightmare begins. I really shouldn't be saying a lot about work here, but all I can say is I worked my a** off when I was there.... average of 13 hours a day for 8 straight days. 

But, as I said, it's a very interesting experience for me. Suddenly I feel that what I do every day is very insignificant compared to this.....

Home

At the home front, as you know, it's the end of an era. The 2 year lease at Stirling expired, and we decided not to continue. Also, I have put the downpayment for my new home, but since it's only gonna be ready mid next year, in the meantime I am staying with another group of friends. 

In other news..... I sold my car earlier this year, after realizing that it's not worth the $$ that I have to fork out every month for parking, maintenance, petrol etc etc. 

Love

Nothing much going on in this department, as usual. How the hell did you guys find time to do this? Sometimes, when I'm busy at work, I don't even have time to pee :P

Life

This year is also supposed to be a major milestone for me, as I celebrated my 30th birthday. Well, to tell you the truth, I don't really feel anything different. Life goes on as per normal..... I try to be wiser and smarter everyday, but I don't feel any older :)

But it doesn't mean that I didn't have a special celebration. This year, I kinda go a little bit over the top..... starting with getting myself a little birthday present all the way from Barcelona....

Also, I celebrated with an awesome trip to Phuket...... and when I think about it, actually it was the only real holiday that I had this year.... the other trips were business mixed with a bit of pleasure :P

OK folks.... that's it for 2010. It has been a bumpy ride, but hey, life's not always perfect. Here's to a better 2011 in all aspects of life! :)

Happy Holidays!