The year's top 10

Wheeeee! And like this, 2011 is gone.

To capture the highlights of my life this year, I've compiled a top ten list. Feel free to stick your nose right in! :)

Ten.

I was featured in a local woman's magazine for having an interesting job. And I got to wear a pair of impossibly high heels, which made me too terrified to move, for fear of toppling over and flattening my nose. It was a spot of vain fun and I'll probably not do that again. :)

Nine.

Singapore's general elections and presidential election got me emotionally flustered, much of it due to extreme opinions for and against the ruling party formed by incorrect information. Social media has made it too easy to spread information, whether or not it is accurate. And people who don't usually give a shit about national politics suddenly became keen and propagate frustratingly wrong views. I lost faith in my fellowmen, the majority of whom are complain queens who have no memory of how the country came along, as well as in the directions of the new generation of leaders who do not think before they speak and disregard the life and views of the common man.

Eight.

I am no longer a cruise virgin, having taken my first ever cruise on December 28-30. It was nothing extravagant - just a family-styled cruise from Singapore to Malacca and Kuala Lumpur, and then back, but it was an experience to be remembered.

Seven.

I visited India - New Delhi, to be exact - for the first time. It was an unforgetable trip - a terror bomb went off at the parliament house, 2km away from the exhibition hall; an earthquake threw me out of bed that same day; and I had to dodge waterfalls from the leaking ceiling of the exhibition hall everyday. Unfortunately, I cannot declare that it was my first and last visit to New Delhi. A new company project will take me to that city every year from 2012 on. Urgh. And I will have to be there every August, which eats into Joshua's birthday celebrations. :(

Six.

Heeding the advice of good ol' Uncle Hans, who often preached that family is most important, I learnt to pace myself and pass on work to team mates and successfully took several holidays with the husband this year. We took an inpromptu weekend getaway in Malacca in February, two lovely weekends in Sentosa at two beautiful resorts, escaped to Batam (awful guestroom and F&B selection, but we had each other to ourselves), had a makan holiday in Penang, and finally in December, explored Japan over eight days. All that time together made me love him even more.

Five.

 

As editor of my magazine (a role I took on in August this year), there was no escaping the necessary awards citation at the company's annual industry awards night. Every year, the editorial team will pick winners of four outstanding awards, and on THE day, the two editors will go on stage to make a short speech before announcing the winners. I had jelly knees for weeks leading up to the evening.

But I made it through successfully, and looked most wonderful too, don't you agree? :)

Four.

I was the editor of a live trade show daily for the first time in my career. Sure, I was editor of my magazine, but it was a different ball game to head the editorial team at a trade show to produce daily newspapers for four days straight.

There was a hiccup right at the start - my Thai colleague had to stay home because of the floods, so I was one man short. I had to get my sub-editor to help with reporting instead, and it was tough for her because she did not speak a single word of Mandarin, and we were in Kunming, and she her reporting skills were rusty. Much of the burden of getting news to fill my pages fell on one colleague who could speak English and Mandarin. To share that burden, I had to juggle editing and reporting, and at the same time, tread carefully around the political sensitivities of the Chinarians.

But I survived! :D

Three.

We may not have gone through the traditional rites of marriage at that point in time (that came eventually on June 3), but we decided to give hongbaos to our juniors and unmarried relatives. I've never done it before and found it awfully tedious to budget, plan and execute. For instance, silly me forgot that fresh notes do not miraculously appear in my drawers, and I did not go to the bank to exchange for new S$2 notes. That got me rather flustered the day before the eve of the new year. Thank goodness mummy had extras to change with me.

But the act of giving away hangbaos was emotionally fulfilling and I suddenly felt that it was time I started behaving like an adult. :)

Two.

I got hitched on June 3 the way my parents wanted - in the company of my closest family members and undergoing the traditional rites. It came four years after we were legally married. My sudden decision to comply with my parents' wishes surprised many and raised suspicions that I had a bun in the oven. Hah. I must have disappointed many. :)

One.

What could beat the fact that I finally have my own home? This is the proudest moment in my life and in 2011. We moved in on January 1. It was a splendid way to start the year, and the husband and I went on to enjoy every second in our little pink abode. We still love our own place immensely, so much so we rather go straight home after work than hang out at beer bars.


So that was the year for me. I hope the year has been as kind and generous to you too, and may 2012 bring even greater joy to you. :)