My 2013 at a glance

1. Giving Back

I felt extremely grateful to be given a chance to give back, by helping to give out goodie bags and angpows for the elderly this year. It isn't much, and I am not a saint, but I believe in taking baby steps towards giving back to the community. Hopefully, I'll have a chance to do it again this year!

2. Fifth year with Sunny + my first mini staycation

I consider another year with him worth celebrating, even more so the fact that we spent half a decade together so far. It's really unbelievable how time flies and yet slows down at the same time. It was also my first staycation and it really felt as if i was on holiday. I look forward to many more of it to come!

3. Bobby

Bobby fell really sick at the start of the year, which made our family members worry quite a fair bit. He even lost weight during that period. Now, I'm just grateful and happy to see that he is fairly well recovered, and is now able to walk and run happily. We also took it as a lesson and made changes to their diet, and they managed to lose those excess fats and be in a healthier state. Looking at past photos, I'm just wondering how the hell did i ever allow my dogs to be so damn fat! I also read up a lot on dogs and the extra care we must give as they grow older. It was a learning process for both my family and the dogs as well.

4. Traveling

The frequent traveling during the past few years really made me realised how much I love it. I love discovering new places, and the idea of being a completely different person in another world. I love having to witness places that we only dreamed of going when we were young, watching the telly. I love being able to indulge in another culture, learning to speak the language, and enjoy places after places. Most of all, I feel really alive. I never want to stop doing this.

- London, UK

 - Milan, Italy

- Paris, France

- Seoul, Korea

5. First trip overseas - Genting w Sunny

Sort of a sub point of #2 and #4. It was our first time traveling overseas together, and I was happy to go to Genting, Malaysia. Sunny couldn't remember the last time he went there so I was more then willing to reintroduce him to this place where I practically had my childhood. Sigh, so much fun.

6. Completed all my exams + got a degree

I don't have a picture that is representative of the (almost) end of my education life. The results are not out yet, so I can't say for sure. But I got myself a degree, which for the first time, is not because of something that is necessary for the society today, but because of what I believe I can achieve on my own. The journey itself made me grow much more as an individual, and I am grateful and thankful for what I am today. Okay, here's a photo with the victory sign to signify that yesssssss I WIN OK NEXT POINT

7. New Laptop

It's really a small thing, but well my lao laptop died on me this year. I've grown quite attached to it, so it was really sad. RIP lappie, as well as the rest of the photos which i didn't back up so they also disappeared into the black hole of no return. :'''''''((((((

First time using a mac. It's really difficult and i was so unused to it at first, but right now im alright, even though im still a bit noob at it. Sigh btw anyone knows where is the disk clean up for mac...

8. Fluffy

Fluffy entered my life by surprise. I would never have imagined myself picking a dog on the streets and being one of the people who had to put up adoption notices on social media sites. On a side note, I'm thankful for all the people who came to my rescue (aha!) and helping out by sharing or retweeting, and even go all the way to help me liaise with interested adopters. My family ended up falling in love with this boy and my dad wanted to keep it. So, here's to #4 dog in our family. It was initially tough having this shy boy socialise with the rest of the pack, but my lovely 3 dogs are friendly and accepting to him, even allowing him to sleep on their bed, and sometimes behaving a little too friendly and enthusiastic towards him that he would shy away. He's definitely bolder now, and tries to fit in and adapt to the habits of the other 3.

9. Work

This is also the first time since my studies in ACCA begin that I went to work. I really learned a lot during this period and it sort of opened my mind to the real world. I managed to keep myself busy and motivated, working at the day and studying night classes at night. I know that this may be the current routine for some, and I know that i definitely dont have it the hardest. But I am thankful and grateful for the lessons learnt during this period.

10. Summary

I guess the 9 items merely described the good things that happened the past year.. but they don't come without pain. I chose to post only the happiest things here, because that's what I only want to remember when I grow old.

2013 feels like an extremely tough year, with so many obstacles set out for me. But in a way I'm glad they happened because they better me as a person. I can't even begin to describe the emotional ups and downs that occured, but that don't matter because they are all part of the past now.

Right now, I feel that this is the time to focus on myself more, to find out what is the best for my life. I don't want to be affected by any judgement or opinion, unless I allow it.

All I hope to achieve for 2014 is to learn to believe in myself, and I can. I will.