2010 Meere

2009. The year of unspeakable gore, horror, fear and of course pain. But there has also been happiness, intense excitement, hope and progress.

So what happened in 2009? The year of change. Not only Obama was new in office, but, a lot of my peers including myself entered a new environment. The workplace. Of course we all graduated, throwing our mortar boards in joy, but deep down, we know we’re leaving the incubation centre – NUS. The place where the bosses are forgiving, the higher authorities possess empathy and mercy.

In every review, there’s a lesson or two to be learnt. In every fight, there’s a loser and winner. No, don’t listen to those who say there’s no such thing as a loser, only learners. No. It’s okay not to admit yourself as a loser, but when you reflect deep down, please take yourself seriously. Do listen to others with a pinch of salt, especially those who afraid to tell you the truth. The ugly truth.

Regret is also another human emotions which people tend to shun, and usually associated with the basket of ‘negative’ emotions. Choices we made, cause different chain reactions. Some were so wild beyond imagination and most of the time, not within our range of expected events. Apologies were never too late ( One Republic was wrong ), and Ushers should have known better to be Moving Mountains. Some things never change. The others. They never change. Or at least they said they try, but they don’t.

I have always believed there has to be some disruptive events, to knock us out of our comfort zones, to kick us back to reality. If not, we would continue to drift in our own river of assumptions and self-confidence, hidden in again, our own forest of destructions and regret.

2009 has not been a good year for family gatherings. Due to the lack of funerals. Yes. It’s unfortunate but true. It’s sad to know that some of us tried to choose our family members. But remember, your parents didn’t choose you either.  Don’t start the list with how they disappointed you. But begin with your roles and responsibilities. Did you call home? How are your siblings? What on earth were they busy with? Do you even care?

Of course, talk is cheap. It’s always easier for us to advise others. That’s why it’s so important. Because they’re out of the always-shitty situations which you are in, they have a better view. Shit affects our judgement, our response and our well-being. But shit happens. It’s part of life. The question for the book – should be “who moved my shit” because it’s through shit that we grow. It’s with shit that we have a better understanding of ourselves, and of the world around us. Who have heard of the name Al-Qaeda and terrorism before Sept 11? Our airport security sucked before that. The half-height automatic platform gates for the above grounds stations were installed only after X number of suicides and suicides attempts, and the accidents. Yup. We should embrace shit and wake up everyday with the mindset to embrace it. It’s gonna come anyway, right? It’s almost laughable when you see people moaning and whining when shit arrives. Monday comes, you can always expect work on your work desks. Don’t complain.

What? You got a lousy boss? Don’t complain. He has lousy clients. And what? You’re at the end of the food chain? If you can’t command, you’d have to obey. Till then, keep your mouth shut and play the game. Learn the rules. When you think you have enough ammunition, strike it out on your own. Or, you can do it now, realize that you don’t really have what it takes, go back to be your boss’s bitch.

Have been having a lot of BBQ’s and catching a few good movies together with the Sausage gang. Started laomasays.blogspot.com and laobasays.blogspot.com just a while ago, to document all the quirky things which our mothers and fathers conveniently say every day. Some of these make us LOL’s. Some make us wanna kill ourselves. The chemistry for the sausage gang has always been on a high. Love em.

Our band finally has a name. It’s a good year as any other year to start having a band, to play in pubs, at events. Attictractor.blogspot.com was created for the band. More communications outside the studio have been detected, and of course, Greenday in January 2010 would bond us together forever. Always looking forward to the next ‘fisting’ session.

How’s business? Business has been ok. Lots of exciting things happened, and more to come in the new year. Got a new table, new monitor, going to get a new computer, soon. It’s been a fantastic year for growth, and we did grow. As individuals, as a whole. We managed to rake in 20k of revenue in 4 months. My goal is to bring in 50k in the first two quarters of 2010. Let’s see if our magic can work out a miracle.

2010 would be an even more difficult year. Despite the welcome in open arms, we have to be wary, with our guards on. The weak will die, the strong will get stronger. Singapore is a small country, we have to fight 10 times harder than the rest.

Talking about religion. Having a religion doesn’t make you all powerful and wo-ah-ah. And please don’t be proud that you’re an atheist either. Learn to respect em. You have your own life,  we have ours. These are modern times, where Google is our best friend, and we think we know it all. But it’s good to be afraid of something bigger than us. So that we don’t become too arrogant and all. You are your own God? Good luck to you then.

The Henderson trails etc have been very close to the heart, after a few walks, and of course I HAVE to check out Marina Barrage after failing to win the ITQ last month. It’s beautiful, with laughters and very strong wind. And there’s this fear of having our heads cut off by the sharp and tense kite strings. Haha. Will sure to be back again, for wedding shots for a dear friend, or simply kite flying. They can improve on the bus stop at Marina Bay though. It’s terrible.

As we wave our goodbyes to 2009, we have to ask ourselves – what have we learnt? What should we have done? Dig out your 2009 resolutions, and select 3 items, which you have TRIED to do in 2009. List down the reasons why you failed. And DO those 3 items in 2010. Don’t make the same mistakes again. Don’t make a list of ‘wishlist’ resolutions that you wanna do, but in the end, they’re too overwhelming. Start with three. One if you want. You can change the world one step at a time.

And of course, just one random act of kindness a day, and the world would be a better place.

1000 seas can’t satisfy my thirst. It’s gotta be you.


Merry X'mas and a Happy new year. If you're screwing around, don't get caught!