2018 went by in a flash. Agree?
Actually, every year flies past in this manner:
January
January
January
March
April
May
July
Augus-
Sep-
Octo-
Novechristmas
HAHAHA. True to some extent, albeit the above is exaggerated.
2018 was a pretty smooth-going year. Nothing extraordinary. But we spent loads of family time. Family time is like this - you spend time together and do mundane stuff like having meals tog, visiting the mall and not doing anything exceptionally memorable; but you enjoy it. Family time is like sofa time - couching in your living room sofa for hours and doing nothing much other than watching tv or surfing the internet on your phone; they're nothing exciting but you like to do it nonetheless. You can even do it everyday. That said, quality sofa time and family time are so precious and are nothing to be taken for granted. You can't have quality sofa time if your wifi/tv is down; neither can you have quality family time if you don't enjoy good health, can you? Good health musn't be taken for granted, okay?
On my health downtime
I suffered a considerable amount of health downtime this year. Suffered ankle swelling and very serious neck sprain, both derived from football. My neck sprain was so bad it lasted for a week plus. I had to turn my whole body in order to look the other direction; after a night's sleep I wasn't able to wake up from sleeping position immediately - I had to slowly push myself up with my arms and through an excruciating amount of pain. The neck sprain was really very intolerable. Thankfully for a comprehensive accident insurance coverage, I was able to engage a licenced TCM physician for help which resolved both my neck sprain and ankle swell very quickly.
In addition, I also encountered an in-explainable partial ear blockage in Oct. One day, I woke up and I couldn't hear v well with my left ear. Went on a few days, took medicine, did ear syringing - doc couldn't find anything amiss and asked that I wait it out. It felt like I could only hear with my right ear, while the other ear was drowned in silence. Had to ask friends/colls to repeat what they said. Thankfully, a week later the problem went away.
Finally, the pain from my wisdom tooth extraction lasted about a week plus, I wasn't able to chew properly for that period. If you know me you know food is my religion - not being able to enjoy my food was quite depressing. Albeit my taste buds were working fine but the nagging pain from every mastication took the joy away.
Above unfortunate incidents apartd, I realised my regular intake of multi-vit and/or Vit C supplements boosted my immunity. As compared to last time when I would find myself nursing a runny nose or cold once a month, 2018 was a relatively 'healthy' year. :)
On my attempt to accept Christ
This year 2018, I attempted opening up my mind to accept Christ. Attended church a few times and tried to understand His teachings. Also watched a few videos and read some testimonials. Read comic version of Bible. Initiated a meet up with Fab and QY with intention to get some answers to my questions. One of my questions to Christians is, how do you know what you believe in is real? From what I picked up, it seemed to me that to many Christians, their turning point occurred when song lyrics suddenly hit them or when a miracle they prayed for came true. And that was when they started to believe that Christ was real and true. Well, at this point of time I am not a full believer, for many questions I still have, and lack of being touched or experiencing miracles. Plus, the manner that the pastors preach and give praise are abit too overboard and animated, imo. Having being educated by scientific facts I am a firm believer of Darwin's Theory of Evolution - that all living beings were created from nothing but a single cell organism from the ocean. But what QY said slightly convinced me humans are works of a Creator. He said, why do you think all humans are wowed by scenery (think mountains, clear blue skies), why do all humans enjoy music? Why are the conditions on Earth and only Earth, so conducive it can support life - is it a mere coincidence? There must be some unifying factor that created our living and defines us as humans. What he said is true, isn't it? Nobody ever hates music or beautiful scenery.
Another of my burning questions is: Assuming Jesus is true and Jesus sincerely wants all humanity to be saved and join him in Heaven, why hasn't He done it already? What's stopping him from doing it? Every Christian believes that their Saviour will come and save them again, that "Judgement Day will come!", you better believe in Jesus, for one day Jesus will cleanse them of their sins and accept them into Heaven. And if you don't, sorry no cure, you will not enjoy everlasting happiness in the Garden of Eden. To me, this preaching resembles the nags from a typical Asian mom, "You better study hard, if not you will become a rubbish collector!" I mean it sounds more like a scare tactic than positive motivation (though I und some Christians believe in Jesus for they can enjoy everlasting life in Heaven with their loved ones). Back to my question what is holding Jesus back, QY provided me a very solid answer, he explained why Jesus hasn't come and assess everyone yet is because He wants as many of His children to be believers; that His believers can have time to spread His words; that more humans can be saved. Okay, I'll buy that.
I do have more questions like:
- Why do positive things happen only when you pray to Him? For e.g. one is praying for speedy recovery, for extra energy, for good weather. If Jesus is omnipotent why can't he already know what we want/need, without us having to verbalise it? To this, wifey explained that when one prays to Jesus it means he/she wants it bad enough.
- If one prayed for a positive thing to happen, what would it mean if the turn out was negative? (Expected answers: (a) "It's a test of my resolve"; and (b) "God has things planned out")
- Is it true Jesus only accepts those who believe in him? What does he do with babies/young children/intellectually disabled i.e. humans who do not possess the mental capacity to understand, accept and believe in Him? Same goes for kind-hearted humans who commit no crime and have done much good in their lives (e.g. Buddhist monks, Catholic priests even)?
- If the next life is to be "in a happier place", do Christians look forward to dying?
- When Christians pass away and meet again in Heaven, what is their physical form? Will they look the same as when they pass away? Will a 100yo look like an ageing, wrinkled 100yo; whereas a 1yo toddler be crawling? Will disabled believers lose their disabilities, if any?
Anyway, it doesn't matter if one is or isn't a believer in Christ; for in His teachings there are many good moral values to pick up, for e.g. caring for others, self reflection, be less prideful, act like someone is watching you etc. Sometimes, you may get a lesson or two from Church, such as how to respect your spouse and the 3'R's when dealing with distractions - Remove, Repent, Replace.
On going green
Earlier in the year, I started bringing my own mug for daily coffee/tea with my colls. We have coffee/tea almost everyday after lunch. Whilst the act garnered curiosity and sparked a conversation amongst my colls, disappointedly it wasn't enough to influence them to BYOB as well, except for just 1 coll. Their primary excuse was, "I am lazy to wash the mug after using it", but when I volunteered to wash for them they would bring up another excuse like, "But I don't have a mug." Well, I can understand it is quite a hassle carrying a mug around whilst walking to /fro the canteen... and on some days when I forget to bring my mug my colls will suan me, but as I explain to them, "If I manage to save 200 a cups a year, it is 200 cups less that goes into the waste a year."
On financial matters
My second consecutive year storing some savings into SRS. I read my Tax Notice for the previous year and calculated that I had saved a significant sum by paying less tax.
Stocks wise, almost all my counters are negative. Hai. Sometimes, not doing anything isn't a bad idea. So I chose to invest some sum in less risk and very safe pockets, such as in SG bonds and GE 3-year guaranteed savings plan.
On work
Nothing exciting... expected default grading for my appraisal... hope that 2019 will be more fulfilling.
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AAR of past resolutions
As like always, here's an AAR of my list of actionables and "resolutions" for 2018:
- Go for a family holiday
AAR: YES! (see month-by-month review to follow)
- Attain Silver for IPPT
AAR: YES!! Though it wouldn't have had been possible if the test was not taken during ICT... Anyway a wake-up call to have to train harder. And be fitter.
- Create and update a master copy of all my insurance and investment plans
AAR: YES
- Extract my remaining 2 wisdom tooth
AAR: YES! July 2018.
- Bless Yx with a sibling, god willing.
AAR: We leave it to God's planning. :)
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Here's a look-back at the major events of 2018:
Jan -
Yx goes to school. Playgroup session was a few blocks away from my parents' and my mom could pick her up easily. Yes, yx cried the first few days, just like any other kid would. But very quickly she warmed up to Teacher L and although playgroup was only 2 hours a day, yx enjoyed school and often chirped new songs.
Feb -
My first ICT. Called up for the first time finally, after ORD in 2005. Thankfully in the same unit and platoon with a few familiar faces, and our unit not very shiong.
April -
Gunung Lambak hike with in-laws. Always enjoyed trekking so this was an enjoyable short trip, save for the terribly arduous 5-hr causeway jam.
June -
Cruise with my family on Royal Carribean's Voyager of the Seas.
Organised an inter-AIG volunteering event for the second year running, this time at Metta Home.
Jul -
Byebye to old house. Shifted out furniture together and sold a few items (washing machine, bed frame, wall photo). So much childhood memories back at block 123. So happened to bump into ex-neighbour who was still staying there. We last met in 2008 (the year my fam shifted) and how interesting that both of us still recognised each other!
Sep -
My first emcee experience at a TedxTalk organised by my company. Celebrated Yx's 3rd bday.
Went on Perth holiday with my parents. Wifey tendered but her boss asked her to consider, and both agreed that she could work part-time on 50%. This was an ideal arrangement because on one hand she had time for yx and on the other, she could bring home some much needed moolah.
Oct -
Participated in my first musical.
Nov -
Won a big prize at a lucky draw at my company's Family Day. It was a latest iPad worth more than $600. Was totally astounded when I heard my name being announced over the PA. So this year happened to be a great 'lucky' year for my family members as well, for e.g. my bro also won a TV. I had also won 2 grandstand tickets to F1 finals.
4d3n to Bangkok with sis. Itinerary revolved around Yx - Kidzania and Ocean World aquarium were the highlights. Otherwise, we didn't accomplish much other than the usual light shopping and thankfully we did manage to squeeze in a massage session somehow. Haha.
Targets setting for 2019:
- Achieve Silver for IPPT
Actionable: (i) Jog once a month; (ii) Consciously run more during weekly football and (iii) Train hard for IPPT in Jul 19 (coinciding with ICT).
- Be more involved at work
Actionable: Look out for projects and/or opportunities, volunteer to be involved in extra curricular projects.
- Bless Yx with a healthy sibling
Actionable: It shall be God's blessing :)
- Try to spend less money
Actionable: Soon our family will be on single income. With 9% GST impending and rumours that global recession is just round the corner (already there are tell-tale signs on the news), it is most wise to spend less and/or get more money.
(i) By spending less I think we could visit restaurant less often, or if we crave for more comfort we could choose to dine at restaurants which are more value for money. Of course, our fav restaurant Saizeriya comes to mind. Very affordable dishes, wide variety, no service charge and GST, free flow drinks at only $2.99 - I don't know about you but every meal at Saizeriya makes me feel at home.
(ii) By getting more money, on top of monthly bread that my employer gives, we could be more vigilant about promotions, offers, bundle deals and/or be more credit card savvy. For e.g. 3rd party websites like BankBazaar, Singsaver etc offer very attractive cash by just signing up credit cards via their platform. Furthermore, one could also get additional few tens of dollars a month by just maximising your bank saving account's interest rate and/or using the right credit card for your various expenditure. Thirdly, have you heard of Shopback? Surprisingly, many don't. You could rake up hundreds of dollars by owning a Shopback account! Ask me how, ok?
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Have a bountiful 2019, my friends! Stay healthy and happy!!!
