...And I thought 2022 was bad and 2023 could only be better...!? How naive! đ
On a few occasions of 2023 I felt low. I felt depressed and unmotivated, on the work front. The primary issue was that site work was only BUDGING. Seriously affected my mood and mental well-being. I often find myself, at times just before I fall asleep, asking whether I have done all that I can. And the answer is, yes. The situation was just due to circumstances beyond my control. The predicament ultimately led to us, the project team, bashing through and achieving firsts the organisation has ever done before in the procurement aspect:
- Direct payment to sub contractors
- Novation of contract to another party. A total of 3 agreements were drafted, reviewed multiple times and negotiated. We worked within a compressed timeline. Huge pats on our backs, we really accomplished the unprecedented and unimaginable (admittedly I sniggered when my supervisor asked us to press for this option)! If not for all our persistent and incessant nudging of the supporting business units, it seriously would not have been possible. We finally emerged from the tunnel in November.
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| Who say I not engineer? |
There were also conflicts with my co-worker. It's come to a point when I have to be extremely careful about what I say/write/text, because she would find faults with what I say off the cuff. It's not the most ideal situation, but we're co-project owners and we do need to maintain close working contact, so I try to keep our r/s professional and at arms length. A consolation is that I believe she takes work objectively so we still lunch sometimes.
Other than work, other aspects of my life were pretty good, I think. More on that after a review of the goals set:
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Goals for 2023!
1) Obtain my GMAP certification!
>>> YESSSSSSSSS!!!!! ^_^ Have been working on this since 2018! It wouldn't been possible if I were stuck in my previous section, hence my request to transfer and to work on this project since 2020... Covid hit, work stalled, a few years later the pre-requisites were achieved and now I boast a Green Mark Accredited Professional certificate to add on to my CV.
2) A holiday with my family that involves taking the plane!
>>> Nope. Ticket prices were extremely high??! SIAO. Instead, we went on a cruise (Mar) in addition to road trips up north and discovered Malaysia is a very wallet friendly destination whilst also full of entertainment! We did Desaru (Jun), Legoland (Dec), and a couple of short staycays both locally and in JB.
3) Gain 2kg weight. Been receiving comments that I seem to have slimmed down. I'm currently hovering at 59-60kg. I saw from a dated FB/blog entry that I used to be 68kg?? (during $mrt days I think?) I don't recall being so heavy at all but I can imagine how tardy I'd have felt!!? How did I ?!
>>> I increased my food intake deliberately and had supper /snacks at night even though I was mindful it wasn't good to my health. I failed to put on measurable weight, weighing about 60.2kg in December but that was because I was training/jogging quite a bit in Nov.
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Was reflecting with RMJ on the year that zoomed past and Busy Roys asked what were our top 3 achievements of the year. I think it is a very good question. Nothing beats listing achievements down as words. Real accomplishments. Tangibles. For me, they were:
1) Obtaining that project approval of $xxx million that I sure put in hella hard work over a couple of years. It is a personal accomplishment because it is the largest project sum undertaken by BP section, and I was the project leader.
2) I was at arguably my fittest of the decade. I kept up my regime of push-ups every alternate day. 2 months leading up to my IPPT, I trained (relatively) harder. Weekly jogs. Daily sit ups. I got Silver for IPPT, and I didn't feel like I had to stretch. That's the outcome of regular training!
Furthermore, in December, I went for my first Standard Chartered 10km run and came in at a respectable timing of 1:08. During the run I contemplated to myself why I signed up for torture, it got more unbearable at the 7km when I suffered a stitch but I didn't stop; I just jogged very slowly. Finally, I was overcome with euphoria crossing the finishing line. Strangely after the run, I entertained thoughts of repeating this next year. What ever happened to regretting it during? No, I want to do it again. Because I know I can do better! đ And can I also say I have maaad respect for my FIL? At 69 he came in only 10 mins behind me and his timing last year was 1:10! He's my role model when it comes to "active ageing" man. I don't think I lose to him in terms of enthusiasm, it's my creaking knees I'm worried about lol.
3) Obtaining my GMAP certification. It's a professional certification and recognised by the industry.
Yup... I think the above are achievements I strived for and I am proud of. ✌đ
In addition, something memorable this year was our family photoshoot! I intended to capture moments of our family during this chapter during which the kids are still very close to us and that we relish and are very comfortable with the physical intimacy. The photos turned out very natural and extremely nice :)
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Goals for 2024!
- GAIN 2KG
- DO SOMETHING OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE
- CELEBRATE 10 YEAR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY (by celebrate I mean like spend the day special and memorable)
- CELEBRATE MY TURNING 40 WTFFFFFFFF
Have got quite a few vacations planned this year already. So excited!!! đ
On 2 separate occasions, I was working at my home desk when Ye sat beside, doodled on a post-it and passed it to me:
