Review of 2021

2021 was a very immobile year. =( WFH was the default from May to December. No futsal in the same period. I indulged in supper on many occasions. All these resulted in a flabby tummy, love handles and very poor stamina. Oh, and I am office worker in the day, couch potato every dam night.

But but but, highlight of this year: I won a number of FB lucky draw contests, heh! I didn't use to believe in my chances before, but when I accidentally won the first (Pokka), then the second, participating soon became a 'hobby' hahaha! My biggest hoot has to be the Secret Lab chair, followed by an opulent $200 dining experience at Opio! A couple of my friends joked that if I conducted "How to win lucky draw" classes, they would sign up! Lol. Ok I'm no guru and no blessed soul but if you want to know - THERE ARE NO SECRETS. If the draw is asking for creative posts, effort has to be invested to create a creative entry. Right? Can't expect to win with 1 or 2 simple lines or cooking up some cringy sob story.  Second tip? Just spam, just cast your net, since commenting/liking/ sharing/following takes almost nothing at all! Like throwing a dice lor, the more throws you get, it's just a matter of time before you tio. So, good luck! Hahaha.

Being stuck at home most of the days also made my mind and body quite restless. I turned to simple hobbies in gardening and weight lighting. The corridor space outside of our house increased from a couple of pots to 10, then 20...? Haha. I even bought a wooden rack to increase vertical space. Gardening is not as simple as it seemed. After seeing some of my plants die, I followed a FB hobbiest group to pick up tips and from there I also learnt that gardening is full of science! Moreover, plants are like humans la, they behave and respond differently to external factors and their survivability depends on "mood" too. Well, but I don't have green fingers and neither am I a hardworking gardener, but I hope to keep up the passion and continue to enjoy upkeeping and admiring the little green space outside my home.

In 2021, we went for not one staycation, but THREE! Prior to Covid, I was strongly against paying a few hundred bucks just to stay in a local hotel. With overseas travels no longer viable, staycays became vv popular among citizens, especially the families with young children. Gahmen also gave $100 SG Rediscover Vouchers (SRV) per citizen to spend la! We did Shangri-La Orchard in March, Equarius (Sentosa) in Sep and Fairmont in Nov. My kids lurvvve staycay. All kids do!

Lastly, I finally learnt how to juggle 3 balls. Haha. Not at clown level of course, but comfortable enough? Does even count as an achievement???? LoL... 

Alright, moving on to a review of the hopes I made for 2021:

1) Stay healthy. 

- Big yes? I needed an outlet for the pent up frustration and energy for all the wfh, so I bought two 7kg dumbbells. Quite proud that I used them averaging twice a week, and I can feel and see the muscle growth! Well, that sounds mean but no haha sorry to disappoint, I am still a lean thin, far from being associated as "muscular", but my arms and upper torso are certainly more toned than before! Furthermore, I was proud to have put in more effort to train for IPPT. I did sit ups, ran once a week (how pathetic lol) on top of my regular weight lighting exercises. For the record, I did 47 push ups for IPPT! 

2) Help more people in need.

I signed up as a Friend for Aviation (FFA) and was the lead to distribute goodies to the frontline workers, who suffered the most when Changi Airport closed to public in May. Donated $56 to SG Hearts organisation (on 31 Dec lol) for 7 packs of rice.

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Jan - NA

Feb - NA

Mar - NA

Fully vaccinated after receiving 2 doses of Pfizer. Staycay at Shangri-La Orchard. Enjoyed it extremely. Resort-like!

Apr - NA

May - NA

Went through my first PCR. It was mandatory for all airport community, after it became a cluster whose numbers spread exponentially. It was a tad uncomfortable, then nose swab felt like someone stuck a wallop of wasabi up your nose and twirled it 10 times inside your nostril. Tip is to close your eyes and breathe normally. To sneeze during and immediately after is normal. Anyway, PCR came back negative. As I tucked into my noodles after the swab, I read news that measures would be tightened, dining in would be prohibited, and social gatherings reduced from 5 to 2 pax. FML!

Futsal ceased. My life ceased, too.

Jun - NA

Jul - NA

Promoted to Principal Engr, status sounds like a big deal but my merit increment was a pathetic $300. Ryan switched teams so I was designated as Project Officer for 5GS building expansion.

Aug -NA

Sep - Staycay at Equarius Sentosa 2D1N. Very shiok. Because it's away from mainland SG, the tourist attractions felt indeed like a getaway. Noticed I have love handles and bigger tummy accumulated from very frequent supper. Began my "detox" of not eating after dinner, as well as more disciplined situp/pushup training, so as to be in peak form for IPPT scheduled in Nov.

Oct - NA

Nov - Staycay at Fairmont. Took mandatory block leave and didnt touch work for a week. So when I returned to work, it really did feel like I came back from an overseas holiday haha.

Dec - NA

Ended the year on a high! December's always awesome, isn't it!?

My birthday. Christmas. Year end feel. Cool weather. MAC was increased by $500. Civil servant bonus 1.0 month (compared to 0 and 0.1 the previous years?). Announcement of further relaxation of Covid measures! Wfh to be 50% wef 1 Jan 2022. Plus plus, I received my booster vaccine, did Modena and escaped unscathed phew!

(But Omicron variant has taken over many countries, with many announcing lockdown and closing down of international borders... Singapore has had a few isolated cases and no community spread (yet??)) [Post edit: This para was written in early/mid Dec. Spoke too soon. Now Omicron 438 cases, of which 347 are imported and 91 are local. Community infection rate has just risen above 1.0 since Nov 12. SIGHHHHHHHHHHH]

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Barring the impact that Omicron will potentially have on Sg, I feel that recent news hint that 2022 will be a better year! From 3000+ cases a day to 200+ in mid Dec, I sincerely hope the worst has passed. Air traffic has also somewhat picked up the last few months with VTL and global optimism. There are forecasts that salaries are expected to increase next year.

Goals for myself in 2022:

1) Achieve silver for IPPT - after a near miss this year, I realised silver is achievable, only if I put in more effort. The monetary increment is only $100 which is no big deal, so achieving this will be more of a personal challenge for myself.

1) Help more people in need - I've been lucky. Even during the brink of a economy recession in 2020/2021, my pay was not negatively impacted. My family and I are also lucky to be living comfortably without debts, and occasionally indulging in a good meal, upgrading IT gadgets etc. I believe I can contribute more towards the less privileged.

2) Nil??

Don't really have other exceptional goals because don't feel like there'll be much to aim for. Having to do well at work is fundamental, can't list it as a target. Health wise just continue to maintain my keep fit regime, choice of healthier food etc. Don't intend to further studies and/or pick up a new skill. Life is boring.

<Update 27 Jan 2022>

2) Obtain my Green Mark Accredited Professional (GMAP) certification. It's my personal achievement and then I can add a title behind my name, if I BHB! Hawhawhaw. Planned for this since 3 years ago (attended the BCA course in Feb 2019), and finally this year it will be bearing fruit!