Goodbye 2014

Once again it is that time of year where I spend some time reflecting and thinking of 2014 and what it has been for me. One thing I must stress is how quickly 365 days fly by after school days are over.

So how has 2014 been for me? Tumultuous is a word that comes to mind.

2014 started very well, peaked in the middle of the year, came crashing down in Q3 and is ending on a quiet note.

FRIENDS/RELATIONSHIP
I feel so blessed to re-connect with primary school friends who managed to find people via FB and other social media or friends. So we had a few gatherings with my primary school classmates (same class from P1 to P5) and even with our Primary 2 form teacher. How cool is that? We have our whatsapp group chat with our favorite teacher and a couple of other group chat without the teacher in it. That was in the beginning of 2014. Then just in end November or early December, there exists another bigger primary school group chat for the entire P6 level where we may not or never have been in the same class at all. And the organizer of that group chat is planning a reunion in a few days time in 2015. That will be so epic, seeing each other after leaving P6.

I watched the Times Square ball drop online and remembered my time in NYC the previous year. Watching it together in different countries with him. Yes, we started talking again and so it went, leading to the proposal in June and then my calling off the wedding (rather to postpone it as I felt it was too fast, too soon) and to an acrimonious end. BUT...just a couple of days ago, he messaged me after the Air Asia plane went missing. He was concerned. I replied. And that was it. I am not sure how it will be, if it will really be the end, or if we will start talking again. I am trying to move on, and I had went on a few dates (nothing to that) but I must confess it has been hard. Sometimes I do wonder if I made a mistake, but maybe it is better to trust my guts and start on a right footing than to rush into it and be filled with regrets.

I feel a bit wiser or at least I can understand why people do have less true friends as they get older. I am thankful to be still good pals with my BFF and other good friends even though we don't live in the same countries. Thank God for Skype, Facetime and all these free social media tools. I also "lost" other friends as we just drifted apart as we have grown in different directions. It is sad but it is also life. I do find it a chore to maintain friendships just for the sake of it, especially if we have barely exchange a few words throughout the years. Meeting once a year with a group of people you hardly talk or meeting/talking frequently with just a handful of people? I choose the latter. That said, I still welcome meeting up with old friends who disappeared for a while and came back again. I fully subscribe to the theory that people come into your life for a reason or season and leave when it is over (or lesson learnt or their mission accomplished). Nothing is permanent after all.


HEALTH
So I was plagued with the almost 100 days cough last year. What luck that I am ending the year with a cough (3 days and counting) and stuffy nose (just started this evening!). And before that I was dealing with a neck sprain, first time I experienced that...much better but still under chiropractor care. And just in November I had a cough which last for 3-4 weeks. So the last 2 months have not been kind to me health wise.

I saw a TCM for a sprained ankle (I tripped and face-planted a guy - I find that hilarious) and somehow it became a goal to reduce my blood pressure. It went down substantially in a week so that is a highlight. Apparently my lack of sleep can increase blood pressure. I am still trying to get my weight down, not very successfully though.


WORK
I am still chugging along at work. I feel like I am doing mostly admin stuff and while it can be a bit boring at times since the market is so quiet now, it gives me time to pursue my other interests. With the free time I have, I took up courses and completed them to be a certified massage therapist with skills in post natal massage and manual lymphatic drainage massage besides the usual Swedish massage. I like body works much better, especially lymphatic drainage as I am happy when people feel better from the treatments. I am not sure what I will do with those skills yet. Open my own spa which has been my dream for over a decade or just let it be?


I also found out an ex-boss of my from many years ago passed ago. She was only 51, much too young. Life is really fragile and illness can befall you with no warning. Live life like it is your last can be a very sound advice. Stop worrying and start living.


TRAVEL
I ticked off another item from my bucket list. Completing the Sydney Bridge Climb. I finally did it when I went to Sydney in November. Yes, I finally visited Australia again after 11 years. This time I spent more time in the smaller city as my friend lives near Wollongong. I also saw Sculpture by the Sea which was fabulous and cool. Visited Berry and fell in love with the quaint small town feel, plus the delicious hummingbird cake at The Berry Tea Shop. We went whale watching twice in Jervis Bay but still scored 0 in spotting any whales.

We also went up to Blue Mountains and I like the place too. Jenolan Cave was really cool and we did the Diamond Cave. The river inside the cave is so beautiful and makes you feel so small. That these natural minerals and caves and water have been around for thousands of years.

Some of the sculptures for sculpture by the sea

Bali pictures

I also went to Kota Kinabalu in March and it was a fun trip with beautiful clear waters around the islands. The food was not as good. It was back to Bali in April. A good but short trip with bbq seafood and the spa at Ayana Resort.


REGRETS
While I feel a bit disappointed that I am not in the US right now, I think it is probably right for me to remain in Singapore for now. For about 2-3 months, I felt torn and my mind scattered in so many directions on where to go and what to do. I decided to break it up into bite size pieces to handle and just let it be. So instead of flying over in September for 6 weeks and then to Australia and then back to NYC till CNY next year as planned, I am here in Singapore till who knows.

So while 2014 comes to an end, I count my blessings and look back on it with fondness and a tinge of bittersweet memory, of what if and what could be. We truly will never know how life pans out and you can plan all you want but it may derail and point you in a different direction. Or you may get exactly what you want, only to find out that it is not what you imagine it to be. C'est la vie.

Bring it on, 2015! It is time for my tradition - watching New Year's Eve on NYE.