2013: Reflections
2013 is coming to an end. To conclude the year, I looked back on 2013 to see what has been done, not done, achieved, left to achieve.
Well, let me start with what is done and achieved.
Graduated with a BA in English Lang. & Lit.
I have gotten my degree. Yay me! I started my part-time studies four years ago, in January 2009, and it has not been an easy journey. It involves a lot of sacrifices, some which are easy to make (goodbye to walking around town wasting time and money unnecessarily) and some which are really difficult to give up (reading for leisure, catching a movie, my friends' birthday celebrations, some family events).
However, it is really difficult for me to give up anything to do with plays and concerts, so conversely, I skipped some lessons to attend those. No regrets. It is with a huge sigh of relief that I completed my course, gotten my degree and began envisioning a bright future involving fun, a new job, lots of reading, lots of writing, more concerts to attend, and did I mention fun?
Well, let me start with what is done and achieved.
Graduated with a BA in English Lang. & Lit.
I have gotten my degree. Yay me! I started my part-time studies four years ago, in January 2009, and it has not been an easy journey. It involves a lot of sacrifices, some which are easy to make (goodbye to walking around town wasting time and money unnecessarily) and some which are really difficult to give up (reading for leisure, catching a movie, my friends' birthday celebrations, some family events).
However, it is really difficult for me to give up anything to do with plays and concerts, so conversely, I skipped some lessons to attend those. No regrets. It is with a huge sigh of relief that I completed my course, gotten my degree and began envisioning a bright future involving fun, a new job, lots of reading, lots of writing, more concerts to attend, and did I mention fun?
Alas, did my bright shiny future come true? Read on to find out.
Concerts
I attended a few great concerts in the first half of this year, concerts that I really enjoyed and did not think it a waste of money. There was the unforgettable Ellie Goulding, the incomparable Joss Stone (as part of the Mosaic Festival), the amazingly talented Chanticleer and the joyful Harlem Gospel Choir. It was an awesome first half of 2013 filled with concerts month after month. I have no regrets going to any of these.
You might have noticed, if you are an avid reader of my blog, that there were no concert reviews for the second half of the year. That is because... (read on to find out).
Traveled more
I traveled more this year. I went on three trips. First was to wintry South Korea early this year where I saw snow for the first time, tried skiing for the first time, made a snow angel (I just had to do it) and sampled delicious Korean cuisine. Second trip was to Macau and Hong Kong, where I had my first casino visit and went crazy eating Cantonese delicacies in Hong Kong. My last trip to conclude the year was to Bandung, Indonesia, where I ate rice for almost every meal, scored great buys at their fashion outlets and had a heavenly foot massage that cost less than S$5. SCORE!
Here's to more traveling in 2014!
Kept up with blogging
This one is an ongoing goal and although I have not been consistent with the posts, I managed to have at least one post each month (except for August).
I am rather surprised to find that my blog is one year old! It has been one year! I have no idea why I kept thinking that this blog was started this year. But no, my first post was posted in December 12, 2012! I think I did it on purpose, posting on 12/12/12. And I missed out on an anniversary post on 12/12/13, but no matter, cheers to one year and more!
I think that is all for what is done. It does seem little for 365 days, and I think I might have achieved a little more than these, but these are the memorable ones.
Let's move on to what is not done and left to achieve.
Complete my Honours
Remember I said to read on to find out why I haven't been to anymore concerts in the second half of 2013 and whether my vision of a bright shiny future came to fruition (no)?
That is because I (stupidly) decided to do my Honours, which requires one more year of part-time slogging. Again, it is not fun and at times I do question my choice (and my sanity) of opting to study another year . I have gone through half of my Honours year (started in July 2013) and it is the most difficult to date. This is because I am not only doing what I did for the past four years, but doing more. By more, I meant doing a thesis. Damn I thought it would be easy. I mean, four years of crafting two to three essays per module, for three to four modules (minimum) per semester, for eight semesters would have meant enough practice to tackle a 7,500-word thesis (I would have written a minimum of 48 essays and a maximum of 96 essays in four years).
But a thesis is a whole new ball game. There is a whole forest of topics in literature to explore. It is as if I dropped myself right in the middle of the forest, probably pushed off the helicopter by some delusional self-confidence, without any GPS or a mobile phone. All I have is my senses and my learning to rely on, (and some mad hope to cling to) to choose a direction, stick with it and trust that it will lead me out of the dense forest. There are no stones left unturned and no new creek or spring left to discover. All have been raided and written about by previous researchers and forest trekkers. All have tasted the wonderfully sweet and refreshing waters from previously undiscovered springs and creeks. All that is to be said is said and done. All I have to do (and can only do) is to follow their footsteps, collect their stones, add my own stones, and try to piece together an exit out of the forest. It is difficult, it is tiresome, and it certainly wears out the senses. I pray that I get out of the forest unscathed, if I get out of it at all.
So dramatic ain't it?
Travel to Japan
Although I have ventured to many places, I have not been to Japan, the quintessential destination of any travelling aficionado. And I am terribly upset about it. If I should die tomorrow this will be my greatest regret. When I was growing up, I have watched Japan, the Japanese and their culture on the television. My generation grew up with J-pop (before K-pop took over and destroyed everything). It is my dream to travel there and to experience for myself what I have been experiencing vicariously through television. I made a promise to myself that it will be the first country that I will travel to, but I broke that promise and went to Cambodia instead. Although I never regretted going to Cambodia or the other countries thereafter, I always thought of my failure to visit Japan as a, well, as a failure. It weighs down on me and I better make it happen soon, since it is more affordable than ever to go there now.
Well this is my 2013. How did your 2013 go?
Concerts
I attended a few great concerts in the first half of this year, concerts that I really enjoyed and did not think it a waste of money. There was the unforgettable Ellie Goulding, the incomparable Joss Stone (as part of the Mosaic Festival), the amazingly talented Chanticleer and the joyful Harlem Gospel Choir. It was an awesome first half of 2013 filled with concerts month after month. I have no regrets going to any of these.
You might have noticed, if you are an avid reader of my blog, that there were no concert reviews for the second half of the year. That is because... (read on to find out).
Traveled more
I traveled more this year. I went on three trips. First was to wintry South Korea early this year where I saw snow for the first time, tried skiing for the first time, made a snow angel (I just had to do it) and sampled delicious Korean cuisine. Second trip was to Macau and Hong Kong, where I had my first casino visit and went crazy eating Cantonese delicacies in Hong Kong. My last trip to conclude the year was to Bandung, Indonesia, where I ate rice for almost every meal, scored great buys at their fashion outlets and had a heavenly foot massage that cost less than S$5. SCORE!
Here's to more traveling in 2014!
Kept up with blogging
This one is an ongoing goal and although I have not been consistent with the posts, I managed to have at least one post each month (except for August).
I am rather surprised to find that my blog is one year old! It has been one year! I have no idea why I kept thinking that this blog was started this year. But no, my first post was posted in December 12, 2012! I think I did it on purpose, posting on 12/12/12. And I missed out on an anniversary post on 12/12/13, but no matter, cheers to one year and more!
I think that is all for what is done. It does seem little for 365 days, and I think I might have achieved a little more than these, but these are the memorable ones.
Let's move on to what is not done and left to achieve.
Complete my Honours
Remember I said to read on to find out why I haven't been to anymore concerts in the second half of 2013 and whether my vision of a bright shiny future came to fruition (no)?
That is because I (stupidly) decided to do my Honours, which requires one more year of part-time slogging. Again, it is not fun and at times I do question my choice (and my sanity) of opting to study another year . I have gone through half of my Honours year (started in July 2013) and it is the most difficult to date. This is because I am not only doing what I did for the past four years, but doing more. By more, I meant doing a thesis. Damn I thought it would be easy. I mean, four years of crafting two to three essays per module, for three to four modules (minimum) per semester, for eight semesters would have meant enough practice to tackle a 7,500-word thesis (I would have written a minimum of 48 essays and a maximum of 96 essays in four years).
But a thesis is a whole new ball game. There is a whole forest of topics in literature to explore. It is as if I dropped myself right in the middle of the forest, probably pushed off the helicopter by some delusional self-confidence, without any GPS or a mobile phone. All I have is my senses and my learning to rely on, (and some mad hope to cling to) to choose a direction, stick with it and trust that it will lead me out of the dense forest. There are no stones left unturned and no new creek or spring left to discover. All have been raided and written about by previous researchers and forest trekkers. All have tasted the wonderfully sweet and refreshing waters from previously undiscovered springs and creeks. All that is to be said is said and done. All I have to do (and can only do) is to follow their footsteps, collect their stones, add my own stones, and try to piece together an exit out of the forest. It is difficult, it is tiresome, and it certainly wears out the senses. I pray that I get out of the forest unscathed, if I get out of it at all.
So dramatic ain't it?
Travel to Japan
Although I have ventured to many places, I have not been to Japan, the quintessential destination of any travelling aficionado. And I am terribly upset about it. If I should die tomorrow this will be my greatest regret. When I was growing up, I have watched Japan, the Japanese and their culture on the television. My generation grew up with J-pop (before K-pop took over and destroyed everything). It is my dream to travel there and to experience for myself what I have been experiencing vicariously through television. I made a promise to myself that it will be the first country that I will travel to, but I broke that promise and went to Cambodia instead. Although I never regretted going to Cambodia or the other countries thereafter, I always thought of my failure to visit Japan as a, well, as a failure. It weighs down on me and I better make it happen soon, since it is more affordable than ever to go there now.
Well this is my 2013. How did your 2013 go?
.jpg)
Comments
Post a Comment