So, 2020 has dawned upon us. In fact, the month of January is already coming to a close. A month used to take so long to pass when I was in Primary school, but these days, it literally flies past me in the blink of an eye.
I was reviewing this blog before making this post, and saw that I had in my drafts reflections of four years (2016 - 2019), all of which were mostly half written. I need to get into the habit of doing these yearly reflections seriously, as life seems to be accelerating with each passing year and I do not have the best of memory. I believe I will look back at this post one day when I am old and retired, and I do not wish my thoughts at that moment to be 'I wish I had done more things to remember my life', for that would be a very sad thing to happen indeed.
So, I did some reflection on 2019 elsewhere but I will do it here again. 2019 was many things; I completed three CPA Australia papers, bringing me that much closer to finally completing my CPA Australia (which will be this year, 2020). I travelled to three countries; Philippines, Sabah in East Malaysia and Taiwan, which is so far my favourite country.
Let's talk about travels for a moment. In June of 2019, I visited Taiwan for the first time in my life. Taiwan was a lovely place really, the people there are completely different in behavior from that of PRC China, based on my observation. I encountered some of the friendliest and warmest people in Taiwan; one was the Uber driver who brought me to Gaomei Wetlands. He gave me various recommendations regarding food and was also very curious about where I was from. Another was the train conductor when I was aboard the train from Wai'ao back to Taipei as the holiday was coming to an end. Apparently, I had not bought the right ticket, and when the conductor asked for it, I must have given him a rather flummoxed face. He was very empathetic about it, and guided me the steps that I needed to take in order to reach Taipei station, informing me that I should get a refund on the card once I reached the station since I had paid him the full fare in cash on the train, and giving me reassurance that I would make it safely to Taipei station.
Taiwan was many other things too, it had beautiful geographic features such as the huge amounts of mountainous regions, the wet marshy lands, quaint establishments along the beaches, gorges and valleys that one could visit over the weekend. I did seriously consider taking a job teaching English in Taiwan once I came back from the place.
Next up was climbing Mt. Kinabalu, situated in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah in August. This was way out of my comfort zone since I've never climbed any mountains before. Starting with a 4,100m mountain sounded like a good way to kick things off. Many online resources about climbing Mt. Kinabalu says that it is a relatively easy one anyway, plus the mountain being 4,100m would give me a sense of accomplishment if I completed it. Perhaps the first sense of things not being so easy was when our guide fetched us from our accommodations at 5.30am in the morning and drove us to the starting point. As we drove out of the city into the countryside and I saw Mt. Kinabalu in person for the first time, I got a smack in the face at how high 4,100m really was. It was intimidating as heck, and a sense of anxiety began to flush over me. Looking back at it now, there was no particular instance during the climb and the descent that genuinely made me feel that I could no longer move a muscle anymore. I suppose, in that sense, it can be considered easy. Yet, there are trail runners who achieve timings of two hours and a half to ascend AND descend the mountain. That is simply beyond me, the level of fitness and preparation in order to perform at this level.
Anyway, if this was considered easy, I cannot imagine with Kilimanjaro or Aconcagua is like, considering at certain parts of the climb, I was taking a breather every three steps. Yet, my heart longs to climb another mountain, for it was truly an experience to remember.
The final travel I took in 2019 was to Cebu, Philippines in December. The first thing I think of when I recall the trip was the traffic incident my travel partner made, accidentally knocking down a pedestrian while driving on Bohol. That was such a stark reminder to me to be alert while driving, and not be complacent. It is quite incredible that one can actually knock someone down while driving sober in the fucking daylight, but it is what it is. I learnt a serious lesson that day, and it's not to trust that person's driving for a long time to come.
Beyond that incident, the holiday went rather smoothly. Said person who knocked a person down in Bohol had to pay for a return flight even though he had already paid once. The airport couldn't verify his booking, and $230 later the problem was fixed. Philippines was also out of my comfort zone as there were a lot of water activities. The problem was that I only knew how to swim breast and also, my terrible eyesight (which meant I was pretty much blind without my spectacles). It turned out, strong swimming skills weren't needed for the water activities that we were doing and well, I could see enough underwater to make it worth my while. We jumped off waterfalls during the canyoneering in Kawasan falls, swam alongside whale sharks in Oslob, and chased turtles and sardines off the coast of Moalboal.
Filipinos were a great bunch of people too. We were invited once into their house to sing Karaoke and drink liquor with them simply by standing outside their house and saying hello. The guides at tourist attractions actually went out of their way to show us the premises (we were really skeptical, he was being really nice) and not scamming us for it after that. Taxi drivers were generally honest, and kids and locals came up to greet us from out of nowhere.
And so, those were the travels that I undertook in 2019. They were great, I had lots of fun and also eye-opening experiences into what other countries are like.
So where to in 2020? Initially I did consider Hawaii but the cost is prohibitive. I might just do Vietnam again this year, to Hanoi instead of Ho Chi Minh, but right now there isn't a particular place where I've a burning desire to go to. I would like to go to USA to attend Burning Man but I think my money needs to be spent on more pressing things.
I made my one year mark in my current job in 2019. I must say the initial one year was quite a stressful period, working under a boss who really drives you. Yet, I can understand such a style of leadership, and I think I have learnt to be more effective at work generally. Work should be taking up a huge portion of this post, but I must say I remember 2019 more for the things that I did outside of work than the things I did at work. What does that mean for me? I don't know and I suppose I need to find out the answer to that.
Something else that hit the one year mark; in November it has been a year since I got braces. It is largely non-eventful, most of it is just going to the orthodontist monthly for adjustments, but it did not feel this way when I first made the decision to get braces done. The initial phase was the most painful for me, the part where tooth extractions and the application of the braces itself was performed. I had to remove eight teeth (four premolars, four wisdom teeth) and the process itself was what held me back from getting braces all these years. It was painful, I'd be lying if I told you it wasn't, although the process of getting the teeth pulled out wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Under local anesthesia, the pain from pulling the teeth out and the dentist using drills is still bearable. It's the aftermath, where once the anesthetic wears off, and you have to deal with the pain is where it sucks. Regardless, eight teeth later, I returned to the orthodontist for the application of braces itself. The braces themselves don't really hurt, besides making your mouth feel very big. Some nights though, depending on how you slept, the brackets abrade your gums and you wake up the next day with a nice sore on the inside of your mouth. Certain foods are a bitch to eat as well, but overall I must say the braces themselves aren't painful to wear.
So those were some thoughts that I had of 2019. I remember it by the holidays I went for, some of the more interesting events such as having put on braces, and the long periods of stress that I faced in my new job. Not the most interesting life, but it's the one I have.
Now, for 2020, since we're one month in already, let me talk about the one month that has passed, since quite a few things did happen in just one month. Firstly, was the death of my grandfather which I am quite saddened by. Consider this a tribute to my memories of him, since I know in time these memories will fade away and I am very sad that this will one day happen
I remember the Sunday morning visits to his place which took place weekly when I was young. He was a cheerful and active man, and I'm told by my Mum that he would like to take public transport to explore. As I got older, my visits to their place lessened and I am deeply regretful about this. We used to go over and my grandmother would make Maggi mee with chicken strips for us. Grandma would make the best curry I've ever eaten in my life during Chinese New Year, and she was a superb cook. We used to take them out on Sundays as well, I remember specifically one time we brought them out to Neo Tiew area when it was the last day of the family car, a Nissan Sunny. They were so much more mobile at the time. All of this changed when my grandpa had a fall one day about six, maybe seven years ago, and his mobility was severely affected. He had a hip replacement surgery and he could still walk, although impaired. He had a second fall and was admitted to Tan Tock Seng Hospital which I remember visiting him during my university days, and I remember my mum would bring him around in his wheelchair to eat at the Kopitiam downstairs his ward, to get him his favourite desserts. After the second fall, he was wheelchair bound.
In the following six years, with his mobility essentially gone, my uncle had to hire helpers to keep him clean and perform his basic functions such as bathing for him. He also fell prey to Alzheimer's, and I do not remember the last time he made coherent speech, it must've been at least two to three years ago where we could still speak and recognize people. Since then, it has been a downhill journey. For years, although he had Alzheimer's and also was wheelchair bound, he was still eating heartily and a nice belly popping out. I felt like I should've visited him far more during this period. It was usually my mum visiting him alone, taking the bus to his place. At this stage, even my brother and father rarely visited him anymore as we used to do together when I was in Primary school.
Early this year, I decided I would visit him more often and get to see him but alas, life likes to play a cruel joke on us. During an visit to him in the first or second week of January, I saw him like I have never seen him before. He was so thin, like a prisoner of war. My mum informed me that he had lost the ability to eat solid foods, and that his food had to be blended for him to swallow now. He had lost a huge amount of weight and the sight of him was simply heartbreaking. I visited the following week again, and he looked better. He could actually hold up his neck on his own, which was a welcome sign since his muscles have been so weak for so long that he could not hold up his own neck for many many months now. The following weekend, due to Chinese New Year, my family did not visit him as they did marketing for Chinese New Year and so I chose to do other things. On the next day (Monday) in the morning, he died.
I will forever remember him as a good person and a good grandfather. Due to language barrier, we did not get to know each other more intimately, but I am saddened by his loss and in this period, I need to support my mum in her period of grieving. I've learnt that family is the most important after all, we may not do the most extraordinary or exciting things together, but the familial bond can never be broken. I used to think my weekends were for myself, after spending five long days at work doing all sorts of exhausting things and that these visits were eating into my personal time. Well, now I wish I had taken all of the time I had for myself and visited my grandfather more when he was alive, especially the period when he deteriorated after the falls. Family will take precedence in my life now and I need to provide and help wherever I can.
In keeping up with the theme of people who have passed away this year, it is with regret that I write that one of my cousin's grandfather passed as well, not long after my grandpa passed. Another relative I visited over Chinese New Year was bedridden as well, after having suffered multiple strokes. She is currently undergoing tube feeding and spends her time mostly sleeping or unconcious. I suspect there may be one more passing soon.
Then there is also the death of Kobe Bryant just yesterday (26th January), the generation of basketballers that I grew up with. I've watched NBA just occasionally but his death is a huge loss, and the suddenness of it all really just makes me think 2020 is off to a really sad start.
WIP
Other topics to be covered and completed in this post:
bike license
what i want to achieve in 2020 - physically, mentally, career
books to read
long-term strategy (countries to visit, visa in aus, working holiday)
