The year that was: 2008

After a brief (relatively) hiatus, i am back to blogging. In my defense i was doing my internship which is really a whole lot more taxing than people think. It wasn't all just beer-drinking or sitting around doing nothing, it was hard work too. Sometimes i do labour work, but i don't complain much. All i'm saying is that it annoys the hell out of me when people think my work is easy or irrelevant. I'm sure if some of you out there were to do what i did you'd be going home to momma.

Anyways, this post isn't about my internship or people who annoy me. Believe you me, i can go on and on about those two topics. No, today, rather belatedly, is a look back at the year 2008 for me, a higlight reel if you will. Only it's in words and pictures. So here goes nothing:

Melbourne, Australia
It's pretty hard to imagine now, but i spent half of 2008 in Melbourne. It felt like ages ago. I remember my first few days there, all bright-eyed and eager to live life and have a heck of a time in a foreign country. But it all turned out pretty different. Well, not bad-different but very much different from what i had expected. I made very good friends with a housemate and her (now former) boyfriend, and things just went on from there. Although it was a little bit of a struggle, i thought i did okay on my own. Taught me a whole lot 'bout independence. But life was pretty ordinary i guess. Made a few friends, earned some money, had some drinks, won a basketball tournament, tried new things, visited places, failed a subject, played some games. Ordinary stuff.









Home, Malaysia
The other half of 2008 was spent right here in Malaysia. There's nothing like not knowing how much you miss home than spending a year away from it. It definitely took some adjusting when i just got back. But familiar faces made things so much easier, and before you know it, it was like i never left. I did get some stick for having a slight 'accent' but that was soon phased out and i was Malaysianized in no time. No sense of achievement towards the second half of 08 i guess, except maybe juggling time between cramming all the parties/activities/yamcha sessions i've missed for a year with trying not to flunk again. Which i didn't. So that's some achievement i guess. I'll take what i can get. So yeah, the higlights of the year has to be the parties and gatherings and whatnot.








So that's about all that's happened last year. Not all that exciting i know, but sometimes a mellow year ain't that bad. I know it's 'bout 2 months into 2009 but i still can hope for the best. The talk 'bout a recession this year isn't exactly the great promise most of us were looking for, but i guess it's best to stay positive. Even if it means going out less, or not clubbing as often, or buying less stuff. In spite of all that, i would still want to spell out my resolutions for the new year. So this is my:

Resolutions of '09

1. Meet more people, make more friends, widen my horizon
2. Finish my course by this year
3. Be fitter, lose some weight, gain more stamina
4. Be better in sports, namely basketball and futsal
5. Be a better person, even if it kills me sometimes
6. Hope certain things work out for me this time
   

Okay, number 6 isn't really a resolution, but i thought i'd slip it in just because. Here's to a solid if not great 2009. Hope things work out well for all.