Tag Archives: new year

Goodbye 2011!

My annual recap of the year:

1. Where did you ring in 2011?
At my aunt’s place. You can see a bit of the fireworks from her apartment so we hung out there and ushered in the new year together.

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Don’t think I made any for 2011 and probably won’t be making any for 2012. Not so good at keeping resolutions!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Linli gave birth to Ian, the Lobos welcomed Isaac and I delivered Adam!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Don’t think so.

5. Did you know anybody who got married?
Lik Chee and Evelyn.

6. What countries did you visit?
Since I was pregnant for 2/3 of the year, we didn’t really travel very much or very far. Just Hong Kong, KL (Malaysia), Bintan (Indonesia), Macau and New Zealand.

7. Were you in school anytime this year?
Yes.

8. How did you earn your keep?
Teaching.

9. Did you have to go to the hospital?
Yes, to deliver my baby by C-section.

10. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
Patience and a kind spirit.

11. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Anytime I can get both kids asleep with minimal crying is an achievement!

12. What was your biggest failure?
No major failure I can think of.

13. What was the best thing you bought?
It’s a tie between the iPad and my Kindle, I guess.

14. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Adrian and his cooking. ;)

15. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Sigh. Not ready to talk about this yet.

16. Where did most of your money go?
Stuff for kids: books, toys, clothes, etc.

17. What did you get really excited about?
Bungy jumping!

18. What song will always remind you of 2011?
Someone Like You by Adele

19. Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder?
Infinitely happier. This year kicked last year’s ass big time.

20. Thinner or fatter?
Fatter.

21. Richer or poorer?
The same.

22. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Reading.

23. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Waste time.

24. How did you spend Christmas?
With loved ones.

25. Did you fall in love in 2011?
Yes, with my little baby boy.

26. What was your favorite TV program?
GLEE!

27. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No.

28. What was the best book you read?
The Sense of an Ending – Julian Barnes

29. What was your greatest musical discovery?
The Warblers.

30. What did you want and get?
A healthy baby boy.

31. What did you want and not get?
A natural birth for Adam.

32. What were your favorite films of this year?
The King’s Speech.

33. What did you do on your birthday?
Had breakfast at Jones the Grocer, went to Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research at NUS for their Children’s Season programme, went to Little India and had thosai and Indian rojak before browsing around Mustafa Centre, ended the day with dinner and cake at Spruce with Debs and Simon.

34. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?
Maternity clothes for half the year! Now I’m stuck in the zone where maternity clothes are way too big and my normal clothes are still a bit too tight.

35. What kept you sane?
My friends and family.

36. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Anthony Bourdain! Heh. And Darren Criss. ;)

37. What political issue stirred you the most?
Presidential elections.

38. Who did you miss?
My friends who are overseas.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011:
Family is the most important.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

How would you rate this year with a scale from 1 (shitty) to 10 (excellent)?
It’s been a pretty great year. 8/10!

2009 in summary

Oops! It’s already the new year but it’s my habit to do this, so here goes:

1) Where did you ring in 2009?
Watchnight service, Barker Road Methodist Church Preaching Point at ACS International

2) What was your status by Valentine’s Day?
Wife & mother!!

3) Were you in school (anytime this year)?
Yes. As a teacher and as an MA student.

4) How did you earn your keep?
Well, I was still a teacher but since I spent quite a bit of the beginning on MC, then was on 4 months of maternity leave and 2 months of no-pay leave only returning to work end-Sept, I didn’t really work very much this year!

5) Did you have to go to the hospital?
Yes! Delivered Anya in Thomson Medical Centre. She also landed up in KKH so I spent a couple of days there too.

6) Did you encounter the police?
Err.. went to the police post to get my address on my IC changed

7) Where did you go on vacation?
Went to Malacca, on a cruise and Bintan with the husband and kid! First year in a long time that I didn’t get onto a plane!
Edit: Just remembered that Adrian and I went to Beijing without Anya!

8) What did you purchase that was over $500?
Ouch. Many things!! But the most expensive thing would be our new home!

9) Did you know anybody who got married?
Ming Lee, Kylie

10) Do you know anybody who passed away?
My grandfather

11) Have you run into anybody you graduated high school with?
Met up with Shuming simply because we had the same ob/gyn and our babies were born around the same time! Also met up with my JC classmates.

12) Did you move anywhere?
Yes! The great migration from Boon Lay to Upp Bt Timah!

13) What sporting events did you go to?
I don’t enjoy sports

14) What concerts did you go to?
None, I think!

15) Where do you live now?
Upp Bt Timah

18) Describe your birthday.
First one as a mother. :)

19) What’s the one thing you thought you would never do but did in 2009?
Weigh more than 70kg?? Go on holiday with my parents?? Interview for a job at MOE??

20) What is one thing you regretted this year?
Not being a better mother!!!

21) What’s something you learned about yourself?
I’m a pretty decent mother

22) Any new additions to your family?
My precious baby, Anya!

23) What was your best month?
March!

24) How would you rate this year with a scale from 1 (shitty) to 10 (excellent)?
It’s so wonderful having Anya around but there were still ups and downs! Can’t really give a simple rating to sum up such an eventful year!

New Year!

I’ve been tossing and turning for the last 2 hours but I just can’t sleep! This always happens the night before the first day of school. Decided to get out of bed and spend some time writing about how I spent the first day of 2009.

Attended the watchnight service at the Barker Road Methodist Church preaching point at ACS (International) with the aunt, the husband and the sister-in-law. So at midnight, we were singing Pass It On in the darkened hall and lighting candles. This is the first time Adrian and I welcomed the new year together! Usually, he’d be asleep at home while I’d be in church with my friends. So it was a nice and peaceful way of welcoming the new year. We had supper at the Holland Village coffee shop after the service and we took our first photos of the year!

Adrian & Gek Lee Aunty

Fifi & I

In the afternoon, we went down to Auntie Iris’s place for lunch and Baby Asher & Baby Aidan were there too. They are incredibly cute. After that, Adrian and I went down to Shun Li Industrial Park at Kaki Bukit to look at the baby stuff at Baby Hypermart and Baby Kingdom. We got the cot, stroller and car seat there so it was a really fruitful trip! Also swung by Enterprise One at Kaki Bukit where Adrian bought a new golf club at the Nike Golf shop there. He is a happy man.

Dinner was spent at one of Adrian’s uncles’ place where the relatives from the mother-in-law’s family were gathered. So all in all, we had a busy day and managed to clear some stuff on our to-do list and also to spend time with family members!