Goodbye 2017, Hello 2018!

Every year, there seemed to have an entry on resolutions in the draft state – and never gets published.

Why do people make resolutions? I guess the process does make one feel better. Like what I plan (or rather, want) to achieve for the new year.

I don’t remember what resolutions I’ve made over these years. And that’s partly because I’ve never really set my mind to achieve them at all. The focus always gets lost in the process.

Looking back at 2017 (nope I don’t think I’ve made any resolutions for the year), the year seemed to have gone well.

The first half year was hectic, when mum fell and broke both the bones in her lower left leg on 27 Dec 2016 (the date is etched in memory). Spent the first 2 months shuffling between home – office – hospital. We placed her in community hospital after her operation as there was no one to take care of her at home, and it was easier for her as she can go for physiotherapy frequently. When she was discharged from the community hospital a few days before CNY, it was again another mad rush to plan duty roster. Those weeks were terrible. I guess everyone in the family felt strained. We couldn’t leave her alone at home as her leg was still in cast, that meant our social lives got affected in a way. Thankfully she has recovered and can now walk without support!

2017 also saw me taking many leaps of faith.

Music Theory Grade 4
While I postponed my guitar LCM grade 4 exam (using mum as an excuse hehe), I took ABRSM theory grades 4 (in March) and 5 (in October). It was crazy rushing through the syllabus for both the grades. Was supposed to take grade 3, but I’d completed almost all the past year papers for grade 3 and there was still a few months before the exam, so I took up the challenge of taking grade 4 instead. Managed to rush through the syllabus and attempted 3 years worth of past year papers (each year has 4 papers). Stressful period as it was my first attempt at taking music theory exam. Thankfully I managed to scrape through with a distinction!

Music Theory Grade 5
It was the default route to take grade 5 after that. Again, I took up the challenge of taking the exam within the same year – with only 6 months to prepare. I had zero confidence, as I had limited time to do revision (plus I kept skipping classes). This time round, I didn’t even manage to complete 1 year’s worth of past year papers. I went into the exam hall with the expectation of just passing the paper, but then in my mind I kept thinking “who on earth take music exams at age 36 and only want to pass?”. Somemore music is something that I’ve been wanting to learn since young. Fate has it that I scraped through the paper with another distinction again. haha!

Visit to Sydney
In May, I’ve also made my virgin trip to Australia! Always loved cold weather so Australia was the best place during that period! After weeks of picking and choosing, Sydney was the only decided location as we couldn’t squeeze in Melbourne without making it a rush trip. With this trip, I’ve satisfied my “craving” to visit Sydney Opera house and see koalas!

Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House (night view)

I’d love to visit Sydney again!

Embarking on the Masters journey
After a 10 year hiatus from school, I’m back as a full-time student again! Embarking on a Masters journey isn’t easy. I might have pushed myself too hard by taking modules that were out of my capabilities. Nevertheless, it had been a good semester and I’m looking forward to the next!

Mayday concert 2017 五月天LIFE人生无限公司 巡回 新加坡站
I have a particular liking for these 2 photos. No idea why. 起点是那平凡的成长.

五月天 – 起点是那平凡的成长
五月天
五月天 - 人生有限,和你们的约定无限

In summary, 2017 had been a good year (despite being down for a week due to UTI)! The year has proven that if you set your mind to achieve something that’s out of your capabilities, you’ll be able to achieve it!

Resolutions for 2018
I don’t think I’d want to set any resolutions, they’ve never been met anyway. Maybe I’ll list my wants instead.

  1. Complete my postgrad peacefully
  2. Resume a language course (still can’t decide whether to resume Japanese or Korean)
  3. Attend Mayday overseas concert (hardcore!!)
  4. Start investing

I think it’s a long list, but it should be achievable (only for the first one hahaha!).

One more hour to 2018. Happy New Year everyone! Let’s discard all the bad and grab all the good!