And so, one year has gone by.
Jas: Then again, it's just a change in number.
Zen Guy: It's a new beginning, a new life.
Really?
Time moves in one direction; a new year doesn't mean that time will restart.
It is simply that, the Earth has gone one round around the Sun, and is starting its next.
Time is still moving, life still goes on, and you are still painting on a tainted canvas.
I'm good at un-romanticising things, I realised.
But eventually, it boils down to your own perception - its significance and meaning.
Maybe its significance is that it gives you a reason to reflect and set goals for the next year, whenever it begins.
A new year may start from 1st Jan 2016, or 10 May 2016, or 8 Sep 2016... or even more significantly, your birthday. No?
Anyhow, the usual summary of the year in photos (in random order):
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| Happy marriage, M and M! |
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| Vietnamese egg coffee @Hanoi |
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| Beautiful sunset @Halong Bay, Vietnam |
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"No matter what, you just cross the road in a steady pace. Don't panic."
Right. @Hanoi |
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| Graffiti on the wall which tugged at my heartstrings @Jilin |
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| Mixed feelings while waiting for plane home @Shanghai |
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| Shimmering, shimmering |
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| A warm welcome back from a very cold country :) |
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| Great read :) |
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| Me? You? |
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Where the obsession with diffusers started.
French Vanilla and Wild Jasmine (I know right) scent |
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| Hello, and good bye. |
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| MA / AM :) |
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| Choc Mille Crepe @Sun with Moon |
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| Beer (no root) float which tasted like.... @Chir Chir |
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| Deep thinker |
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| Nyans! @the company of cats |
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| Wayward LGM |
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| "Yums." NO. |
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| With the girls @Teoheng |
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| Bday present for sis, the wild child |
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| Birthday drink @starbucks |
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| Inception, sort of @Sushi Bar, Taka |
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| Red velvet waffles @Montana Brew Bar |
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A very unique birthday cake for the girl with strange taste
- super yummy matcha cake from Tsujiri :D I can have this every year |
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| Our Future School |
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| Finishers (with absolutely terrible stamina) @Sentosa |
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| Finished both seasons. AWESOMENESS. |
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| You melt my heart, Yuuki |
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| Yuu and the piano |
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| Yuu and the cello |
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| Whiskey mini-teach @Auld Alliance |
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| Because it's Portugal |
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| Beautiful flowers @Braga |
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Survived my very first overseas conference
(networking being the most stressful part of all) |
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| Beautiful Bom Jesus @Braga |
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| Along the Douro River @Porto |
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| Electric Cello spotted! @Porto |
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| "Like a Jap schoolgirl." @Braga |
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| From up above @Porto |
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| Port wine! |
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| Why so fierce, revelation cat? @pasarbella |
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| When my hair was very brown. Mandatory toilet shot @JEM |
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| At the start of the year with my favourite matcha @Maccha House |
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| PSYCH-ED @M's wedding |
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| Pretending to be in Japan @Liang Court |
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| Happy CNY guys! |
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| Futsal match! @Turf City |
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| Badminton match! @MOE Evans |
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| Watching from above |
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| And then the night became a blur @some korean restaurant |
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| Singing our hearts out @Manekineko |
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| Crazy things we do to relive the sec school days @random neoprint machine in SCAPE |
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| Crazy things we do |
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| Pretending to be elegant taitais @Shangri-La Hotel |
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| The night when we all got psych-ed @Shangri-La Hotel |
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| Finally got to try the colourful xlbs @Paradise Dynasty |
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| Coffee and avocado shake. Woah. @Benjamin Brown |
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| Birthday boy and girl (haha) @Ootoya |
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| Super cute Xmas cake from Kki :) |
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Featured on ST with H and his beautiful cellos :)
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| To many more years of friendship @Shangri-La Hotel |
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| With the crazies, and looking tipsy... @Angela's place |
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| To many many decades more of friendship @Marina Square |
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| EL :) |
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| Section retreat @ USS :D |
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| Grateful for these awesome colleagues @USS |
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| With Pinocchio @USS |
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| Xmas gift exchange + potluck |
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| Pretending to be Cinderellas @Forum |
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| Mandatory toilet shot @forum toilet |
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| 383.3 :) |
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| Halong bayyyyy |
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| Fav shot @Halong Bay |
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| You're a big girl now, Yuu |
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| An emo shot to end off the series of photos |
"How was 2015?"
Where do I even start? How do I even start?
If I had to use a metaphor to describe the year, it would be: a ride in a theme park that's a mishmash of all the rides in the theme park.
The extreme ups, the extreme downs, the crazy loops, going forward, jerking backwards, free-falling, and lots of lights, colours, short periods of darkness, noises...
In short, it was a crazy year which may have weakened my heart considerably.
But after every experience, negative or positive, you can always glean some learning points.
About letting go, holding on, moving on.
About courage and love.
About the very nature of pain and suffering.
About the bright side, and the dark side.
About patience, gratitude and humility.
About selfishness, lies and manipulation.
About imperfections and deficiencies.
About yourself, myself, her, him, them, us.
About being human, and the meaning of being human.
To me, the greatest learning point is that the world isn't just about me.
Back to the previous entry about an objective reality (so yes, I do remember writing it).
If I accept that an objective reality does not exist - even if it does, it's virtually impossible to access it, and my perspective is definitely not the objective reality (the most important premise) - then I will understand that the world isn't just about me.
Not sure if I'm making sense.
To simplify, essentially, what I'm saying is, I need to be other-centered. (personal life and work life do overlap to some extent huh)
Anyhow, for Y2016 (starting from today), I want this to be the guiding principle for me:
Be other-centered - step outside of the self for once, and view the world from others' perspective. It's not always about 'I' and 'me'. The world doesn't exist for you and it isn't 'customised' according to your needs.
Happiness doesn't always stem from gains to yourself.
That brings me to another very important point - One's existence, or meaning in living, is also largely dependent on the significant others in one's life.
In other words, I am who I am, because of all the experiences that I've had with everyone who has ever set foot in my life.
So thank you, for everything. [wish I could write better than just this sentence.]
~*~*~
And now, the exciting part:
Resolutions set for Y2015:
1. Practise at least 3 hours of cello every week. [For most weeks, yes]
2. Save $X [YES!]
3. Complete at least 1 non-fiction book. [YES! So happy that I completed 'The Art of Thinking Clearly' by Rob Dobelli a few days before 2015 ended.]
4. Tidy my room at least once every year (HAHAHA) [No...]
5. STEP OUT OF COMFORT ZONE MORE OFTEN (aspirational) [Sort of? I took the Mummy ride. hahaha.]
Not too bad, overall, I suppose.
Here are the resolutions set for Y2016 (similar to Y2015):
1. Be able to play cello pieces set at Grade 7 level (a little ambitious but, maybe it's possible?)
2. Tidy my room at least once this year
3. Save $X
5. Complete another non-fiction book
6. Take more initiative to keep in contact with friends
7. Cast light, not shadow
It sounds like I'm pretty determined to abandon the dark, negative thoughts to make space for positive, happy thoughts.
I wonder how I am going to do so.
But I am quite convinced that if I stand firmly by the principle of other-centeredness, I will come to realise that such negative and dark thoughts are pretty much insignificant, because they only concern me, and the world isn't about me.
Very positive psychology, in a sense, haha.
Alrighty. May 2016 be a fantastic year for all. :)
