2010 was a mix of highs and lows for me – the eight months in Hong Kong were wonderful times spent getting to know the city, what with the interesting alleys and streets, the lovely countryside and all the delicious food haunts. I also made friends whose friendship I’ll always treasure and can always count on calling them every time I’m in Hong Kong henceforth. August 23 saw my year in Hong Kong come to an end and it’ll be a year forever remembered with fond memories. You know how some places have a place in your heart forever? Hong Kong is that city for me.
In April I toured around Kyushu with my mum and we had a wonderful time there. I paid a bomb for my air ticket as I was travelling during the peak season, but all the money was worth it when I fulfilled a long-held dream of mine, i.e. to see sakuras (cherry blossoms) in bloom in Japan.
There really is something to be said about admiring the beauty of these blossoms in Japan, what with the craze it inspires in the country. There is coverage of the state of the sakuras on the news every day during the season, you’ll get sakura-themed dishes in restaurants, shops, buses and the streets are all decorated with fake sakuras etc. The streets are lined with blossoming sakura trees, the roads are carpeted by millions of tiny sakura petals and the forests in the hills are dotted by blooming sakura trees – absolutely beautiful.
I also made my first trip to Taiwan in August and loved it there. It’s a place I could definitely live in. The people are nice, Taipei is interesting and the countryside is beautiful. There are plenty of places to go to for outdoor activities such as hiking, kayaking, river rafting etc. And of course, Taiwan has lots of good food!
It’s been a very muted four months since moving back from Hong Kong at the end of August. Things didn’t work out the way I thought it would since I got back and like a business decision gone wrong, I have had to rethink my strategy and head in a different direction. While leaving Hong Kong was probably a wrong decision, it’s now too late for regrets and I just have to move on.
So it’s the end of a chapter and what will 2011 have in store for me? Well, at least I know I’ll be taking up a one-year diploma course in translation & interpretation at the Singapore Chinese Chamber Institute of Business. It’s something I’m looking forward to as I love both languages and I’m hoping to improve my Chinese. While my Chinese is not exactly atrocious (though many people seem to think so), it definitely has much room for improvement. I’ll have lessons every Wed night and Sat afternoon and my first lesson’s on 12 Jan!
Other than that, I’m hoping for a new job, new adventures and experiences, and a new love. OK, I admit it – I’ve been feeling very lonely. This year has seen many of my good friends getting attached, getting married, having babies and I feel like some outcast in this big group of people enwrapped in their blanket of happiness. It’s like they have moved on to another phase in life and I’m the only one left behind. The thought of growing old alone is depressing.
I would like to have a family of my own, but that special someone remains elusive. A friend of mine suggested that I just have a baby on my own now by somehow getting myself pregnant before my eggs dry up or just adopt one when I’m older if I really want to have kids. While I’d like to have children, I’m not quite sure I’d want to raise one by myself. Definitely not at this point in time anyway.
I’ll also admit to feeling down ever since returning from Hong Kong. From all the hiking and exploring of Hong Kong every weekend for a whole year to not having anywhere new to go in Singapore at the weekends was like falling back down to Earth after hovering in the stratosphere for a year. I miss the great outdoors that brought me so much happiness by just being out there in nature. I feel as if I’m a less interesting person when I’m back in Singapore and many times I’ve even thought of shutting down this blog due to a lack of inspiration to write. But every time I set my mind to do so, someone will write to me to give me a word of encouragement and tell me they are still reading it. So thank you to people like David in the UK, Michael in the US, Nghi in France and Lee Kee in Australia who have all helped me stay on track with the writing on my blog.
In any case, I will strive to get myself out of the trough I’m in at the moment as soon as possible. As a good friend of mine told me, I should concentrate on the things I can control at this point in time. That is, finding a job, saving up money, going for walks I enjoy, meeting new people through activities I enjoy etc.
May 2011 be a fabulous year ahead!