Like one’s annual appraisal at work, I like to review the year gone by at the end of each year. My highlights for 2013:

1. Getting accepted into a part-time Masters programme for environmental science and management at a university in Hong Kong. Honestly, I had thought I wouldn’t be accepted as it’s totally unrelated to what I’m doing and I have no background in that area. I’m studying it out of interest for the moment, but hopefully I’ll be able to do something with it once I graduate as I’m finding the topics really interesting.

2.  My new job which came about very unexpectedly. It’s a good change from my previous company where I didn’t see any prospects for advancement. Now, I’ve found myself in a team which is in charge of business development. I never thought I’d ever be associated with the term ‘business development’. Like, me? Really? Apparently so. Ha.

3. My Ottoman Odyssey was simply amazing. Turkey is such a beautiful country with so much history and culture. The mosques from the Ottoman empire are simply stunning as is the natural scenery of this nation. It was also the first trip I made with a really good friend and both of us had a blast, what with being up in a hot air balloon with probably 100 other balloons and an interesting experience at a traditional Turkish bath for a scrub-down.

4. Taking part in Moontrekker Moonlit 27 event which saw me hiking throughout the night in Lantau island, up Lantau Peak (HK’s second highest peak at 934m) and finishing before sunrise. The aim was to beat the sun. I was surprised that I managed to do it in 6 hours and even managed to squeeze in at 98th position overall for the event and 27th position in the gender category. Not too bad considering the fact that I didn’t train all that much for it.

5. My parents visited me in Hong Kong for the first time since I’ve worked here and I got to show them where I lived, worked and go to school.

6. My uncle, aunt and cousins visited from Sydney and it was good catching up with them in Hong Kong. Also found out that I actually have some relatives in Hong Kong on my mum’s side of the family.

My hopes for 2014? Survive school and maintain a GPA of at least 2.85, hike at least three times a week and maintain some semblance of fitness, and socialise more. Perhaps like work, I should be setting quantifiable KPIs with regards to my social life, e.g. go to a social event once every fortnight.

Thank you and goodbye 2013, and here’s to an amazing 2014! Happy New Year everyone!