2013: Resolutions Reviewed

This is becoming somewhat of an annual tradition now. Bear with me as I attempt to cross-off those I managed to achieve over the last year. GREEN for those met, RED for those I didn't manage to.

1. Affiliate with a professional organization - IEM
I intentionally deferred my IEM registration to a later date. There wasn't a point affiliating myself with the organisation when I don't have the time to travel and join in the monthly activities. Yet I did manage to affiliate myself with Aker's very own professional networking group - the Solutioneers Kuala Lumpur! More on this one sometime soon.

2. Complete a half-marathon - Brooks Half Marathon
Done. In fact, I managed a 2nd half-marathon at the BSN Putrajaya night run, along with a 16km run at the Mizuno Wave Run.

3. Pick up a musical instrument - Guitalele
Failed. In quite epic fashion as well. I'm probably better off picking up the more popular guitar first..

4. Pick up an extra language - Spanish
Failed. Did manage to learn quite a number of basic words and phrases, and the general grammatical rules.

5. Get a new phone
Done - got myself a HTC One X early on last year. Happy with the investment, especially given it still works perfectly fine despite me dropping it from a flying carousel in Tambun (with no cover/protection whatsoever mind you.. bare is just how I ride. Heh)

6. Complete 5 poems/articles
Done. 2 poems. 5 articles (4 of which got published on company's website).

7. Complete reading a classic - Hamlet
Done. Perhaps the most satisfying reads I've had in ages. Such brilliant writing; with such memorable lines that I've even on occasions quipped them before unsuspecting friends, as well as made references in the few blog posts I managed last year. Oh.. and I've practically memorized the entire famed soliloquy.

There. That should set it up for my new set of resolutions for 2014, which at this point still lies in contemplation lol. One thing's certain though. More blog posts in 2014 (FAR more than the meager 9 I managed in 2013!).. although you can expect them to be shorter, with less 'flowery language.' In the words of sweet Queen Gertrude, "more matter, less art."

2012: Resolutions Reviewed

So last year I did actually end up making a list of resolutions. So for formality sake, bear with me as I attempt to cross-off those I managed to achieve over the last year. GREEN for those met, RED for those I didn't manage to.

- Jog at the park/go to the gym twice every week

I certainly jogged a LOT more than the previous years, although I wasn't able to maintain the 'twice-a-week' routine past March. By the month of October there were already about 5 weeks when I made NO jogs or trips to the gym. Anyhow, I feel I've gotten myself into the rhythm and habit of jogging periodically and I'm just gonna try to maintain the same attitude this year.

- Get back in touch with 5 friends I haven't met for more than 2 years

At first this one seemed a little difficult, but come the year's end many of those studying/working abroad returned home so I easily beat the '5-person' mark. Credits of course goes to Ying Bing and Ren Chung.

- Complete 5 poems

Managed 3 new ones, plus one inspired adaptation of Taylor Mali's "What Teachers Make." I'm gonna make my own leeway here and say I managed this one - on the count I got a couple of articles published in my company magazine. :)

- Finally watch Lord of the Rings trilogy

I ran this one close, but I DID IT! Just before I watched The Hobbit at the theaters I ran through the extended version of the trilogy (thanks in no small part to Ho Sui-Jon) within 5 days. Bliss!

- Complete the Haruhi Suzumiya light novel series

I managed to finish 8 of the novels. Frankly by the end of March I figured this would be the most easily attainable, but I somehow never managed to start on the 9th book (DIssociation of Haruhi Suzumiya).

- Join Institute of Engineers Malaysia (IEM)

Decided against it somewhere in the middle of the year, since I realised I didn't need to join it to attend the courses. However after completing 2 of the 3 mandatory courses required prior to a PE application I began to seriously consider it.. and after much thought I think I should just join this year. Anyhow, I guess this counts as a 'fail.'

- Attend 3 job interviews (Not implying I'm leaving my current job, but I think it is essential that I keep my options open and have a good gauge of my own value in the market for engineers)

Went for 2. Half-hearted attempts as usual. In retrospect this resolution wasn't something I thought through proper. I'll leave it there.

- Play ping-pong (believe me.. tougher than it sounds)

Tough it was, but come the middle of the year we managed to find a place next to Viva Home Mall where we could play, and voila - the resolution was achieved! Credits to the awesome Amy Lim.

Ok.. so I managed half of them fully, and had some considerable progress on the others. So it's all good, right? Ah heck. I'm pleased with myself, and that's all that counts! *denial mode*

Perhaps I don't need to resort to such lame excuses come next year. Right! Onto the 2013 list then!

2012: Life in Aker Solutions

What possibly painted the most vibrant shades to the year are the multitude of outings with my colleagues. It certainly made my day job feel a lot more meaningful. The following are a few of those I embarked on this year.

Hiking Trips - Bukit Tabur and Bukit Saga. 

Musical Outings - Great Baritone Arias at Dewan Filharmonik Petronas; Jason Mraz concert at Stadium Merdeka (credits to Zamir Ramli).

Skytrex Shah Alam - where I somehow managed to overcome my life-long fear of heights for half-a-day.

Runs - 10K run at the Standard Chartered KL Marathon (credits to Clara Anne); Terry Fox Run with a host of colleagues (probably takes the prize for feel-good event of the year).

Jogs Around KLCC Park - Not as consistent a feature as most of us would have liked (hindered at times by rain, and work), but we still made a significant number of jogs whenever we could.

Meteor Showers - Failed attempt at catching the Perseids (we ended up playing Mafia instead which is fun in its own right), before we caught the spectacular show of the Geminids in December.

Karaoke Sessions - I frankly lost count of how many sessions we had this year, but I figure it'll be in the order of 10.

Blood Donation - I finally realised I was born to give blood being an O+. Special thanks to Zehan Edreena.

Weddings - We took time during the weekends to attend wedding ceremonies of colleagues - namely Akissha, Selvan Adhirai & Fikree Kamil.

Sports Tournaments - Volleyball, Futsal, Bowling - no great victories worth mentioning, yet so much fun!

Badminton Sessions - Something we organised on Fridays, taking advantage of Aker's introduction of the '4 and a half day' workweek. Much fun. Special thanks to Zarul Fahemy.

Ping Pong Sessions - This was one of the New Year resolutions that I achieved. Special thanks to Amy Lim.

IEM Mandatory Courses - 'Safety & Health at Work' followed by 'Code of Ethics.' Only 'Engineering Management Practice' remains, after which I'll properly embark on my journey to becoming a Professional Engineer.

Oil & Gas Exhibitions - World Gas Conference (WGC) and OGA.

Movie Outings - easily 30 movies watched this year. There was a movie outing on most Wednesdays of the year. Truly impressive stuff. Credits to Abdullah Yasin & Zarul Fahemy. There were also a couple of Movie Marathons organised by Humaira and Lenard at their respective residences.

Lunches & Dinners - TOO MANY to list!

Here's to another year of memorable outings together! :)

A Nice Break And A New Year Dawns

Before I begin, let me delve into something I feel will set the tone for the rest of the year.. especially considering I shall never bring the topic up again.

Exactly twelve years into the new millennium. Back then, when we were transitioning into 2000 A.D doomsday predictions were aplenty, and the dawn of 2012 has been peppered in similar fashion with talks about the world's end. This time though.. the recent advent of serious natural disasters along with the effects of global climate change has added substance to these predictions. The question of whether I do believe in any of the predictions, is truly irrelevant. Here's why. There is no way to validate these claims until the predicted doomsday actually dawns upon us, and the reason (or reasons, as a certain movie suggests) manifests itself. If it does end up being true, and destiny deems that it be so - we are all powerless to change anything. So.. there really is no reason for us to change how we carry on with our lives this year.

Hence, I plan to get through this year like it is just another year - even though for me personally there'll be silver overtones to go with it. Last year I didn't come up with a list, so no formal review of resolutions this time around. What I did realize - and should apologize for - is the worryingly low number of posts in the blog in comparison to previous years. For the first time, I went entire months without a single post. Perhaps it is a sign of me committing a little too much at work, as much as it is of me neglecting my passion for writing.

In retrospect, there were a number of things I managed to accomplish over 2011, ranging from zero-medical leaves at work to dishing out favors to the people around me. Of course there was also that small achievement of scaling Mount Kinabalu, one I've managed to document adequately on this blog. What is most important though - is how I have managed to set things up to plan for achievements this year. I believe I've managed to reach a certain comfort zone at work, which gives me a license to pursue other interests, be it work or non-work related.

So... here goes a rendition of things I will attempt this year, given work doesn't take a sudden U-turn to hell..

- Jog at the park/go to the gym twice every week

- Get back in touch with 5 friends I haven't met for more than 2 years

- Complete 5 poems

- Finally watch Lord of the Rings trilogy

- Complete the Haruhi Suzumiya light novel series

- Join Institute of Engineers Malaysia (IEM)

- Attend 3 job interviews (Not implying I'm leaving my current job, but I think it is essential that I keep my options open and have a good gauge of my own value in the market for engineers)

- Play ping-pong (believe me.. tougher than it sounds)

That's about all I could think about for now. As much as I can tell myself that this list is by no means complete, prior experience indicates the chances of me ever updating my resolution list within the year is close to zero. I guess there is a lot more panache' to the items on this years list. Heh.

Have a great year everyone, and here's to my writing growing in quantity and quality. :)