Goodbye, 2009.

Happy New Year!

It's amazing how 2009 zoomed past just like that, with a couple of holidays and parties to mark the end of a year of unexpected events for myself.

I remember just 10 months ago, i was still sitting in the SMU seminar room listening attentively to the prof and fighting hard for class part just like what I had done over the past 4 yrs. In my graduating sem, I was determined to shore up as much knowledge as I could with the school fees i paid, so I did things like Urban Econs & Real Estate Finance which led me to conclude that I am really no economist and that my 4 yrs in SMU masquerading as an intelligent being in the sch of econs was really quite a shame on myself. In that semester, I did a creative writing course where I rediscovered my love for literature and fiction - something that keeps me sane amidst the number-crunching routines in my current daily work.

And then that same period proved to be a tough one for me and my family as Dad suffered a relapse of his cancer that had the whole family plunge into another depression. It was a 9-month battle before he was eventually liberated again. This episode made me see things from a very different perspective - now as an adult versus how i see it a few years back when I just turned 21. I regretted my wilfulness back then. And it felt strange how I start seeing myself replacing some of the roles that used to be undertaken by my Dad.

And with the family crisis goes all my grad trip plans whatsoever. I was, however, able to make a trip to Shanghai to witness for myself the changing landscape of the fastgrowing country of China. It kept me thinking about the path I should be taking down the road in a few years' time. Somewhere, sometime, it had to be China. It was also a good get-together with FKC and Finn, keeping up our good old friendships in a land we never once did expect ourselves to be. I have plans to go back to China again for a backpacking cum history trip across various ancient cities.

More shocking news as the year moved towards the halfway mark. Just when things are all set for me to join Merrill Lynch, i received a call from my boss that he has left to join Standchart and is offering me a job at the new place. I had to settle for a pay cut, but on hindsight, it was a blessing to have the opportunity to learn how things work in a shop that just started out. Tough but satisfying. I can't say with great conviction now, but I will know sooner or later. I am fortunate to be working for the same boss still and also having the company of lovely and amiable colleagues.

And the moment i came back from Shanghai, i was told by Dad to accompany my ill Sis to Germany for her research attachment over there. It would be my first time in Europe and it turned out to be a fantastic eyeopener after staying there for 6 weeks or so and travellin' to some 5 countries and 10 cities. Paris was very memorable. And i had my first road trip in Sardinia, Italy. My first attempt at driving a manual car after obtaining my driving license 5 yrs ago, wasn't too bad after all. A pity I couldn't go to more places because I wasn't spending my own money and my primary duty is to help out with my Sis in the first place. I will go back very soon for London, Spain and France for sure!

Michael Jackson died on the eve of my return to Singapore. I remember seeing many people standing in front of a large screen at Frankfurt airport crying as they watched the news about MJ's death.

A few days later, work started...zoom zoom....very quickly, a few months went by. Amidst the heavy work, i found myself committed to taking golf lessons, business mandarin classes and mugging for CFA. Again, there was quite a bit of stretch over there. CFA revision was really painful after taking a break from studying for more than half a year. Getting the golf proficiency certificate was a good way to go on holiday trips over weekends. I'm glad a couple of close uni friends share the same interest in this. It's an uber heavy maintenance hobby, but I hope it will sustain for at least quite sometime. I have gone on one golf trip to batam, and I still haven't bought my clubs! Business mandarin was an additional step to me fulfilling my career-in-China dream. I never knew my Chinese was so bad until I did the course. It's a very good course I must say, especially the part on doing presentations in Chinese. I am contemplating whether to do a business translation course starting next week. Again, I could be stretching myself too much.

December was an extremely lazy and sluggish month. All my plans for December didn't seem to work out somehow other than going on my holidays. I had great inertia lugging my ass to the gym and getting some work out. Dad's godmother passed away this month at the age of 95. That episode made me realize my generation of people have quickly been swept into the next and replacing our fathers and mothers.

Zoom..zoom....and that brings me to the end of 2009. I have also found myself starting to invest actively in the markets, learning more ropes, more lessons and understanding the psychology of investing through my personal experiences. But seriously, I think this year and next are probably the best years for making money and I am glad I am participating in this global recovery.

Today is 1st day of 2010. Seriously haven't thought about what I really wanna do for this year. I wanna get fit again, that's for sure. I wanna go on a few self-financed holidays. I wanna continue to ride the waves in this global economic recovery, which means I probably should expand my investment scope to beyond the Sg market. I wanna get promoted and move on to other responsibilities at work. I wanna get a decent handicap in golf and be able to enjoy the sport sustainably with my good friends. I wanna go U.S to visit Michael. I wanna do a trip in the Kansai area in Japan, which is a good reason for me to pick up my Japanese again. I wanna finish my CFA Level 2 in style (need to pass level 1 first).

Will probably do quarterly checks to see how much of the above i can actually achieve realistically.

Let's see how it goes.

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