• Ramblings

    Reflections 2010

    As I sit in the cramped seat on the plane thousands of feet in the air, and after having the usual bland airplane food, I decided to do some reflections for the year 2010. 

    2010 was not a good year in any way for me. It was a year of hardship, road blocks and setbacks. It was a year of closures with no new openings in sight. It was a year of sadness with a little dash of happiness sprinkled throughout the days. 

    In terms of work, the previous few years of relatively smooth sailing was finally brought to a halt. Obstacles were encountered and I was find lacking when it matters most. On hindsight I could have performed better but I most of it was due to me lacking in experience. It got slightly better in the second half of the year but which also got me thinking if this is the career path that I really want to pursue. There was a few points throughout where I almost quit without a job, but in the end the thought of unable to get a job for a few months made me drop the idea. I think in order to move forward the next year in my career, I really need to sort out what I really want to do. The sad thing is I have absolutely no idea as of now. 

    I am not a man of closures, as in I do not need to perform literal acts, like burning photographs or deleting all messages, in order to close off chapters in my life. However 2010 was considered a year of closure for me, finally ending a massive chapter in my life. Ending chapters in life usually mean writing new chapters, unfortunately in this case for me, there were none. There was briefly a new chapter that was almost written, but instead, it led to sadness and pain. To make it even sadder, I am still clinging on. I suspect in order to really write a new chapter, I need to sort out this mess, else I will always be stuck in this void, where a chapter had been close with no new chapter in sight. 

    I am not too sure what I could have done better. Perhaps I really need to control my feelings tighter, I really need to learn guard my feelings more. I do not think I could hold back my emotions once I let it go, and as such, the key is not to open my heart so easily instead. 

    Work wise I really need to understand this thing call perception. Smart and hard work comes hand in hand with the perception people have of you, especially your boss. You may work smart and hard, but if people’s perception of you is otherwise, then no matter how much you try, it is not going to work.

    One good thing that I should continue the next year will be self growth. No people is going to be responsible for your own development and growing as a person is my responsibility. I manage to attain some self growth in the last quarter of the year, and I should maintain this momentum the next year, until this self growth thing becomes a habit. 

    A lot has happened in the year 2010, most it really unpleasant. But what does not kill me, is going to make me stronger. Many people will seek professional help, or goes into depression if they had encountered even a quarter of what I went through in 2010, but I survived. So at least that is something to be proud of. 

    I should write another post on 2011 new year’s resolution soon. 

  • Ramblings

    Think Positive

    Re-reading my previous post, it seems to me that I have been pretty negative. Well it is the new year, and one should always look forward to a new year.

    As such, I shall look forward to the new year. Sure, the SOC Feeling is still there, but I should think positive. I should learn to take things less seriously, and learn to make lemonade from all the lemons life throw at me.

    I only live this life once, and no matter how life tries to beat me down, kick me as I lie on the ground, strangle me, knock me out, I shall look at life in the eyes and laugh.

    So with me roughly reaching the half way mark of my lifespan, it is time to ensure the next half of my life will be much better than the first half.

  • Ramblings

    The New Year

    Well now, this is the end of the decade, and the beginning of a new one, as they say. Which actually brings up an interesting point, shouldn’t the decade starts with the year ending in 1, and ends with the year ending in 0? If that is the case, the decade should end in 2010, instead of 2009.

    Whatever is the case, a new year is upon me. The feeling I have now of the new year is best described as what I termed ‘The SOC Feeling‘. The SOC here means ‘Standard Obstacle Course’. Back when I was serving my nation for 2 1/2 years, we had to complete regularly this Standard Obstacle Course. We put on our uniforms, boots, helmet, our webbing, and our M16. We run 700m, followed by eleven obstacles, after which it is another 800m run to the end. The SOC was simply a torture, a case of mind over body. No matter how fit one was, one is bound to go through pain. While the Individual Physical Proficiency Test was to gauge how fit one was, the SOC was to gauge how much pain one can endure.

    The SOC Feeling came during the initial few months of my 2 1/2 years. We had to complete the SOC within a certain time period, and if we do not make it, we are to remove 1 item of our gear, rest for a few minutes, and go through the entire SOC again within another time period. And if we still do not complete it within the time period, we are the remove another item of our gear, rest for a few minutes, and go for our third SOC for that morning and so on. Suffice to say, most people cannot even clear the obstacles during the second SOC. And we do this 5 times a week, for a few weeks. The SOC Feeling is the feeling that I get, when I am waiting for my turn to run the SOC. It is like having millions of butterflies in the stomach, knowing that I will embark on a journey that will subject my body and mind to perverse pain. And wishing that I was at the end of the SOC instead.

    2010 will be like running SOC every day. Many challenges, many obstacles, and much pain. 2010 will be a year where my mind, my body and my soul will be subjected to abuse and pain. As the year 2010 begins, I am like waiting for my turn to run the SOC, with the dreaded and familiar SOC Feeling. And wishing the year 2010 will end already.