2011
2011 has been such a whirlwind ride for me! So many things changed for me and as I have told Mark (more about him later), it feels like I’m experiencing my second puberty right now!
Crazy LA trip with Pam
This was so last minute! Given that I had only known Pam 3 months before the trip, it was highly daunting when I agreed to going LA with her when she told us she had a conference there in Jan. Plus my main motivation of going was to see Tommy, which I only also just realised his existence 3 months before. What a crazy road trip it was with Pam and Rei! We learned so much about each other, ate so much glorious food, watched Hair, partied so much, met Tommy, Monte, Cassidy and saw Adam! And my crazy quest for free wifi 
The girls
I’m so glad that I’ve found these girls (Mian, Pam, Claris, YC, Alyssa, Mindy + Pam’s extended bunch of friends)! I finally feel that I belong in this group of girls who are all so incredibly smart, funny and share the same values as me in so many ways. We shared our tears, fears and joy all throughout this year, mainly through drinks, glorious food (especially hooters), cooking at Pam’s house, partying and concerts. Cheers to such a wonderful year of amazingness and many more to come!
The many guys that have come and gone in my life
I’m not going to name names but those who know me well would have known how many douchebags have come and gone. But hey, even though I got so mind-fucked so many times ever so unnecessarily, I learned so much about myself and grown so much in the process of being slightly burnt.
Taiwan
I finally visited the place where many people told me they thought I would love. And sadly, due to 1 guy that came and gone in my life, this place has turned out to be one where I would not be too keen to go back to again, well at least not so soon as it is a ~dirty, dirty place. Food was 50-50 for me, loved lu rou fan, zhu you ban fan, fried chicken and bubble tea but not the weird desserts. And seriously, I thought it would be way more modern that it is! Skincare/makeup shopping from Japanese brands (particularly shu uemura) was awesome though!
Koh Samui
This was such a last minute holiday but one that was for the first time a truly relaxing one where I spent most of the time by myself and doing absolutely nothing. There was no need to plan for anything, except for airport transfer but even that was booked by my good friend, Joce. Plus her Austrian diving instructor was very cute!
Job
My first job after being back from Sydney was a mess of lack of direction, scope and support but somehow it all turned out alright. The work got done and my boss and team lead provided enough support to help us get things done. It was a breeze overall and a good start for me after being in such a shambles overseas. But there came another mad rush for me to find a new place after my contract ended. And that itself was another drama but at least I ended up with a nice increment but not with a horrific adjustment required from the new environment.
Losing weight and dressing slightly better
I was completely horrified when 1 of the guys mentioned above told me that I was tom-boyish. No one has ever told me this before in my entire life! That’s when I told myself that I had to make drastic changes. My weight was something I had to start from: the flabbiness of my tummy has been a part of me for way too long! I was lucky (ok this sounds v psycho) to fall really sick for a week plus and got the head start to really losing serious weight. This helped to shrink my appetite which I tried to maintain and started exercising way more rigorously. I cut down on carbs and ran a whole lot more. I’ve always never liked running but ever since I realised that it was the fastest and most efficient way of burning calories, that became my motivation for hanging on every time I wanted to press the stop button on the treadmill. I also grew out my hair, got a dye job, bought many dresses from ASOS and tried my best to follow Aloysius’ fashion advice. Of cos there were other so called tom-boyish attributes about me which are impossible to change like the way I talk and also the things I like, but at least visually I’m not that tom-boyish anymore!
Partying
Thanks to my awesome friend, Mian, I got to party so much for free!
New Zealand Contiki
I’ve always wanted to join Contiki when I was younger but never got around doing it as it felt really expensive. But when I learned that I had 20 days to clear for my carried over leave from my previous contract and new contract, I chanced upon Contiki as they didn’t require the usual minimum 2 to go clause which most tours had. Initially I wanted to do the Simply Italy tour since it fitted my schedule of numerous weddings to attend in December but after Pam and gang psychoed me to go New Zealand since Italy would be too cold and I was quite on board after looking at the NZ scenery photos, plus they had a nice slot immediately after Xiaomin’s wedding, I jumped at it. And boy, was I in for such a ride! I had already planned to go by myself but during 1 of the S09 JC gatherings, I happened to tell the gang that I was going on the tour and HJ said she also had leave to clear and can join me! So I wasn’t alone. But never would I know how much this trip would change me. Since everyone was so young and adventurous, I saw myself being lured into doing things that I’ve never done before. Like playing table tennis (seriously at the moment when Ty told me to give it a go, the usual me would be like no way! but at that moment, I just felt that I’m overseas with a bunch of strangers who don’t know me and probably won’t ever see me again, so WHAT THE HECK!), sky diving, canyon swing, white water rafting, black water rafting, skulling half a glass of volka neat, etc. And “how good is it” (taken from Mark) that we were so lucky to be in such an amazing group with people who were nice, considerate and good looking! It could easily have been a bunch of weirdo rapists and would have been such an annoyance to spend over 2 weeks with! We have all gotten so close, I can see most of us as lifelong friends and I do hope that we can do a reunion trip 2 years later in Thailand or something.
Mark
I never thought I’d ever meet such a wonderful person in my life: smart, street-smart, absolutely can talk to anyone, observant, nice, Mr. fix-it, confident, tall, hot, muscular, white with green eyes and only 22 years old! I never knew I could push myself so much to get what I wanted! In so many ways, he has taught me so many things and opened up my eyes to what it should be like to be with someone so amazing that never puts you down just for his convenience or embarrass you. I will never forget how he always came and spoke to me (what good chats we had!), made so much eye contact every time and how we just knew how to get each other psyched up. He will forever and always remain a special person in my heart. Such a perfect memory!
