To more sleep

it's that time of the year, again. new year, new me, that kind of stuff.

jumping on the bandwagon, this exhausted writer aims to review her 2018 and set out some realistic, achievable goals for 2019. so here goes.

i wouldn't say 2018 has been tremendous - well, because i put on some weight, thanks to a failed workout plan that i forever don't have time for (lies!).

but 2018 has been busy, extremely busy. busiest year i've ever had, if i might add. landed a new job earlier this year and was officially on board in middle of the year, and has been hustling since. fortunately, i still (can afford) to love being a journalist. nothing beats having a fantastic interview, putting out an exclusive and having stimulating conversations.

have i ever mentioned that i never set out to become a business/financial journalist? i took up journalism because it seems that i was pretty good with langugage/writing (silly younger me) but i never really envisioned how my journalistic career would turn out to be. one thing led to another, and before i know it, i have been writing about business-related news for over three years. it's been a great ride, and i had - and still have - great bosses and editors. i learn something new every day.

2018 has also been tiring - with the job change comes the adaptation of new working environment, building new relationships and networks, and expectations to prove myself to be worthy of the position. it's not easy, and i still consider myself a rookie (but not so rookie) reporter.

i sometimes brag about myself at work

thanks to my new job, i have been travelling across the causeway more often than i ever imagined. Singapore is now another city very close to my heart - so many similarities and so much differences. i love the city for its efficiency, cleanliness, great hawker food and yet, i find myself sometimes disliking the monotonous lives of those who reside in the city-state, its rigidity and the judgy expats. it's a curious place, considering Singapore's relationship with Malaysia.

someone recently asked me: "would you be willing to give up your Malaysian citizenship in exchange for a Singapore one?" i said i'm not sure. and it's the truth. it's not easy to live in Malaysia when you're not the majority and yet, should i be leaving my home? i wouldn't mind taking up a permanent residency in another country, but to give up my citizenship is altogether a different issue. i'd like to think that Kuala Lumpur will always be home, although it's been increasingly difficult to love it some days - but all relationship has its ups and downs, right?

ok let's get back to reviewing 2018.

Yean Leng (right) and I at the Tan Ky house in Hoi An, Vietnam.

after slaving away for exactly a year, i finally managed to take a break to visit Central Vietnam. armed with only a lonely planet guide, Yean Leng and i set out to explore three cities in Central Vietnam. i have almost forgotten how liberating it feels to be actually travelling. we spent most of our two-week trip in Hoi An, an ancient city located about an hour's drive from Da Nang. it truly was a refreshing trip, and a wonderful time to reconnect with a dear friend. after our cross-country/graduation trip back in September 2015, we managed to find time to travel together again!

(context: Yean Leng is my university mate and is also a journalist, so it's one of the rare times where we managed to take off at the same time.)

this year i also started to give more thoughts about drawing lines at work as the romanticisation of overworking has been one of the most-dicussed topics of the year. i have finally learnt to switch off entirely by logging out of my work email on Friday evenings and Saturdays, and only log in to work when i have to, on Sunday evenings. it was difficult, but i have found that multitasking did me no good. regardless of age, there's only so much one can and should hustle. there's more to life than to work.

impossible as this may sound, but i have accidentally made several new friends this year. new friendship doesn't come easily to me anymore, as i tend to be getting worse at making small talks or opening myself up to other people (introvert alert!).

i used to think people would stay around no matter what, but they don't. hence, for 2019, i hope to be able to stay in touch with people i care and worth caring about, as well as be more decisive when it comes to cutting ties. life itself is exhausting enough, i could deal with less toxic people who take me for granted. i also hope that i could also make more time to read, spend more time to think about things, sleep more, be more well-rounded around people, less angry, and maybe excercise more.

who am i kidding, "exercise more"? even i'm laughing at myself.

happy new year.

p.s.

to my ever-supportive partner, thank you for another wonderful year. to many more awesome years to come.