2008 Life Review

Tagged from TJ's blog...

What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before?
Get expatriated; Lived in a foreign country by myself
Watch the Olympics
Go to NZ
Ran in an official race

Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Not really but definitely!

Did anyone close to you give birth?
No one specific

Did anyone close to you die?
My grandma

What countries did you visit?
Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, NZ, China

What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
More passion and motivation

What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
June 1-my first day in J&J Indonesia

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting expatriated

What was your biggest failure?
Not making more friends or travelling around more

Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nope

What was the best thing you bought?
my iMac

Whose behavior merited celebration?
Jed I guess, who generously showed me around Jakarta even if he didn't know me from Adam

Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Let's just call it the Bali Tragedy of 2008 :P

Where did most of your money go?
Condo payments, eating out (all those brunches!)

What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Going to Singapore and the Olympics

What song(s) will always remind you of 2008?
Chicane's "No Ordinary Morning"

Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Sadder but in retrospect, more fulfilling
ii. thinner or fatter? Significantly fatter :(
iii. richer or poorer? Richer but could have saved more

What do you wish you'd done more?
Made more friends
Travelled around more
Enjoyed work more

What do you wish you'd done less of?
Whine and complain
Cocoon
Get into complicated situations

What was your favorite TV program?
30 Rock!

Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Nah

What was the best book you read?
David Sedaris' "When You Are Engulfed in Flames"

What was your greatest musical discovery?
Air

What did you want and get?
my iMac
my Ikea hoard

What was your favorite film of this year?
Mamma Mia!

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Turned 31. Worked in the AM, had lunch with office folks, dinner and drinks with Jed at Cork and Screw

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
More emotional stability

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Expatic conservative

What kept you sane?
Alcohol, Food, Sleep!

What political issue stirred you the most?
All the freakin corruption scandals!

Who was the best new person you met?
Jedi

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008 :
Don't over expect, Don't assume.

Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Love is a losing game :P

Do you have a new years resolution for 2008?
Yup!

What was your favorite month of 2008?
December! Got to go back home!

How many concerts did you see in 2008?
Just Swing Out Sister which was a letdown

Did you drink a lot of alcohol in 2008?
Ya!!!

Did you do anything you are ashamed of this year?
Yup! Too much drama!

How much money did you spend in 2008?
Lots :(

What was your proudest moment of 2008?
Getting my performance evaluation.

What was your most embarrassing moment of 2008?
That major drama morning!!!

If you could go back in time to any moment of 2008 and change something, what would it be?
That Bali incident!

What are your plans for 2009?
1. Get back to health--bring down cholesterol to 200. See my abs once and for all.
2. Go back to church
3. Make more friends
4. Travel around Indonesia
5. Go to Barcelona
6. Find ways to enjoy my work

How are you different now that the year has ended?
Less emotionally swayed. More aware of my idiosyncrasies.

What are your wishes for the new year?
More passion, more action.

My Enneagram Type

More Angst at 31

Been in Jakarta for almost 6 months and realized that I haven't really been anywhere nor done anything, especially in the last few months. The 1st few months were pretty ok; the novelty was exciting, the meeting friends and partying was new and fun! But now I've gotten into a rut, which is surprising considering I'm in a completely foreign land with hundreds of places to explore and millions of people to meet (233 million to be exact)! I pretty much spend my weekdays counting the hours til I get home, then spend the night in the gym, finding dinner, watching TV or reading. Friday nights, which used to start only at 12 midnight, now finds me snoring contentedly by 1030 PM! I try to wake up relatively early on Saturdays, around 830 to 9, to catch my morning yoga class. After which, I just have lunch in the mall or gym area, then go home and watch more TV/DVDs. I don't even go out Saturday nights anymore! Sundays are spent dreading the work week to come.

Right now, I'm in a coffee shop attempting to get some work done. Lovely Indonesian place called Bakoel Koffie, with magazines, game boards (including sungka!!), free wifi, and adaptors/extension cords galore! These are the type of places that truly understand who goes to coffee shops! What I'd give for a real bluebery muffin though! :(

More presentation sheets for a visit from the gods next Monday. Sigh, so sick of endless sheets. Been here for an hour and have not even had the energy to open the files. Dread, dread, dread...Still haven't found my work motivation. Coaching people is not doing it for me. Moving the country's processes forward is not enticing either. Had a talk with one of the senior managers and she suggested using retirement as a motivation. As in, saving enough money to retire early. Sounds promising...and very Chinese! Based on initial computations though, need to save P5.7 million a year if I want to retire by 45! (assuming I reach the ripe old age of 80)

Seriously need to jumpstart my immersion into Indonesia. Some things I WILL make happen in the next few months:

1. Make more friends
2. Explore other regions
3. Study photography already!
4. Learn the language already!
5. Find a way to look forward to work (but how???)

3 Things (2)

1. Had a nice dinner in the Kemang area in that artsy Koi restaurant. Food was great, mojitos were better, vibe was excellent!

2. Was able to get my new Fitness First card, and do my grocery shopping in Ranch. Wonderful to be able to shop when you have money!

3. Had an extremely relaxing morning with a slow, luxurious breakfast and a nap right after!

Life is good.

Chillax

Nice chill saturday morning. Put on my nice Air downloads, brewed strong hot black coffee, had a really good chat with Aaron, and cooked semi-decent yang chow slash nasi goreng slash japanese fried rice for breakfast. All in all, the perfect way to start of the weekend.

Went to Dragonfly last night with Jed, etc but didn't stay too long. It was much too crowded, and our usual spot was closed off for a private party. The smoke was also getting in my eyes (hmmm) because I wasn't wearing my usual contacts. So left after about an hour and just went straight to bed.

Will go to the gym a bit later and get some groceries. Will probably have dinner and drinks with the gang as well. But in the meantime, just enjoying the whole slow Saturday vibe...

3 Things

1. Pinoy night at Frank's where we had yummy lychee martinis, yummy pinoy food like kaldereta, sinigang, adobo, brazo de mercedez, etc. Nice to get invited to dinners at home. Much more intimate that eating out.

2. Got to chill out at home all day as I didn't go to work. Apartment was surprisingly quiet with none of the usual construction work happening next door. Got to read a bit, laze around, sleep a lot...Heaven!

3. The smallest spark of light in the dark black hole I've been digging myself into.

Tiga

Ok. 3 Things I'm Grateful for Today:

1. Having friends like Jed who don't BS me and won't accept my crap. It hurts, but it helps me see the real deal.

2 I feel like I'm able to influence my people a bit, in how they think, how they should present, what they're doing well and what they can improve on.

3. Yummy food in Din Tai Fung, which never fails to comfort me...