Happy New Year 2011!

So it is now the year 2011 - it's the year of new beginnings for me, since a lot of life-changing events occurred to me in 2010, and unfortunately not everything was good... Anyway, I'm not the type to mope about since I'm too much of an optimist for that, hehe. I'm not saying the not-so-good things that happened weren't emotionally difficult to take but what good is it for me to ponder over them. The best thing to do is to look forward and have faith. I aim to achieve a lot this year. How best to start but with the typical new year resolutions (achievable ones!), haha.

+ Be punctual and work smart
+ Achieve my target weight and get fit
+ Brush up on all my foreign languages
+ Work on at least one drawing a week
+ Work on at least one manga per quarter
+ Bake at least once a month
+ Keep in touch with family and friends regularly
+ Travel more
+ Get another qualification

I think that's all. Some may be too insignificant to be called a resolution, but who cares. It's more of a reminder for me. XD

Anyway, hope everyone is having a brilliant start to the year! Take care and will update again soon...

"Beginning is easy, continuing is hard."
dr.rin.79 | artist.mangaka

Selamat Tahun Baru 2009!

Firstly, I'd like to wish everyone a very:

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009

I didn't do much on New Year's Eve! Was meant to meet up with my cousin Yusri who just got back from Australia that very afternoon, but that was cancelled! Gomen ne, Yus-kun! :( Unfortunately, I came down with the flu, what a way to start the new year!

Anyway, a bit of reflection, 2008 was a pretty good year for me. I achieved quite a bit:

• I started a new job.
• I made new friends and got to know some of my relatives better.
• I started doing yoga (and can now do a headstand - not perfectly yet, though!).
• I managed to lose some weight (but need to lose more and get fit, hehe!).
• I started drawing more and established a manga-drawing circle with Pip & Fel.
• I finished my German language course.
• I started saving for the future.
• and so on...

As for last year's resolutions, I only achieved 60% of them, so I must thrive to achieve better in 2009. So without further ado, here are my resolutions for this new year:

1. Improve my skills in Business Finance.
   
2. Continue with my Japanese language lessons.
3. Improve my Malay, German and French language skills.
4. Achieve punctuality.
5. Draw at least one manga.
6. Lose weight and MAINTAIN the weight loss!

Hmmm, my 2009 resolutions aren't exactly major life-changing ones, but that's okay. I'm not putting any of those in the list, since they are ones I constantly try to achieve and improve on - they do not need a time limit, hehe.

Oh, yeah, I changed the look of my blog yet again - this time to mark the New Year! ;) I've never used a manga/anime image for my background before, so this is a nice change! I decided on the Ren-sama and Kyouko pairing for the first one! XD Can you tell that I love "Skip Beat!"? Haha! Anyway, hope everyone's enjoying the first day of the new year! Peace! ;)

"Beginning is easy, continuing is hard."
dr.rin | artist.mangaka

Brunei-based!

So yeah, touched down in Brunei at exactly 11.10 am today. All the way from Berlin to Brunei, the journey was uneventful and comfortable - of course, flying Business Class helped a lot, haha. I think it will a looong time before I get to travel in style. [sigh] Anyway, Aniki picked me up from the airport. I was exhausted, since I only got 2 1/2 hours sleep in Singapore, jetlagged. It's pretty late now as well, I should really go to bed or I'll be feeding my jetlagged condition. ;p

Anyway, I'm happy to be back - a lot of people believed that I'd probably end up living abroad, and for a long time, so did I, but lately, I'm feeling the need to return to my roots... I didn't use to be the homesick type, it really only started when I was in the middle of my Ph.D. Anyway, I don't know what the future has in store for me. I hope I can adapt to Brunei life again. Thinking about it, this August I would have been 14 years residing abroad! That's almost half my life, ack! O.O It amazes even me! Anyway, insyallah, things will move forward for me. I still feel like I'm stuck in limbo a little, but I have to be positive that I'll be able to get out of that situation soon. :)

So with that, I bid all farewell and in the usual Japanese greeting of a person arriving home... Tadaima! ;D

"Beginning is easy, continuing is hard."

Reflections: My first post for 2008!

A bit late in the day but who cares! I was reading Meela's first 2008 post - she was listening to Brunei radio, and one thing the DJs talked about was listing 5 things you're grateful for which happened in the previous year. Meela did exactly that, and now I will follow suit. A nice way to start the new year and hope it'll make one more optimistic about the future.

The 5 things I'm grateful for in 2007 are as follows:

1. All 4 members of my immediate family were together for a significant period of time TWICE in 2007!
2. I managed to keep in regular contact with my family and friends, and also made new friends and discovered new relatives, haha.
   
3. I finally completed my Ph.D. in Chemistry (I didn't think it would ever end!) and graduated in November 2007.
4. I learnt a new language (German).
5. I visited a new country (New Zealand).
6. I started drawing again.

Okay, that's more than 5 but I just had to add the last line, hehe. Anyway, I agree that this is a good way to reflect over one's life in general. And even if you don't have many things to be grateful for in 2007, don't let that deter you - you should try to aim for better things to happen in the future instead. I always believed that perseverance is the key! :D