Every year without fail, i will compile a year end blog post to conclude the year by listing down the significant events of each month. I would literally spend some time going through my blog archives for the year, look through my social media feeds such as Facebook and Instagram just to make sure i don't miss anything out (or to squeeze out something "significant" for the month, LOL) This year has been pretty smooth sailing without any major setbacks. This year is also the year where i have to make a big decision that will pretty much determine my future but even till now, i have yet to come to a decision. Let's put that aside first. This post is about looking back at the past 12 months, not looking forward since i can do that in my 2015 resolutions post, LOL Talking about my resolutions, I'm quite sure i did not fulfill about 60% of it dammit. Then again, it's not like I've been reminding myself throughout the year. Should i bring it forward? LOL
When i do blog post like this every year end, other than the fact that it made me realized how time passes really fast (and I'm getting older year by year), it made me ponder and think back what i have achieved for the year. I'm quite proud of myself for religiously updating my blog, even though not regularly (probably one third are advertorials, another third are travelogues but still!) despite my other commitments. Come to think of it, it has been 8 years since i started this blog. Sometimes i will think, without this blog, how different would the past 8 years be? I seriously have no idea...
When i do blog post like this every year end, other than the fact that it made me realized how time passes really fast (and I'm getting older year by year), it made me ponder and think back what i have achieved for the year. I'm quite proud of myself for religiously updating my blog, even though not regularly (probably one third are advertorials, another third are travelogues but still!) despite my other commitments. Come to think of it, it has been 8 years since i started this blog. Sometimes i will think, without this blog, how different would the past 8 years be? I seriously have no idea...
Without further ado, it's time to conclude my year 2014 and welcome 2015!
Technically Chinese New Year is in February but January is the month where you start preparing for CNY by shopping for CNY goodies and new clothes to take #ootds so i decided to combine both Jan and Feb together. Ok lah, the other part of the reason is there isn't any events worth mentioning in January (other than i visited the 2 degrees ice art exhibition if you count that) but i really look forward to CNY every year. Other than the angpows, it's the gathering with the relatives, the gambling and countless of get-together steamboat sessions with friends that makes this festive so fun ♥♥
One of my 2014 resolutions/ goals would be to participate in at least 3 runs and in March, i clocked my first one at the Singapore City Race. Joined the short distance category and it's 15km! It was a really fun "amazing race" experience around Singapore and i would definitely participate again in 2015! Read about my experience here: http://www.imandystorm.com/2014/03/singapore-city-race-i-completed-my-15km.html I think it took me and Joyce about 4 hours to complete. Would have been faster if we didn't stop to buy drinks from Gong cha and Macs, LOLOLOL
First trip out of Singapore in 2014. It was to BKK with the *Cousins! Bought the tickets on promo in December 2013 and the day finally arrived. The trip almost didn't happen because of the ongoing riots in BKK but majority of us stood by our tickets hoping the riots will cease and it did! It was our first trip out of the country together (via plane) and it was really really fun!!! Really hope that we get to travel again in 2015! *cross fingers Read about our trip HERE if you are interested! April is also the month i finally decided to step into CDC to apply for my Provisional Driving License (PDL) which enables me to take driving lessons which i did not go for any... and it expired last October. FML It was one of my 2014 resolutions to get a driving license and i have already been procrastinating for like what, 5 years? Unbecoming :|
In April, my friend invited me to attend the Star Awards 红星大奖 with him and it was a star studded event! (obviously...) I got to see a lot of celebrities in real life like my favorite Rui en and Jeanette Aw! Quite interesting to see how they run a live event on national TV. By the way, the bottom right photo was my #OOTD for that night. HAHAHAHA
In April, my friend invited me to attend the Star Awards 红星大奖 with him and it was a star studded event! (obviously...) I got to see a lot of celebrities in real life like my favorite Rui en and Jeanette Aw! Quite interesting to see how they run a live event on national TV. By the way, the bottom right photo was my #OOTD for that night. HAHAHAHA
In May, i unknowingly won an experience to iFly Singapore at Sentosa to try out how skydiving feels like. I hope to experience the real thing when i go Gold coast next year! Other than that, i also launched the 2nd collection for Graphikos. A mini project that i embarked on. The results were pretty good with about 90% of the clothes all sold, i wished i had more time to do this. Even though it's not easy managing a online store (you should totally read about my experience HERE!) I quite enjoy the whole tedious process single handed-ly. Now it seem like i only launch one collection every year, HAHAHHAA Till the next collection. You can still access Graphikos store @ http://graphikos.co.nr
After a short 2 months back from BKK, i traveled again and this time it's to Korea for the third time! Spent the past few months planning an proper itinerary (not easy at all despite my third time visiting the country) and getting all the miscellaneous like booking of hostel done and finally it was time to depart! Before that, BlackHairSalon kindly sponsor their hair service for this trip and i got myself copper orange hair for that 1 week trip, LOL Planned the itinerary such that i get to experience another side of Seoul which i did not get during the past 2 trips. Visited the 2 theme parks and even got onto that scary wooden roller coaster at Everland! Only managed to complete the travelogue recently and you can now read the complete Seoul travelogue HERE. One of my 2014 resolutions/ goals was to pick up another language and i wanted Korean but it seem really difficult! Maybe i should read up more and attend language classes when able :(
Cousins* Annual picnic at Marina Barrage for the 4th year running! Remember i mentioned earlier about wondering what would have happened if i didn't start my blog 8 years ago? Well, one thing i know is that i might not have met this bunch of awesome friends now affectionately known as "Cousins*" People have come and go within this group but I'm glad that i have them to spend time together, share stories, laugh at stupid things and may this friendship last eternally. Wow, i just used a pretty chim word to describe our friendship - "Eternally". LOLOLOL I should have threw that silly selfie stick aside in the above photo BUT i got a cool side shot of us looking at the camera hor! HAHA So when is our 2015 picnic? ♥
After years of balloting for the NDP tickets, i finally won 4 tickets to the preview this year! I think the chances of winning the preview ticket is much higher than balloting for the actually day one. Can't believe Wei Jie won 6 tickets to the actual day *insert shocked emoji* The preview was still fun though, and it was a full preview meaning everything is exactly like the actual day with the same amount of fireworks! I very patriotic one, must wear red and white and wave the flag enthusiastically. Not forgetting to sing along to all the NDP songs even though it's not the actual day. HAHAHAHA
In August, i also got an invitation by Julies' for a weekend sponsored trip to Malacca. It's been a while since i went to Malacca plus i was really interested in seeing how their biscuits were made. Next thing i know, i gathered with the rest of the bloggers at Golden Mile complex and off we go on our road trip to Malacca! Read about my trip to Malacca HERE.
In August, i also got an invitation by Julies' for a weekend sponsored trip to Malacca. It's been a while since i went to Malacca plus i was really interested in seeing how their biscuits were made. Next thing i know, i gathered with the rest of the bloggers at Golden Mile complex and off we go on our road trip to Malacca! Read about my trip to Malacca HERE.
My second run for the year was the 5km Color Run held at Sentosa. It was quite unexpected on how i managed to join in the run but i'm not going to repeat the whole story all over again. If you are interested, you can read about it HERE. I'm considering whether to join the run in 2015 despite the hefty registration fee but it was really really fun! More of a fun run rather than a competitive "healthy" run but still, i clocked as 1 out of the 3 runs as part of my 2014 resolutions :D
In September, i also bought myself a new camera, the Canon G7x. Still relatively new in the market as of now and one of the best compact camera i have ever used. Earlier this year i upgraded to a Samsung Ex2F but i sold it in the end for this camera. Yes, i know... I have been switching gadgets like it's all free :| I'm very happy with my current G7x (the quality is really good!) and it has everything that i want/ need in a camera. If you are looking for a good compact camera and don't mind paying a bit more than the usual compact cameras, i would highly recommend this camera. 4✮!
September is also the first time i ever paid for a concert. I paid $268 just to watch YG Family concert. I've no idea why i did that because i can get a lot of stuff with $268 but if you asked me if i regretted getting the tickets, i would say no. In that close to 3 hours concert, i get to see the Korean artistes that I've always been watching on youtube in real life. Not just one group but 5 acts which includes hot favorite Big Bang, 2NE1 and YG latest boy group, WINNER. It felt quite unreal seeing them in real life on the stage. I could sing along to most songs and the atmosphere was really high! Totally worth the ticket price. I mean instead of paying the same price to watch one of group, let's say 2NE1 concert, i would rather pay to watch a few songs from each group/ artiste and see all of them in one concert on the same night. YG ♥
In September, i also bought myself a new camera, the Canon G7x. Still relatively new in the market as of now and one of the best compact camera i have ever used. Earlier this year i upgraded to a Samsung Ex2F but i sold it in the end for this camera. Yes, i know... I have been switching gadgets like it's all free :| I'm very happy with my current G7x (the quality is really good!) and it has everything that i want/ need in a camera. If you are looking for a good compact camera and don't mind paying a bit more than the usual compact cameras, i would highly recommend this camera. 4✮!
September is also the first time i ever paid for a concert. I paid $268 just to watch YG Family concert. I've no idea why i did that because i can get a lot of stuff with $268 but if you asked me if i regretted getting the tickets, i would say no. In that close to 3 hours concert, i get to see the Korean artistes that I've always been watching on youtube in real life. Not just one group but 5 acts which includes hot favorite Big Bang, 2NE1 and YG latest boy group, WINNER. It felt quite unreal seeing them in real life on the stage. I could sing along to most songs and the atmosphere was really high! Totally worth the ticket price. I mean instead of paying the same price to watch one of group, let's say 2NE1 concert, i would rather pay to watch a few songs from each group/ artiste and see all of them in one concert on the same night. YG ♥
Spent most of the month of October in Australia and spent my birthday there as well. It was a pretty good experience to be traveling out of Asia even though it's not for a holiday. 3 weeks was the longest i have been away from Singapore in a foreign country. Throughout my days in Aussie, i took random photos and compiled them into a photo travelogue which i published recently, you can read the post HERE and HERE. In October i also did a collaboration with Singtel for their latest mobile plan and got myself the 64GB iPhone 6 plus which i always wanted! I was really really happy when i got it!
Had a couple of advance birthday celebrations before i departed for Aussie because on my actual birthday, i would be spending it in Australia. Met up with my 2 best friends, Jing long and Jiaqi for a day of good food and fun. Also met up with my poly mates (which we happen to meet only once a year during Christmas, but this year, it would be twice!) And on the actual day, when it hit midnight (2 hours earlier than SG) the guys came into my hotel room and surprised me with a Baskin' Robbins ice cream cake with the candles replaced by a bundle of matchsticks. What an awesome October.
Had a couple of advance birthday celebrations before i departed for Aussie because on my actual birthday, i would be spending it in Australia. Met up with my 2 best friends, Jing long and Jiaqi for a day of good food and fun. Also met up with my poly mates (which we happen to meet only once a year during Christmas, but this year, it would be twice!) And on the actual day, when it hit midnight (2 hours earlier than SG) the guys came into my hotel room and surprised me with a Baskin' Robbins ice cream cake with the candles replaced by a bundle of matchsticks. What an awesome October.
Coming back from Australia, i was feeling quite sian. In Aussie, i can't wait to be back in SG with all my friends and family, but when i'm back... i wished i was back there. Anyway in November, i clocked my final 3rd and last run for the year - the 5km Singapore Airlines Charity Run. Registered for the run before i departed for Aussie but last min my colleague couldn't make it so Joyce took over him and went for the run with me. Just nice Josh signed up for the run too so we ran/ walked together, chatting and enjoying the scenery along the route! At least i completed 1 of my 2014 resolutions/ goals. Phew. In November, i also booked my year end getaway trip to Phuket with Jing Long and Jiaqi! Wanted to go Bali at first but as you know everything gets expensive (especially airfares!) towards the holiday season so we settled for Phuket instead. But still, it's a beach getaway! Really in need of a getaway and counting down day by day.
Finally the day to depart for Phuket arrived and the three of us were really excited! We had a common understanding that this trip will be pure relaxing with no itinerary to follow. We even booked ourselves an awesome resort with personal jacuzzi! Literally spent 1/3 of the time inside our room. LOL Took lots of photos but have yet to find the time to do up a proper travelogue. I will try to start by next month! HAHA December is also the month of Christmas, the season of giving! Probably the most packed yet the most enjoyable month of the year for me. I totally love Christmas ♥
Met up for dinner and gift exchange with different groups of people like every other year. BFFs, Nurul and Yah see. Wasn't expecting a meet up with all 3 of us because Nurul is studying overseas BUT she came back! This year i also met up with 2 groups of poly mates instead of the usual 1 (Rinn and the rest) but this year, another group which we have not met up for 4 years! All thanks to Zakia who consolidated our numbers and we had a dinner meetup in early December and decided that we should meet up again for Christmas! Last but not least, the Cousins*! Every year we would have a Staycation prior to Christmas but this year, we decided to combined both Christmas and Countdown together for a Staycation later at Park Avenue! Probably as you are reading this, i might be at the staycation right now, lol. You probably get to read my x'mas post and staycation post only in late January, i very slow one :| It's scary how times flies.
Met up for dinner and gift exchange with different groups of people like every other year. BFFs, Nurul and Yah see. Wasn't expecting a meet up with all 3 of us because Nurul is studying overseas BUT she came back! This year i also met up with 2 groups of poly mates instead of the usual 1 (Rinn and the rest) but this year, another group which we have not met up for 4 years! All thanks to Zakia who consolidated our numbers and we had a dinner meetup in early December and decided that we should meet up again for Christmas! Last but not least, the Cousins*! Every year we would have a Staycation prior to Christmas but this year, we decided to combined both Christmas and Countdown together for a Staycation later at Park Avenue! Probably as you are reading this, i might be at the staycation right now, lol. You probably get to read my x'mas post and staycation post only in late January, i very slow one :| It's scary how times flies.
That's it for my 2014 conclusion post. Phew, it took me one whole afternoon to sum up my year. May 2015 be a good year, one with full of adventures, opportunities, good health and luck. Now let's see where should i travel to... ✈✈✈
Hello 2015,
