A Little Reflection...

2008 has been quite the year for me. Actually, I do kinda regret not keeping a good, full account of all that has happened throughout the year. I used to be someone who believed in keeping journal entries so that even the most insignificant of memories can be remembered for good measure and appreciated. In fact, I still am that someone who believes in that, it's just that I've been too lazy to actually keep up with it.

Let's see... looking back at the year which has gone by so quickly (especially the last six months), I realised I've been doing a lot of navel gazing. The posts on my blog can attest to that. Heck, even this post itself attests to that. Lol. But nevermind that, moving on...

Somehow,  2008 seems to have been a more eventful year for me compared to the past 19 years of my life.

Maybe I'm just thinking that because this was the year I turned 20?

Well, still not legally able to enter a casino :p, but yet no longer a teenager either. And gosh, do I feel old thinking about that...

Or maybe it's because I'm so in love? XD

Hey, being in love changes a lot of things you know... Well, it does to me anyway... Hahah...

Oh, or it could be the fact that I found the Lord again (or rather, He found me) after wandering for so long in the dark?

To tell the truth, life has never been better after renewing my faith in Him again. :)

Well, regardless of what made 2008 so eventful, these events and experiences are things that I will definitely treasure and hopefully remember until I pass on from this world.

2008 incidents...

With friends,

I've made new ones, drifted apart from some, forged even closer relationships with existing ones, and even went ahead with something I classified as "101% Risky, DO NOT attempt unless 102% sure and willing to take all risks and accept all consequences".

With my family,

I've lost my temper countless of times, been disciplined when I aptly deserved it, tolerated things as far as my patience would allow sometimes, apologised countless of times, and yet even with all this I've come to appreciate the good-humoured teasing, the laughter and fun shared, and most importantly, the constant love and support I've received no matter what the circumstances.

With my studies,

I've come to realise that nothing comes easy unless you work hard at it. And, sad to say, I really do regret not putting in more effort and giving my best when I should have done so.

With my faith in God,

I've done things and taken bold steps (to me at least) which I never thought I'd be able to do. To be able to learn and continue to grow as a Christian in and with the Lord is truly something special. Serving Him in ways that I can and growing ever closer to Him is certainly something for me to look forward to in the coming year.

With life,

I've learned to appreciate and be thankful even for the smallest of things. Opportunities should be seized; things shouldn't be taken for granted; lessons should be learnt and remembered; mistakes should be admitted sincerely and corrected; you can't stop things from changing; and a little kindness goes a long, long way. As fragile as life can be, I still believe that one should always live life to the fullest. :)

With food,

Well, I've had the best lasagna and cheesecakes I've ever had in 20 years of my life... so with that I am content. XD

For me, 2008 has been littered with trials, hardships, frustrations and also disappointment. But it doesn't fall short of laughs, fun, new discoveries, joy and love either. And all that certainly makes up for everything else.

We'll be ushering in the new year soon. And this is the time where people will start asking, "So, have you made any new year resolutions?"

Well, I for one certainly won't be doing so. I don't see the point to it, since I myself never kept to any at all. 2009 seems quite bleak and uncertain actually, what with the global financial crisis and all. But we shouldn't let things like that hamper our spirits in looking forward to another good, or if not, interesting year now, should we?

Before I end my last post for the year, let me just sum it all up with a few pictures =D

CNY "Lou-Sang" at Sue-Anne's (Feb)

V-Day (Feb)

This was certainly an unexpected Valentine...

9th Taekwondo Chungdokwan Championship - Toa Payoh, Singapore (March)

-- It was my first ever participation in an International Tournament.

Even Masters know how to have fun sometimes... all of the time. =D

The team from Malaysia (PTC)

Us and the team from Fiji.

IYC Open Day (April)

"Cute", "little" Nick is so fun to bully XD

Lol... I miss you tkd peeps...

Monash Street Carnival (April)

My first ever attempt on a mechanical bull. XD 

Proud to say I lasted almost 2 minutes on it!

Prefect Reunion KL Tower (July)

Can't believe almost all of us went for it even though we weren't ex-prefects :p

Taman Negara Trip aka TNT (July)

I don't think anybody will be forgetting Dong's screaming for a long, long, long time to come... :p

Jia Ling's abrupt departure "overseas" to Sabah (July)

Lol I'm still peeved you didn't tell us earlier Jia Ling! :p

Miss Hau left us all behind for the "greener pastures" and "awesome weather" of the UK (Sept)

Sorry Zhong Li, I don't have the most recent photo of you... 

What happened to all the photos we took anyway? Who has it? Lol...

Steamboat at Sarah's! (Dec)

Note to each other: Stick with BBQ next time. Lol.

Karaoke at Neway (And a whole afternoon spent in Pyramid) (Dec)

First time Karaoke-ing with the girls in Neway. 

Told you it was gonna be fun :p

I just had to put this in. Wakakaka... Sorry Sarah, but too bad :p

Our last get-together for the year in TJ Haus (Dec)

Lol... Hope you girls didn't give the co-owner a bad impression of us... Hahah!

College Group Retreat in Camerons (Dec)

Cold weather + Jeremy's flu + Lack of Veges + Monopoly until 3.30am = Everybody falling sick (well, not everybody ;p )

On a side note...

Awesomest Cheesecake I've ever had No. 3... (Cheesecake from TJ Haus = RM 11 o.O)
Awesomest Cheesecake I've ever had No. 2... (Cheesecake from Rich Bake Coffee House in Camerons = RM 4++)
Wondering what's Awesomest Cheesecake I've ever had No. 1? 

And the Honours goes to dear Athirah's baking XD (FOC!)

(Well, what leftovers there are of it lah anyway...)

This says it all, doesn't it? ;)

(Dedicated to you, sweetie =D)

Looking forward to 2009! ;)

Photos of Camerons courtesy of Maisie Sim

Photos of Teddies courtesy of Sue-Anne, Jun Sheng and Jo

Photos of the girls courtesy of Huey Fern

Photos of Taekwondo courtesy of Alina and Charmaine