Final thoughts for the year

As I sit here in my familiar swivelling chair in front of the computer screen, music is blaring from the countdown programme on TV while the year or what's left of it can be measured in mere minutes. 10 more minutes to be exact.

Looking back, it has been quiet an eventful year for me, despite my paltry 38 blog posts this year. This was my most travelled year, where I made a few short working trips around Asia and the US. And yes, I experienced my first snow fall in the small mid-eastern american town of Kokomo. Then there was my all important nuptials and the major planning that preceded it. That was soon followed by our European honeymoon. Not too bad to have stepped into two new continents this year.

Career wise I'm still where I left off last year. No promotion, a little more extra dough, but at this trying times I am just thankful that I am still in my job. The year ended in a flurry of bad news. It doesn't help that my company is in an industry that is struggling to keep afloat amidst worsening car sales and a credit crunch to boot. Work now is highly focussed towards plugging the gaping hole at the bottom of our ship. Cash is king. And it took this deep recession to make us realise how true this words are. Looking forward, I believe more hard times are ahead of us. Some people will be thrown off the sinking ships and some ships will sink to the bottom of Davy Jones' locker, but importantly we'll have to keep ourselves afloat (and fire some flares) until the next ship comes along to rescue us.

Okay, enough of the gloom. Resolutions?? To make some this year, after failing to make any last year. It will probably contain words to the effect of continuing to learn and experience something new. In short, to continue to grow in all the right ways, not sideways. Why bother with something that is doomed to fail from the onset as past experiences clearly proves that? We must have faith ... a little hope and faith won't hurt your chances. I liked what Mr.Oei Hong Leong quoted in the papers today, "‘If winter has come, can spring be far away?"

So cheers, drink a cuppa on me, and let us make this new year the best one yet.