This is the first year in my life as a married man. Married life so far has been kind to us. We do not need to worry about household expenses or chores yet. We were well taken care off this entire year. I'm deeply thankful that we only need to bother about our own stuff in my small room. It's a small little training before assuming greater responsibilities. Being married also means that much of this post would be about us rather than me. :)
I'm glad that mum have been doing well with her condition. She is very strong minded and just pulls herself through the treatment and the after effects of radiation. It's not easy during our weekly dinner to find a place that suits her current palate, but I'm always glad when it does. Just want her to be able to enjoy the simple stuff. :)
This year, we have travelled long and far. Greece and Turkey for our honeymoon was a once in a lifetime experience. I've always been somewhat a fan of Greek mythology, and being able to immerse in the stories told by our guide, that was awesome! Being able to enjoy our honeymoon at Santorini was a dreamy experience. The entire place just oozes romantic vibes, our honeymoon suite was also ridiculously huge. Not forgetting the luxurious sea-facing jacuzzi. :)
Turkey opened us to the Ottoman Empire. Cappadocia would definitely be the highlight of this leg. We were fortunate to have a great pilot who gave us a breathtaking flight over the valley. We also visited the underground cities in cappadocia, showing us a different lifestyle in times of conflict. It's hard to imagine the difficulties living underground. At the same time, it's cool to see the contraptions that make life easier. Istanbul on the other hand is more luxurious, and about beautiful mosques and shopping. We are lucky that we left the city before riots broke out exactly where we were shopping at. :)
Sydney in May was also a first time experience for us. We took a very relaxed pace for this trip and it was indeed relaxing. Strolls in Sydney, buying groceries and doing our own cooking. Walking around the bay, lazing around. Blue mountains was our highlight for this trip. We loved our cosy holiday house, which came with a fire place. It was one of the best feelings to cook our dinner and enjoy the warmth of the fire place in the cold weather. We managed to roast marshmallows too! :)
Work has pretty much taken a back seat in this year. Going on long vacations for honeymoon and Sydney have given me an enjoyable break from work. While I got promoted this year, it was somewhat less meaningful when a whole bunch of others were promoted along with me as a result of a review in company policy. While I am happy for the many others who were promoted, I can't help but wonder whether my additional years in service have gone unrecognised.
In the later half of the year, I was transferred to take care of a different geographical area. Different areas provides different challenges. I was used to handling matters coming at me thick and fast. Now it's a different ball game, I'm given the opportunity to go in depth to every case. I'm thankful for the opportunities to exercise my engineering judgment. I'm also given the chance to create traffic schemes from scratch. This is a great way to understand our workflow's intricacies and improve the work we are doing. :)
In this new year, there will be many more challenges, new experiences to savour and new places to visit.
In 2014,
new flat in Sengkang,
more overseas holidays,
work on furthering my studies,
weight n fitness management,
Most important of all...
Stay Calm & Be Happy