Friday, December 31, 2010
My secondary school classmate, James, left for Copenhagen on the 30th December 2010 for exchange with his girlfriend and I sincerely wished him all the best the night before he left. He's probably the first chap I know that goes on an exchange on the last semester of his university education. Then again, we're talking about SMU, a university that always tries to be different. This 6 months stint is probably going to be tough one for him in the sense he'll be spending Chinese New Year away from his family and relatives. However, he's going to come away with priceless experiences that will last a lifetime. One of my classmates went for his exchange at Arizona and suddenly during that semester, the temptation to go for one myself suddenly struck my mind. Being a person that is satisfied to live in his comfort zone, uprooting myself and being away for 6 months wasn't easy. With that decision, my chance of an overseas education was gone.
It's been quite a 2010 and I've discovered more about myself once again. Be it strengths and/or weaknesses, there are lessons to be learnt. My past entries for the year had spoken for themselves and you'll be up here reading all night if I were to go through it all over again. Major things to be grateful for will be passing my driving test (an experience I never want to go through again), surviving practicum and seeing out the remaining months of my undergraduate life. It's ending pretty soon - all 2 months of it should you discount the 3 months of upcoming practicum. Resolutions-wise, I'll keep it for the first post of 2011. For someone who always tries to be on the ball, I'll be the first to admit that I'll be making resolutions just because everyone out there is doing so. Whether or not I try to comply with them is a different matter altogether.
It's never a good way to end off 2010 and my heart goes out to the Singaporeans who passed away in the Mersing boat tragedy. It's amazing that the body of the victims got swept all the way from Mersing to Bintan (all 150km of it). A form of closure at last for his family/relatives because the body had been found. Let this be a lesson for Singaporeans and/or tourists out there - never compromised on safety just because you want to get out of the kelong fast. 29 people on a boat meant for 12 people? You're asking for trouble really. Let 2011 be a safe year for travelling too.
I'll be off to my friend's new house at Clementiwoods Condo for a quiet countdown over some wine and sushi. Let me wish you all a peaceful new year's eve. Have fun but stay safe!
