The Year That Was - 2010

2010 was another mixed year for me. There were great and not-so-great moments, happy and sad times, journeys made and trips cancelled, friends made and re-acquainted with… all the things that make up the year that was. I lost two family members during the year and this sort of makes the year looked a bit bleak to me.

I managed to continue travelling to new and re-visiting have-been-to cities, a recap of which is as follows:

January
1) Went to Kota Bharu for a short weekend trip with my parents
2) Re-visited Saigon during the FT Day weekend and came back on FT Day

February
1) Celebrated Chinese New Year in Langkawi with my parents
2) Met up with Delia in Brunei for a short weekend at the end of the month

March
A short weekend trip to Krabi

April
Had to cancel a trip with my parents as Mummy was not feeling well. As luck turned out, Big Brother passed away too and had we gone on the trip, we may not have returned in time for the funeral.

May
Lin and I flew to Paris and flew out on the same day to Rīga where we met up with Fifi. The three of us then flew to Moscow where we stayed for two nights. We then took a night train to St Petersburg for another two nights before flying back to Europe via Cologne-Bonn. We parted ways at CGN and Lin and I continued on to Morocco.

June
Lin and I flew out of Casablanca to Paris and stayed for three nights before flying back home.

July
1) Met up with Audrey and Andrea on the fourth of July weekend. Stayed on and celebrated my birthday in Manila
2) Made a day-trip to Singapore to check out the Great Singapore Sale. Wasn’t expecting much but still managed to spend.
3) Flew to Jogjakarta with Mummy; Abah decided not to come as he was not feeling well. This turned out to be my last trip with Mummy ;’(

August
Celebrated Merdeka weekend in Jakarta and Jogjakarta with Andrea

September
Headed back to Vietnam and this time visited Central Vietnam (Da Nang, Hoi An and Hue) before flying back to Saigon

October
No travel plans this month as I was busy preparing for an event

November
Cancelled my north-bound train trip due to the floods in the northern states and because it was too soon after Mummy’s departure ;’(

December
1) Set foot in North Sumatera (Medan, Parapat, Samosir Island, Brastagi)
2) Took my niece to Hong Kong as part of her UPSR reward
3) Took my nephew to Jakarta

I watched less movies last year and tried to catch up on DVDs I borrowed from Audrey but failed.

I managed to up my reading to 52 books, averaging a book a week. This despite taking only a novel to Europe in May/June and three weeks to finish a novel after Mummy left. Alhamdulillah. I hope to keep reading a book a week this year. i would love to read more but can’t promise I can do it what with work commitments and household chores.

One sick leave this year, alhamdulillah, although I have been feeling some discomfort in my neck area. Probably some stressed neck muscles. Hopefully. I must remember to visit the dentist earlier this year and do it again after six months. Must continue eating healthy food, shunning processed food and taking supplements. Must, must, must take good care of myself, my health and my skin.

And of course, as I’ve mentioned, I lost two family members, my Big Brother and my dearest Mummy. I miss her more and more each day and sometimes so acutely.

It’s a whole new decade, a whole new year, a whole new week and a brand new day awaits each day. It’s hard for me to get enthusiastic when I think of a whole new stretched out before me, this time without Mummy in it ;’( Oh Mummy, I miss you terribly.

Anyway, I hope we’ll all have a happy, prosperous, successful and happier new year.