#HerYearlyGoodbye - 2020 in Review
January 01, 2021
And after a year of HIATUS, the #HerYearlyGoodbye series is back.
To be very very honest, 2019 was filled with so many ups rather than downs and I had plenty of great experiences, but I just couldn't bring myself to write things out.
Not sure why but who knows one day that particular post will be posted with a backdated date.
Anyway.
Here we are in 2020.
It's the end of the decade that we are in.
2011 was one of the best years of my life, followed by 2017/19 perhaps? Notice the similarity of the odd number years - I think I have mentioned before in one of the goodbye series posts for the good years and the bad but surprisingly, 2020 was really really good for me.
Of coz, it didn't start off super smooth - plus, with Covid-19 in place and the whole nation kind of shut down along with the rest of the world, going into "sleep-mode". I can't help but wonder how was SARS like in 2003. If technology was this advanced and if our parents and relatives had financial support from the government.
Nonetheless, some highlights of 2020 coming up in photos form - WARNING: a lot of selfies.
HAHAHAH.
First BFF Meet-Up of 2020 - ate pasta and walked the dog with Domo also
Selfie! Before the window with good lighting HAHA.
My one and only overseas trip prior to the travel ban - to the land of chicken joy - THE PHILIPPINES!
The pink baby went with me, and whenever Pink baby travels overseas, Wallace will always be there!
Welcome to Manila, MABUHAY!
In Manila, Philippines for the 24th Asian Television Awards - my wonderful artistes Wallace & Ase (for the very first time!) hosted the show!
I met one of my favourite Thai Directors and well, it was eventful because, after a good 42 years, the TAAL Volcano decided to erupt while we were all in Manila for the last day of ATA.
Many flights were cancelled and delayed :(
However, Wallace and I decided to stay for another day to do some sight-seeing hence we avoided the horrible flight delay.
We even got Jollibee when the flight had to delay for another hour which wasn't seen in the previous delays amongst our colleagues.
PS: The spicy chicken joy in Manila is like chicken added with chili padi; DAMN SPICY!
Pink baby and I selfie at the airport prior to returning back to Singapore
I went.... PINK. Bleached my hair for the second time in my life only to have it so much drier and hence...
I chopped it off.
Looks healthy but it was pretty frizzy and dry afterwards when I used the hot curling iron on the seemingly wet hair (from product spray to create airy curls) - and that's when I realised that my hair got fried.
We meet friends coincidentally everywhere
Last staycation prior to Covid-19 - with the 38 Rabbits HAHA
This was the part where I did Keratin Hair Treatment at Infinity Hair Salon at Far East Plaza to save my frizzy hair - it was SO PAINFUL to comb through but girl over here has like a high threshold for pain.
Birthday Treat from Sasa - machiam 撑死了 drank so much collagen soup
Bouquet of flowers from the BFF for my birthday - I cried!
To everyone who made my birthday spent in Covid-19's CB better
The last gift which came to my door at 11:30PM hahahaha from my 38 Rabbit Sisters
A note of reminder from HDL which translates to:
- If you're hungry just eat, tired just rest, remember that there's someone who cares for you!
I did two scrapbooks this year however almost no stationary shops were opened hence.. I DIY-ed my own glue stick from Corn Starch. LOL.
Special Deliveries from my loved ones - thank you!
Shuxingxing and Nanazi were part of my amazing 2020 too.
I decided to... CUT BANGS. Back to 2010 LOL.
#Throwback
I saw a double rainbow on the first weekend where CB was lifted.
My... third time at Jewel? Where the waterfall was flowing.
Birthday cake from Wallace!
Made.. a wish.
The Dyson Air Wrap really made a difference in my Hair!
Curls + Meeting Vic in proper for once in 2020
Sushi Date with the Fabro
Meeting with my very nice Agent!
Met Wallace's Fans at Jewel too!
First Shake Shack - the burger was good and the fries were hugeee
Jewel again
CB Cooks by me - I even bought a pan from Taobao just to fry pretty eggs - 2020 also meant Taobao a lot for everyone hahahahaha. Ezship or Cainiao please?
Lovely homecooked food by my Dajie who always preps the best for us!
With the ginnas!! Roro and Jiejie!
A day at Everton
Met meimei again at BFF's house - she made lunch!
Orientation day make-up - and I had shorter fringe this time round!
The secret was out of the bag HAHA. - I am back.
Met the Baobei after a good 4 years!
Solo Staycation before school started - can I just comment on One Farrer Hotel & Spa's service? Their staff Jodie over at the Lounge was so nice, polite and attentive.
She remembers her guests' names by heart and she's very genuine - I always enjoy meeting great people like her, it just brightens up the entire hotel industry so I will definitely be back again to stay at One Farrer!
The Skyline Studio was amazing - and I loved the bathroom and the view - huge curtains with a good view? Hell yeah!
Covid-19 = no more buffet = weird servings, I tried my best to finish whatever I could
BFF sent food to me on the first day of school in the October Semester!
Studying in the office also meant I needed my LiHO fix
Bought the iPad Air for my studies with my hard earned money
Fabro again
I name this the best look of 2020 - the hair and the face WITHOUT EYELASH EXTENSIONS?! Nor Contact Lenses. Wew.
With my favourite Roro - she really knows how to pose. I mean, look at this cheeky little puff.
With my Dajie aka Roro & Jiejie's beautiful mummy!
Simpler look - used the 40mm Barrels from Dyson and it seemed to be working finally for the first time, I need a refresher lesson please?
Date Night with R
My favourite cookies from @milkstachesg ! So good and the girls loved them!
With my Poly meimei who taught me how to play among us HAHAHA.
After colouring, cutting and treatment from my favourite stylist Erwin from Infinity Hair Salon at FEP. If you wanna get him to fix your hair just drop me an IG DM and I can introduce you with a discount!
My favourite top that was taken off shelves from Taobao... Before I could buy the other colours....
Covid-19 meant no more testers and this was one of the best methods to try lipsticks - oh well. That being said 2020 has been a year of great skincare and self-care and one of my go-to boutiques for Laneige is the Bugis one where their staff, Kathlyn is so good and detailed when it comes to the recommendation of products.
Xmas Party 2020 with the Girls
Secret Santa 2020!
With the Girls!
I love this photo a lot actually
Toy Car and a cute tin of biscuits from the Office's Xmas Tree!
Alright - photos are done and now here comes the lengthy and more serious portion.
2020 may seem bad overall for most but for me, the good were almost covered by the "bad" that I experienced this year (not entirely because of Covid-19 too)
Here are some of the happy moments or lessons or it could even be something that I have always wanted to do and I have done it -
The Top 9 Moments in 2020
1. I walked out of a toxic relationship after realising how blind I was to the red flags.
Sometimes I do wonder, when a woman falls in love with ideals or gives chances because the guy seemed nice, how would one be able to face that real nightmare after the honeymoon period is over?
Though I kept blaming myself throughout, I realised at the end 真正的错不在于我 (the mistake wasn't in me) - I forgot when I was advising others I kept those words away from myself when flowery words and tactics came up to me, I forgot the other party was at a higher "level" and I was, simply someone who hasn't had another relationship for the last 7 years or so - thankfully I woke up.
I woke up realising all the red flags that I was once suspicious of finally made sense after putting them all together.
"It's not me, it's you" - this finally made so much sense.
I actually had a draft blog post with main points written about my lessons from that short relationship - and well maybe when it's ready I'll link it here.
Overall lessons from dramas and my rabbit sisters taught me a lot and after I finally got over that nightmare (about 5 months) - while I lost a partner I gained a group of sisters which brings me to my next point,
2. I befriended a group of new friends that I can seek advice and help from time to time
One thing that I am thankful for in this lifetime is that my friends or acquaintances that I make throughout my life would always be kind enough to share about their experiences so that I can avoid the same shit happening to myself - or to simply be a good listening ear to give advice or to scold idiots together HAHA.
This particular moment isn't just going out to my 38 Rabbit Sisters but to the rest of the friends who I call "remote" friends who can text on an almost daily basis but we rarely-never meet at all. You know who you are.
Life is really busy and at times we leave people on read or we simply do not communicate but I am glad that the communication so far is sufficient and a good relationship is still being maintained.
Especially with CB in place earlier on this year, imagine how many friendships or relationships were broken to the lack of physical communication (or for some, deliveries :P)
I am glad that we are still communicating and keeping up with each other's life - this goes back to my lesson written in 2014:
- Friendships are always stronger than relationships. I bet your sisters/brothers last longer w you compared to your him/her!
3. I made a switch in my career
2020 could be the worst year ever for the Events & Entertainment Industry prior to virtual events being the new norm - that also meant that the industry suffered a huge loss when every client had to shut their doors and people weren't allowed to head out at all.
I took the opportunity to also work in a role that's more administrative (I used to think that I am bad at it but I realised my eye for detail and OCD does help a lot..) which also includes finance matters as well.
Other than that I also am learning more about law itself too - which I am thankful for and I am still wondering if I will ever take up a law degree after my current studies or... just learn it for knowledge's sake.
In fact this year I think there were lots of drama that happened and many times, I would then tell myself; if I weren't familiar with law itself I could have been one of those angsty kids who shoot their mouth online only to land a LOD at their doorsteps.
So, please do not commit such irrational actions please!
This career switch was a 10-6 job, and in Covid-19 times albeit it was a little challenging at times I can safely say that every month without fail, targets were reached and I feel happy too.
Plus, with the additional knowledge that I get - what else can I ask for?
4. Finally started to have savings in proper
For those of you who have known me for the longest time, while I started earning lots of money (paid highly hourly e.g. hosting gigs) at a young age - savings were never a thing for me.
Being in the events industry, I get paid on like weekly or per event basis at times along with a monthly pay and despite having two different bank accounts later on, I simply just focused on spending the "now" money thinking that it is ok since I have future money.. instead of saving it.
Even for last year while I did save more than usual each month - for my Solo Trip in October I actually spent quite a bit!
HOWEVER!
In May this year I started to save in an account called "Singlife" in which many would have heard about the amazing 2.5% returns initially.
Prior to that, my research led me to StanChart's JumpStart however Covid-19 may have ruined all sort of bank interests as the SCJS reduced their interest rates from 2% to 1% and now it's being further reduced to.. 0.40%! Even for CIMB's, it is also further reduced.
As for Singlife, the returns are fixed at 2% for the first $10,000 now.
I started saving a lot - plus the "bonus" that government gave this year as well also helped.
All in all the savings thing became possible because of CB as we didn't have to spend much money anymore..
Hence, I felt really lucky and relieved for if I delayed anymore I would have been really really sad like now.
In fact I hope to write more about this too to share with everyone on some basic finance tips WITHOUT the use of stocks and what not lah hor, I am a simple woman for now and I don't wanna over complicate things or take risks when I have more to think about.
If you're reading this and you're still young - do SAVE! It's important to save but also do spend on yourself too lah :)
5. Decluttered and cleared "memories"
Decluttering is a yearly affair for me but for some reasons, the amount of things I have especially memorabilia keeps on accumulating.
Let me share what's absurd.
I kept a ticket stud of a concert from 8 years ago.. because laoniang 是一个痴情的白痴 and just few days ago I happily threw everything away.
In fact - this movie helped me quite a lot:
To be very honest, it is never easy to just pack things up and dump it inside a black trash bag and send it away to the trash centre or to donate it to recycling bins or even Salvation Army (worst option... to be honest, I'll explain in the future).
Unless you're dumping on others' behalf then maybe, yes, it would be easy.
I think a lot, and by a lot I would imagine and wonder what would then happen to the item and like.. I would also think about my $ and time spent on the item itself.
The feelings get attached to those items.. and memories too.
Hence, when you end up hiding these items only to find them unused when you do your yearly decluttering - it SUCKS A LOT!
To link memory to decluttering - I quote the following from Eastern Kicks:
Memory works as a self-defence mechanism, in its selectiveness, it archives the experiences that are most useful for an individual to survive, regardless of them being good or bad. Memories of happiness can be as easily forgotten as the ones of sadness, so we all live in a state of self-regulating amnesia, producing our own subjective view on the past, the present and the future.
And what triggers memories? Physical and even digital items..
In fact I was a heartless bitch to go and burn letters from exes in the past - so that I won't re-read them but if I happen to have a photo of it somewhere... it wouldn't trigger as much as a physical item.
I know that for some people they would keep their exes photos in some drive or hidden folder - but for me? I did the most cruel thing too, just delete.
LEAVE NO TRACE BEHIND.
Though at some point of time it will no longer trigger you if it doesn't matter anymore, there isn't a need to specially remember it again and perhaps the only time you need to ever come across again is when you're clearing your items or digital files before you move elsewhere or even get married.
That being said, I am pretty happy that in 2020, I donated some of the items to people that I think who would take care of the items and also gave away items in different means - because One Man's Trash is One Man's Treasure! Plus, I also sold quite a bit of my items that I no longer wear and even though some of them were limited edition and costs a lot, I told myself that I shall not buy so much which brings me to the next point:
6. Sustainability
I was a subscriber of Style Theory even after our collaboration ended and I will also then be sharing in depth on how I only bought like 3 pieces of clothing in 2019 and the rest were simply just Style Theory rental - then again as we were in a Covid-19 Situation, it didn't make any sense to then rent the clothes but as they had new plans and I started to buy clothes from Taobao as well, the strategy changed!
In fact I'm hoping that I can develop like a business plan or idea from this entire clothes thingy or in fact a community to switch and swap clothes - because touch your heart and ask.. why would you then want to pay $89 for a dress only to rent it to wear it once when you also had the other option to buy it at $300 so that you can own it forever and perhaps resell it at a lower price?
Sigh.
Clothes. They take up space, money and also!!! They don't make you feel as good as when you first wear it after some time.
Plus, do you know that items like Pillows, Soft Toys aren't recyclable at all? At least for clothes there could still be more possibilities on reselling, recycling or donated to third world countries.
So yup, Covid-19 has caused me to think a lot about Sustainability in the long run for clothes while trying to keep costs low too!
7. I went back to school - after a long break
I haven't shared much about this portion but those who knew me well would have known that I left school halfway in 2017 to focus on my career and myself - in which I have gained plenty of experiences and lessons along the way, had major accomplishments as well.
I never regretted leaving despite knowing that there were certain things that I missed - because I always believed that the path that we chose will always work out in the end as long as you focus and put in the hard work - with a tinge of luck, definitely.
Covid-19 also made me realise that we mustn't have any regrets in life - do what we want for we never know what is going to happen tomorrow.
While I never regretted leaving, I do want to continue learning and to complete where I left from.
Since the world has now slowed down - why not I take the opportunity to head back?
Not gonna lie but prior to April (before I switched careers) I was in a stage of feeling 迷茫 (confused) about what I wanted to do - also partially influenced by toxic sources; but the thought of heading back for April Semester struck, however as I decided to go for the career change, I didn't send in my email to the course chair.
I did so in July, when I kept thinking and thinking about many things. I couldn't remember how or when but I contacted Ms. Sharon and from there she told me to contact the course chair to see if Mid-Stream admission in October was possible.
I was earning well and doing well yet.. I wanted to head back to school half way?
It was a huge decision, a really really huge one but I took a leap of faith and just like that - I am back.
Not only I'm back but I guess on the happy note things felt different and I approached modules and assignments differently (seemed like after working outside for so long, every skill is now handy)
I feel blessed and lucky, moreover with my helpful classmates who also have very interesting insights and personalities, I feel even happier to get to know each and everyone of them.
During Orientation itself thanks to Shanice - I felt way more comfortable and even learnt how to play some famous game that people my age would know (except me, because I play boring games HAHA) and I am really thankful!
Fast forward I am now approaching Week 12, and I have 2 assignments due next week - and I haven't started... OH OH. Time to!!!!!
And, I got in RHW at my first attempt - so I guess no regrets!
8. Creating my own destiny against all odds
Destiny is about what you do and Fate is what's predestined to happen.
In this lifetime I may have gone for plenty of readings and what not as a heads up but at times I realise human decisions can change destiny indeed.
Hence, I decided that while fate may have given you a "preview" I will not resign myself to the fate that was given and I will chase for I what I want, even if fate said no.
Again, it also relates to "Courage", for how many people will have the courage to go against all odds to chase for what you want?
It could be a degree that no one would think that you're capable of completing, it could be a job, an opportunity or even a person.
I quote back a lesson learnt from 2014:
- Have the courage to step out and do things or say things you wanna do & say. It's always at the very end you realized it was too late and filled with regrets.. because you knew very well ''if only'' you … whatever you wished for will come through. But you chose not to take that step.
In any case I really did!! And I hope in time to come I'll be able to share the story.
I was reading a book called: Liao-Fan's Four Lessons (of changing destiny) - take a read if you want to! It made so much sense.
9. Self-Care & Self-Love
Also, not guilty of drama marathons :P
I have completed a whole cycle of palace dramas from Legend of Zhen Huan to Yanxi Palace to Ruyi Royal Love then Palace 1, Palace 2, Scarlet Heart 1, Scarlet Heart 2, Scarlet Heart Ryo, Yanxi Palace Princess Adventure, Empress of China (this one was damnnnn long) and most recently, Legend of Mi Yue.
I can't be helped but to wonder how my Chinese history knowledge is getting better and better.
Like I know Gui Gu Zi has books but I didn't know he was a "mentor"to Su Qin (of Yan) and Zhang Yi (of Qin) and there were different military tactics used too?
Damn I want more.
In fact I am going to embark on my latest conquest slowly which is about Empress Lv, who you may know as the evil empress who created the "Human Swine"- this is very scary and graphic so you are warned!
I have also captured screenshots of important lessons to share... I NEED A BLOG POST FOR THIS.
Hahahahahah!
Now that I realise I want to write so much yet I may be busy, how can I best do this?
Once a month? I'll work on this I promise!
I have also been blogging privately on another platform - hence I guess I feel more relaxed somehow - this blogpost was supposed to be singlish free but I guess I'll just keep my style here as well.
It feels surreal to be seeing 01/01/2021 so soon, and even though 2020 went by like some rocket - and I failed to do some stuff that could have made myself happier, I still feel blessed.
Then again, my grand birthday party in April had to be cancelled and I'm not sure if it'll be indefinitely postponed for years :')
Maybe my graduation party and birthday can be held together?
I am SO wanting to write that Wishlist and include a convection oven of the specific measurements that I want HAHAH.
Also, Tokyo and Paris were on the list of cities I wanted to travel, but I guess I shall save more for better travel deals in the future!
Then, I wanted to see snow in Seoul again.
The pretty photos taken by Alex - I finally am close to finish posting them after 1 whole year.
Such good photos to be used on my different greeting cards - I need another overseas photo shoot soon!
Moving forward in this 2021 - a brand new decade, I am leaving all the bad behind in the last two decades and
I am starting afresh
When you know what you want, what you want to achieve - it really makes the journey so much better.
If you're still here reading the #HerYearlyGoodbye Series since 2014 or you may have joined in late - I hope that you have enjoyed my posts so far and just know that if you ever need someone to talk to my DMs are always open.
I guess no matter what we are doing now, always remember to count our blessings and make each day worth it.
To a fantastic decade ahead, here's wishing you a Happy New Year and may all your wishes come true!
0 comments