2022 was more than a month ago. Time really flies. It is now already 1.5 months into 2023.
What does 2022 mean to me? Well.. it is a year:
- Trying to be normal: a lot of countries are trying to go back to normal, lifting Covid restrictions, removing mask requirements… I guess it has to start from somewhere right？
- Started to travel again: my first trip since Covid started i.e Dec 2019 to Shenzhen. This time to Taiwan again, practically enjoying life away from Singapore. Glad that I have made the impromptu decision. Though the air tickets were a bit expensive, the hotel room rates are super reasonable (staying in Legit Hilton for $157 a night). Being able to get a short break out of Singapore and work is just so priceless
- 2 Concerts: 1 sign of getting back to normal is concerts. I attended not 1, but 2 concerts. 1 of them, Mayday, has been postponed numerous times for 3 years. Despite once having a thought to refund for the ticket, I glad I didn’t and it was just so good to see them live and of course with their 垃圾话. The opposite of this is the Jay Chou concert. 2 hours on the dot, from 815pm to 1015pm. Half of the songs were performed by his guests, even the 点歌 segment was so staged. Sigh. I thought he could do much better.
- Getting a diploma: having a Bachelor’s, Masters and now a Diploma 🙂 never would I have expected that, especially in a subject which I didn’t really studied much in the past. I long wanted to take a course on Translation, taking it as a an opportunity for a side career path, while utilizing the strength of my dual language (??). However, I was proven so wrong in the very first lesson, when the teacher told us that it is difficult to earn a living as a translator, due to the low rates and high competitiveness. Ok, dream dashed, but I still enjoyed the course. Re-learning the basics of languages (both English and Chinese) and better appreciate how languages are. Of course, to be able to better translate/interpret Chinese-English or English-Chinese. To be honest, I wouldn’t have been able to take up this course if not for Covid
- Acknowledging that I am now older: suddenly during the year, I noticed lines on my forehead, more and more white hair, skin pigmentation.. sigh… oh wells.. signs of growing pains