Sunrise at the Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Irrespective of how much I blog in a year, I usually do one on the 31^st of December as a way to reflect on the year that went by and also try (the operative word here) to put in goals and resolutions for the new year.

Family

2014 was a mixed year with some good and bad happenings. The year actually started well with both BB and GG getting Edusave Awards. All of us were super thrilled and had hoped that this will spur them to do well in school in the current year too! Alas, as usual Hindi was the party pooper and for GG Maths also proved to be the subject she just does not get the grips of. BB did better in school than GG with being in the top in his class for his other three subjects – English, Maths and Science and will be getting his award for 2014 this Sunday.

Their school choir also won a Distinction at the Singapore Youth Festival in April and I was one of the parent volunteers there. We were in school at 5:30 am to get the children ready L and they were scheduled to perform around 10 at the School of The Arts (SOTA). All in all it was a wonderful experience for all of us – both children and parents! We came home tired and exhausted that day, but seeing the school (SOTA), GG wants to now try to apply for the school for DSA next year.

Health-wise, mostly it’s been positive for everyone. I was the only one who had a health scare this year. In July, after a particularly bad case of an abscess, I was warded in hospital to have it surgically removed and in the process discovered that I am a Diabetic! It was my Type 2 Diabetes which was responsible for the abscess in the first place and in a way I am glad it came when it did as it helped me get diagnosed.  It was a shock to anyone who knows me as I am someone who does not have a sweet tooth and prefer spicy foods to sweet any time! Anyways, I’m on medication and will probably have to have it for the rest of my life. My last HBA1c test had a fasting sugar rate of 7 which is in the upper end of what normal people have. My primary care doctor is happy, but I want this number to be on the median level – somewhere around 5.5 to 6.

Other than this health scare, which made me stay at home for three weeks (but I was working all the days at home, so no real rest), and other than usual colds, coughs and flu, we are all healthy. S has been having some real bad back pain over the last few days, so hopefully today’s medical check-up will only reveal it’s bad posture and maybe approaching old age and nothing serious.

GG decided to drop her ballet, something she has been doing since she was 3.5 years old, around 8 years back! Gosh, now that I put it down, it’s been more than three quarters of her life so far. She’s been losing interest in it for a while and every few months would speak of dropping it. It was only me who kept pressuring her to continue. But then when she was unsuccessful in her last exam, I decided to let her drop it and concentrate on her studies. No point in spending money on something if she no longer has the passion for it anymore. She says she wants to try modern or contemporary dance now, we’ll see after the end of this year.

Our helper R has will complete her contract in February next year and she has indicated she wants to continue with us, which is good. She’s been wonderful so far, and if you close one eye to things about her which irk you, this arrangement is a good one for both of us. I definitely need a helper for the next year and after that it really depends on how our life takes flight. We may be able to do away with a full time helper and have a part-timer coming in when we are not at home. Or I may just decide to continue with this arrangement, if things go according to the plan I have in my mind – more on that when I write about goals.

Work:

Again a good year for me professionally. I did well at work and my bonuses proved that, but this position, although good, is not something I would like to see myself doing on a long-term basis. This position, at a large MNC is on a contract basis and the position involves some administrative work, which I would prefer not to do. Readers who may think why I took up this position when I was not very comfortable doing it may read this post I wrote same time last year which has the why’s in more detail. I don’t have anything against admin work, but it’s not something I trained in and not something I see myself in doing on a long-time basis. My boss, the guy who initially recruited me has also moved on – he has moved to another country with a promotion, so although I am real happy for him – could not have happened to a better person, I also no longer have any guilt for leaving him (I am like this – have very strong loyalty, especially to the person I report to and if he/she has recruited me, it’s multiplied many times and feel guilty when I try to leave a company). I will, in any case, spend 2015 in this same company, honing skills learnt here – and I have learnt so much in the two years I have been here! Then by the end of the year, if no other opportunity in this organization comes up, I will start to look for any opportunity to move in. Win-Win right?

In the meantime, I need to work on some social (read office politics) skills here which I hope to do this year….