It's the first day of 2015, and I've been cooped up at home nursing a stubborn flu that's been plaguing me for the past 2 weeks - a good concoction for some reflection on the past year(s).
Now I won't say I'm the kind of person who makes new year resolutions, but I do like making lists. In fact, I think I'm quite good at it. At any point of time you will be able to find lists hanging from my bulletin board, in my notebooks, or cached away in my phone, although it is a by a strange coincidence that they all usually consist of countries I want to visit next.
So, as it is New Year's Day, and seeing that I've recently turned 26, it's a relevant time to take a look at what I promised myself I would accomplish by age 25.
Here's the list I created back in 2009:
1. Visit Mongolia
In the works for 2015 - wait for it!
2. See snow
For the first time in Germany, at night, whereupon we immediately rushed out to build a snowman. In Norway we struggled to push our bicycles over a mountain path heavy with snow; in Seoul we stood under a street lamp as the first flakes of winter floated down on our upturned faces; and in Nepal, as we trekked through the higher reaches of Gokyo in mid-December.
Now I won't say I'm the kind of person who makes new year resolutions, but I do like making lists. In fact, I think I'm quite good at it. At any point of time you will be able to find lists hanging from my bulletin board, in my notebooks, or cached away in my phone, although it is a by a strange coincidence that they all usually consist of countries I want to visit next.
So, as it is New Year's Day, and seeing that I've recently turned 26, it's a relevant time to take a look at what I promised myself I would accomplish by age 25.
Here's the list I created back in 2009:
1. Visit Mongolia
In the works for 2015 - wait for it!
2. See snow
For the first time in Germany, at night, whereupon we immediately rushed out to build a snowman. In Norway we struggled to push our bicycles over a mountain path heavy with snow; in Seoul we stood under a street lamp as the first flakes of winter floated down on our upturned faces; and in Nepal, as we trekked through the higher reaches of Gokyo in mid-December.
3. Bungee jump
In Korea, 2011. The park was a 2 hour journey from my hostel in Hongdae, and after I finally arrived at the base of the tower, trembling with trepidation, I found it closed for a company event. This meant my fear had another 24 hours to fester. In retrospect that played a huge role in making me go through with it - when I finally found myself standing at the edge of the platform, I was so sick of being scared that I thought, let's get this the hell over with, and jumped.
Wouldn't do it again though.
4. Learn to play the guitar.
Learnt, and then forgot.
5. Study somewhere in the Western part of the world
Technische Universitat Kaiserslautern. "Studying" may be a bit of a misnomer.
6. Attend a music concert
Hellooooo SHINee!
7. Publish an article
Taught myself Korean and volunteered to work at a entertainment media site, translating Korean news articles and publishing them in English.
Which leads us to...
8. Meet a proper celebrity
Getting to attend the Mnet Asian Music Awards show and accompanying press conferences as a reporter in 2011.
9. Teach myself Physics
Learnt, and forgot. Is there a trend here?
10. Visit an observatory
Singapore Science Center Observatory shouldn't count, I suppose. One should try to dream bigger than that.
A couple other things happened the past few years that I guess I'm proud of:
11. Learnt how to scuba dive
Diving has become such a big part of my life that I honestly don't remember how I used to spend my time before it. It's something I had always wanted to do since young, but it sounded reasonably exotic enough that I never worked towards it, until a colleague egged me into it. Since then it's been a whirlwind of excitement - from the first breath underwater, to becoming a Dive Master, to taking the first step into technical diving. I'm grateful I've found something to be this passionate about.
12. Rode a motorbike
Went for motorbike lessons secretly, and when I found myself in Krabi in 2013, seized the chance to rent a bike and travel around the area for a couple of days. Unfortunately got myself into a minor accident at the end of a day-long ride from Krabi to Phuket, which saw me out of action for a month and a half. Nonetheless, I wouldn't trade the experience for anything.
13. Taught myself Korean
As one of the few self-taught subjects that stuck, I believe we can conclude that handsome men are arguably critical motivators for success.
14. Everest Base Camp trek
This was one of the toughest things I've ever done, both physically and mentally. The number of days we had to complete the trek was cut brutally short due to the weather, pushing us to the brink of altitude sickness as we struggled to reach the endpoint. Given the chance I would love to tackle this again, with the luxury of time.
15. Got my PPCDL
Which is a big deal for me, partly because it's my first driving license of any sort, but mostly because I sucked at it and spent a long time practising in all sorts of conditions.
All that said, let's turn our attention to the years ahead of us! I promise 2015, as well as the years after, will be exciting.
1. Become a certified ice diver
2. Become a certified sidemount diver
3. Become a certified cave diver
4. Trek to Macchu Picchu
5. Learn how to speak Bahasa Indonesia
6. Become an awesome photographer
7. Backpack abroad for at least a month
8. Sky dive
9. Get a driving license
10. Be involved in a lot more charity work
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