2010 - 2011

To those who may have been wondering, I am still alive, though I may not be kicking...

I know it's already February, but since 2011 has come, I have't said a proper good to 2010. Hence I want to take this chance to do a quick recap of what happened in 2010, so that I can face my 'new friend' in a better way.

January

2010 actually didn't start out very well for me. We were enjoying our holiday in Hawaii, when this unfortunate accident happened. I still find it hard to believe that I escaped this with only minor injuries. Look at the picture above! How could I have survived that! Well, anyway because of this accident my aunt was hospitalised due to serious injuries and there was the problem of her hospital and operation fees, and we seriously were not in the mood to enjoy our holidays anymore...

February

I don't know if it's because of the accident, but after I since I came back from Hawaii I feel something is terribly wrong with my body. Memory getting worse, cannot sleep and wake up at the correct time, unable to concentrate, etc... Even the new KGS account I created, Sadaharu, was getting very bad results...

February is the time for Chinese New Year. I think it was the first time I joined the celebration at SWA. There was this Group Go (lianqi) which was super fun, even though we didn't manage to win any games in the end.

I think I also held a CNY celebration at my house as usual, but sadly I can't remember anything that we did...

March

In March 2010 I went for the World Student Oza held in Japan for the first time. I went through a series of selections in 2009 end of year before getting selected. I was very happy, simply because of the fact that I can get to go Japan again! I think it has almost been 10 years since I last went back...

The results of the competition wasn't very good... I only won 2 out of 4 games. And one of the games was against the Thailand player, whom I beat during the selections. I don't know what was wrong with me but I didn't seem like myself in that game, and lost... But I also got to meet many people from Japan and other countries, and I even got to enjoy a meal with Takao Natsuko, the famous Takao Shinji 9p's wife! After the competition I stayed at Yuri's house for many more days. I'm really grateful to her for providing accomodation and bringing me around.

This month was also the first time I held a birthday party for myself. I don't know but I suddenly had the idea, and I invited almost all my friends including those from weiqi, MAC and astro. I'm really glad that many people turned up, and they seemed to be quite happy. The only regret is that I wasn't hospitable enough though. But like I said during that day, I was just providing a chance for everybody to get together, that's all~

April

Since I ORDed in November 2009, my mum has been bugging me to get a part-time job. Other than the tuition, I didn't have any other jobs at that time. I also wanted to find one, but was always too lazy to go and look up the internet or newspaper... One day my mother suddenly told me that there's a Japanese restaurant looking for part-time workers, and asked me to give it a go. Even though they didn't put the pay, I decided to give it a try. And I got it.

April was also the month which I feel it started.

May

And so my work at Ippudo continued. At first I really wasn't used to it. I was very slow and the manager kept yelling at me to go and do my stuff. But after a while I got used to it and I thought I was improving. But I was quite sad that I was still doing work that a rookie did and wasn't given any 'higher' tasks... Well, somehow I managed to stay on though, and the ramen there is really nice.

It went on as well.

June

Work at Ippudo continued. There was also this Sports Awards thing, and it made me realise I don't have any formal wear that I can wear. I wore my father's shirt in the end, and my friend criticised it and said I suck. It made me care more about my appearance...

There was also the Mind Sports Festival held at Iluma for the first time. It was held together with the Qiu Ping Cup. I was given the task of a photographer, but actually I feel I didn't help out much... Even the posters I designed was editted totally by someone else... I wanted to help out more actually, but didn't know what I could do... But well, anyway I'm glad that the whole event turned out smoothly. And I hope more people know about weiqi now.

July

Some outings here and there, while it continued in the background. I was really happy, but I'm not sure about her. Maybe she has forgotten already...

Weiqi League also started. This year Yuri was in our team. She said she's happy, and I was also happy that I could play together with her. My university team, though, wasn't very happy because I was playing for another team and not the uni team. I explained that I already promised Mr Pooh to play in his team, and I promised to play in the uni team next year. Luckily it didn't result in any permanent damages...

August

Didn't get any prizes in Weiqi Tourney again... Was seriously doubting my weiqi skills... I was really not up to standard, but the worse thing is I didn't do anything about it...

August was also the month Tianyu left. Tianyu is also an amazing person. I've got lots to learn from him.

As for my Ippudo, I was moved to the kitchen. I don't know if it's because they really lacked people or I was incapable as a waiter. Doing inside the kitchen is less tiring, but I have to say I enjoyed my days as a waiter more...

Ramen and stuff, it still continued...

September

My uni finally started.

After 3 years of blank, I really wasn't used to this system of tutorials and lectures. At first I still attended every lecture, but after a while I got lazy and started to skip lectures. As a result I always did tutorials last minute and wasn't able to do many questions...

Went to the Universal Studios for the first time, not to play but just to have dinner at one of the conference rooms. When I was taking the picture, I really hoped to come back again with her, but I guess that wish is not going to be fulfilled...

Weiqi League came to a conclusion. My team got 2nd. Although I think we could have gotten better results, but I'm still happy with this result. After all, the joy of playing as a team itself, is good enough for me already.

October

Still not used to uni yet... I think I have lost all my 'studying spirit'... I can spend so much time doing a single tutorial, it made me wonder whether I've really gotten stupid over the years...

Went for Thai U-Go again. Going for overseas competition is really fun because I can get to meet lots of people. This time I was in the same room with Koh Song Sang from Malaysia, and I'm glad because he held party almost every night! Talking to the Japanese was quite fun also~ This kind of experience is indeed unforgettable~

November

Was having some serious trouble studying while I continued going out...

If I'm not wrong this is also the month I got my new house...

It was also a sad month for weiqi people, because we couldn't get to go for the Asian Games... We tried and tried, appealed and appealed, but still couldn't go... It shows how stubborn the Singapore Government is... To let go of such a good chance for us to gain glory for Singapore...

December

Finally the exams were here... As expected I did very badly... That's the result of not treating my studies seriously...

My exam ended quite late, and after the exam was already almost Christmas. I decided to hold the first Christmas Party in my house, and I even got a Christmas tree! There were about 10 people in total and we exchanged gifts with each other. Having friends is really a blessful thing~

There was also a sad event. My teacher, Yanglaoshi, was leaving for good. I will talk about this in a separate post...

So, yeah, that was my 2010... Doesn't look very fruitful, huh? But that's how I spent my one year... There are many things I really regret... Why didn't I spend my time more effectively... Why didn't I do my job properly... Why didn't I study more... Why didn't I practise my weiqi enough... Etc... And I also want to sing "Baby" by Justin Bieber...

Ah I remember I also set my resolutions for 2010 around the same time last year... Let me take a look at the resolutions again...

1) Do well for overseas competitions
2) Get into top 100 on KGS
3) Beat TJC
4) Get a decent job and do it well
5) Learn how to manage my time properly i.e. don't be lazy, don't procrastinate
6) Be more organised in every way
7) Improve in my piano and photography skills
8) Have a good head start with my uni life in August
9) Treat my friends and others well
10) Be a better man

Strictly speaking, I don't think I have achieved any of these... What was the point of setting all these resolutions when I can't achieve a single one? I don't know... Hence I'm not going to set any resolutions this year... I just hope I can do my stuff one by one...

Last year I said 'Determination 2010!' And that's still the same thing... I still lack it... If there's one thing I've improved then it may be my happy-go-lucky-ness...

But well, time waits for no man, and it's already 2 months into 2011. What's waiting for me is tomorrow, and not yesterday. No matter what happens, I need to look forward. And the important thing is to keep improving. Ganbare to myself!