Year Coming To An End Reflections

 The year is coming to an end.

What a 2023 it’s been.

Everything back to normal.

People don’t talk about the lost years of the pandemic anymore.

Health has been so so okayish. Not getting any slimmer but still can clock at least one run a week. Caught Covid early in the year so might be due another flu bout soon.

Family has been great. Still seeing each other regularly. Parents getting older though :( Kids growing up and more independent. Siblings doing ok. Wifey doing good but jaded with her work (both is us in concurrent midlife crisis mode?). Mustn’t forget that I’m getting older myself too.

Work hasn’t been as good but really, it could have been a lot worse. Plus we all saw things coming. Still I entertain thoughts of what I’d do post Saxo. I’ve really been here for literally more than 1/3 of my life.

Finances have not been as good as I wanted it to be. Lost tons at the start and middle of the year because I couldn’t control my gambling habits, but thankfully nothing catastrophic. Need to be far more prudent in 2024. I realize I can quickly accumulate cash very fast when I set my mind to it and second half of the year that stubbornness to hoard cash is really paying off.

Investments have managed to hold up well in the market as the pivot to cash due to high interest rates really took hold as the year wore on. Again at least this portfolio is paying dividends/interest.

Travelling will be minimized in 2024 but boy did I travel so much in 2023. Both for work and leisure.

Singapore is generally doing well. Inflation is evident but it is manageable by most. There are worries about the rest of the world - wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. Inflation is crazy in many other countries especially our neighbours. But SGD super strong so a good time to travel and feel like a king.

Home is still beautiful. Love living by the sea. Viewed other properties but really it is VERY hard to beat what we currently have now, even if we move to a more expensive property. Anyway nothing serious, just silly thoughts that’s all. The kids are very against any type of moving haha.

Can’t complain too much about 2023 to be honest. 

Bring on 2024!

Budsabakorn ‘Nook’ Sukapan

 Had the honour to not only meet but be coached by a real professional golf player.

She’s such a nice, friendly and humble girl.

I’m a fan now and hope she goes on to become famous.

She’s already had 10 pro tour wins under her belt.

Anyway she said I really needed to utilize my waist more. It might need a very big overhaul in my swing but I’d get 50 yards extra for every iron and driver if I did.

Inspired to hit the range and try liao.

I’m star struck.

Daughter’s Masterpiece

 So proud of my girl.

Another piece of hers got published in the school mag.

What a superstar.

Jin Wee

 Tucked in an obscure corner of Siglap, this zi char place serves really awesome zi char.

We come once in a while.

It is beside 24hrs coffee shop, NTUC.

Food is good and we tried the fish steamboat recently.

Siglap is such an awesome neighbourhood.

I hope it won’t be too affected by the new MRT stations opening end of this year.

Jalan Riang

 I don’t have much recollection of this place.

It was my parents first home after they got married.

I was born here and I’ve seen many pictures of me in that old house.

A few faint memories like the mosaic stairs, the pine tree at the front porch, the ‘jungle’ in the backyard.

Then suddenly I was dropping my wife off at a colleague’s housewarming and I saw this place. 

Immediately asked my dad which was our unit number.

Drove down the road and found the unit.

But it is completely different now.

Oh well.

Tokyo, Japan 2023

 Was in Tokyo for work a whole week.

It was fun and nice to enjoy the low Yen right now.

Food was lovely, colleagues really took care of me, but work was really busy.

Tokyo is sure a beautiful city, so clean and so easy to navigate around. The Japanese are also some of the nicest people around.

Here’re some pix.

A Deepavali Monday Holiday

 Today is a holiday due to Deepavali.

Quite glad to have this extra day of rest.

We started out heading out early in the morning to Parkway Parade to buy some housewarming gifts for the wifey’s boss.

We ate breakfast at FunToast at PP and bumped into MP Sun Xueling! She’s so wholesome and even afforded us a friendly smile. Not sure what she was doing there with her daughter. I was surprised that she didn’t have any bodyguards around whatsoever.

Anyway we all had eggs and toast for breakfast, wifey bought her stuff and then we were off to Serangoon to drop her off at her boss’s new landed home.

After dropping her off, I  priced a familiar road right where we were. It is called Jalan Riang. This place happens to be the first house my parents bought after they got married and the house they owned when I was born. 

I don’t have many memories of the place but I quickly messaged my parents to see if they remember the unit number. With that, I found the actual unit and it is totally transformed now. Not much is recognizable at all.

After that, me and the kids went to Nex Mall to chill and wait for wifey. We just chilled at the library until the wifey was done.

We then picked up the wifey and headed to Grantral Mall. What kinda crap name is this mall?! 

We wanted to go bouldering and this was one of the places we thought of, but it was a little crowded, so we went opposite the road to a joint we’ve been before called Boulder Movement.

There we bought passes for the four of us and ended up bouldering for two and a half hours! The kids loved it and my son is slowly but surely turning into an avid boulderer.

When our arms couldn’t take it anymore, we headed off for dinner at Din Tai Fung at Tai Seng. Been a while and it was nice.

Then we headed back to Grantral Mall and went to this Chinese supermarket called Scarlett. We actually bought some sugar fruits on a stick, which was way too sweet.

Finally it was back home to try the new games that wifey bought for her new Nintendo Switch.

What an eventful day!