Woohoo!! New year! Actually, maybe I shouldn't be celebrating too much. Last year was a pretty decent one for me. I mean it could be better but then, every one of them for the past 26 years of my life could be, eh? Still, last year wasn't so bad. I've had worse!
Here's some summary of last year:
Proudest Achievement - I'm WAY more fit now than beginning of last year. When I first joined gym, my stamina was SO bad that I lasted for only 4 minutes on the treadmill at gradient 0 and speed 4. It was THAT bad. I'm seriously not joking! These days though, I'm doing speed 8 to 10, with gradient varying between 3 to 6. I do those for at least 15 minutes non-stop and generally continue up to 30 minutes.
Saddest Moment - My cat passed away late last year. Heh, I really loved that cat. Been a constant companion for me (and the entire family) for the past 17 years. Some might ridicule the feelings people have for an animal but that cat shared a helluva lot of history with me. Rest in peace, cat. We'll meet again in the next life.
Best Purchase - A bluetooth headset which I connect to my handphone. Allows me to listen to MP3s while jogging and also acts as a handsfree for my phone. Simply terrific!
Worst Purchase - Signing up for a personal trainer at the gym. The gym has excellent facilities and the personal trainer is very professional. The only stumbling block is that I HATE being tied to some schedule and I prefer to go to gym when I feel like it, not because I have an appointment with my personal trainer. I need to do something about this though since I still have TONS of sessions left in my contract...
With all those behind now, I guess I do have some changes I wanna make for the coming year (sorted based on how difficult I think it'll be).
Not so difficult/Doable with a little bit of effort
I plan to watch more plays at theatres, go for more concert and attend more rave parties. Theatrical plays for the *ahem* cultural growth, concerts to feed my great love for good music (NO DANGDUT!!) and rave parties for the chicks wearing bikinis (oh, the music's pretty good too)! Oh yeah, I should add going to the MPO into the list too. Some of the classical music by those long dead composers are quite good and MPO has an excellent orchestra! Hmm...I might need to cut down the clubbing part a bit to balance my accounts if I do all this though. Besides, traveling all the way to KL is kinda tiring and I keep getting lost coming back home after clubbing!
Next on the list is to get even more fit. I plan to go to gym very regularly. I'm hoping to reach a pulse rate of low 70s or high 60s at rest by end of this year (very ambitious but doable, I think). It's true about what people say. The healthier and fitter you are, the more prepared you are to face life's challenges. While it's true that my line of work doesn't really require strong muscles and amazing stamina, a fit body keeps the mind alert. With the coming year, I think I'll definitely need an alert mind. As I grow with my current organization, I suspect more responsibilities and challenges will be coming my way and I plan to be prepared when that happens.
Moderately difficult/Might need a bit of luck
This coming year, I plan to prove myself beyond any doubt on my abilities as an engineer and reach for the coveted title of Senior Engineer. Ericsson don't hand out those titles easily and the Senior Engineers in my department are all REALLY good! Not sure whether I'd achieve it or not but I'm really gonna give it a go. That means no more muddling around. It also means that when it comes to my competence area, I know what's the issue. "I think I know" will not cut it. I must really know my area, inside out, backwards and forwards. Not only that, I must also really know not just my current competence area, but also another area such as radio networks or transmission. My technical knowledge must not only be deep, it must be broad as well. I'm still not sure about this part so I guess I probably need to talk to my manager about my path. Beyond the required technical competence, I must also demonstrate sufficient leadership qualities since Senior Engineers are expected to lead and mentor other engineers. A heavy responsibility, but one which I'm aiming for.
Next on the list is probably getting to know my religion a bit better. By better, I mean a helluva lot better. Nope, I don't plan to be those sanctimonious bastards who are purer than pure and whiter than white. To be honest, I think I've got better things to do than to go around telling other people how to live their lives. I've got my own personal demons to deal with anyway. By getting to know my religion better, I plan to focus on knowledge. Some people do Bible study. Me? I plan to do some Quran and Hadith study. There are many reasons for this being one of my plans for the new year. Partly, I've always been curious about the world around me, both in the physical and metaphysical sense. Secondly, there seems to be too many idiots calling themselves religious leaders and spouting nonsense about the faith. I hate those people and I plan to arm myself with the correct knowledge to avoid being misled by stupid propaganda and also present a more accurate interpretation of Islam during any discussions. Thirdly, if I continue going around screwing up my responsibilities as a Muslim, I might as well find out exactly what I'm screwing up at. Heh! Nope, the plan does not include me being a better Muslim. If that was part of my new year's resolution, I'd put this plan in the category below. :)
Very difficult/Needs divine intervention or a miracle
I need to be more honest with myself and start dealing with certain issues that I've been purposely ignoring/avoiding ...Y'know? I don't think I'm ready to write this part of my blog posting. Maybe some other time.
Happy new year 2007, y'all! :D
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