Reflections on 2005

I have just read a few friends' blogs, and saw their reflections on the past year. I should too...but only briefly, because it is late, and tomorrow I have to work.

2005 started off without much fanfare, but life in the first half of the year was much more relaxed and I had a lot of time for friends. Despite having to tear out my hair writing software code and running seemingly endless simulations during office hours, I was always able to regularly pop by the Mt Faber SAFRA pool with Audrey and Chee Kong during lunch-time. We would enjoy ourselves in the pool and soak in the sunshine. Healthy living had never been so convenient.

Running life was also very much stable then. I was organising training runs for my colleagues every Friday evening (I added plyometrics to our routine in March), and we kept one another motivated for the important races through the year. I went on exciting holidays with the folks from same running gang: for instance, Chee Kong, Chee Keong, Chee Meng, Li Lian and I went on a cycling trip in Desaru and I went mountain trekking in Gunung Lambak with Ah Khen, Nanyan and family. I also had regular Wednesday lessons at MediaCorp to learn wushu from Vincent Ng and Leo Wen Yeow, who are among the best wushu practitioners in Singapore. I felt really fit and fab.

And there were the memorable fortnightly/monthly Sentosa outings which we would organise, during which my former colleagues and I would spend the whole morning playing beach volleyball and building upon our friendships. I remember one time when we were there, MediaCorp was filming an episode for its game show 朋友满天下 (Carlsberg World of Friends) and all of us ended up being invited to the Sentosa-Carlsberg Sky Tower to drink chilled beer and rub shoulders with artistes Terence Cao and Michelle Chong. :)

When I left the company, I had a couple of months to spare before I started my new (and current) job. In that short frame of time, I had the immense privilege of leading a team to Banda Aceh to help out in the reconstruction. I also put my hands to good use, repairing wheel-chairs that were to be sent over to hospitals in tsunami-stricken areas. This was one of the most meaningful periods of my life. Just before starting work, I also found myself being involved in SgRunners, and discovered a whole new community of running enthusiasts. I am extremely grateful for all these new friends of mine, as well as for my ichiban ex-colleagues :) The world is such an excellent place to live in, when it has these guys and gals inside.

Towards the end of 2005, in my new workplace, running life sort of spluttered like a spluttering engine. The late nights and the nature of my job left me drained and perpetually fatigued. I couldn't run as often as I liked, and I didn't have time for the training which I had hoped for. As a result, I had to give the 2005 Swissotel Vertical Marathon a miss...such a pity, I was ranked #22 in 2004, and I had hoped to better that ranking in 2005.

Nonetheless, I could still afford to train on the weekends with the Mt Faber SAFRA Club runners and my former colleagues such as Chris Ang, Chee Keong and Chee Kong. We ran and ran and ran, covering over 20-km during each session. It was exhausting work, but I enjoyed it.

But things took a bad turn when I injured my left foot in early November while training for the December marathon. After all my efforts at trying to train for the marathon (in spite of my busy schedule), I had to drop out of the race entirely. What's more, the day after the marathon, I was hospitalised and underwent operation for a bad infection in my right thigh. :(

But my former colleagues and SgRunners were there for me during this difficult time, and I am very thankful for their support. They kept my spirits up when I felt really low. I had friends who visited me at the hospital, and friends who visited me at home. As 2005 drew to a close, I celebrated Christmas Eve with my former colleagues and New Year's Eve with the SgRunners. God is truly gracious to me.

What's in store for me next in 2006? Only He knows, but I am fully confident that I am safe and that all is well in His good hands.