Looking back at 2009

Time of the year for making a recap list again. 2009 certainly zipped by.

Let’s see, I spent the first quarter of the year being unemployed… spending time in Singapore and in Beijing job-hunting, reading and generally relaxing. I say “generally” because there is this certain anxiety when you don't have an income, worry about when you're going to find a job, and feel guilty about any form of spending!

The main story of the year was that I got hitched twice, in 2 locations (to the same guy)! Beau is officially The Husband, but that sounds really “square” to call him that. Anyway for the benefit of continuity, I’m just going to stick with the afore-mentioned term. Getting hitched, and all the planning that came along with it is a whole story in itself. The miracle was surely, the fact we both survived the planning, the massive travel logistics for visiting relatives, and the handling of family relations relatively unscathed.

Trips: Numerous trips to Qingdao and Singapore (because of the weddings), enjoyed a short spring in Beijing with a couple of outings around the city, spent the may holiday in Luoyang, Henan to see the giant Buddha. Saw my first Beijing opera. A camping trip in July.

The rest of the time I spent working my a$$ off, and made several business trips down to Shangers and Hangzhou. The down side of it was that I was hardly in Beijing to establish a regular workout routine, but the bonus was that I managed to meet my old friends quite frequently.

Oooh.. and another highlight of the year was I made it 365 days without losing my wallet. Dare I say, it seems the annual curse has been broken for now.

Ended the year in Dongbei again. It’s the second year running I spent new year’s in freezing temperature. This time, I’ve outdone my self in Jilin, in -35deg C temp – I didn’t ever think I could survive this sort of weather. All the way there to see some bloody rime trees! Ok admittedly, it was all very nice but I’m definitely looking forward to a tropical holiday now.

Pictures to follow… soon as I get VPN or back home – whichever happens sooner.