The year of the strong ox

15 more minutes to the closing of the lunar work year 2008. I've packed up my desk, cleared and filed away all the KIVs in the tray, prepared my to-do list for next Thursday (I'm siao, I know), brought a couple of files home to work on over the long weekend, even had a slice of yummy pizza courtesy of a CNY-mood-siao colleague, and I'm all ready to hit the lunar 2009 year running.

2009 is gonna be great, I know it is! :D

Success isn't determined by your gifts, your abilities or your opportunities - it is determined by your ability to develop a great team.

The Law of the Inner Circle - those who are closest to you determine the level of your success.

Interesting thought of the day by John C Maxwell.

I burnt dinner last night. Such a humbling experience. And I mean, really. Not humiliating, but humbling. First time I managed to burn dinner. Hopefully, it's the last time I do that. Not fun to scrub the blackened plates and burnt meat. And I hope my pot is not eternally blackened - tonight I need to handle that. But yeah, this is something I should never forget - never steam till a pot is dry. Dumbo me.

Still alive. Too many things on my plate. And CNY this year is so early! The deco is up, and we've got the house spick and span (after 2 full weekends of vigorous cleaning, which was not that torturous all thanks to Part Time Maids Services PTMS Sdn Bhd). Only 5 more days left to complete the work deadlines before the long balik kampung weekend.

Aiyo, only 5 more days? No time to stop then - ta!

Handsomest

I am in love with this little guy - Ayush Mahesh Khedekar. He is incredibly talented, and too handsome.

The diet of a busy working adult

We haven't yet had a single eat-out dinner since Monday!

Last night, the darling cooked a yummy angelhair pasta dinner (too hungry and too excited - forgot to take a photo of his culinary creation). Had some white wine too - which I drank a bit too fast or much of, so had a dizzy head the rest of the night.

On Monday, we had Aun Kheng Lim's salted baked chicken from Ipoh - courtesy of the in-laws.

Tuesday was otak-otak from Muar. Nothing beats "A Class prawn & fish" otak-otak. I've still got a freezer-full of them, purchased during the Melaka Christmas trip.

Wednesday's was easy - microwaved chicken pies bought from Giant, because it was already quite late when I got home from work.

I guess if you don't intend to have 3 dishes + 1 soup, it saves a lot of money to eat at home.

I miss December already. Although it was a rather holiday-filled month, I was actually reasonably productive - largely due to the traffic-free roads.

But it's not that I don't like January. I love that at the end of this month, we've the noisy CNY celebrations. And in between, I've a million deadlines to fulfill. Most of all, I like that life is back to a routine. Routine's good - predictable.

My wishlist for 2009 :

1. Get my V number.
2. Travel minimally enough to keep me happy - Hanoi and one local island (Sabah or Terengganu is good)

Okay, I shall stop there. F-o-c-u-s.

Happy 2009

New year, new dreams. May 2009 be better than ever for all of us, and may everyone find strength within themselves to stay resilient for the rough days ahead. Whatever 2009 throws at us, let's hope we find a way to ensure that there's a reason to celebrate everyday :)

~KF & SF