2015 Annual Review

What Went Well / Thanksgiving

• Exit Minimart: Had a heck of a #YOLO experience managing a minimart, and exiting it. Thankful for all the family and friends who supported, and thanks to God for the last minute miracle that we actually managed to sell it! 
• Moved in to our first home: Received the keys to our first home in May, signed up for the 30 year HDB loan, cleared the defects (which were few) renovated, packed 40 boxes of things, and moved in in July! All in all, very glad to have a place we can call our home, a sanctuary from the crowds, a place to chill after a hard day's work and just enjoy the Grohe rainshower. Our home is our daily staycation :) We cooked a lot as I idled away the remaining months of no pay leave and mastered frying omelettes, stir fry poultry dishes, and deep fry fish. Feels more confident if I ever have to stay home and cook one fine day. Though I can hardly imagine myself doing so full-time as it is no joke to think of what to cook every day, lunch and dinner! So many times just want to order tingkat #outsourceftw. And now, we are in the midst of preparing the baby room, cos...
• Hello Baby: Found out that I'm pregnant in Aug! Baby boy Samuel - coming soon Apr 2016 :) 
• Back to work: Thankful for the bosses' understanding despite my pregnancy and welcome me warmly back. I'm thankful for my sisters' advice to stick to the old job and not try a new job so there will not be undue stresses to handle while going through my pregnancy. Stable income suits me. Get to evening walk to MRT from office - that's all the pathetic exercise I'm doing nowadays. 
• Learn new skills: 
• In 2015, we moved all the accounting to MYOB which is so much more awesome than Excel in generating reports and tracking receivables and claims. 
• Started on the Coursera's Data Scientist Toolbox course, though I won't be able to finish it by end of the year...
• Weekly Badminton: We were religiously booking the badminton courts weekly and after I got pregnant, Alex continued with the weekly sessions. So thankful for his committed kakis!
• Meet up with Malaysia relatives. Big Uncle's 70th Birthday. Alex drove mum and me up to KL to join in the big celebration! So glad to spend some time with mum in this way, and all our relatives on dad's side.
• Investment: Managed to move out of the stock market before the crash. And back in again to collect dividends at a cheaper cost :) Didn't really track how much dividends I collected in 2015, and started an excel to track the stock transactions to have a clearer picture in 2016. 

What Didn't Go So Well

• Minimart was super tiring! Managing the inventory, suppliers, customers and part time workers! Mum was very reluctant to help out cos we were selling cigarettes >< so expected right. 
• Bye bye ECOS. We finally #letitgo. For ourselves, and for our baby. We just went back twice in December, one sermon was about tithing is v impt and the other was a very long testimony of a brother who was in depression which took up the whole sermon time. To me, the quality of the sermons is just not quite there. So, a tough decision, but I'm really glad we made it. 
• Staying with Parents in law. Alex's parents don't seem very comfortable to stay with us :( Quite worried if they will pang sei us and not help to take care of the baby.

Lessons from the Journey

• Dare to negotiate. Don't ask, don't get. Now I know why aunties will always ask for free spring onions in the market.
• Procrastination kills. Whatever you want to do, do it now. Whether it's calling the suppliers to order goods, cos I notice the inventory is decreasing, or thawing the pork to prepare for meals. It's no use knowing you have to do something, but you don't do it. 

Goals for 2016

• For the Soul

• Settle down in Trinity Christian Centre. Joined biaojie's cell group christmas gathering, but Alex thinks the people are too mature for us - kids already in primary school. Hope to find a group which is closer to our own age / starting as parents.

• For the Mind

• Finish Data Scientist Toolbox course
• Read a book each month. Now reading: First Time Mom :D

• For the Heart

• Dinner with mum at least once a month cos she's living alone now, I guess she will be coming over much more once I deliver the baby. 

• For the body

• Get back to pre-pregnancy weight
• Eat fast food once a month only
• No sweet drinks
• Exercise at least 2x a week
• No carbs after 8pm

• For the finances

• Eat expensive (more than $20 pp) once a month only
• Get $400/month of dividends 

Key events in 2016

• Parents in law moving in with us?
• Samuel's baby shower in Aug
• Renew COE in June