Love Mi
My first big ticket item after employment was to go Hong Kong to watch Sammi live in concert. The trip marked a few other firsts:
- Travelled alone
- Took A380
- Stayed overnight in an airport
In her concert themed “Love Mi”, Sammi talked about striving to do her best. That inspired me a lot, especially as my line of work is a thankless job. Instead of doing what other people think is best, I did everything to the best of my capabilities, so that I could even excel or carve new niches.
My work accomplishments are left for others to see.
Published A Novel
Leaving my name in the literary scene is one of my objectives in life, and doing it the traditional way, a.k.a publishing a physical book and having it archived in National Library Board was the best way to mark this milestone.
That book was the first of a three-part novel. I do hope I could find time to publish the 2nd and last instalment!
London, NYC, Paris and Tokyo
I was also glad to have visited 4 of the greatest cities in modern history. Yes, that took away much of my savings and set me back a few years. Although my retirement funds took a beating, at least I have a trove of memories that only belonged to me!
Driving License
I finally got my driving license on 25 Oct 2012, on my 8th attempt on the practical driving test.
To be fair, the 1st 7 attempts took place 4 years earlier, at Bukit Batok Driving Centre, which was agreed by most to be the easiest place to pass the test.
In 2012, on a money-is-not-a-problem mantra (taking 10 extra lessons than recommended by the instructor), I took up this challenge again, only to pass my driving test at Comfort Driving Centre, which was deemed by everyone to be the most difficult place to pass a driving test.
This incident went to prove 2 things:
- Failure is not an obstacle for me
- What worked for other people would not necessary work for me
ACTA
The driving test was the 1st major training I underwent ever since I graduated from NUS. I thought I had enough of school, but 2 years later, I decided to embark on the ACTA journey.
Advanced Certificate in Training and Assessment is a WSQ qualification that was related to my job scope. I aimed to complete it in the shortest possible time and including planning, I managed to accomplish that in a span of 8 months.
Self-Drive
After being familiar with local driving scene, the next step is of course to take on the world!
But of course, I chose the place that has the best (a.k.a easiest) driving environment: Hokkaido in summer.
That was a 6-day self drive experience never to be forgotten.
