My Ode To 2012

I know this is kinda late, but still a good reminder to myself.

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2012 has been a year of surprises and major changes. But one thing I've learnt - there's only so much you can plan in life and rather than put your life on a set course, learn to embrace the unexpected. When you find something or someone you love, go full steam ahead. Here's to 2013!

My top 12 moments of 2012 (in no particular order):

1. It was five years in the making, but I finally made it to Europe again with my SMU ladies, this time with our uncle Shawn and respective partners. Older, but still as giggly and prone to doing silly things. An amazing trip and immersion into the Communist history of Budapest, Vienna and Prague. 

2. It was on the same Europe trip that Lin Zhaowei rendered me speechless by proposing in the fairytale city of Prague, planning the whole thing in secret with my friends. He said he was disappointed that I didn't cry. I think it spoke volumes that a broadcast journalist was at a loss for words. I still break out into a goofy smile thinking about that special day. :)

3. It took us five years, but we finally got the family together for a family vacation of sun, sand, massages in Phuket. It will be my last Chan family vacation as a single.

4. Traveling to Japan twice - and it wasn't to Tokyo. Traveling with the soon-to-be mother-in-law and sister-in-law to Osaka where we witnessed a short but magical snow shower. And making my first trip with my fiancé to Kyushu, where we enjoyed the pleasures of our own in-room onsen.

5. Taking formal Japanese lessons. It was a pain having to keep to a regimen of homework, waking up early and trudging to Orchard daily for nearly 2 months for lessons, but a truly fulfilling experience that has in turn, enhanced my trips to Japan as I'm finally able to communicate with the locals beyond "hello" and "thank you". I'm still taking weekly lessons and hopefully working to greater proficiency. がんばって！

6. No. 5 was only possible because after 4.5 years as a journalist, I decided it was time to move on. Walking away from my first job, and what will probably be the most exciting office I will work in, was a hard decision, but a decision I embraced in exchange for work-life balance.

7. The 8 months of 2012 that I was a journalist still managed to pack plenty of punch - moving beyond my comfort zone of housing, I dabbled briefly with politics. I staked out a disgraced politician's house in high heels and short skirt and had my picture land on Zaobao; I immersed myself in opposition politics and witnessed firsthand the time and sacrifice required. I sat in the rain during a political rally and joined thousands of others who refused to budge, all carried there in the name of idealism and the desire for something better. Oh, and simply to "stick it to the man". 

8. A year of memorable "live" reports - nothing beats the adrenaline rush. Driven out of bed at 7am by panicking editors and rushing down to Dhoby Ghout to file a "live" report on train breakdowns, interviewing a minister "live" on tv, and taking a picture of him in loafers that went viral on the internet; doing my patriotic duty and throwing on my sunniest smile to report on the nation's birthday and meeting a guy who's been to every NDP since 1965; hopping on top of the CNA van with no harness and praying that I will not crash to my death or be struck by lightning for reporting on a disgraced pastor charged with fraud, and rounding it all off by going all white for the pretentious Diner en Blanc, only to be kissed by some smelly drunk ang moh. Oui oui!

9. Reconnecting with special places in Singapore that had languished too long in my mind. Rocking it out at Fort Canning for a David Guetta concert, exploring the spooky tunnels of Fort Siloso on Halloween, watching an Elbow concert at Esplanade. Great experiences made great by great people. 

10. Following the untimely demise of my pink iPod nano, I finally jumped onto the full Apple experience with my first iPod touch, courtesy of the fiancé. Aside from experiencing all the hype first hand (Instagram! iTunes! #hashtag! Hipster!), it was the thoughtful gesture from the fiance that still makes me grin from ear to ear..

11. Finally getting the time to cook a lot more and experiment in the kitchen. From Thai to Japanese to Italian to French to Korean, I've discovered something I truly want to immerse myself in, that I'm proud of and want to share with people. Nothing satisfies as much as knowing that I'm filling bellies with good eats.

12. Above all, it's knowing that I'm surrounded by my lover and best friend, family, friends, colleagues and even strangers who have filled my days with laughter, knowledge, companionship, tears, fears, and a myriad of emotions that make me feel truly alive.

Here's to a great 2013!