Latest in the wrapping up series!

Well, 2020. Sure went EXACTLY as what everybody is expecting it to.

Much as I didnt want to...everything that happened this year revolved around this, save for the first couple of weeks of the year I think. And it's such a global thing that there is no escaping from it no matter where you are - one way or another, someone's life this year would have been affected by it. 

So the typical sections of my annual review - each of them inevitably featured COVID's impact, either as the main or supporting character. 

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Maybe let's start with the big one. To be honest, I have to be very grateful here - certainly there is a segment of the population whose livelihood have been majorly affected, and others to varying degrees, but mine is more towards a lower scale. 

For one, have stayed healthy - as with the other 99% of the population - because we got things under control to start, then when all hell breaks loose - the CB did its job to allow us to regrasp control which we have hung on to it for a while. Sure, there's the initial messaging that masks are not required (because we chose to believe in CDC - what do we know, wow) and the occasional odd and inconsistent application of policy but overall the numbers speak for itself. And may we never lose control of it again. 

People lose jobs, sectors of the economy shuttered completely (think travel industry), many stopped working during CB and never got their jobs back...none of it happened to me. Iron rice bowl indeed - the performance bonus in March still came against all odds (even though that turned out to be the last one we received this year and the rest got cancelled), no salary cuts etc. 

We are even able to move swiftly to a WFH mode and work as usual. Of course a lot of improvisation is required but everybody just have to make it work - because we realised soon enough that we arent returning to office anytime soon. So it ran so smoothly that I think it is now something that will stay in the long term. It certainly changed people's perception and changes a lot of things in future - office spaces reimagined, heck, office use itself reimagined. In some ways it forces people out of their comfort zone and showed them alternative arrangements can work - they just needed to adapt. 

For me, WFH was a novelty to begin with - I remember the excitement in spite of everything else that is going on around me when we were told to start split team arrangement and take turns to work at home. That first week was fun, then it morphed into a full WFH mode and CB started. Waking up 5 minutes before work starts, and being at home the minute we knock off. The weekly grocery trips which comes with bubble tea (until bubble tea shops are ordered to close sigh). The frequent Grabfood orders which became less frequent coz it's not cheap urgh. Experimenting with various recipes and eventually got bored of it and now I am just repeating recipes which I am familiar with (and worked). Getting bored of WFH and actually craving for social interaction to the extent that I am the one organizing catch up sessions imagine that. 

So I definitely think that our future working mode should be a hybrid and highly flexible one. Maybe a couple of days in office per week, and other days at home. Would be useful to attend to home issues e.g. I can easily get the air con guy to come in on a weekday now. Schedule deliveries etc. 

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Speaking about forcing people out of comfort zone...when I think back about 2020, undoubtedly the other big thing that happen is my transfer. 

Making changes at work is something that popped up in my mind every once in a while, but it finally happened this year. Not that I actively sought it out (had that been the case, it probably wont happen because of my usual fear for change) but nevertheless, I was happy to welcome it. 8 years in my past job, I was feeling kind of jaded towards the end and fed up at several things that I felt a sore need to shake things up. In fact towards the end the vibe was very much "bye I am outta here and never coming back". I think I kinda send out my farewell email in that tone lol. But dont get me wrong - I am proud of the work I have done, especially for RAG. It got on my nerves sometimes, there are a couple of times when I was very upset about it and ranted, but I am mostly thankful for the opportunity. 

And I do look back fondly on those days in the second half of the year. There's always a basis for comparison now - be it the work, or the leadership. I have preferences in different aspects. I like the very much shallower structure, but I miss the camaraderie. I miss being in control and being able to send out an assessment on my own - either because I am now unsure, and at any rate that is my boss' style anyway. 

WFH meant it's almost impossible to gel with your new colleagues, though I am half glad that majority of my new teammates are not unfamiliar faces even if we only knew each other professionally in the past. It's a lot harder to also pick up subtle nuances such as your boss' preference (really, the email can sound agressive but she probably dont mean it), or when she is free for discussions etc. 

At the end of the day, I think the work is meaningful, I am able to apply my past experience in some aspects of it, but for some strange reason the workload sharply declined towards the final quarter of the year that I don't learn as much, and so I never really felt that I have settled down fully because you really only learn from cases. At some point I got all depressed about not contributing much and wishing that I was back in former division (which, btw, was VERY happening) - to the point that I contemplated throwing letter without a follow up plan - but eventually came around it. Which was good news because my December was....let's just say, I am glad to be WFH during this December because I wont get judged for my lack of activity. 

So happened that I had a chat with my D just this morning - and at the very least I know what to expect now. This conversation really should have happened before I joined if I had my way, but oh well better late than never. I now know that there really was a plan in place for me to be exposed to different aspects that will be helpful to me when I move on (which I clarified that it may or may not happen), so I find that generosity very heartening.

Unlike COVID - I think my workload will spike magically at the turn of the year. And I think I am mostly looking forward to it. 

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So with travel restrictions left right centre - no travels for most of this year. I think coming in to the year I was actually envisioning this year to be one where I put in a couple more travel plans than usual...and in the end there's nothing. 

Not even home sigh. Which played a part in why I got all depressed some time in Aug and Sep, traditionally my half-yearly break at home. 

Obviously not my planned break before transfer either - which was a shame. I mean I dont think it made much of a difference in the end, but it's still a bummer.

On a positive note, did manage to squeeze in two trips at the beginning of the year - though barely made it for both. The first one, the usual BKK+home CNY trip, very nearly didnt happen too as cases are starting to trickle in and we already had to make more declarations than usual - to HR, for instance. The second trip, to KL for San's wedding - was nothing short of miraculous. I had jokingly declared that I would make the trip even if I had to resort to 偷渡, but there are already clusters of cases by then although they can still all be traced, and one week after we returned from the wedding the mega tabligh cluster in KL broke out (which spreaded to Bru too). And we all know what happened after that. 

So I was very thankful for that bright spot in an otherwise downright dreadful year when it comes to travel. And you know what else there is to be thankful for, as the year came to a close? Barring a disastrous pre-flight test, I am all but clear to be home for the next CNY :)))

Praying very hard that situation remains stable in both countries. 

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This would probably rank higher in my review had it be a normal year, but 15 years after first stepping foot on this island, I am now a citizen. On the surface I dont see major differences - it doesnt change my roots, my character, but I guess it's nice to called a citizen in the country you reside in for once. 

COVID played a part too, but as it turns out I didnt have to wait too long for the citizenship ceremony where you receive your new IC from the MP, maybe because it was Sept by the time I took my oath and officially became one of SG. 

It opens the door to a few things - property ownership (without an extra 5% of stamp duty), for one. Though some procrastination later and I now no longer have time to do so before my latest tenancy expires (in part because I planned to be away for a month soon). But that shall be a project for 2021.  

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Health and fitness! Kept up my routine from last year and I think I am where I wanted to be, so eased up by May and it's all about maintaining it now. And building up shape which isnt progressing very well actually. I dont see much difference even after months of effort though admittedly, I dont quite know what I was doing. Fiddled around with the idea of having a PT but I dont think if I really needed it, like, is that really what I wanted? It's just nice to have. And more like "if they can, why not me?"

Still, its amusing sometimes to bump into someone I havent seen in a while (there's plenty of them, at this rate) and observe the varying reaction. 

Another milestone is that I stopped going for phototherapy. Doctor agreed with my self-assessment (really I dont know why I am paying him so much for consultation when I am the one assessing) that my condition has stabilised and I can cut back on my medication (now just one pill per fortnight) and stop phototherapy altogether. The bad news is that there's a bit of localised flare ups, the good news is that it is very much controllable so I suppose we can stick to this routine, which is what I will propose to doc for the next review.

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Well COVID isnt going away magically at the turn of the year, so I suppose next year will be largely similar in that we are just going to have to keep finding ways to adapt, to get used to the so called new normal, and not lose hope - vaccinations are starting even if more convincing will be needed, and so COVID will go away eventually and life will return to normal as we know it. 

It must. 

Labels: COVID, milestones, thoughts, updates, wrapping up