Goal #4: Get my salary increased by 15% by end 2008. Check check CHECK! 
My manager gave me the much-awaited letter yesterday. I already knew, as we had our salaries credited with the respective increments included, but was looking forward to the official announcement anyway. The funny thing is, before handing me the letter, my boss was saying that the company didn’t do too well (financially) last year, so the pay adjustment might not be much, maybe less than 10%. I was like, Eh? What is he talking about? And when I opened the letter, it said 15.4% increment. Haha. I guess Finance decided in the end to give that much.
So, I’m very happy. 
My family is happy for me, which makes me even happier.
Sometimes I find it hard to believe how much I’ve progressed since my career started three years ago. Back then I didn’t have any concrete goals or direction, career-wise. Luckily, somewhere along the way, I found out where I wanted to go, and here I am heading down that road with my heart in the right place.
My job scope will slowly become less & less technical from now on, so I’ll be spending some time formulating my career plan for the next one year or so. Actually, I’ve already started! It’s going to take plenty of time & work. But at least, I know I’ll be happy doing it.
Maybe one day I’ll reveal this top secret (haha, as if!) plan of mine here. Hee.
And I mean seriously lazy. I haven’t been concentrating on my tasks at work, nor completing my readings as scheduled, nor working on my assignments when I’m supposed to, nor filling in my daily Korean vocabulary list. Instead, I’ve been doing things I want to do, like watching movies / dramas / variety shows, reading travel guides, and all sorts of unproductive things. Seems like I’m experiencing one of those downtimes where I just wanna let go of my life for a while & drift.
I know it’s only been weeks since the Malaysia trip, but I feel like I need another getaway already. Or at least, some time off for me to refresh & recharge. But it doesn’t look like that can happen. Only 3 weeks to go till the school semester ends. A month to go till exams. Why the hell am I always counting down to something?!
(Frustrated, I am. Now I realise it.)
I want a sabbatical off work. Actually, I’ve been toying with the idea of having a short one around the time of my last semester in uni. Maybe a two-month long sabbatical – any longer & I’d be bored out of my mind, not to mention broke – for me to concentrate on finishing my honours project, then spend the time that’s left on travel & rest. Sounds good, right? But that’s that. I need a break NOW, really. In the past two years or so, there hasn’t been a single week where I could put life on pause & do whatever I wanted. I’m just so TIRED, mentally & physically.
In an attempt to lead a healthier lifestyle & get off our lazy butts (for YB & me, at least), the girls & I are starting our (what would hopefully be) weekly swimming outings this weekend. I just hope the weather, with its recent huffy mood swings, would be kind to us.
For weeks now I’ve felt like doing something different in my life. Maybe this whole making-swimming-a-regular-activity will be it.
Being in water.
Walking down the street with Khidir’s tiny hand in mine.
Starting the commute to work every morning with a favourite song playing on my iPod.
Receiving nice surprises in the mail.
Watching a Korean TV program & finding that I understand the verbal puns & jokes.
Seeing my family eat food I bought.
Helping newer or junior colleagues solve problems they face in their work.
Sharing food with Khidir.
Walking down the aisles of a supermarket, choosing my purchases.
Getting school assignments done way before the deadline.
Teaching Khidir new words (and finding out days later that he actually remembers them).
Finding unique sneakers in the exact colour I was looking for.
Wow, I’ve been invited by IRAS to “e-File” my income tax return online. Fantastic! You know, I’ve always wanted to pay my taxes but I was just too young for that the past couple of years.
…Ugh.
Sometimes I wonder why I have to do all these “adult things”. And then I realise with a start that I AM AN ADULT.
Shoot. It’s too late now.
- Go to a Korean concert along with some good company, like I did early this year. If I’m lucky, the concert would held here in Singapore. And if I’m really lucky, it’d be one of SG Wannabe’s or FT Island’s concerts. (Yeah, right! You wish, Jannah.)
- Participate in more fansubbing of Korean dramas. I had only one project (Taereung National Village) this year, and it was totally worth doing.
- Meet more online friends in real life.
And meet my already-met-offline online friends again.(DONE!) - Go on a short overseas trip by myself. I don’t know yet when or where, but obviously it should somewhere safe enough for lone travel. Preferably a place where I have friends staying.
Get a credit card.(DONE!) Actually, I’m rather averse to making purchases on credit. One of the rules I’d set for myself in terms of personal finance is to spend only when I can afford it, so I almost always pay in cash. Even my laptop, the most expensive single item I have ever bought, was paid in full. So why a credit card? I think this question would take an entire post to discuss, so I’ll leave it for another day.- Do an overseas qurban during Eid. I’ve wanted to do this for the past two years, but I didn’t plan ahead, so when the time came I never had the money set aside for it. This year will be different.
- Get a scuba diving license, if I can get someone to do it with me. I need a diving partner; someone who would go on diving trips with me.
- Buy Mama a MacBook. Okay, to be honest, I want a Macintosh machine myself, to replace my dying home PC. Since I already have a laptop, my mum would be using it most of the time, so let’s take it as me buying it for her. Haha.
Open a third bank account as a “secret” cum rainy day fund.(DONE!) You know, just in case something happens to me or my family & we need the money. The account shan’t be tied to an ATM card, so the money would be difficult to withdraw.- Start picking up basic Japanese. I’d like to learn some conversational phrases to get me started, then go on to learning the characters. Which I suspect would not be easy at all. >.<