How time flies! Yeah, I know it's a cliche but it's especially so for me in 2010. I've achieved quite a number of things in 2010 as I keep finding ways to challenge and improve myself. One huge milestone was to quit smoking. As of today it has been 5 months since I had my last drag of a Dunhill. I would rank this achievement high up there along with other major milestones in my life. 2010 has also been a witness to a much fitter, healthier and stronger me. I'm in the best shape of my life - at least for as long as I can remember. I ran my first race a few weeks ago - the Malakoff 12km race - and was awash with the sweat of pride and achievement as I crossed the finish line (in a respectable time I might add). I never thought for the life of me I'd be able to run that far (without stopping even once) but I did it. Physically I can see myself transforming too - for the better. I've never really had a six-pack abs before but now I have one. I've been receiving compliments on my physique from people especially at the gym, which certainly helps in keeping up the motivation to do better.
Professionally I feel like I'm on the right track finally. I'm starting to fit in comfortably with my faculty and my colleagues have accepted me as their peer. Teaching went smoothly and I relish every opportunity to stand in-front of the lecture hall and engage my students in the enlightening topic of the day. I also finally finished my long overdue research proposal, which I sent out to a few academics and gotten very good feedback and encouraging remarks in return. I'm especially delighted about this research proposal since it took me a while - more than a year to be exact - to come up with a solid research question and hypothesis. I'm also doubly delighted that my proposal is well-liked by the people I'll be working with at the Australian National University in Canberra.
Yeah, it has been a pretty good 2010 for me. So, what is there to look forward too in 2011? First off I really need to finish my PhD and right now it's either going to be in Australia or Germany. I also hope that USM's budget will improve in 2011, so I don't have to rely and beg for outside funding. My current research proposal might need a few tweaking but I think overall it's pretty solid and almost ready to be implemented out on the field. Physically I'm ready to run a much longer race. I'm targeting the half-marathon (21km) in the Standard Chartered KL Marathon on June 26 and maybe a full marathon (42km) by year end. Recently I've started flipping through triathlete magazines and it seems like a very worthy goal to shoot for. It means that I have to work harder on my swimming pace and endurance as I've already had a good head start on running and biking. To finish a full marathon is a HUGE accomplishment in and of itself but to finish a triathlon... right now I can only dream and I'll cross that proverbial bridge when I get there.
Here's to a fitter, healthier, and more challenging 2011. Happy New Year y'all.
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