Probably a week late, but with age, I do feel it is increasingly important to note down my thoughts and sentiments to summarise a year. Otherwise it is really a case of “the days are long but the years are short”. Not ideal as I approach middle age.
I re-read some my “resolutions” of the past years with some interest but probably more embarrassment and have humbly replaced it with “hopes” for 2023.
The 5 categories: Health; Wealth; Relationships; Work and Blog should encompass the bulk of life.
Health
Review of 2022:
- Stopped going to the gym after the birth of my baby boy as I prioritised my morning walks with him. Both of us have forged friendships with some retirees, maids, dogs and stray cats
- I lost weight, but little to celebrate since most likely a result of losing muscle mass, especially the lower body
- A silver lining is that I still largely keep up with about 100 push-ups a day
- Eating more home-cooked food since there is a helper to help with preparation and cleaning
- Only fell sick once (a few days ago) but it was pretty dreadful as every cough/sneeze was met with spasms for my back. Dreadful. Also explains why this post is late by quite a few days
Hopes for 2023:
- Help to cook some meals. The Mrs will be delighted if I finally pull this off after a decade of writing it down every year as a “resolution”. Obviously, beyond steaming chicken breast since I have to be empathetic to the Mrs’ fussier palate
- Resume gym membership once the baby enrols into a playgroup
- Accompany the Mrs for long walks in the morning
- Go for a comprehensive health check-up. I have been procrastinating for a couple of years and I believe at my age, it is imperative to do one every other year
- Cut down on sugary drinks, especially bubble tea. Although I have almost eliminated soft drinks from my diet (fast food is a notable exception), I still have a weekly habit of ordering a large green tea topped with golden bubbles at 50% sugar level from Koi
Wealth
Review of 2022:
- This is probably the first year my networth has fallen. In previous bear markets, the net savings would always more than make up for any investment losses
- Crypto was especially painful, since I do know of some friends or readers that made the leap after reading some of my articles. Total wipeouts included Luna, Hodlnaut, Celsius and FTX. Avoiding all of them was rare for a Singapore crypto participant
- Stocks did not perform much better. My sentiments are similar to Heartland Boy’s. Although my overall performance is slightly better, any form of outperformance was due to timing (buying more in a bear market) rather than having any real alpha in stock picking. A switch to a more passive strategy over the past few years has been the right call
Hopes for 2023:
- Interestingly, I am probably beyond establishing a magical number. First, market performance is largely out of my control and I am no longer “looking forward” to a certain stage
- I reached a very conservative Lean FIRE number a few years ago and is increasingly tired of delaying gratification. I am at the stage where I start to prioritise life goals ahead of wealth goals
- For example, I am adamant that we will take 3-6 months off when Baby 15HWW turns 6 and experience living in a different city. Otherwise, what was the point of leaving corporate life 7 years back?
- Our level of wealth will probably only dictate how many months we spend in Vancouver vs Chiang Mai/Hanoi
- If we execute a move to a new flat in 2023 (still 50/50 about it), hopefully it will not adversely impact our finances. It should not, theoretically
Relationships
Review of 2022:
- I spend alot of time at home, especially with the Mrs and baby. In fact, the helper is probably the third person I have the most social interaction with. A little sad but true
- Other than that, it’s been spending time with the extended family, especially for the Mrs side. I meet my siblings probably once a quarter and close friends probably once every half a year?
- The days pass by really quickly when it revolves around the baby’s feeding and sleeping schedule
- There are downsides to spending so much time with the baby. He is almost never alone and hence, does not want to be alone. Even though he is approaching 10 months old, he has not started crawling and will instead wait to be carried by either his Mom, Dad or the Aunt.
Hopes for 2023:
- I am not feeling it yet, but maybe I could become a victim of the loneliness epidemic in the near future
- Because of my work, it is hard to make new friends of the same age group as me which actually causes my social circle to dwindle since you will also lose some “old” friends as you age for whatever reasons
- Probably need to make more of an active effort for “friendship renewal”
- Requires a mindset shift which I am uncertain if I am capable of, honestly
Work
Review of 2022:
- A year of cruising since I only had typically two lessons on a weekday
- My N Level students did ok for the subjects I taught, but not well enough to qualify for PFP. Sadly, battles can be won but rarely the war
- Enrolment continues to be streaming in since I still manage to positively impact my students’ results 2/3 of the time
Hopes for 2023:
- No A Level student for the first time in a while. Still indifferent as to whether I should stop teaching A Level students. They generally take up a big proportion of my free time but the flip side is they provide the most fulfilment
- The decision will be postponed for a year since I have a big cohort of O Level students this year and quite a few are expected to pursue the “increasingly painful” JC route
- All weekend lessons are “group” lessons and even some weekday lessons are also “group” lessons, which bodes well for sustainability with a child in tow. A greater yield for the time spent at work is on the cards
Blog
Review of 2022:
- Became more active towards the end of the year, posting almost twice a week during the last quarter
- Managed to create my own bonus with some sponsored posts to supplement my income
- Experimented with several types of articles and through some trial-and-error, knows which articles generate views/engagement. Ironically, I tend to dislike writing these articles the most
Hopes for 2023:
- Become more consistent. Almost 10 years of blogging and 500 posts so on average about 1 post a week. But there are months or years when I have neglected this blog. Guess a commitment of at least 1 post a week should instil abit of much-needed discipline to write something regularly
- Continue to remain relevant even after ten years. I started this blog as a first-jobber and increasingly over the years, I feel that I am past my sell-by-date. There is a need to remind myself not to write for the sake of writing too
- I personally think there are around 100-200 folks who consistently reads what I put out, regardless of the quality. A subset of this have reached out to me either through comments or emails and I am hugely appreciative of it
Conclusion
I hope every year will be better than the last since every next year could be the last. Sounds morbid, I know but it is the truth.
All in all, 2022 was a great year as I welcomed my newborn to our family, after trying for so many years and facing many disappointments along the way.
If you have not penned down your thoughts for 2022 and hopes for the new year, I do urge you to do the same either on a physical diary, or just type it and then print it out. Your future you will thank you for setting aside an hour or two to do it.
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