A recap of what I have gone throughout the year 2007.
JANUARY
- Had a simple New Year 2007 celebration, but did not go for any countdown in the town. Instead, just had a quiet celebration with family members.
FEBRUARY
- Started blogging with my very first post.
- Had a farewell dinner for the batch leaving for Japan in early April.
- Celebrated Chinese New Year 2007 for the last time as it would be at least a few more years before I got to celebrate it at home again.
- Finished my foundation studies in PPKTJ.
- Sent for a BTN camp a.k.a. brainwash camp at Malacca. First visit to Malacca after almost 10 years.
MARCH
- Got my personal laptop eventually.
- Had several farewell parties and meeting ups before leaving for Japan the next month.
APRIL
- Touched down safely in Tokyo under raining condition in a chilling morning.
- Saw sakura (cherry blossoms) for the first time.
- Celebrated my 20th birthday abroad for the first time. It was so coincident that there was a gathering dinner among the Malaysians in Nagaoka. So, it can be considered as a two-in-one celebration.
- Went for hanami (sakura sight-seeing) during the spring with senpai.
MAY
- Went down to Tokyo for the annual Golden Week gathering.
- Got my brand new digital camera.
- Chelsea lost the Premiership title to Manchester United.
- Started to feel the food sick syndrome.
JUNE
- First time having exams and how it affected everyone.
- Tried cooking something for the first time in Japan. It was nothing much, just a bowl of instant ramen.
- Had the hostel festival with some red-light-district performances.
JULY
- Went to the biggest island (excluding the four main island) in Japan, Sado Island with the rest of the foreign students from my college for a trip.
- Finally, after more than four months in Japan, I was hit with an earthquake. It was the first time and it hit me really hard - a magnitude 6.6 quake.
- The month when she said "yes" to me.
AUGUST
- The time when all the summer festivals are celebrated. It started with Nagaoka Festival, then followed by Nagaoka Fireworks Festival for two consecutive nights.
- Started the first part of my summer trip. Went to Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto with a few batchmates and it was followed up with the Hiroshima trip with Kok Hong.
SEPTEMBER
- Second part of my summer trip continued a week after I finished up the first part. This time, it was Hokkaido.
- Had my first drive in Japan - without a valid license.
OCTOBER
- Celebrated Hari Raya in a new and different atmosphere with the Malaysians in Nagaoka.
- Went for a pear hunt.
- My battle robot failed miserably in the battle with the other robots.
- Learnt some Japanese culture in a workshop.
NOVEMBER
- It was heading towards the end of the autumn. Went for some maple leaves sight-seeing trips at Okutadami Dam and a maple park at Momijien.
- Another new experience while living in Japan. This time it was experiencing the snow for the first time ever in my life. The excitement got better when the whole place was covered in snow.
DECEMBER
- The month that I was looking forward to the most. It was not for the ski and snowboard trip, but it was the trip back home. I only got to spend barely ten days in Malaysia, but personally, it was a worthy trip. I met her up in Kuala Lumpur and we went down to Malacca for a couple of days. I will be making those updates very soon.
ROUND-UP OF YEAR 2007: To be fair, it was not a bad year as I took myself to another stage in my life. It was an exciting experience and an eye-opener having got the chance to learn new things in a totally new environment and culture. Having said that, it wasn't all only full of bed of roses. There are times when I was emotionally down to the maximum but it was a fortunate thing that I managed to grab myself up every time. I would like to extend my appreciation to all my family members, friends and whoever I might know or not who has been giving a continuous support throughout the year. Apologies as well to anyone who I might have offended as I am sure it was not intended, whether in the real life or in this blog.
I am not a person who do a new resolution every time a new year comes around. Nevertheless, I just have a simple wish, that is hoping for a good health, happiness and everything goes smoothly in the new year ahead.
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008