2013! (:

So in a blink of an eye, the year has come to an end. 2013 has been a year of difficult decisions, but at the same time, it has also witnessed change, determination and hard work. I've done a lot of things for the first time, which I didn't think I was capable of doing, and created a lot of things, which I know I'd be proud of for a long time. So here's the year in summary!

January:

For me, eating is one of the favourite activities in Hanoi simply because there are just too many places with good food to visit. And thanks to my KPMG friends, I've discovered so many new spots hidden in various corners of the city with amazing dishes!!

Good bye to Hanoi's winter and hello Saigon's bright sun and clear sky!

And my mom and her friends decided to meet up in Singapore (even though they were all in Vietnam and could have just met up there) in late January. It's interesting how spontaneous they were, to decide to go overseas on such a short notice. Seeing them together made me wonder whether my friends and I would be the same, in 30 years' time!

February:

Ha's birthday celebration with the batch-mates/ house-mates/ best friends for 9 years! Hehe you're now a quarter of a century old!

And soon, it was Lunar New Year and my brother and I went back home to spend it with the family. Indeed, one of the lessons I've learned after being away from home for 8-9 years is that it is a must to go home for Lunar New Year, no matter how expensive the tickets are or how many lessons you have to skip!

And of course, the 7 dwarves continued the tradition of visiting temples together on Lunar New Year!

I also had a chance to meet up with my other secondary school classmates who sent me home everyday when we were in school together and spent hours gossiping outside my house!

March:

I took astronomy as an elective this semester in school and was thrilled by the wonders of the universe. And here's one of the photos I took during the moon-gazing session organised by the teachers. The moon is so pretty!

Because ACS Founders' Day was in March, there were a lot of meet-ups with ACSians this month too (nah, actually these were all coincidental haha). It felt as if nothing had changed since we were growing up in the "Red - Blue - Gold - Watch it unfold" era together!

And March was concluded with a celebration for my little princess' birthday!

April:

Getting to watch the play at least from the best seat in the whole of Victoria Concert Hall at Hall 10's Hall Production (:

In April, I also made a decision to take up a part-time job at Mr Bean, which later changed my life almost completely. Despite having to wake up at 4-5am on some days to go to work and rushing to school after my shift had ended, and having to stand for hours and doing tasks which I wasn't particularly fond of while getting paid peanuts, I learned things which would otherwise take years for me to find out by myself so it was all worth it! And it was a chance for me to explore what I was capable of doing with my determination.

Amidst the lessons and project meetings at school, the part-time job and the sister-ly duties at home, I always tried my best to set aside some time to meet up with old friends. I just can't express in words how thankful I am for having these people in my life, going through ups and downs and growing together!

May:

A trip across multiple destinations in South-east Asia to celebrate our graduation (:

And when I finally came back to Singapore after the grad trip, I became so absent-minded for some odd reasons and MISSED MY FLIGHT HOME!!! For someone who always claimed to be an organised planner like me, finding out the news that the timing of the flight was changed and the plane had departed while still at home was a horrendous experience. Thankfully after frantically making several phone calls and being on hold for hours, I got everything under control and got free tickets home the next day! :D 

June:

No thanks to missing my flight, my brother and I were forced to travel to Sầm Sơn for a retreat with my mom's hospital colleagues immediately upon touching down in Hanoi. Trust me, it wasn't fun! >.<

After I was back to Hanoi after the retreat, my friends came to join me for a trip to Sapa after they just finished touring East Malaysia without me!

Rarely had all of us been back in Hanoi together since JC but we managed to finally make it happen this year, celebrating Gâu's birthday together at her house (with her beloved parents too hehe)! And we found out during this meet-up that someone was engaged!!

More road-side food with the dwarves!

And the compulsory annual family trip to Đà Nẵng!

July:

Back to Singapore again with the family for convocation!

To be honest, I wasn't a big fan of ceremonies like this (well, maybe I used to but not anymore) but I actually felt very emotional when I was standing with the rest of the graduates inside the auditorium. To me, it was more than just a university convocation but more like a celebration of all my 8 years of education in Singapore (Don't laugh, but I actually teared and I thought I was such a joke!) When I was listening to the speeches, memories from the ELBC 9 years ago, from SCGS and Oldham Hall 7-8 years ago, from ACJC and NUS High 5-6 years ago and through my 4 years in unversity just all came back to remind me of the long journey with a lot of life events and milestones. And among these captures of the past were faces of the people, without whom I couldn't have made it this far. Thank you, you know who you are!

And meet-ups with the favourite people in Singapore!

So these were the results of my 9 year education in Singapore!

August:

August marked the start of a new chapter of my life - the chapter of exploration, creation and adventure. And a major part of it happened right in this small shop house! (This is the 'before' photo.)

Bubble tea and movie date with the dwarves!

September:

Remember I told you that the new chapter of my life was all about exploration and creation? Indeed, there were a lot of things which I did for the first time in my life, like talking to lawyers and Vietnamese government officials, discussing shop design and renovation, ordering and monitoring the production of signboard and furniture, etc. But it was also the first time in my life when I felt that I was CREATING something meaningful! (This is the 'during' photo.)

And here's the fruit of our labour - the first Super Bean was prematurely born on 15 September (yes, another reason to make September my favourite month of the year) while it was not exactly fully ready to face the world but it has grown a lot since then with continuous changes and improvements. Grow up well little baby! (This is the 'after' photo.)

Farewell party to Ết béo - have a great experience in the UK, I'll visit you there some day!

Birthday celebration with the family!

October:

Didn't I mention that 2013 was a year of 'first-times'? It indeed was. One of the first times was being caught by the traffic police for the first time! >.<

Being a playful person and a good grandchild, I followed my grandfather and grandaunts to the countryside for a day break away from the city hassles, running in the green rice fields and playing with cows and pigs! :D

November:

Back to winter and it was so cold again, grrrrr! However, I was always kept warm whenever I was at work in Super Bean, thanks to Miu - the Super Bean's cat, who always jumped right onto my lap every time I sat down on a chair. And it was so nice hiding on the second floor taking afternoon naps with Miu too! (But at the end of the day, all my clothes smelt like Miu!)

December:

Killing two birds with one stone - birthday celebration with friends while spying on competitors! :p

To celebrate Christmas and New Year, Super Bean family decided to close shop for one afternoon and went for a hot steamboat on a cold winter day! From strangers, we've grown to become sisters who went through both moments of laughter and moments of tears (while being scolded by the big mushroom) together. Let's grow together, and with Super Bean!

Oh and when in Vietnam, I'd been 'used' as a tour guide on several occasions, like whenever any of my friends and their friends came here for holidays. And I always brought them to the same few places haha! :D

Birthday celebration and spying mission part 2 in December! (:

So 2013 has come to an end. I'm thankful for everything that has happened and for everyone I've met in 2013. Let's work towards making 2014 an even better year! (: