With close to 16 hours spend at work, exercising and studying during the weekdays, you are fully aware of the abundance of time which weekend brings. That's why everybody tend to squeeze everything into these two days; checking out new food haunts, grocery shopping, paying the bills, major spring cleaning, etc. Even you are also caught up in this race; doing weekend grocery shopping, spring cleaning, paying bills, etc. So much for weekends being rest days to relax. Sometimes you wonder it is due to societal pressures which makes people lament about the lack of proper rest. Perhaps it's one of the trade-offs of being one of the most competitive countries in the world. 

You wouldn't bat an eyelid to apply for leave on weekdays just so you can enjoy all these little things in life. You have grown to love the tranquility that weekdays bring; savouring a leisurely breakfast of thick local coffee with toast and eggs at CMC, sitting by a cafe with a novel/kindle, having the entire gym to yourself as you work those fats off or even checking out the attractions which you always wanted to visit.That's why prefer to shop or browse during the weekdays where it's quiet and you don't have to contend with the crowds.

And it was always good having J's company as you spend quality time together which was a challenge given the long working hours both of you have. It doesn't have to be fanciful meals or just movie watching, but the simple joys of having traditional breakfast of coffee, toast and eggs, sitting by the beach and enjoying the breeze or even spending the entire afternoon reading books by a cafe. Looking back, you were sure that you could do this with her for the rest of your life.

But of course, the tribulations of life doesn't allow things to happen the way you wish it could be. Everything happens for a reason and nobody should be held responsible for the failings. Both of you are entitled to your own choices; the best of all options available after taking into account several factors. Life will go on and if things are meant to be, both of you will find each other again, somewhere, somehow.    

These few days have been an intense emotional ride for you. It was bad enough for you to break away from the study and exercise schedule for this week. You feel exhausted, alone and vulnerable. To mitigate these feelings, you are hitting the bottle to relax after a hard day of work. You know you have to control this monster for once it's fully unleashed, the repercussions can be severe.

Where you used to share your joys/sorrows/work frustrations with J and hug each other's stresses away, you can't and won't do it anymore. You prefer to hide behind the wall of smiles and not let anyone (including her) to worry about you and feel obliged to show concern. She is married and certain lines and boundaries have to be maintained to prevent any complications. Some may argue that even if one can't be lovers, they can always be friends (just like the 王晓明 赵薇 relationship she once shared with you). But sadly, you have never subscribed to the school of thought.

While some may suggest turning to your friends. But guys, being guys will hold back their feelings, bottle up the tears and try to bury everything within. Unlike guys, girls will have their best girlfriends rally and be there to cheer them up in a second. They would know what to say, when to listen, and how long to let the complain go on until they are extricated from that slump. With her, you can let down the walls and be vulnerable without being judged.
 
Sometimes you wonder why the chemistry and rapport between both of you are so excellent. Both of you never had the answer and perhaps never will. But one thing is sure. She saw through your wall of defences and got to the real you, the sensitive side of you and changed you for the better through all the shared experiences. She is the wifey material you have been searching for through your life, which again, has been taken away (Ego at work, you guess).

But change is a constant. As with every downs, there will be an upswing and you will be alright one day, someday. Good night, world.

An article you read in the papers caught your attention this morning and set your mind thinking. It was an interview with the Chairman of SICC on the expectations of our fellow countrymen. Despite being a naturalised citizen, his words has struck a chord with you, for you used to take alot of things here for granted. 

It seems like your fellow countrymen seems to have the notion that the country and government owes them a living. It's not surprising for our generation and those after you have never suffered any hardship before. While history often contains plenty of lessons on how the country was built up through the resilience and perseverance of the fore-fathers, the younger generation have the mindset that the country will not go downhill since everything is so well-thought out by the government. 

Thus, everyone tends to point fingers at the government when prices go up, public transport breaks down and that your wages are stagnant. While you used to be guilty of that, a stint overseas has made you realised that you are the result of your own actions. The government can only do so much and the rest is up to each and every individual to chart their own life, build mental resilience and take ownership of the country's future. As mentioned by a distinguished person, that economic realities that Singapore has no hinterland like China or India to fall back on in the event of crisis has not penetrated into the mindset of your young fellow countrymen.

Even before this article appeared in the papers, you have been reflecting about it. You have thought about it as you drove around in the mornings. Granted that it may be a blatant waste of petrol since owning a car and driving in Singapore can be an expensive enterprise, both financially and mentally. Yet the freedom of zipping down the expressway (your favourite being the ECP-MCP-AYE stretch) with the sunroof open and windows down can be a therapeutic one, especially during the early mornings, when the sun is starting to make is foray up the eastern skies and the air is still cooling.

It's a form of escape for you, just like flying. Ideally, you would prefer to soar into the wild blue yonder and fleeting through the clouds. But since your licence doesn't allow you to do that, you will have to make do with driving. Perhaps when your finances are much more stable someday, you may take to sailing for it is also a form of escape.

Some may wonder, why and what are you escaping from?

Are you escaping from yourself or the realities of life?

You do not have an answer. On one hand, you need your space to ponder on life by escaping but on the other hand, you hate the prospect of loneliness. You often wished that someone would join you on these adventurous exploits and deep conversations. When you thought that you have found the someone in J, circumstances have to break both of you apart.

Such is life, when you constantly searching for the meaning of everything, the meaning of life. 

When you see your pro-rated salary credited into your bank account, you felt a load off your shoulder. The immense relief of finally earning your own keep and being able to rebuild your finances again is something which words can never describe. Unfortunately, the Empress Dowager doesn't see it that way.

You want to contribute more but with a pay cut and a need to cater to the 5-year plan, a balance between a rapid finance buildup and familial duties coupled with loan repayments has to be struck.You are already trying your best, but the answer of "这么少?" sure hurts. But you know a trade-off is necessary. A discussion with your FA has necessitate plenty of modifications to the buildup plan. Even the amount of money catered for the housing and renovation was modified based on her recent experience of setting up her home. Throughout the exchange, the plan was revamped (including a complete rework of your insurance portfolio) to ensure that the maximum value can be extracted. Despite having initial concerns over the ambitious plan, you know that it is feasible after going through a few rounds of deliberation. 

With the buildup plan sorted out, you can focus on your work, studies and exercise regimes. The work is starting to build up with plenty of reading on new policies and government regulations. Despite having joined the Company for only two weeks and still on probation, you have been roped in for a few projects on top of your own portfolio of work. While not as hectic as the Force, the learning curve is getting steeper as the day goes by. But you are of the opinion that with proper time management and task prioritisation, you would be able to handle the stress and pressure.

As you gaze upon the twinkling stars, you are starting to miss J again; how her head fits into the nook of your chest, the warmth of her hugs, the sweet scent of her shampooed hair, the constant banter and how you much you long for these again. Despite the fact that you are still in contact, the unspoken barrier is something which both of you are holding firm to. Both of you have erred before and hoped that history will not repeat itself.

To her, you are just history; her ex-lover, soulmate and training buddy. Now, as time goes by, her feelings and heart-thumping moments when you are together would have diminished. You are just one another of the friends she have. But in your heart, she means the world to you and if anything happens to her, you know that you will drop everything and be there for her. Anytime. Every time. All the time.

But of course, nothing will happen to her, for she is in extremely good hands and one filled with plenty of TLC.

Happy weekend!!

Awakened by a nightmare, you might as well utilise the tranquility of pre-dawn darkness to pen down your thoughts. The brain can be an interesting piece of God's creation. For all the science devoted to the study and understanding of it's functions, mankind is still in awe of it's functions and how emotions affects it. Take for example, this instance. Who would had thought that you would be wide awake at 0400H after a mentally exhausting 10-hour workday and 1.5 hour of studying?

Perhaps it's the combined stress of work, studying, finance, thoughts of her that has contributed to this incredible nightmare. Sometimes it's during moments like this, you wish you could head down to your favourite ECP to feed the mosquitoes listen to the soothing waves and await the spectacular sunrise with a mug of black coffee. But it's never fun doing it all by yourself.

Sometimes you wonder why you bother so much, for nightmares tends to be the opposite of reality. But yet, it seems so vivid and the worried look on her face was enough to set off the dormant alarms. You know that everything is in good order, for she has always been able to stay in control of the situation and mitigate whatever crisis there may be in good order. Furthermore, she is in the good and capable hands of the chosen one. So why are you still so concerned about her?

To preserve the inviolable sanctity of the union, trade-offs have been inevitable. You thought that by exhausting yourself through work, study and exercise, everything would be normal again. But it seems like you have failed. And you thought that you are strong enough to get over everything. Guess you are not as strong as you think you are and that it has affected you on a deeper level than you think.  

Everything will get better with time. Hopefully.

Dreams have an interesting way of making it's presence felt. When you are experiencing the best of it, you just wake up and wonder whether it is real. But dreams are just figments of our imagination, one which, psychologists have mentioned before, gives an insight into your state of mind. Since this dream you had was so vivid, you have decided to jot it down.

The scene was at the airport terminal boarding lounge. You were checked in for a flight to Perth and while waiting for the gate to open, you bumped into S and her parents, relaxing at the chairs deep in their world of mobile phones. To digress away for a while, you noticed that alot of people these days are so engrossed in the world of mobile devices that you see them watching their dramas or playing game while commuting to work. Even for a simple meal, you see people engrossed with their mobile phones instead of with each other. Has interaction between one another transcended into another state whereby instead of talking face-to-face, one has to go through social media to communicate? What's happening to the physical interaction aspect?

Back to the dream.

As you walked pass her towards the windows (you love sitting by the windows watching the aircraft taxiing into their parking bays, watching the pilots doing the shut-down sequence), she looked up and you just exchanged smiles and waves. As you stood by the window watching the aircraft and mentally going through the pre-flight checks and system checks, she tapped you on your arm and got you out of your dreamy world. She is still as nice and funny as ever, which has not changed her despite years of flying (she is a cabin crew). She is headed to Taiwan with her family for a short vacation, which she has not gone for a while.

Just as you wanted to catch up over the last few years, the alarm sounded and you were brought back to reality. Dreams.

  

You have survived the week without feeling worst off. The dormant brain has finally been fired up by the numbing brain exercises, leaving you mentally exhausted at the end of the day. But, you have managed to stick to the schedule of running and studying (with the exception of Friday due to long meetings which prevented you from leaving on time).

When asked by a fellow ex-Service friend how you are adapting to the environment, you quipped that it isn't as hectic as back there. Even though there are peak periods, both of us agreed that the work-life balance has improved. Apparently, you were told by your friend that the ex-Service personnel were brought into Company because of their experiences in the development and implementation of process and structures. Adding to their good working attitude and ethos, it was one of the contributing factors which attracted their attention.

In fact, you are humbled by their appreciation of you. You feel that your talents are over-hyped for you are just someone ordinary doing his job, trying to improve on the processes and structure, making your work life easier. After a week in the Company, you noticed that a few areas notice are lacking and would need further refining or development. Even though you are new, you tend to read the HR website before asking more questions about these areas. You also share some of the experiences you have garnered in the Service even though you are new in the area. Hopefully, you would be able to learn more and contribute to the effective working environment.

On a sidenote, you had a weird dream last night. You dreamt that J has cut her hair shorter above the shoulder. Given her facial features, it suits her well. You continue to miss her and hope that she is doing well in all aspects of her life. But like everything in life, one has to know their pecking order and you do know that, in her life, you belong in the lower rung than the previous times. Sometimes you still imagine how it would turn out if you are together. Perhaps, both of you would be heading to work together, taking the train and bus, walking to work and kissing each other goodbye as you separate to your work place. The pattern would be repeated after work where you meet up and where you hug her stress away, have a dinner and head on home.

It's always good to dream once in a while, isn't it? Happy weekend!!

After a whirlwind of introductions to the senior management and fellow colleagues, one which tested the memory capacities of your HDD, plenty of reading and training, 3 days have flashed by since you started working in the Company. Having acclimatised to the daily grind of a public commuter and office life, you can finally pen down some of your thoughts.

While everybody has been cordial, you realised that you miss the comaraderie and espirit-de-corps of the military and flight school. It is definitely true that it's a dog-eat-dog world out there and everybody is very guarded against their own interests. In addition, the typical long hours and tremendous pressures that you are accustomed to are surprisingly not seen in the Company' Staff report for work on time and leave on the dot. Often, you are one of the last few in the office within 15 mins. Indeed, you felt that it's a breeze compared to what you have went through.

Indeed, you are experiencing the culture-shock at the slow pace of work life. You hope that sharp and critical mental acumen that have been honed by years of military service would not be degraded over time. To keep that mind sharp, you have been keeping a regime of studying on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. You hope that your mind will be kept sufficiently engaged by studying for the ATPL exams. Not only the mental aspects have to be exercised, the physical aspects needs to be engaged too. Thus, Tuesdays and Thurdays are catered for track running (Tuesdays and Thursdays) with Saturdays catered for long distance running.

Despite the punishing schedule, you still think of J. There are times you will just stand at the pantry sipping that hot mug of coffee and looking at her workplace, wondering how she is getting on. The times where both of you enjoyed a cuppa over a book or just sitting by the beach feeling the breeze on your faces are the strength that brings you through the day and washes away whatever little stress you have.

Another day gone and two more days to the weekend. Hooyah!! 

Once again, the weekend has passed in a blink of the eye. As usual, you have largely stayed at home, catching up on your reading. But this time round, the house is quiet, as the Empress Dowager is away on her trip. But the serenity of a quiet house entails additional tasks, like doing the household chores, laundry and ironing.

It's during such tranquility that you realised that you actually do enjoy having the entire house to yourself; one where you can experiment with your cooking, lazing on the day bed by the window reading a book with a glass of wine/mug of coffee. No doubt doing household chores can be bore, you are accustomed to it since you have been doing most of it during your days in US and when Empress Dowager is not at home. Perhaps it's a prelude to the life you will be leading when you turn 35 where you can purchase your own apartment?

But then again, some may say that you are morphing slowly into a loner. They quipped that given your ability to "charm" the opposite sex, you shouldn't have any problems finding a female owner for your apartment. But close friends would know that you have a unique set of criteria in determining the ONE. You are looking for that chemistry, one who is able to hold a decent conversation, talk about anything under the sun, go through shared experiences (preferably those backpacking, trekking, diving, overseas charity trips) where you have seen each other at their worst and still laugh about it. At the end of the day, communication, passion and trust is what you hold dearly in a relationship. 

Now you just to have focus on your career. Without a career, you won't be able to provide a secure environment for any unfortunate girl that happens to come along. Tomorrow is the start of a new day, one filled with hope and opportunities. And it's all up to you to embrace it and enjoy this journey. If only J can embark on this journey with you.

As you collected the Letter of Appointment and complete the mandatory employment check-up, you reflected (again) on how the first week of 2015 has treated you thus far (there you go again, you can hear the readers groaning...haha).

Even though you were told of your work responsibilities in the department and cautioned about the fast-paced environment, you feel that you would be able to handle it. After all, you came from the Air Force, where things move in seconds and pressures are tremendous. Yet you can't help but feel worried. Would you be able to fit into the new environment and not disappoint the superiors who had given you the chance? It is at times like this you wish that J is still around to give you the reassuring hug, that everything would be alright. Yes, you might be strong (at times) but having your pillar of strength to lean on when you are excited can be reassuring.

As you were shown around by your HR manager and introduced to your fellow colleagues, you were surprised that you are the minority in the female-dominated corporate section of the company. Not only that, you are the only male in your own department. For someone used to a male-dominated environment, it's shell-shocking. It meant that you would have to watch your often colourful language and reduce the use of dialects which you are comfortable in.

But that aside, you are excited about being employed for you can finally build up your coffers again. You plan to build up as much resources as soon as possible in order to execute your plan. An article which you read online has mentioned that you can save SGD$20,000 a year (based on a monthly salary of $2500), if you watch your expenditure. While it may be far-fetched in your opinion, it has given you a shot in the arm, the boost that you need to save harder and make the money work harder.

While you are raring to go, you are also humbled by what history has taught you; Keeping the mouth shut. observing the situation and listening more would be key to surviving the new environment.

On a sidenote, you hope everything is going well for J and that she is not stressed out by her work and other matters, is sleeping well, eating well and exercising well. Even though you miss her and care about her tremendously, you are cognisant of the fact that her husband can do a better job than you at taking care of her and being there for her when she needs it. After all, that's what marriage is all about right? To be there for each other, till death do us apart.

Happy weekend!! 

The Empress Dowager has gone on an overseas trip and you have to survive on your own. Not only you are responsible (again) for the household chores, it's also time to experiment with some new dishes that you have seen on the telly. It's always nice experimenting with dishes and since you fear the loss of your HDD, you feel that it's apt once again to write down the recipe.

Day 1 Dinner- Miso Salmon with Pickled Cucumber

1. Slice a cucumber into half, slice it into small pieces and marinate for 15 mins using salt. As cucumber contains plenty of moisture, the salt will allow it to seep out, making it crunchy. Add sugar and half a slice worth of lemon juice for taste.

2. Prepare the salmon by removing its skin and slicing it into smaller pieces.

3. Prepare a marinate of miso paste with water and marinate salmon with it.

4. Place salmon strips into frying pan. Once its 50%-cooked, flip the strips over to ensure that it's cooked evenly.

Day 2 Dinner - Stir Fry Pork with Mushrooms

1. Cut Pork Fillet into thin strips and stir fry till 50% cooked. Add a dash of salt and pepper. Remove from pan and place aside.

2. Add mushrooms and stir fry till it's golden brown. Add a dash of salt and pepper.  Remove from pan and place aside.

3. Add ingredients in the following order; Pork and Enoki Mushrooms. Stir fry till pork strips are fully cooked.

5. Serve and add sesame sauce for taste.

Day 3 Dinner: Tofu and Century Eggs with Green Chillies

1. Squeeze tofu into smaller pieces.

2. Shell 1 or 2 century eggs. Cut it up in your preferred manner and add it to the tofu.

3. Dry fry green chillies without any oil added until it is slightly charred. Smack it while dry frying.  This will allow it to absorb the soy sauce when it's added. Add in garlic at this juncture and stir fry.

4. Add in enough light soya sauce (to cover the tofu) into the chilli/garlic mixture. Add a little water (A saucer worth). Once the mixture has boiled, add it to the tofu and century egg mixture.

Optional Dish: Tomato Stir Fry Prawns

1. Dice one half of a tomato and 2 to 3 cloves of garlic.

2. Shell off the prawn heads (100gm). Keep the prawn heads in the freezer for future uses such as making prawn noodles.

3. Place prawns and garlic into pan and stir fry. This allows the fragrance of the garlic to mesh well with the prawns. Add in diced tomatoes and stir fry.

4. Add oyster sauce and tomato sauce into the pan. Stir well and add a dash of sugar.

5. Stir well and once the prawns have curled up, the dish is ready.

What used to be a fruitful weekends have now toned down to a quiet one. One where you used to spend it with J. Now the weekends are just spent running and quiet read of the books (E-books and hardcopy) you have borrowed from the library. You just don't feel like going out any more than necessary, except for breakfast (with coffee, of course) and chauffeuring duties.

Contrast that with the times spent with J. Those long distance runs, followed by a swim and shower before exploring interesting places for brunch. A cup-of-joe to jump-start the day has also been part of the life, for without it, the lethargy will just give way to headaches (in J's case). Chilling by a nice and quaint place after a hearty meal to read books or chit chat has also been the ideal way to spend the weekends.

Instead of the monotonous couple activities of shopping, watching movies followed by meals (which you do from time to time), you always like to explore new places together. Being the sort who love the great outdoors devoid of civilisation, both of you would typically explore the great outdoors like beaches. Now you wonder whether J is also spending her weekends like yours too?

Times have indeed changed. Perhaps you have grown up. 

Perhaps you have turned into someone whom you know but where others don't know. 

Perhaps, it's a way of starting the new year and new week. 

All over again..

Was watching a documentary on Channel 8 showcasing the games, food, playground, food of the yester-years. It sure brought back memories of your growing up years, one devoid of computer games but playgrounds, marbles and 5-stones.

You remembered the games of 5-stones (and you got very good at it), erasers, hopscotch played during recess in Primary school, catching fishes along the storm water drains and playing catching around those old-school playgrounds after classes. The traditional 杂货店 or mama shops where you bought tidbits or the flavoured ice packets to munch on during those hot afternoons. Who can forget the Tora, Ding-Dang chocolate biscuit balls or those foul smelling gels where you would blow into a balloon?

The years of pure and innocent fun which was lost when you transit to secondary school. Secondary school. It was the place where you were exposed to a total different environment, one of Young and Dangerous. It was one of chasing girls (where you fondly remembered meeting S), coming to school early in the morning to copy homework, weekends spent in NCC doing drills, PT, air rifle practice followed by stuffing one's faces with copious amount of food at the nearby food center (You weren't much of a Macdonald's fan), and long hours of supplementary classes after school to prepare for 'O' levels. It was also the time where you were introduced to mobile technology, where you would remember alpha numeric code for pagers, where Nokia and Ericsson were the choice for mobile phones.

As you grow older, you noticed that these things which you have grown up is slowly disappearing. You are trying to capture and preserve all these memories with your trusty DSLR or mobile phone as you come across them. In fact, you still feel that it's these things that shaped and made you who you are today. You hope that you would be able to share it with your children one day as they are growing up, to show them what their old man did when they were at their age. 

It's only through sharing and experiential learning that you can pass on the traditions of yester-years to your kids.

With a vengeance, you started the first cog of your New Year resolutions. Digging out the SIA study E-books which your pilot friend has given you, you started out on the first topic; Human Factors and Limitations. Despite the uncertainties how long the discipline can be maintained when you start work, you still want to start the year on a right footing. Perhaps once the routine is formed, it will be easier to maintain it.

Now that you have completed the detailed planning of the 5-year plan, including the financial aspects of it, it's also apt to execute the plan. Even if it may not be as comprehensive as some may think, it was developed with J two years ago. While both of you may not be romantically linked now, it doesn't mean that this plan has to be ditched as it's pretty worthy on its own. In the event of a memory failure in the old HDD of yours, you feel that it's essential to articulate it in writing. 

Year 1 to 3 - Financial Strengthening

Mission 1: To save and invest aggressively for the next 2 years in preparation of purchase of your own apartment, including renovation and furnishing works. 

In fact, you have worked out the amount of the money required for this endeavour during a  detailed analysis of your finances last year. Subjected to a detailed discussion with your FA, you are confident that with prudence and discipline, you will be able to attain this goal 5-figure goal without any major hiccups. 

Not withstanding the finances, you have narrowed down the location of your apartment, drafted out the interior design, determined the supplier for the a/c and the electrical appliances all ahead of time. The only thing you have to do now is to wait and refine the design as you wait out the next 2 years.

Mission 2: To complete and obtain the Graduate HR Diploma.

While it may be a drain on the finances as you are going on a self-sponsored route, you think that it's a worthy investment for the future as having a skill set is a must for the private sector. On hindsight, if only you have thought about this a few years earlier. But it's never too late as long as you are able to gain something out of it. 

Year 3 to 5 - Financial Strengthening + Transition to Sustenance

Mission 1: To pursue a robust savings and investment plan to sustain oneself and, possibly, the inclusion of your spouse and family.

With the purchase of the house ideally out of the way, the focus would be to work out the marriage plans if someone happens to pop up in your life. The finances required for marriage and wedding have also been worked out and again, with prudence and financial discipline, you do not see any issues. 

On a sidenote, having gone through some setbacks, you feel all prepared for this new phase of your life. The only regret you have is that J wouldn't be there to see and experience the fruits of your labour.

2014 has been a trying year and as you move into 2015, you hope that things will get better. 

As you do a stock take of last year, the achievements are as follows:

1. Became a licenced Commercial pilot which has been your childhood dream.

2. Rekindled the love of long distance running by completing Half Marathons and Marathon after a hiatus of 2 years.

3. Know who your true friends are and thankful for their love and support during your difficult times.

Even though it may not be as trying as it seems from the listed achievements, it has indeed been a tumultuous one in the area of love. As you sat at the empty grass field photographing the fireworks, you wished that J was there with you. You realised that she has been integral in your life ever since she appeared. Even though there has been plenty of frustrations and mis-communications, you feel that she is someone whom you can spend your life with; Someone whom you know you can irritate with glee for the rest of your life.

She has unleashed a side of you that you never knew you possessed; the ability to settle down for good and plan out a future, your future together. While it may not be a big deal to some, it is a big deal to you. For once, you know she is the ONE who share, in totality, the same vision, same outlook and same goals in life. She is always on your mind from the moment you wake up till you close your eyes for the night. You want to share her work stress, support her life goals, cheer her on in her life goals and hug her fears away. Despite knowing her for almost 2 years, that feelings still burn strong. But like what your BFF has mentioned, this is not for you to do anymore for she is married. It's the husband's TOR and you shouldn't interfere. How apt a reminder, that is. 

Thus for 2015, you have decided to:

1. Stay away from J's life as much as possible. She has already chosen the safest and most secure route where predictability and stability is the cornerstone of her relationship goal, one where she can stay in control of. All you can do is silently cheer her on and wish her the best.

2. Train for and obtain that elusive IPPT Gold.

3. Proceed with your 5 year plan of saving and investing aggressively for that house and car that you have set your sights on. In between this, you will continue on your quarterly holiday breaks to recharge.

4. Pick up diving after a hiatus of 2 years. It will be integrated as part of the quarterly break. Time to take out the regulators, BCD and wet suit.

5. Head back to school for a certifiable skill set, which in this case, is that Graduate Diploma in HR. 

6. Study and attempt that 14 ATPL exam papers.

Well, that sort of sums up what you want to do for 2015. With prudence, discipline and tenacity, you will achieve what you set out to achieve.