because it's time to summarise the year of 2016.

I woke up around 11am today with a recovering headache, heavy as my body physically recuperates from the days of city exploration and nights of endless banter with the gang Ju Yi usually goes with.

I really like the fact that this End Of The Year Trip with the gang Ju Yi usually goes with has been going strong for a good 8 years now and is known even to my other friends. 

'where is Ju Yi?'

'oh she's on that end of the year trip with that gang she usually goes with'

in the past 8 years, I've been for most of these planned trips and we all usually look forward to it every year. I've known most of these friends since I was a kid; some for more than a decade. New people join us, and usually the old ones don't leave either. some faces I see more regularly than others; some I only see twice a year or even just for the first time during this holiday. 

I guess what's great about this holiday I have every year is that it's always about the people I'm with. we can plan a one day trip to the most boring part of the city and it would somehow still turn to be exciting and hilarious at the same time. the greatest part of it all is that it gives all of us the opportunity to end the year with great memories, together.

As I reflect back on 2016, there have been momentous occasions as I've embarked on new journeys, left literally some paths I realised were not good for me, strengthened more friendships than I have weakened and in overall, have begun to live life a little more vicariously instead of meticulously thinking of everything in too much detail. 

1) My venture into kpop (and ultimately learning Korean).

I'm pretty sure this remains the #1 thing I have 'embarked' on since January 2016, which has since established a whole new set of songs in my phone, overtook all my Youtube views and most definitively taken up all my free time in this year LOL 

most first-time kpop listeners usually stick to one artist, as did I with Big Bang. However, I ventured into great distance with so many groups and individuals. it wasn't just the well-trained and undeniably good looking idols that I devoted my energy to (name the group/artist and I will tell you which one is my bias, which song I like from which era and which duo I ship) - I soon ventured into their dynamic R&B scene (Zion T, Crush, Dean, Dynamic Duo, Primary and the like), the extremely underrated k-hiphop scene of underground and mainstream rappers (this is literally a non-exhaustive list spanning everyone from Mino, Zico and Zelo to Dok2, YELLA D and CJamm), and even into indie bands and sounds (obviously Hyukoh to lead the list). 

yes, ladies and gentlemen.

I have took a complete jump from fedora-wearing, tattoo-donning British riffs to the visually-overwhelming, multi-aesthetically pleasing explosion of K-music.

so much, that I'd even decided to take up Korean language classes. my first time learning a language and I'd never been more excited.

I flew to Korea for the first time in March 2016 to attend my first k-pop concert. nothing quite like it, even until today. 

iKON in August 2016. I still remember it like it was yesterday :3

one month later - DEAN in Malaysia. such a babe, 100%

Big Bang again in October 2016  

bought my first k-pop album and it's none other than my current-ultimate faves, GOT7 #shimkoong

technically saw GOT7 as well this month but it was more of an accidental encounter 

instead of attending the actual fanmeet HURHUR

here's to more k-pop in 2017, bettering my Korean and more of my money spent on concert tickets, merchandise and albums!

2) A little bit of travels here and there.

There was definitely more spontaneous trips vs planned holidays this year, all of which I'd been very grateful for. on top of a recent purchase of a camcorder, I'd managed to edit and create more videos of my travels, none of which have made it to public viewing as I'm both paiseh and don't think my work is good enough. oh well! 

Myeongdong, Seoul. too short a trip, hence a must go-again in 2017

Dalat, Vietnam: a city of true organised chaos

a little bit of Penang every now and then

 a little bit of exploration into the forest I live nearby. travelling doesn't always have to include a flight ticket 

and of course - Bangkok, Thailand.

nothing quite like a city that is a mix of history, culture and modernisation altogether

3) Love and growth.

True enough, being in a committed relationship consists of trials, tribulations and difficulties. but there also comes a lot of happiness, joy and comfort. I have learnt from others that being with someone who understands you, cares for you, and puts you above their own selves is truly a blessing as most are still looking for that person to walk with them. I end 2016 as thankful as I was when I ended 2015 hand in hand with my favourite person on earth. here's to more years together <3 div="" nbsp="">

4) Keeping the faith in Christ. 

As with every passing year, life throws all kinds of challenges and I am often questioning - what exactly does God want me to learn from this? I went through a testing period just two months back, of which led me to make life-altering decisions, career wise. I am still unsure about how I will progress next year, which has left me feeling anxious about stepping into 2017 with nothing sure in mind. 

Just like 2 years ago, I was given the opportunity to be a part of Metro Tabernacle's musical production and thus, tell a story about faith and believing when you can't see. From being a part of The Christmas Post, I embodied a character that was very much unlike my persona in real life. I didn't have as much tenacity and faith as Book Keeper, Dixie Plunkett did. I am not as confident as her eventhough I tried my best to sing like how she would. 

Don't give up. Don't give in.

When the going's tough that's just when faith kicks in.

I leave 2016 remembering that the Lord will see me through no matter what the circumstance and however so my path next year turns out to be. I hope to continue keeping the faith in God as I walk through grey periods and hopefully, positively challenging moments that will build and strengthen my character. 

You have been a fulfilling one, 2016.

Here's to 2017.

Just Right - GOT7 

because I'm keeping the faith.

gone were the days when I used to update this page every week/fortnight or still better, every month.
there's a saying by Luna Adriana that goes - there are two reasons why people don't talk about things; either it doesn't mean anything to them, or it means everything.

certainly there's a lot of truth to that, as I think of why I haven't spoken (here) for a long time.

1. separate of lyricalsteps, I have also opened up another more public Wordpress account. it's not updated often either but I guess I'm more selective with what I showcase publicly
2. i'm not sure that much has been going on in my life other than work in that corporate place I was talking about in my previous post.
3. then again, everything happened in the time frame of July until now.
4. I had also been spending probably a great portion of my daily life falling deeper into this hole called kpop
5. (kpop is cool ok)
6. and I guess I've just decided to be more so in the moment of going through life instead of penning every instance down

since I'd brought it up already & just for updates to the lonesome readers of this obsolete page and a future reminder to myself in case I'd developed dementia - after slightly over 11 months of tenure, I have bid goodbye to the polished, world-ranking accounting firm. I gave it plentiful thought before typing out the resignation letter and as the faint memories came back to me slowly and indefinitely, I knew that I have been unhappy for an extremely long time with this job and the only way to escape, is to quit.


certainly, quitting is much easier if i'd been an individual uneasily fazed by others and people kept their two pence worth of bullshit advice no one asked for to themselves. it wasn't an easy feat, especially as I see the dent it would leave on my nomadic CV and how it would affect future employers' views on me before considering me. I mean, I could not be a bigger working hoe.


as cheesy as it sounds, I took a deep breath and told myself, to keep the faith.

(yes this has to do with the fact that I'm in my church Christmas play and am singing a solo that goes along the same lines of that, sue me why don't you)

I've been jobless for a good two weeks and I must say, it feels pretty damn great to wake up to no work obligations and texts from early morning/the night before asking for all sorts of sorts. there really is nothing like esaping the compulsory dependency on an alarm clock and lounging around in your PJs all day without care, having time to actually eat breakfast and quite legitimately, just think of yourself.

slowly but surely, I'd been starting to actually feel happy again, despite nothing actually happening to have triggered newfound joy. just pure, simplistic happiness of being present and being relatively, free.

to quote one of the more outstanding figures who was not directly my mentor but a definite leader, maybe it's time for me to have some self reflection to re-think which path I want to take. if I would like to opt for a different setting somewhere else. of course, there's an 80% chance of non-escape from working behind a desk. after all, we all need our computers and e-mails, don't we? so maybe, a different air, perhaps.

in this free time that I have established, I'd also been able to rediscover and renew my passion for reading as I am a few pages close to finishing Murakami's Colorless Tzukuru Tazaki and hop on to After Dark thereafter. while this world we live in is not always a bad place, it is always important to get lost in the literature of another world as well every now and then. it's what keeps you alive. it's what keeps me alive.

so that's about it, I guess.

an unfinished book, a job well-tendered and a Christmas production where I will be singing 'Keep The Faith' in all its splendour and razzmatazz. could life be imitating art or is this just God's way of creating art to imitate life?

guess I'll just have take a seat and let the universe do its magic.

Just Because - Baek A Yeon ft JB (of GOT7)