2024 Story

2024 Story

For me, 2024 was a year of change. Changes in house, car, work, friends, health, leisure, and travel. Grateful to God for all his favour, protection, mercy, grace, and blessings! Thankful that we're through.

A resolution I'd carried on this year was to revisit cities and places, some of which I'd previously visited for work, but for leisure instead this time. This included Australia (Adelaide, Melbourne, Yarra Valley, Hobart, Port Arthur, Bruny Island, Launceston, Cradle Mountain, Bicheno), Bangkok in Thailand, and Houston in United States Of America. Curated several food trails as well.

Adelaide, Australia — Pigeon Artwork Sculpture

Adelaide, Australia — Chocolate Frog Cake Lime @ Balfours Bakery

Bangkok, Thailand — Lions By Day And By Night

Bangkok, Thailand — Kaeng Karee Bu Pad Pong / Yellow Curry Crab @ Nara Thai Cuisine

Melbourne, Australia — Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix

Melbourne, Australia — Farmer's Breakfast Stack With Grilled Banana @ The Pancake Parlour

Yarra Valley, Australia — Yarra Valley De Bortoli Vineyard

Hobart, Australia — Derwent River & Tasman Bridge

Hobart, Australia — Grilled Halloumi @ Room For A Pony

Launceston, Australia — Below Wing

Launceston, Australia — Fisherman's Favourites @ Rupert & Hound

Bicheno, Australia — Seals On Rocks

Bicheno, Australia — Premium Seafood Platter @ Lobster Shack Tasmania

Port Arthur, Australia — Ghost Tour

Bruny Island, Australia — Neck Game Reserve

Cradle Mountain, Australia — Dove Lake

Houston, United States Of America — Christmas At The Galleria

Houston, United States Of America — Shrimp And Grits @ Backstreet Cafe

My circle of friends grew this year; fortunate as it's usually a rarity at this stage in life. Alas, missed catching up with several friends I'd hoped to meet, due last-minute change of plans.

My leisure patterns changed slightly. Reduced time spent on gaming or watching television, instead, spent more time on wellness treatments, reading, shopping, fashion, and watching short-form videos or concerts. Highlights include the One Piece 25th Anniversary World Tour Music Symphony 03-Aug-2024, and the Imagine Dragons Concert 25-Nov-2024.

One Piece 25th Anniversary World Tour Music Symphony 03-Aug-2024

Imagine Dragons Concert 25-Nov-2024

Perfume Oil Expressions

Uin Footwear

Fresh Hoods

Nail Words

I settled into my new home, and a life of being fully self-reliant. This included cooking, cleaning, laundry, basic maintenance, budgeting and paying for the accompanying increase in household expenses. Also experienced our condominium's 1st annual general meeting, where we elected our 1st management council.

Went for a regular check-up under the ambit of Healthier SG, a national initiative focusing on preventive health, and the steps Singaporeans can proactively take to manage their health and prevent the onset of chronic diseases. Thankfully, no critical issues, except for blood pressure being slightly high.

Happe Design Atelier (HDA)

King Living

Bought a new car, the Hyundai Ioniq 5. Also bought a new desktop, the Asus Zen AiO 24 All-In-One-Desktop PC; and a new laptop, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 Laptop.

Hyundai Ioniq 5

Asus Zen AiO 24 All-In-One-Desktop PC

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 Laptop

Quite a few changes at work; new colleagues, new projects, new team of associate trainers, and a promotion. And certainly new and unique business and stakeholder challenges that we had to overcome!

For the life project where I'm eating my way through famous Singaporean hawker and casual dining food, I managed to complete those dishes starting with 'I', 'J', 'K', and 'L' in 2024, with a bonus 'B' post. As before, this isn't exactly comprehensive, but it's a journey.

Burger

Ice Cream

Ice Jelly Fruit Cocktail

My palate has changed with age too, I find more comfort and joy in simple fare. This was reflected in a vast reduction of visits to new restaurants or cafes (and greatly reduced desire to even visit them), though I do feel fortunate to have had some amazing dining experiences this year. Memorable meals include those at Bottega Di Carna, Chapters By Drinks & Co., AIR CCCC, The Food Pan 3, Birds Of A Feather, AhAe Taiyaki, Chilli Manis Catering, Carrot Cubes, and more.