I ushered in 2009 in front of Taipei 101, at the 6-hour-long countdown concert. It was my first overseas countdown, and definitely the Best one ever, with NO other countdown events to date coming close to that atmosphere. Early in January, alma mater Dunman High held a Homecoming, and many of us 回家, and toured the expanded campus back at prime Tanjong Rhu. In mid-Jan, I was rather shocked to learn of the passing of an ex-ship crew, who was a fellow NSF too. Ahead of CNY, the month ended with a successful inaugural NUSSU Bash (Geek Vs Glam) at Zouk, which saw sales way past the thousand mark. Being in the sales team, I probably wasn't in a job that I can do the best or enjoy the most, but it did leave me things to learn.

I climbed trees in Bedok Reservoir with Teambuilding colleagues (those treetop challenges) and attempted to overcome my acrophobia. Then on 10th March, Ah Lu passed away at a ripe old age of 12 years, due to cancer. She was cremated and ashes were released into the sea, and was hoped to be reborn to a human in her next life. During the PC show held this month, I finally rose to be a Camera-owner. At the NUS Open House this month, we actively promoted EnginCamp, the big event that I was happily working towards.

I registered for a Guitar course, the new thing I decided to learn in 2009, from mid-May to end-Oct. April was the stressful month leading up to the exams, but it didn't exclude me from the hype of Tampines One's Uniqlo, which opened to much fanfare. Neither did I miss out on the nation-gripping AWARE saga, which I followed closely.

I Celebrated the 2553rd Vesak Day with my 2nd 3-step-1-bow procession. The LazySect had an outing and it was a weird one--we ate Crocodile, had fish spa, played at Settler's and then played our favourite Spades game. Towards the end of the month, YS and I took part in the 'Don't forget the lyrics' （我要唱下去）auditions, only to be busted out. It was a totally memorable experience, though. Before the month ended, 外公 died of cancer, and we went JB to help out with the Buddhist funeral. My Semester 2 results were revealed and it wasn't satisfying, but it remained as the best so far.

JUNE

I became the owner of a classical guitar, but I've never used it to practise for my weekly lessons. June was the month for EnginCamp, and the days leading up to it were extremely busy and nervous--as there were still many problems in the Dry Run just days before the actual. Thankfully the actual camp was great--the campers enjoyed and the gender ratio was the best ever, and all these made the 6-month preparations worth all the while. I took my 1st-ever IPPT since ORD, and I happily earned a $200 silver. Engin Night cycling brought the month to a close, and the people I saw the most during the entire month of June, were undoubtedly the fellow EnginCamp Committee.

JULY

The EnginCampComm crashed CAC camp, only to have fun on our own. During the Finale at FishnCO, a Surprise Bday Celeb was held for me, to which I was pretty touched. This blog welcomed its 30,000th visitor this month. I visited Miri (a city in Sarawak, East M'sia) with a few other OCIP friends, and we had great fun exploring caves, though the trip ended in a poignant note. Stefanie Sun's Concert was the only concert I attended in 2009, and it was great, really. Our squad had our 2nd Annual Night cycling--we covered a gruelling total of 55km, from East to West to East! Before July ended, my clique in Chem Engrg went Vietnam for a week. It was all enjoyable at first, until my wallet got stolen--something that I had never expected to happen to myself.

AUGUST

My last week of holidays in the 3-month Summer Break was spent being a Councillor in OWeek. It was a cool experience, working with CampComm peeps again. The finale night was a personal favourite--everyone donning JC uniforms and partying it out. August was the month for Army Half Marathon, and this 3rd attempt completed with a consistent timing of 2hr 17mins. The month happily ended with a grand CampComm outing, in which we had ice-cream buffet and the making of a spoof commercial video.

SEPTEMBER