‘Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbours, and let each new year find you a better man.’ — Benjamin Franklin, founding father of the United States.
Happy New Year 2023, my friends. May all your dreams come true this year.
As I sat in a coffee shop eating my lunch recently, Chinese New Year songs were already serenading customers. For many people all over the world, January 1 is the start of a new year.
Chinese are lucky – they get to welcome two new years. First it is the start of 2023 and then on January 22, they will be celebrating the first day of the Lunar New Year, namely, the Year of the Water Rabbit.
If you have not done so yet, today, January 1, is a good day to make your new resolutions for 2023. It is time for you to reflect on 2022 and plan for this year with new goals.
Do you know what are the 10 most common resolutions?
According to a website on the internet, they are: Exercise more; lose weight; get organised; learn a new skill; live life to the fullest; save more money; quit smoking; spend more time with family and friends; travel more; read more.
Personally, 2022 has been quite a good year for me. I had spent more time with family and friends and this year, I don’t mind spending even more time with them.
The furthest I had been last year was to Lundu and this year, I hope to travel more, perhaps to Penang and Singapore. Because of that, I definitely need to earn more money and save more this year.
I also hope to go back to my hometown, Sibu, and explore it with my best friend and family. I miss the Foochow fried mee, the “kompiah” (Foochow bagels) and “Dian Mian Hu” (savoury soup with soft cake).
There are shops in Kuching selling these Foochow delicacies but I still think the best and most authentic Foochow dishes are only available in Sibu.
If I am in Sibu, I will stop by my former secondary school now widely known as SMK St Elizabeth.
I spent five years there. I am where I am today partly because of the high quality education I received there. Like they say, never forget where you came from.
I also hope to go back to Kanowit where my maternal grandparents once lived and renew ties with my relatives there.
Just before Christmas, a distant relative messaged me and asked me if I was going back to Kanowit. I replied,” No. No holidays. Maybe one day … with my sisters.”
My niece, who now works in Singapore, also wants to visit Sibu and Kanowit again. Both towns remind her of her happy childhood there.
This year, I also hope to read more. I have lots of books I have not read at home. I like to buy books on offer at sales. Recently, I bought a cookery book on pizzas. I will make some of these simple pizzas at my next big family gathering.
Among the 10 most common resolutions is to live life to the fullest. This is a good resolution which my good friends and I have been keeping for years. We grab every opportunity to spend time with our loved ones and with each other. We often go out together for breakfast or window shopping.
My friends, if you have not lived life to the fullest, start doing so this year. Remember life is too short for us to worry about unnecessary things. If we have lived our lives to the fullest, there should not be any regrets when it is time for us to say goodbye.
This year, I hope the positive workplace environment in the office will prevail and that my colleagues and I will continue to enjoy many more happy learning moments together.
May the bosses continue to reward us for our hard work, keep us safe and happy. I hope I can earn more money, too. A salary increase will be good.
The rising prices of goods and services are hitting workers including yours truly hard. I went to a wet market recently and found that most of the vegetables were being sold for RM3 per bunch instead of RM2 previously.
Do you know that public toilets in Kuching are now charging 30 sen per use instead of 20 sen previously? The costs of fast food, fried and braised noodles have also gone up by a few ringgit.
Generally, Malaysians are looking forward to political stability and economic growth this year under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Unity Government.
The stock market and the ringgit reacted positively when Anwar was appointed as Prime Minister on November 24, 2022. Analysts were confident more good things would come our way after that. I hope they are right.
To conclude, do enjoy the rest of today, my friends, with your families and friends. Yes, may all your dreams come true this year.
