It is with mixed feelings that I say goodbye to 2008. It was a strange year, filled with erratic ups and downs and historical first-times in politics. On a personal level, 2009 will be an adventure, with a new job in the pipeline, there will be new friends to make and a new level of commitment and aspiration. Although excited about what the future holds for me, it is with a deep level of sadness that I bid farewell to my old job in Maxis and the friends I made there. Friendships made in the workplace can never quite compare to any other friendships as we are brought together, not by choice but by necessity.
I'm not sure how to describe my feelings of the coming new year. If I were to look around, Malaysians seem to be still going about their normal businesses and don't seem to be affected by the global recession that we are told about on TV and in the papers. We hear that there are pay cuts and retrenchment in our neighboring country down South and up North, in Thailand, there are continuous political upheavals that can't be good for the economy for the whole of South East Asia. Even though there are throngs of people at the malls, consumer spending has got to be down as revenues at Maxis are not quite up to what is expected. Can we then say we are in for hard economic times in 2009 then? Will we see the full brunt of global recession after the christmas, new year and chinese new year festivities are over? What can we do to protect ourselves from what is projected to be a economic tsunami of sorts?
With all this mixed up thoughts and feelings on my mind of what 2009 holds for me, what can I do? Right now, I'm going to start off the new year by making a good breakfast at home and take it from there. Next, it'll be a new job next week and a whole lot of anticipation of what is to come.
Goodbye 2008 and thank you for all the experiences and friends I have made. Welcome 2009, hit me with all that you've got in store for me!!!
