… and I already have an idea of what my 2010 would be like! I envision it to be filled with a lot of turtle-related research and conservation projects and campaigns, some work-related trips overseas, some traveling and hopefully, lots of fun :)

I enjoyed myself very much in the past 10 days I realized that I haven’t felt the same way in a very loooong time. Perhaps it’s time to really set aside some time in my schedule for this category of people I call “friends” :)

So, New Year’s eve was spent flying to Subang and getting “caught” in the torrentious rain in the plane. For a second, I thought we were skipping 2010 and moving straight towards 2012. But all was well after about an hour or so, and I met up with my pen-pal of, let’s see, 20 years. Back then, we were two curious 10-year-olds looking forward to developing some kind of long distance relationship by exchanging letters whenever we could. I remember waiting anxiously for Angela’s letters and hurriedly sending her my replies. It was so exciting :)

Now, fast forward 20 years later and I was spending New Year’s Eve with Angela for the first time, rolling our eyes at funnily-dressed people, ogling at cute guys, counting down at The Curve, and trying our best to avoid being foam-sprayed on by underaged kids. It was also my first countdown and apart from the excessive spraying of foam, I enjoyed every minute of it :)

Besides Angela, I also met up with a friend I have only met once in the past 3 years. Besides restaurant-hopping and non-stop eating, Jeremy and I had a lot of fun combing the streets in Bangsar. Oh, and guess who we ran into while having Indian rice (yeah, with our fingers) for dinner?! Kevin the Mozilla Monster! Who would have guessed that you could run into a friend on New Year’s Day in KL, right? The world is small like that, huh?

The other two days were spent shopping and window-shopping and meeting a few friends and a cousin who shares my birthdate and catching a (really) late-night movie. My bestie and I went shopping for baby stuff because she’s going to pop in 2 months. She already has pretty much all that she needs and might possibly need and now I guess she’s just waiting for the baby to arrive :)

So, what about the resolutions, heh? Only two this year:

• to go out more often and meet more people, and
• to learn to put my family first, before anything else, because after all, they’re the ones who matter the most to me.

Can you believe that this year, I actually get to spend New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day in KL, a place where New Year’s Day is declared a public holiday? LOL. I know, I have been spending too many New Year’s Day in Kuala Terengganu that I have gotten so used to the fact that New Year’s Day is a working day, just like any other Sundays :)

Anyway, I will be in KL for 3 days — haven’t really developed a concrete set of plans yet but who needs a plan when you will be meeting some friends and chatting the hours away?

I’d like to wish YOU, my friends, a HAPPY NEW YEAR! Thank you for being such great friends — you know who you are :) Thank you for standing by me, for listening to me talk non-stop, for the shoulders and the hugs and the kisses, for the love, for the continuous support, for the friendship and most importantly, thank you for coming into my life :)

*cling glasses*

Here’s to more of those GREAT STUFF in the new year :)

I have a friend who gave up her high-paying and high-powered job as a legal advisor at an oil and gas company to join the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) many years ago. Despite objections from her parents, she started as a Research Assistant, and was later promoted to a Team Leader, where she was in charge of handling governmental policies, legal documents and communications.

More recently, she decided to embark on programs to involve the local communities in Ma’ Daerah, Terengganu, in caring for the environment. She conducts talks and field trips for school children from neighbouring villages, and works with Persatuan Khazanah Rakyat Ma’ Daerah (MEKAR) to stop fishermen from using harmful drift nets that may trap and drown turtles. MEKAR is a community-based organization based in Kerteh, Terengganu, and it comprises fishermen, local villagers, teachers, local youths and housewives who champion turtle conservation.

If you think she deserves to win The Malaysian Women’s Weekly Great Women of Our Time Awards, please vote for her (each SMS costs RM 1). To vote for Rahayu Zulkifli (code: 09), type MWW GWOT NAME NRIC CODE EMAIL and send it to 32733.
For example: MWW GWOT CHEN PELF NYOK 810601xxxxxx 09 chenpn@gmail.com

If Rahayu wins, the RM 5,000 prize money will be donated to MEKAR. Hence your vote for Rahayu is a vote for turtle conservation :)

Photo credit: Malaysian Women’s Weekly