2008 - My Year in a Gigantic Nutshell

December 2008

As the year draws to a close, I've found myself feeling compelled to write some big article on what's happened over the past 12 months. It's certainly been a big change for me, and I dunno, I think this is a good way of supplementing my blog articles with more detailed thoughts on certain matters.

Personally, the biggest event was the move to Wellington and starting a new job. I guess, by itself, starting a new job is still something big, but I really only had four months to prepare myself for a monumental change in lifestyle. I mean, it's not really Asian culture to move out of your home until you're married; certainly this was the case with my sister, but in saying that, many of my cousins have studied overseas and had to move out of their homes to pursue their education. Nevertheless, I think I did pretty well with the flatting scene.

My flatmates are awesome. We haven't had dramas or fights or arguments. We've got good dynamics and we're even going to flat with each other again next year, which says something in my opinion. The flat itself gets rather cold during winter, but my room is small but cosy; we're located very close to a bus stop which has buses every 10 minutes in the mornings...yeah, I don't think I could ask for much more. A man's home is his Fortress.

The job is fantastic. Sure, you have the odd bad day where all you're doing is fixing problems that no one else has, but on the whole, it's incredibly rewarding to see your product on shelves, and even more rewarding when you pick up that console controller and start playing your own game. I tell people, the gaming industry is one step above normal IT firms because you interact with so many different disciplines - quality assurance, useability, graphics, animation, production... it's such a dynamic and relaxed environment. We get free drinks from the fridge and sometimes we get free food when someone kind decides to provide treats to the rest of the company. I hang out with a whole bunch of other programmers who understand Internet memes and video game humour and Bash quotes.

When I left Auckland, I left behind more than family... I left behind a lot of really good friends. Of course, I still keep in touch with them and I see them when I visit Auckland, but on a week-by-week basis, it gets kind of boring in Wellington. KCC was definitely a big part of my life in Auckland, and I don't think any church in Wellington could ever surpass the warmth and welcoming nature of KCC. Central Baptist is good, but not the same. I do appreciate the privilege of being able to serve on the music team, but again, it's just not the same.

I must admit, one of the highlights of moving to Wellington is my discovery of Strawberry Fare. Oh my goodness. If the word delicious was encapsulated and baked into a dessert, that is what they would serve at Strawberry Fare. You can view the gallery for the multitudes of pictures I take of the food there, and marvel at the elaborate decoration of these divine delicacies. My favourite currently stands at the Devil's Dream Cake, a rich mousse of chocolate and white chocolate in a slice, dripping with raspberry coulis and served with a small helping of seasonal fruits. Absolutely fantastic.

The second biggest event I would say, would be my graduation. I think it was made better by the fact I spent the whole week catching up with each of my social circles and family, so I was never bored or unoccupied. And also the fact that I had a week off work was pretty awesome. I met with some of my lecturers and told them my success story, and thanked them for teaching me things I actually use in my job. The only one I didn't get to see was my InfoSys lecturer, Lesley, who I wanted to apologise to for thinking her class was a complete waste of my time. Yes, we actually use UML in industry.

During the year, I also attended the youth Easter camp, lost my glasses twice, saw Richie McCaw, Dan Carter and Ali Williams in person, attended 21st parties for four of my friends, saw the colossal squid, went to yum char at least ten times this year, and kept up good old habits like DotA, Momo's and IRC. It has been a good year... but not without its low points.

This year, there were five funerals for people I knew. Because of the distance, I was not even able to attend a single one. The timing was off as well. This is the single most depressing tidbit about 2008. I lost the chance to pay my respects to these five people, but if it was any consolation, I managed to speak to their immediate family and offer my condolences. Three passed away from brain cancers; one died after complications with surgery and one very suddenly from an aneurysm. If there is anything to be thankful for, it is that all five were believers in Jesus Christ, so I know I'll see them again one day. May they rest in peace with God, and may their family be comforted by this fact.

Another pretty depressing moment was my break-up with Debs. Yeah I don't know. I never really got much sympathy from people; my friends in Auckland didn't talk to me that much and no one in Wellington knew me enough to ask about it. Externally, I imagine most people to say "Oh, it was a long-distance relationship, they're always hard", and it was, but it's not really the sole reason for the break-up (in my opinion). I guess, we knew it would be difficult and we at least gave it a try, but it didn't work out.

2008 has been the year of change: the world watched Barack Obama become the first black American president on the night of November 4th; New Zealand welcomed in a new Prime Minister, John Key of the National Party. The Kiwis won the Rugby League World Cup, ending Australia's dominating streak of victory. The Beijing Olympics set records too; some deserved their accolades, while others arrogantly boasted about theirs. Biggest congratulations to Valerie Vili, Georgina and Caroline Evers-Swindell and Tom Ashley for their golds, as well as our silver and bronze medallists, you've done the country proud!

In terms of games, I haven't really moved beyond the regular DotA with my youth group. I've played Apollo Justice, Pokemon Platinum and Braid and I'm still currently playing Final Fantasy III, which is a pain in the ass. I will eventually finish it, and I'll move on to Final Fantasy IV after that. I'm waiting for the American release of Platinum, as well as a very ambitious game called Scribblenauts next year. I have the new Kirby game for DS, but haven't had the chance to play it. Psypoke is...becoming less of a concern and more of a hobby. Like I'm not even interested in hits anymore, I'm just coding for my own satisfaction. That's how it should be.

What's in store for 2009?

I don't know. I'll have my second game out, destined for the Nintendo Wii market in August sometime. Hopefully one of the games I contributed to will be out for PSN or XBLA. Maybe the world economy will improve. ¯\(º_o)/¯

2008 has been good overall. I'll see you on the other side of the New Year.