Oops...

OK I know I was meant to update my blog more often this year, but it seems as though I haven't updated in the past five months since February!

Oops...

I guess quite a bit has happened since then! I got a new job and my full driver's license (finally).

There goes two things off my New Years' Resolutions!

2. Get my full license

3. Get a full time job

Despite having a job now, I still seem to have a lot of time on my hands after work seeing as I'm not doing any study on the side this year and I only work four days a week.

I think I'm just going to have to blog more often from now on to entertain myself! 

Karaoke Time!

This afternoon I caught the train with Andrew into the city to join a few others for some karaoke! It's been a while since I last caught a train and probably one of the first times I've used the new AT Hop Card!

The platform was actually a bit busy because school had finished, but fortunately there were seats for Andrew and me!

We got to the karaoke bar early and so we went in and got started before Tsun Hei and Stephanie arrived, and later Laura and John.

We all took turns singing songs. Most of them were Chinese songs.

There were actually some nice Chinese songs! I had to Sound Hound them so I could try find them when I got home.

I did try sing some Chinese songs, but I had to search up the pinyin for them!

John and I were the only two who couldn't read the Chinese, so we managed to get a few English songs in there too!

Struggling to Understand

As mentioned earlier, one of my New Years Resolutions is to

9. Sit the HSK Chinese exam

which essentially means IMPROVE MY CHINESE! 

This year I actually want to make an effort to improve my Chinese. There's no time as the present as they say, and if I don't start now, I'll never get better.

I found a Chinese class to attend, and so my dad and I attended. It turned out to be a conversational group, where there was a conversation/discussion led by a Chinese teacher. There were a few students there, and then my dad and I. Yeah, a bit odd for a 25-year-old to bring along his dad, but I thought my dad would be interested and in the end he helped me out quite a bit!

The other students were either Cantonese speakers or non-Chinese people who had lived in China for a few years and were wanting to keep their Chinese up. All of them had much better Chinese than me, so I was struggling to keep up and understand everything!

Fortunately the conversation wasn't as difficult as one between fluent speakers, but with my limited Chinese, I could still only understand a few things and would take too long to try figure out what something meant.

To be honest, it was a little soul-crushing! It's how I felt when I first started attending church. I'm used to it now, and people do help translate for me, but it is quite depressing when you feel left out because you can't understand and realise how bad your Chinese really is.

I know the only way to improve though is to practise, practise, practise, but I think I might need a more structured class with homework, tests, etc. to help push me!

The quest continues...

Woops...

My New Years Resolution was to update my blog more regularly, and here I am already apologising for not having updated it since New Years!

SHAMEFUL!

Anyway I'm going to try fill in the gaps over the next couple days and get this blog up-to-date before it's too late!

Happy New Years 2014!

Happy New Year Everyone!

I can't believe how fast this year has passed by! Everything like Christmas and New Years just crept up in the past few weeks. I really don't know where all the time has gone!

If I was to sum up 2013, it would be that this was the year I got baptised, worked part time as a pharmacist and continued studying pharmacy. 

It's been a long time since Ada, a previous pastor and Sunday School teacher at our church encouraged us brothers to get baptised. Slightly over ten years later, we actually went through with it! I sometimes forget that I did get baptised, only because I've been a Christian for so long that I just keep thinking it was a while ago that I got baptised!

I also never thought I'd end up continuing studying pharmacy! I had a bit of a rough time studying a Bachelors of Pharmacy, and to imagine myself doing a Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Pharmacy would be crazy! 

In the first few weeks of doing it, I kept asking myself, what am I doing? I have no idea how I'm going to make it to the end of this, I want to quit! I ended up making it all the way to the end, and I'm so glad I didn't quit! 

I also took a chance and went down to Taupo for a week to do some locum pharmacy work, and while initially anxious about it, I am extremely glad I went down for the experience!

I always get the feeling I didn't accomplish much in 2013, but when I think about it, a lot actually happened and I did actually accomplish quite a bit!

My main goal for 2014 is to start taking risks, going out there and getting things done, not shying away from a challenge. This will be the only way for me to grow and to move forward/upwards! I have to not be afraid of failure and to just keep trying. That's the first step in living a life without regret!

My blogging this year has been quite inconsistent, so you'll see it featuring in my New Year's resolutions for this year, so once again here we go!

- = Calum's 2013 New Years' Resolutions = -

(In no particular order, and roughly the same as last year)

1. Find a girlfriend (nothing to see here, same as before)

FAIL - A could do better here, and actually make an effort.

2. Make two new or closer friends

YES - I've gotten to know Joanna, Wei and Tsun Hei pretty well

3. Find a job 

YES - I did regular locum work at the pharmacy I completed my internship at, which saw me working at least two days a week till the end of October. I do have to find another job now though 

4. Choose what to study at uni and complete it

YES - I ended up choosing to study for a Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Pharmacy and actually completed it against the odds!

5. Participate in some organisation such as a volunteer organisation etc.

FAIL - Didn't join any new group!

6. Join some cultural activity/group/social group

FAIL - Same as above!

7. Pick up the accordion again and start practising a bit more regularly

FAIL - Still haven't touched it all year!

8. Clean the house!

FAIL - The house is still a mess

9. Sign up for and take Chinese classes

FAIL - Didn't get around to doing it

10. Learn and practise another musical instrument more regularly

YES - Does the cajon count? I've been playing it this year as they need it for the English worship band

11. Sit a music theory exam

FAIL - Once again didn't do it

12. Get my full driver's license

FAIL - I did have one driving lesson, but the instructor pretty much told me the Mitsubishi Lancer we have would fail before I even sit the test as it is too boyracer-like!

13. Travel to at least one overseas destination, and one local destination outside of Auckland

PARTLY YES - Did not travel overseas, but I did visit Rotorua with the family early in the year, and went down to Taupo in November for a week to work

14. Give my baptism testimony in Chinese

FAIL - I gave the first sentence of it in Chinese, but due to time constraints and a few issues I had to do it in English :(

15. Get baptised

YES - Finally got baptised in Easter! About time!

16. Be more mature

UM - Possibly not...I'm not too sure!

17. Go for regular runs and try to lose the fat (maybe enter Round the Bays!)

YES - I'm going to say yes because I joined the gym a couple months ago and manage to go regularly for a month! I haven't been for the past two weeks, but Christmas is a very busy time ;)

18. Attend a fellowship at another church or visit another church

YES - I've attended a few Church Unlimited services as well as City Impact's Christmas Eve service which was cool to see how they did things. I didn't get a chance to attend a fellowship at another church though.

19. Build up Anbro!

PARTLY YES - We filmed a few weddings and a school Chinese performance. It was more or less the same as last year though.

So my overall score is 7/19 resolutions achieved = MUST DO BETTER.

OK, so now time for this year's New Years Resolutions!

- = Calum's 2013 New Years' Resolutions = -

1. Get a girlfriend (same as before!)

2. Get my full license

3. Get a full time job

4. Get another qualification

5. Go to the gym regularly and GET THAT SUMMER BODY

6. Travel to at least one destination overseas

7. Hang around more people my age

8. Find another social group or organisation to get involved with

9. Sit the HSK Chinese exam

10. Sit a music theory exam

11. Pick up the piano accordion again

12. Make another two more close friends

13. Blog more regularly!

14. Be more adventurous

15. Take greater risks/Step outside my comfort zone

16. Do not rely on others 

17. Do not be as open about my feelings etc. i.e. BE MORE MANLY
18. Keep in touch with old friends and catch up with them more

The last few are quite obscure, but hopefully they'll all make me a stronger, more independent person! I may update this as time goes if I feel the need to, but anyway...

Bring on 2014!