Goodbye 2021 Welcome 2022!

Don’t cry because 2021 is over, smile because 2022 is about to happen.

It’s the end of 2021 and 2021 will be gone in six hours’ time. Though 2021 has not been a good year for me, I still salute to the experiences I have in the year. I welcome 2022 with great hope, joy and anticipation.

Before I say hello to 2022, I’ve got to bid farewell to 2021. I personally like to do this with a blog post. Ringing in 2022 is cause for celebration, but it’s also a good time to reflect on the last 365 days.

This past year, I’ve kept myself busy with photography, particularly bird photography. Photography truly has brought me lots of joy. It is like a valve for releasing whatever stress I may be feeling. Whenever I am out in the field with my camera, I feel so relaxed. In the midst of nature and my avian models, a sense of bliss often overwhelms me. It is always a joy to capture some great shots of birds, either gliding through the air, diving towards water for food, feasting on captured preys, sucking nectar from flowers or feeding their young ones. Photography has become an obsession! A few months ago, I even printed a photobook entitled Through CY’s Colourblind Lenses, showcasing some of my bird photography photos.

Through CY’s Colourblind Lenses

I have neglected my books this year. I have only read a small fraction of the number of books that I used to read in bygone years. The pile of to-be-read books in my house is growing as I have been buying a lot of second-hand books in recent months for future reading. I should have bought second hand books in the years gone by as that would have saved me a lot of money. Second-hand books can be bought at a fraction of the cost of a new book. I will take steps to reduce my to-be-read pile of books in 2022.

Cryptocurrency has always fascinated me but I did not spend much time on it in 2021 till a couple of months ago. Big mistake! If I have started investing in cryptocurrencies in January 2021, I would have made fortunes. But it is not too late. That is why I look with great anticipation to 2022 which I believe will be a super bullish year for cryptocurrencies. HODL is the key!

In January 2020, my blog cy8cy.com chalked up a milestone – its 10th anniversary. I have not been active this year due in part to time constraints but largely due to my own laziness. I will try to be more active in 2022.

April 2021 was the best month of the year for me. My granddaughter Kayla was born on the 4th of April and I was elevated to the status of grandfather. I look forward to physically hold her in my arms for the first time some time in 2022. She will be 9 months old in a few days’ time. Not being able to be with her during this past nine months will be a big regret that I will have to live with.

My granddaughter Kayla

Several incidents during the year really either caught my attention, made me sad or aroused my amusement. The GameStop infinity squeeze proved that little Davids can successfully fight back against the Goliaths of the investing world. The killing of a hornbill in Piasau Nature Reserve by a pack of stray dogs and the electrocution of a hornbill in Lutong were depressing news as I had photographed both hornbills before. 4-year-old Cleo Smith’s case really grabbed at my heartstrings and it was such a welcoming news when she was found unharmed 18 days after she was abducted. The case of a Caucasian offering a Chinese urine pot for sale on Ebay and describing the pot as a Chinese traditional fruit basket really had me in stitches!

Like everyone else, my life has been disrupted by the Covid pandemic in 2021. I look forward to the discovery of vaccines or medications that will truly put an end to pandemic. Post-pandemic, we may never completely revert to the way we were.

During 2021, I had some health issues and a health scare but things are looking better now. It is true that health is wealth. A fit and healthy person can live life to the fullest. I need to make some changes to my lifestyle to attain better health.

I am eagerly looking forward to 2022 erasing all the negativity and losses that 2021 brought. I must reassess my goals and take concrete steps to achieve them. In our fast-moving world, change is happening fast and we must adapt ourselves to such changes or be left behind. I wish you all a very happy and prosperous 2022! But just remember that nothing’s changed just because the earth is going to rotate around to January again. To see change, you need to change yourself. Cheers folks!