Ang Mo Kio without the Kio

Quite unlike me, but this is a quasi-serious post.

Quite often people post reviews of the year as it reaches its conclusion. I thought I’d change it up and wait for it to reach it’s ultimate conclusion. I’m lazy.

We often look back over the year that came (ironically, I also just came) and define it by the movies and albums we loved and the relationships we fell in and out of. Nothing really changes for us year-to-year.

This year was different. I’m a different person now than I was at the start of the year. I’ve gone from heartbroken, insecure and not very accepting of people to the opposite. I have the wonderful people I’ve met in Singapore to thank for that.

Let’s rewind back to NYE 2008: stuck at home with my ex-gf and her twisted ankle, it was a horribly boring New Year’s. It could only go up from there (thanks to the magical power of Viagra). Life after that was quite turbulent as I struggled to get over a 2.5 year relationship and disappeared from the world by staying at home most weekends, drinking myself silly in bed. The only high point for the first few months of 09 was receiving notice that I am the smartest guy ever from my university, and a shitload of prize money. Oh and a trip to Fiji which was amazing.

In my last month and a bit in Sydney, something sparked in me and I started going out and having fun. I found a ‘niche’ for myself on Thursday nights at a club there and started coming back out of my shell quite a bit. Made a lot of friends and had an incredible time every week. A lot of the friends I made were gay and it made me a more accepting person (believe it or not I was homophobic up until about 3 years ago). Negatively, I became a bit of a slut (not a sex slut, but a kiss slut) - the proverbial ‘spiral’ that comes with breakups.

I was pretty depressed leaving Oz: thinking people wouldn’t get my sense of humour and also upset at having to find new friends, as I had heard Singaporeans are quite closed socially from non-Singaporeans.

The job in Singapore was a blessing as it forced me to let go of the past and find a new life and helped with getting over my ex. People always told me to “get a life”. I did so literally. Bought one on eGay.

I fucking love Singapore. As I’ll readily admit, it has its fair share of problems but at this stage it’s a perfect country for me. I was euphoric again for the first time since the breakup a few weeks after touching down.

One of the first times I went out I met Stefan and Jamie Poo Tong Hua (Yeah, that’s what you get for not having a real surname on Facebook, betch). I realised that there are quite likeminded people in Singapore. I quickly started meeting more and more people that I connected with, e.g. Ethel, Rudie and Mel who were my first proper friends here.

Eventually I ran into a Malay girl by the name of Josie Melati. Though, I hear she prefers to be called Melati. She became my best friend and also gave me the awesome opportunity to steal many of her friends and become heaps more popular than her. On the internet. Josie is one of the most incredible girls I’ve ever met: despite the nuclear accident that caused her to develop a receding hairline at the ripe age of 12, she has risen above the odds and become the ultimate supreme ruler of the Heartlands, where she now resides with her mum. Except, not really. Well, only the Heartlands part is true. And her awesomeness. Josie is one of the smartest people you’ll meet with very diverse interests (she likes guys and girls). I don’t think I’ve ever had a conversation with her where we weren’t laughing hysterically every few minutes. Wuv you, slut.

From Josie, came Paul. As in, Josie made Paul cum. Hard. From his penis. Ejaculatorally. That’s not a real word. This paragraph also isn’t real. But Paul is a guy I stalked. Every time he’d take a photo of him at Butter, Id take a photo of him. Naked. Eventually we did manage to have a conversation without a camera lens and I grew to love him. Anally. Also a very intelligent guy, and someone I respect incredibly much and would turn to for advice on anything.

Eventually I did hit a slump due to falling in love for the second time in my life, and heartbreak but eventually I pulled myself out of it.

Then came a plethora of other people who I find awesome such as Belle, Leon, Ritz, Bobby, Ginette, Jbarks, Marie [for making me your “Aussie crush”], Rob [for helping me express myself more through fashion and be more comfortable with myself, also for the awesome anal], Angie, Dharni, Gwen, Jack, Sherrie, Yan, the entire ‘fashion crew’ (e.g. Dani, Ronald, Ruff, Mich, etc etc), etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc . Too many people to name. Linda also fits in there somewhere: thanks for being a great friend; awesome to see how close we have become after hating each other last year. Alicia, thanks for being an awesome housemate. And everyone else. If I haven’t mentioned you, then assume you’re part of the etc. mention. Dave and Shawn, you guys don’t get  a mention because I hate you. Jokes. I wuv you lots. Especially you Dave despite you being a gook.

Oh and love my Pinoy mates too: Gian the incredibly hot and talented designer, Celine the butch lesbian, Karlos, Sarah, and of course Inah + the rest of the Fluxxe and Cebu crew.

Oh and of course, I still love my Aussie friends and miss you dearly. As I said in my farewell speech: “I will think of you every night. When I jerk off”. I have kept this promise.

Life is incredible now thanks to all these people. I feel like I am ‘myself’ now at all times, and am very comfortable with myself. I’ve never had such confidence: whether it’s to wear whatever I want to or just completely be myself around everyone.

I have also become more spontaneous: I am too logical and overanalyse the impact of every decision. However, this changed with something trivial: when I woke up hung over and decided to go on a whim to KL with leon and paul for 1 night to see leon play with lapsap. Something triggered within me and enabled me to live my life more randomly, and more enjoyably.

Importantly I also accomplished a number of dreams:

• Got back into music and became The World’s Number 1 (WORST) DJ.
• Went travelling by myself for the first time.
• Scuba dove
• Graduated top of my class
• Passed probation at my job, which I absolutely love
• Wrote a 2009 retrospective tumblr entry
• Picked up and quit smoking
• Hit a weight I thought I’d never achieve
• Took my shirt off in public for the first time since I was a little kid: huge deal for me given my body confidence issues

I’m trying to think of possible resolutions, but I can only think of two. I really do love life right now and walk around with a seedy paedophile smile due to my constantly-euphoric state. I guess this shows how awesome the year was for me.

1. Start going to the gym again. Any muscle I used to have has disappeared
2. Travel around Asia more