2011- The Year In Review

It has come to the time of the year where I do a review of the year that is coming to an end.

This year, has been quite a turbulent year, but I am glad that I managed to get past it pretty unscathed.

Study

This was the 2nd year since I have given up on my ACCA studies, and started my 1st year as a full fledged Accredited Tax Practitioner. The 1st year passed quite uneventfully. However from next year, I will be required to undergo 30 hours of Continuing Education Programme each year, totalling 90 hours for 3 years, before I am allowed to renew my membership. I am still very interested in my line of work, therefore, I will try to keep this accreditation, which will be useful for my work. I credit this to my manager and my bosses who are willing to impart their valuable tax knowledge to me. Till today, I feel that I am still very enthusiastic about learning new things.

Work

It has not been a smooth flowing year at work, thanks to many changes in the audit arm of the firm. In fact, for quite a number of times, I got really frustrated, as colleagues were not very co-operative, getting into the game of office politics. But I guessed its all in the course of a day’s work. Overall, I am glad that my boss recognises the hard work that I put in with a reasonable pay package that is pretty competitive in today’s employment market.

Friends

It was a year, where some friendships were lost over petty matters, but I am glad to have made quite a number of new ones through my volunteer work in IRAS Volunteer e-filing exercise and grassroots events.

These friends, whether old, new or discarded have taught me a number of things in order to make myself a better person. Without them, I may not know I have these faults or hidden talents.

BGR

I have made no progress on this front this year. I guess these things cannot be rushed, although I know that my mum is a little worried about this. I have told myself that if I cannot get married, so be it. Maybe, Heaven has something better in store for me, or my Ms Right has not appeared yet. I certainly do not wish to fall in love with the wrong person and suffer the pain of a divorce later.

Volunteer Work

This was the year which I extended my commitment to volunteer my time to grassroots events as well. I joined the Jalan Kayu Zone 4 RC as an observer in January this year. I feel that as a resident of my neighbourhood, I should give some input as to how my estate should be like. The 2nd reason was to thank my ex-MP, Mr Wee Siew Kim for helping me with my cheating case that I was involved in last year. Although, I didn’t get my money back in the end, I am thankful for his help.

My first event was the National Day Children’s Art Competition, which went on successfully after several nights of preparation. For the 1st time, I volunteered to test myself in hosting an event. The children in my area surprised me with their knowledge about Singapore. Not only that, I never knew that hosting can be so fun.

On the IRAS Volunteer e-filing exercise, which I volunteered for the 7th year, the Facebook page that I created for the volunteers to mingle and share their experiences was made official by IRAS. I would like to thank Clara, Stacey & Rena of IRAS for their faith in me.

My efforts for volunteering for these 7 years were rewarded with a Outstanding Volunteer Award & Long Service Volunteer Award this year.

I would like to thank Ms Angie Lim, Liasion Officer for The Serangoon CC & the taxpayers who came by to the CC to e-file their taxes. I certainly look forward to do for you guys next year.

Singing @ K Group

The KTV group on that I have been an organiser celebrated its 3rd Anniversary this year. This year was a mixed year. We are happy for Yanling, one of our pioneer members, who found her true love and got married. The bad part was because of the decline in service standards at the group’s flagship branch, Partyworld International Building, the branch was switched to Partyworld Liang Court.

This switch was only possible after several rounds of complaints cum negotiations with the Partyworld management. I am glad that for the sake to keep the group together, I was able to negotiate with the management for a resolution to the problems faced.. I certainly did not expect to have such negotiation skills when I went to discuss with the Management.

On this note, I would like to wish my blog readers and friends a Happy New Year. May what you hope for in the Year 2012 be fulfilled. =)