January through March was mostly one long stretch of waiting around at home, then these last two months hit me with a flurry of activity. On the morning of my birthday, a calendar notification I had set months back flashed across my screen. “Get a massage”. I had planned to spoil and pamper myself, but things were just too hectic on the day itself. While this year’s birthday was relatively less eventful than last year’s, I’m in a much better place mentally compared to then. I have a lot of things that I used to dream of having. That’s a big win.
Once I got settled into my new office, I wasted no time decorating my desk. I was never a big decorator at my old job. Since I’m here 8 hours a day, I might as well put up some of my favourite polaroids and cute knick-knacks as a counterbalance to the not-so-fun parts of the daily grind. I got these cat stickers from Zus Coffee’s Meowtcha Collection. They come with their matcha drinks and although I usually order other drinks, I asked the barista if they still had the stickers and he kindly dug out one sheet from a cupboard and gave it to me.
My mom gave me this little crystal bunny paperweight from HSBC one day. I love that it has rubies for eyes, because red-eyed white rabbits (REWs) are so under-represented and misunderstood. I packed it in a small box with bubble wrap to bring to work but its ear still broke off on the car ride en route to the office. Luckily, I managed to super-glue it back on eventually.
Its head is cocked slightly to the side in the curious and intelligent way actual rabbits do. It’s so…bunny. I think it’s a very charming little touch from the designer. I keep it safely out of the way where it won’t get bumped around on my desk, which I have also thoroughly bunnified:
Now, the new job came with some pretty sweet perks too. For a start, as an introvert I really enjoy finally getting to have my own room and personal space. I also get to order lunch and a coffee from the cafe once a day, on the house (my favourite lunchtime pick-me-up is their Spanish Latte). And one of my favourites: invitations to their food tastings when they’re sampling new menus. I was served lobster and wagyu beef at one. Here’s a little photo dump of some of the various things I’ve eaten:
This was a chilled advocado pureed dessert with fruit. The taste reminded me of their cold honeydew sago desserts.
Now that I’m one year older, I want to look back on some of the cool stuff I’ve done in the past year. I know I tend to re-use the same old pictures in my recap posts, but what can I say…those were good memories and I love those pictures. Looking at them again makes me feel proud of my resilience. I kept trying to live life to the fullest, I made it to the light at the end of the tunnel, and all the people who made me miserable everyday are in my rearview mirror now. I sought out and pursued all these things on my own, because I wanted to and not because I tagged along in someone else’s adventures.
- I went on a trip so I could listen to Ray Chen perform the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. [Link to post: https://www.myhoppyhour.com/2025/06/01/ray-chen-tchaikovsky-violin-concerto-in-d-major-in-bangkok-may-2025/]
2. Took up cello lessons. Since I already play a string instrument, I didn’t struggle too much with learning the cellist bow hold, though it took me far longer to stop holding the neck of the cello like a violin. Unfortunately, my cello recently toppled over onto the floor while I was out. The resultant gash in the side of the cello body caused the wolf tone to return with a vengeance. I ordered some hide glue online at the advice of my teacher and she helped me seal up the crack and it solved the wolf tone issue but my poor cello now has a glue stain on the side.
3. Went whitewater rafting and swam (well, not so much swam as floundered) in a river for the first time. I was terrified, as you can see from my reluctance to let go of the rope. And I did get a lot of stomach problems the next day, though I’m not sure if it was something I ate that day or all the river water I accidentally swallowed. But anyway, something can be both fun and terrifying, right? [Link to post: https://www.myhoppyhour.com/2026/02/18/selangor-white-water-rafting-9th-february-2026/]
4. Started strength training. Ironically it was the only thing that cured my chronic lower back pain.
5. Made this lovely cake with the help of my instructor at my very first baking class. [Link to post: https://www.myhoppyhour.com/2026/02/27/selangor-earl-grey-cake-workshop/]
6. Went fruit-picking for the first time. This was in Pahang, Malaysia.
7. Joined my very first painting workshop. Naturally, I decided to paint a bnuuy.
8. Joined my first half-marathon. This was a picture of the view I snapped along the way, while trying not to throw up from all the energy gels I was taking.
9. Petted some sweet bunnies at a Rabbit cafe in Bangkok, which brings me to…
10. My first trip to Bangkok. I overcommitted myself with the trip schedule, but despite being constantly exhausted from running from place to place, it was a pretty awesome itinerary, even if I say so myself. [Link to post: https://www.myhoppyhour.com/2025/06/01/32/]
11. Drank strawberry tea in Cameron Highlands (also my first time there). I decided, what the heck, let’s join a group tour up the highlands. I did also get a bad sunburn that persisted for the next two to three months. I guess the next time I’m going somewhere that hot, I should remember to slather on SPF 100 sunscreen instead since even liberal amounts of SPF 50+ don’t cut it. [Link to post: https://www.myhoppyhour.com/2026/03/11/pahang-cameron-highlands-day-tour/]
12. Went to this flower-arranging competition on my own. It seems more romantic to go at night, but I was lazy, so I just popped by one Sunday morning around 10 am, on the very last day of the exhibit. It was already super hot by then, so I took my pictures and then left.
13. Got to ‘feed’ a lion an ang pao at a lion dance for the first time. I never really bothered in the past, but I packed one this time for the lion for luck. I mean, it’s not a big deal, but since I’m writing about first-times, I’ll just throw this one in.
14. Went to the Little Prince exhibit in Thailand. (Covered under the same link as point no. 10 above) It felt like a warm hug for the 17-year old version of me who found comfort and solace in the book. One year later, it’s helped me in its own way to move on from something I couldn’t quite let go of at the time.
It hasn’t entirely been a full year of accumulating new experiences and connections, though. I’ve also made the decision to cut some ties. I quit lessons with the violin teacher I had worked with for the last 1.5 years. He had helped me improve hugely, but during what would become our last lesson, I made the decision that I won’t be coming back. Initially, I wrestled with second thoughts about my decision. The violinist I could have been with his experience and continued tutelage felt like a loss that I sometimes still grieve to this day. But, I still take weekly cello lessons at another school, and some of the techniques I learn there are also transferrable to my violin practice at home, so at least I’m still progressing in one instrument.
The past year was also the first year I stopped trying to date or meet anyone. It happened quite by accident, when I got so tired of it all that I just withdrew from the dating scene completely. I had intended to step back into it when I felt ready. It was so peaceful and fulfilling afterward that I realised I may never feel like dating again. Sometimes I still have crushes, but I know they’re just like seasons that come and go, and not permanent emotional states. I savour such episodes while they last, but I just see them as candles that burn out eventually after serving their purpose, which is just to feel.
There were things that I tried and gave up on as well. For example, I was resolved to learn how to swim by the end of last year. I put down a $200 fee for 5 lessons with an instructor who I made the mistake of assuming was the best locally, since he was the first Google search result. I even ambitiously bought a big bottle of chlorine removing-shampoo, thinking I would be swimming every week after I completed the course and learned how to not drown. By the second lesson with him, I already felt like I had just wasted my money on someone like him. He didn’t seem that interested in teaching me properly, and during our lessons I would constantly turn around after each lap to see him facing away, chatting nonchalantly to his other swim coach buddies. I didn’t want to continue another round of lessons with him, and I didn’t feel like potentially wasting more money, so I shelved the idea for the time being.
That pretty much concludes my stroll down memory lane for the past 12 months. I was thinking about what my goals were for this year. I haven’t been doing very much after my birthday. To keep things exciting, I’ve started listing down some activities I’d like to do on my next vacation, hopefully some time before the year closes out. I want to do as many novel and exciting things as I did in 2025, but realistically, I still don’t have very many ideas on what constitutes ‘novel’ that I haven’t already done that I have the budget for.
Anyway, just for the sake of showcasing something (relatively) new I’ve been working on, here’s a pencil drawing of a violin that I started a few years ago and only continued recently. I used a 2B pencil for the most part, then 7B/a charcoal pencil for the really dark bits and then a black gel pen for some of the finer outlines, like the purfling. If the randomly unfinished sections of the drawing are anything to go by, my drawing style has not changed over the last decade and my attention is all over the place, as usual. And honestly, I have no idea when I’ll finish this. I just don’t feel like doing very much when I get home…except sitting down doing nothing or playing the violin, which is the only thing that feeds my energy after work instead of taking away from it.
I’m happy to see I’ve still retained my skills, after years of not drawing anything.
And just like that, May is almost over. Life really needs to slow down!