In 2020, my first resolution is to stop counting the days I have failed my blog. And off we go with my day counter to begin every blog post, replaced just by the simplicity of the words I want to say. As always, every end also brings a new beginning - and like the year before, I've already wrapped up my 2019 and I'm ready to make new resolutions for the year to come!

TO LAND A JOB

Many of you should already know this, but my other half and I have moved to Europe in June and October 2019 respectively. This move was primarily because he had gotten a really good job offer and we thought it would make a nice challenge to our lives. But good as it may be, I've actually yet to get a proper job and I'm currently thriving in the retail industry just to make ends meet. For 2020 however, my biggest hope is that I will finally get a job in an industry I'm familiar with or at least in the line of work I'm best at. With all the resumes and cover letters I'm sending out, I'm keeping all fingers crossed for some news when spring comes.

TO LEARN DUTCH 

One of the constants in my previous resolutions involved learning Japanese as a language of interest. For 2020 however, I'm forcing myself to pick up Dutch instead because it's the primary language spoken in the country we now reside. Granted they speak really good English, but it's difficult to ignore the snide comments and remarks a lot of people pass on to you when you don't speak their language. From online lessons to (hopefully) classes, I'm looking forward to adding Dutch to the line of languages I will know by the end of 2020.

TO SPEND FAMILY TIME WHEN I CAN

Being abroad means being apart from my family a lot. In the past 2 years, I've managed several travels with my parents simply because we were in the same continent. Despite the distance today, I'm hoping that in 2020 we would be able to afford a trip home so I could spend some time with my family. Be it simple dinners or staying home in our PJs with holes, being with them is the one thing I'd really like for the year. And for those who have been asking, my other half and I unfortunately won't be home for Chinese New Year this year.

TO HAVE A LITTLE MORE FUN

I'm not sure if this is the right way to label this one resolution I have, but in 2020 I'm hoping to finish more games and build more model kits! I think my other half would be really proud of me saying this but I've taken such a liking in playing video games and building Gunpla kits around the 2nd half of the 2010s, so much so I actually got a Nintendo Switch during my trip to Tokyo in 2019. But with work and life happening, sometimes it's just not as easy to give all these hobbies the love they deserve. And so in 2020, much thanks to the better work life balance culture they have in Europe, I'm hoping that I'll give my hobbies more time. 

TO LOVE MY BLOG

Right, I'm actually going to make this a resolution because my writing space deserves more attention than I actually give it. I've realized how I even went through the entire months of February and May 2019 without a post, which is ironic because in January 2019 I actually mentioned I wanted to throw in monthly logs of my life. I actually failed my resolution 2 months into the year! Would I make it in 2020? We'll see in December. 

2020 - you're not just a new year. You're a new decade. So many things can change in a decade, as we already see in the past. You bring new potentials, new hopes, and new opportunities. Here's to winging it to the best we can. Happy New Year, whoever you are reading this!