Realizations And Resolutions From 2010

Remember how I started off last year’s “Realizations And Resolutions From 2009”? I talked about how “there’s no such thing as a perfect New Year’s” because you can’t be with everyone you want to be with. Well, I wanted to try to prove myself wrong this year, I tried to split myself between friends and family, spending half the night with friends and the other half with family (both parties mean the world to me). Unfortunately, trying to be in two places at the same time never works well (that’s something I should have learned that from television!). So once again, I have yet to experience my version of a perfect (or at least as good as it gets a) New Year’s…

Then again, I don’t take the nights of the 31st that seriously anymore, after all, it’s the other 365 days of the year that matter most! And now that I've woken up to a bright new 1st of the year, I want to reflect on 2010. I want to go back to my resolutions and see what I've fulfilled; I want to remember all the good that’s happened last year, and all the things I want to still work on. So here we go:

I always put Prayer as number one on my list and I always fall short. I know I’m spiritual, and I believe, but this is something I need to keep working on… :-)

I think I took my good Health for granted last year, or at least I did by not listing it as a major point. Most of the comments I’d gotten every time I’d see someone I hadn't seen in a while were: look how thin you've gotten/ it doesn’t suit you/ you should eat more. Its not like I do it on purpose, I've just got high metabolism! But I have been trying to eat better, and will hopefully continue to do so next year…

Now, for more important things like Family. I've said it before and I’ll say it again, my family is one of the most important things in the world to me. Sure they drive me ballistic at times but I still love them all. Unfortunately, several of them don’t live in Lebanon. Lil brother is in Canada, as are my Uncle, his wife, and my baby cousin Celine. And my aunt, her husband, and my two cousins are in Egypt. We don’t all talk as often as I’d like but I definitely hope to strengthen my relationship with them all, by making more effort to talk with them. And of course to the beautiful family I have here like my parents, grandma, and aunt. Family First!

Just as important to me are Friends. The best of friends are of course the ones who stick with you through time and distance. And I've had so many people walk in and out of my life. But I have to stop and smile at the ones I’m blessed to have in my life, especially this year. Sura, Daniel, Nadine, Ymn, Nan, and Tarek… 6 is my lucky number! :-P of course there are a lot more people that I love in this world, but those 6 are who I’m super thankful for this year… And here’s to the many more memories we’ll hopefully share together next year! :-)

I’m really happy to feel that I've finally fit into the world of Work. I’ve officially been working for a year and ten months now, and I’m really happy. I've gained a lot of experience in that department, and I still have a long way to go. I want to make some noticeable differences next year, I've got to. Fingers Crossed…

On a side note, even though I’m not thinking of doing my MBA right now, I’d like to at least start getting ready for it. I have the book, GMAT, and I want to get through it. It’s tough, but I’m going to start taking things more seriously in terms of my future education…

Along that line though, I did it! It took longer than I thought it would but I finally completed the Toastmasters program, earning both the “Competent Leader” Award in June and the “Competent Communicator” Award in November. I had said that I wanted to serve as club Treasurer during the third season of LoudSpeakers, and I did, I actually served as both Treasurer and Sergeant at Arms. I had also said I also said I wanted to take on a more demanding officer role during the fourth season in June 2010 but by then I have to admit I wasn't feeling very satisfied with the club… All of a sudden, Ymn left, and then Maya, and then Diala (who were the main people I used to look forward to going to TM for). A lot of new members joined, ice breakers, first time roles, and I suddenly began feeling like I had failed a class, like no one was at the end of the program with me; everyone was just leaving or just starting… So, I decided it was time for me to wrap it up as well, and with that, the Toastmasters part of my life reached a thankful end…

But, with every end there’s a new beginning, right?! This year, I’m going to officially join We Love Tripoli. I first heard of them early this year when I went on their “Shoot As You Walk” events, where we’d talk around the city, taking pictures of Tripoli. We've also became locally quite famous, with articles and exhibitions all about us! And I love raising awareness and making a difference towards Tripoli!

Now, it can’t be all work and no play, right? That’s right, I asked for a Vacation. Last year, since I still hadn't fulfilled my 1 year work probation period yet, I wasn’t entitled to any working days off. But as of March, I was entitled to 28 working days off! And I have to admit, I've outdone myself! In Lebanon: January, I went on a trip with Toastmasters to The Cedars, during the Summer, I went on a trip with Mum, lil brother, my two aunts, two cousins, and a family friend to Zahle and Chouf and it was so much fun, rediscovering Lebanon together. I had a lot of fun with my baby cousin Celine whilst she was here. I spent a lot of time at the beach, on islands, in Jbeil, in Beirut, shopping, with friends… Outside Lebanon: Back during the Easter Break, Mum, my aunt, a family friend, and I all went to spend four days in Aleppo, Syria. Two weeks after that, I took another four days off work and I went to visit Dad in Amman, Jordan and my best friend Nadine, Mira, Sari, Akram, and even Danny flew in from Kuwait for an AUB reunion! But the best trip of the year (or of my life actually), was when I combined three days off work to the Eid-Al-Adha & Independence day vacations for a nine day getaway with Mum to Kuala Lumpur & Langkawi, Malaysia! And it was incredible beyond words… Four countries in one year, that’s something! Yes, I benefited from my vacations this year to the max. Unfortunately, next year I’m only entitled to 15 working days, 12 of which must be taken consecutively. I’m really hoping to go to Dubai during the 2011 Shopping Festival, and I’ll try to take advantage of the two week vacation I’m most probably going to be taking in the summer. I’d opt for either a cruise, Turkey, or a European country like Italy or Spain. I’d also like to think I’m smart when it comes to taking advantage of official holidays like Easter or Eid, so that’s something I look forward to working with, taking advantage of every free moment, because they’ll stay free if you don’t do something with them!

I can’t say that I've Read more this year. All the books I said I wanted to read last year, I didn’t read them. But I guess the style of my reading has changed. Yes, I did read novels like “Committed”, and I’m currently reading “This Book Will Change Your Life”, I've read comics like “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” and “Maya Zankoul’s Amalgams”, I’ve read Business books like “The 48 Laws of Power”, “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership”, and “Developing The Leader Within You Workbook”. Yes, I've taken a liking to John Maxwell! In fact, I was at Virgin Megastore the other day when I came across “The Maxwell Daily Reader” which is packed with a collection of 365 pages of major points from several of his major books to last me the whole year through! Oh, and I've joined as a member in Al Mouna Public Library where I've found a beautiful collection of books (even on Photography) which I hope to make the best use of!

I got back to Writing this year, in more ways than one. First, I blogged like I had intended to and I intend to keep it up. I had also intended to write for a book. And, I did end up writing a book, just not the book I had in mind. See, in April, Al Mouna Public Library launched a writing competition for a children’s story on Tripoli. I participated with a rhyme story I wrote called “SuSu in the Souk”, and I actually came off as a first place winner in the English Section! My story, along with the second and third place winners in the English Section and the six other winners from the Arabic and French Sections were all made into a children’s book called Qisati! I hope to keep writing, as it’s a big part of what I’m all about!

I think what I’m proud of the most this year is the brave step I took towards Photography. I've always dreamed of owning a digital SLR camera, and after a bit of research and taking people’s suggestions, I decided to invest in the Canon Rebel Xsi/D450 (with a special thanks to Danny who bought it for me from the USA for a much cheaper price than it was being sold in Lebanon). And ever since, I've been in love with it. A whole new world has opened up to me with SLRs! Aperture, Shutter Speed, Depth of Field, ISO, I own those terms! And what I’m most thankful for are the many opportunities We Love Tripoli’s “Shoot As You Walk” events have been providing me with. With each journey we take to take pictures of Tripoli, I discover something new about my camera, and shooting techniques that have made a lot of differences to my work! But I still have so much to learn! I want to learn to understand lenses now, because I've seen those beautiful zoom lenses which I've been dying to use! I need to figure them out, and decide which one to invest in. Also, as ashamed as I am to admit this, I have NO idea how to use Photoshop. Hopefully by the end of next year, I’ll know how to work it! So stay tuned…

You know sometimes I feel that I have a real life and an Online life, taking into consideration the amount of time I spend online! I've learned a lot from the internet, I’ve taken a lot of information out of it. And in 2011 I hope to stay informed, in terms of Business, Politics, Electronics, Food, Fashion & Style, the list is endless. But, I need to cut down on my hours of usage, and spend more time in the real world…

All in all 2010 has been a damn good year, in fact; it’s been one of the best years of the decade for me! L7amdillah. To everything old and new, I hope I’ll be seeing a lot more in 2011…

A Happy New Year To The World!!! :-)