2019

Hello 2020! It is my annual review again. Looks like this will be the only reason I post on this blog LMAO.

January 2019

We spent a few weeks in California with my wife’s family. Visited a bunch of touristy places (San Francisco pier and had some clam chowder, Google HQ, Facebook HQ, Intel museum) and had all sorts of food and desserts. It was a nice escape from the snowy winter in Mississauga/Toronto.

February 2019

By this time, I was quite well-established at my company. I was trusted and I did my job well. I think it was in this month that I received a 14% raise. I have never received such a huge raise before, and this really nailed it into me that my decision to leave my home country in search for greener pastures was one of the best decisions ever in my life.

March 2019

Our first anniversary of arriving in Canada. Besides that, it was an uneventful month, and time sort of just ticked away while my wife continued hunting for a job.

April 2019

I crossed one item off my bucket list: attend a live concert! My wife and I watched Against The Current live in Toronto. It was a nice experience, especially because it was a small crowd of about only a couple hundred people, so everyone got to be quite close and right up front with the band members.

May 2019

My wife and I found out that she was pregnant. It was slightly bizarre because we were at our family doctor’s clinic for a different reason. Then suddenly it came across my wife’s mind that she just missed her most recent period. So, when she mentioned it, the doctor offered to do a pregnancy test and voila.

We also had the chance to visit the Bruce Peninsula National Park. The quiet trek and instant hotpot lunch in the chilly late-spring weather on Flowerpot Island was quite enjoyable. We took the opportunity to visit Wiarton and Owen Sound too.

June 2019

My wife moved to Calgary, Alberta on her own to start working with Inter Pipeline Ltd. We were again in a long-distance relationship, but at least this time we knew it was just for a short few months.

July 2019

My company was getting swamped with tremendous amounts of customer orders because of an upcoming change in laws around tobacco product packaging. So, for the first time in the decades of the company’s history, shutdown was cancelled. My maintenance crew were forced to work around the operators and production schedules to get some of the critical work done. To me, it was a blessing in disguise because it meant I avoided the previous year’s schedule of 12-hour days for two weeks straight.

August 2019

I made known my intention to quit my job to my boss, so we kick-started the hiring process to find my replacement.

September 2019

It was our birthday month, so we watched Cirque du Soleil. I found out too that my wife had never heard of them before, which I found ironic because she loved circuses, dances, musicals and acrobatic performances.

Other than that, the month was filled with handing over of my duties to the newly hired plant engineer.

October 2019

I officially resigned from my job and permanently moved out of Ontario to Alberta. After a few days in Calgary, my wife and I moved slightly up north to Sherwood Park where she will be stationed for some time. We did a bunch of shopping at dollar stores, furniture stores and Ikea, and set up furniture in our rental apartment. Things were coming together.

November 2019

At the end of the month, my parents arrived from Malaysia. Although we haven’t seen each other since February 2018 (that’s a year and a half), things were the way they were. I guess that’s family – there is no ice buildup even over time and distance.

December 2019

My wife gave birth to our baby Wynnie Wanning Teo. (Wan Ning – 婉甯) She was born just minutes to midnight on Christmas Eve. The rest of the month was just spent taking care of the newborn and recovering from the delivery.

Moving on to 2020

All in all, I think in general, it seems like 2019 wasn’t a good year for many people. Looking back now, I would say 2019 has been a year of growing and learning. I might not be able to condense or coalesce what I learnt into something concrete which I could articulate, but I know I’ve gained a lot of lifelong experiences.

Life is great. There will always be ups and downs, changes and challenges. At the same time, there will always be reasons to be grateful and happy. I am content.