Currently Listening to: America - Only in Your Heart
Location: Sydney, Australia
Mood: Anxiously Melancholic
Welcome to the 18th iteration of my Year Ender post. I have written most of this post on a plane on route to Sydney,Australia. As of posting, I’ll be in Sydney to celebrate the New Year near Sydney Opera.. Anyhow, let’s do the 2024 edition of my year ender report!
1. The biggest highlight of this year is the approval of my Australian Visa and my big move from Dubai, UAE to Canberra, Australia. I was quite surprised that I was expecting my visa to be approved by March this year, but it was approved even earlier around February. Everything went quite quick then. I had a vacation in the Philippines in April, resigned at my job in Dubai in May, moved to Australia in June and finally settled in Canberra by the end of July. Two years of efforts and expeses paid off, and I was quite pleased that I got it.
2. Travel wise, I definitely went to a lot of places! I went first to Oman in January, has a vacation in the Philippines in April, went to Georgia and Armenia in May, took a 2 week stopover in Singapore before finally flying first to Melbourne at the end of June. I stayed at my cousin’s place for a month to soak in the Australian life before finally moving on my own to Canberra by end of July. I also travelled to Sydney and visited Melbourne again a few more times. I am hoping that by next year, I can finally buy a good e-bike and start of camping around the Canberra area. I also hope to travel to more places, though it’s a bit hard with how far Australia is with everything else. Let’s see what’s in store this coming year!
3. I wouldn’t say that my move to Australia was all rainbows and sunshine. I felt that this year I’m beset by feelings of loneliness and anxiety. I think the biggest challenge for me coming to Australia would be getting used to the cost of living. I found it quite steep to my liking that sometimes at the back of my mind I wonder if relocating to Australia was actually a good idea. I’m also having some challenges with looking for friends. Australians are generally cool people, but sometimes I’m not sure how to interact with them. I am able to communicate and get along with them for the most part, but I’m wondering if I can befriend them to the point of being close to them. I guess only time will tell if I can have really close friends. I was also burned out with a lot of unexpected expenses, like dental and medical expenses which I’ll explain in a bit. I’m quite concerned that there are times where my expenses ate into my savings which I really didn’t like. I was nervous that it was taking me a while to get a job as my savings were getting depleted quite fast. Thankfully after a bit more than a month, I was able to find a job.
4. I guess I must be seen as complaining a bit too much, as while the cost of living is high in Australia, there’s a lot of good things going for it. First of all, the environment is really pristine and peaceful, especially in Canberra. It took me a bit of getting used to, since I was used to cities like Singapore and Dubai where it’s so busy and crowded, but now I got used to the quiet and spacious atmosphere of Canberra. I am also very glad that I was able to get a job as a Content Producer for YWCA Canberra. I feel the job is quite fulfilling, as my role serves a higher purpose of doing advocacy work and righteoous causes, a stark contrast to my previous jobs which is all about selling products. It also helps that the work culture is so chill and not stressful compared to my previous jobs. My colleagues seem to have a positive opinion of me as well, which makes me like my job a lot. I do need a bit of adjustment with other things, but I believe I’ll stay with this orginasation for quite a while!
5. TCG wise, it was pretty much the same deal as last year where it started great but ended quite bad. I had a good start with our team getting top 8 in Springfest in Manila. I also started playing in Australia, and I had a really good experience with a big tournament called Saltfest, where I got 4th place, probably my best record in a singles tournament format so far. Unfortunately my Melbourne BCS run ended short and my Singapore BCS run was even a disaster. I was quite envious of my friend Eman who got top 4 not once, but twice. Hopefully though, there’s one to two chances of still qualifying for Worlds this coming February, so I hope to learn from my mistakes and finally get an invite.
By the way, I also started a new TCG named Grand Archive. Enri kinda duped me into playng the game, and my FoW teammate Zhimon also got into it, so I am playing it now. I also got a good placement on the trial deck tournament which gave me a reason to play the game. I have to admit though, the game is quite expensive, and I spent a lot. Let’s see how it goes! Thankfully, the Australian TCG scene is quite active and there are small communities of Weiss Schwarz and Grand Archive in Canberra where I can at least play the card games I prefer. I do want to qualify for WS Worlds soon as I feel the game is kinda in decline and I want to be able to get to my goal before it fully declines.
5. Health wise, I definitely am not healthy. I believe a big part of this stems from my anxieties, which caused me not to do exercise and proper diet. I did try to do jogging and order a food subscription service to improve my diet, but I have not been consistent. It didn’t help that the farewell party in Dubai has now caused me to get frequent indigestion as it clashed with my diet. Then when I arrived in Australia, I was beset with a toothache that I cannot ignore that I decided to have a root canal. I was in shock with how expensive dental procedures in Australia are. I think the cost hurt me as bad as the toothache as well. I also had cubital tunnel syndrome, where I had issues moving my left ring and pinky finger. It’s better now, though I still fill a very slight numbness on my left hand. I aim that this coming year, I’ll be able to buy a bike to become active and get a cheaper food subscription service where I can order and cook healthier food.
6. My sister was finally able to get out of detention, but a lot of things happened. She can’t go back to work, and worse her fiancee died. Thankfully she was able to recover, and she’s taking care of my niece as much as she could. She hopes to be able to travel so she can work again soon. It’s quite hard since during this period I had to take my share of providing for both my mom and my dad, which doesn’t help with my anxiety. I hope things will be better for her soon enough.
7. Anime, Manga and Pop Culture stuff.
Anime and Manga wise, it’s kinda the same as last year. There were some good gems this year though, and there also some manga series that ended this year. I’m trying to clear some backlogs and I actually just finished an anime in the plane on route to Sydney.
As for sumo, I really don’t watch it as fervently as a few years ago, though I’m still updated with the tournaments every now and then. I think a big reason was that the JSA went overkill with punishing Miyagino Oyakata (Hakuho) for the Hokuseiho debacle, as I felt it reeks of politics. I believe that affected Hakuoho’s performance badly which left me disappointed. New young blood definitely have risen this year though, especially Onosato who is now an Ozeki. There’s also a good chance that this coming year Kotozakura (formerly Kotonowaka) will finally become Yokozuna. We shall see, but I already had a feeling he had a potential to become one. Kinda disappointed though that Kirishima fell down a lot.
Spice and Wolf (2024) – Just finished
Danmachi S5, Apothecary Diaries S2, not sure what else…
Kubo-San Won’t Let Me Be Invisible, Isekai Nonbiri Nouka, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Aria the Origination, Flying Witch, Apothecary Diaries S1, Ganbare Douki Chan, Konosuba S3, Dangers in my Heart S2, My Tiny Senpai, Yuru Camp S3, Dungeon Meshi, Makeine, Oshi no Ko S2, Roshidere
Rewatched This Year:
Attack on Titan Series
Unfinished Anime:
Gundam Seed Freedom, Spy x Family Code White, Seven Days War, Lonely Castle in the Mirror, Kaguya Sama Movie, Belle, Look Back, Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom
I barely read manga this year actually…
Finished Manga: Oshi no Ko
Other Stuff Watched:
Movies: Interstellar, Sisu, Seven Samurai, In the Mood for Love, Dune Part 2, Oppenheimer
Series: Castlevania Nocturne
New Games Played: Pretty much the same with just the addition of Pokemon Pocket
8. Fulfilled (or not) Wishes
a. Get the Australia Visa Grant – Highlight of the year. We got there.
b. Improved Health – Not the best, with bouts of anxiety and insomnia. Not being active either.
c. WS Worlds Invite – Still in process. There’s still a chance for 1 or 2 events.
d. Better situation for my Sis – I believe for the most part these got settled.
e. Some new goal to look forward to – I still am not able to find a new goal, I guess the goal now is to become stable in Australia and do the steps to become a PR and eventually a citizen.
New Wishes:
1. Better health – I wish to improve my activity and diet, as well as treat my anxiety and insomnia
2. WS Worlds Invite – I will still try, with two more events
3. Start camping – a big reason why I chose Canberra is that I can do outdoor activities. I hope I can do it this coming year.
4. Settle well in Australia – Hope to find close friends, as well as to get used to the Australian life
5. Travel to new places – I did some nice places this 2024, and I hope I can expand this 2025!
I guess this is it from now. I just finished writing this inside a plane going to Sydney. I’ll post this once I’m settled in my Airbnb then walk off to see the fireworks! Hoping for a good 2025 for me!
