BOOKED

oh my, today is the last day of 2007. taking everything as a whole, i can't complain too much. it has been a fairly good year for me personally on most fronts as all the other previous several years have been. some expected results met and also there are some unmet needs (as they say in my company speak). i'll give it a 6 on a scale of 10. this sounds like a rather bad rating considering i really can't complain very much at all...i mean compared to those unfortunate people in pakistan or iraq or elsewhere i should rate myself at 9 perhaps or 8 at least ... but human beings are real bastards, they can never get enough and be grateful of what they have, and i count myself as one of those afflicted with this terrible disease....

i'm not going to review what 2007 meant to me , but for the first time in my life i'm going to put in writing what i expect to achieve in 2008 (well, some parts of it)..

1) Books

i know i'll go and buy more books in 2008 as i mean to build up my library to around 4000 books by 2010 and i will go on to read a few of these. but i need to specifically set this little target:-

i must read Hikayat Abdullah and Hikayat Hang Tuah
i have this old copy of Hikayat Abdullah Jilid 1 published by Pustaka Antara (1963- my version is 6th reprint in 1974)) in original old style bahasa melayu which i find very pleasing. i bought a paperback copy for 1 ringgit.

As for Hikayat Hang Tuah, mine is Kassim Ahmad’s magnum opus edition of the Hikayat Hang Tuah, painstaking and lovingly edited and compiled in 1962 and published by our very own Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka? This is the definitive version of the full Hikayat, in two volumes, running a total of 523 pages. (as described by farish noor here...) again, in very pleasing old bahasa melayu...

2) olympic games

to go and watch 2008 olympic games in Beijing (track and field) in august.
if i can still get a ticket for at least one day of track and field events, I'll definitely attend this.
ideally what i'd love to do is take a flight to kunming and then travel by train all the way up to beijing...

3) Travels.

i know i'll be travelling to all sorts of places due to the nature of my work as usual but apart from this, i'm going to do at least one of these:-

a) go and do catch and realease fishing in alaska.
I have this good american friend who has done this and i might tag along if i really feel like it on his next fishing trip. (possible but probably not going to happen)

or b) go catch lobsters with my old boss in queensland and revisit great barrier reef (very possible but 50% likelihood)

or c) take a train journey in south america. (trans andes/trans patagonoia) and visit a friend in beunos aires -possible but low likelihood

or d) visit Mrauk U, in Burma.

this is the most likely to be met as i'll be going to myanma again in march 2008.

4) to be happy

fuck. this one is impossible.....