Dec 27

Dec 27 5 Milestones in Dec 2021

John Lim

Family, How I Went About

Seems like I outdid myself again (compared to 2019) - this time round all within 1 month. A quick check-in for 2021 which went by in a flash.

Podcast 🎙️
Officially launched my podcast - which took a few years of unofficial making and a few months of official making. Long story short, I’ve been a huge fan, consumer and beneficiary of podcasts for some years now (this is the unofficial making) and I took some months to really ideate and conceptualize the podcast. I really did not want to make it a narcissistic exercise and want to make sure the podcast creates genuine value.
Moving on at work 💻
After 760 days (approx 2 years and 1 month), I am moving on to embark on a different and exciting challenge in Jan 2022. Lazada has saved me in many ways and I am greatly thankful.
Mother-in-Law moved out 🏠
Julian, my son, has turned 22 months (2 months shy of his 2nd birthday in Feb). My mother in law has been staying with us on weekdays for most of that 22 months. She has been an incredible help - I was telling myself in Nov 2021 that my life was a little too good to be true - I get to run in the mornings (the cardio, music/podcasts in my ears and breathing/meditation practice post run and stretching), read bedtime stories to Julian in the evening and after he sleeps, my wife and I pretty much have the night to ourselves.
Well she moved out in early Dec - and now I got to really live life as a full-on father (we have no helper). Which means no more uninterrupted sleep and morning runs, sleeping on the floor for me with aircon blowing full-on on my face and basically just being around for Julian pretty much for all of his waking moments.
Registered Julian for school/childcare 🏫
He starts on 3 Jan 2022. This should help my wife and me (more of my wife) with getting our sanity time back - with regards to point #3 above. Plan is to send him for a few hours - half a day first in the beginning and then put him for up to full day when he is comfortable or fully adjusted. It hasn’t been super easy looking for a suitable childcare for him - somewhere near to our place, with outdoor spaces to run and roam, not too expensive AND has availability.
We are also anticipating issues which come with childcare - lots of crying since this will be the first time he’s gonna be alone without his family, falling sick, etc etc.
Bought a (second hand) car 🚗
I have been delaying this decision for the longest time - owning a car in Singapore simply does not make any economic cents sense. We live near great amenities, everything is (almost) walking distance, Grab/taxis are convenient - no need to FIND and pay for parking, no ERP (additional cost of driving on certain roads or areas during peak hours in Singapore), without mentioning the ridiculous cost of owning and driving a car in Singapore “once you own a car, it sucks money whether you’re driving or not”.
We finally got a car at this point - for the main reason of fetching Julian back and forth from school. While the school is 1.9KM from our place, and 18 mins via public transport - not the furthest - but this 18 min consists of a 11 min walk along roads with very narrow pedestrian pathways unsheltered. I actually took Julian to his school on my own twice to try out the route. 1. 11-min walk is do-able for adults but for a toddler who has shorter legs and immense curiosity, the duration of the walk can easily double. 2. Biggest concern is weather of course. It rains approximately one-third of the year in Singapore. Gonna be tricky to book a Grab or taxi in bad weather.
With cost being a huge concern (“buying a car is taking money away from investing it for Julian’s future college fees”), we chose a second-hand car as the COE for new cars now are way ridiculous - S$58,000 for a small 1,600 CC car at time of writing.