Here are some highlights from my first week of 2026:
1. Facilitated Well-Being Circles again. 😃
Well-Being Circles is an 8-week programme where participants sit in a circle to learn from each other's stories, play reflective games, and learn research-backed well-being skills. The first session of 2026 began on 3 Jan!
My co-facilitator is a Publicis strategist and pursuing a masters in counselling. 😱 He is far more eloquent and composed than I am, so my creative and chaotic energy balances his. 🤪
Also, I'm sooooo grateful that all participants' feedback were positive! They commended me for being grounded, relatable, knowledgeable, an active listener etc. I'm often clueless on how I'm being perceived because my own personality seems complex to myself. 😂 This is definitely an encouraging start, though I could improve on speaking confidently!
2. Converted to full-time at work.
My 6-month contract was a temporary cover for another designer on maternity leave and is ending in a month's time. Unexpectedly, my boss gave me the option to convert to a full-time staff because HR could add an extra headcount for me?! I've an official full-time job now.
I know the grass looks greener in other jobs and industries, but I'll choose nurture where I am planted already. 🌱 Yes, I'm letting go of my own wilfulness and letting God grow me in my current design role.
Prior to taking up this job, my prayer requests for my ideal workplace were: 1) a quiet environment, 2) autonomy, 3) a good boss, and 4) reasonable salary. This job not only fulfils all criteria, I get to leave office by 6.20pm daily to rest or work on side hustles! It eases my financial worry for now.
Of course, no job is perfect. Sometimes, creativity gets pushed aside in favour of bureaucracy, or I get shoved work that aren't in my jobscope, but the pros still outweigh the cons. At least I don't need to compete for new jobs, sit through long interviews, and cultivate new relationships all over again.
3. Considering to buy an action camera. 📷
I stumbled upon an Instagram reel featuring the Insta360 Go Ultra and couldn't stop thinking about getting an action camera ever since! It's sooo compact, portable, discreet, and lighter than a phone! I love that it lets you capture hands-free POVs by mounting it on your body or sticking it to any metal surface. Also, the FreeFrame mode makes it easy to extract different aspect ratios from the same footage. No extra planning, holding a camera or tripod, or resizing in post-production!
Considering I already own an under-utilised point-and-shoot Canon G7X camera, spending $500 on another camera might be unnecessary. Yet, the thumb cameras under $100 suck so bad at image-stabilisation and low lighting, so I don't mind splurging a bit if I want decent videos.
4. Considering to do LASIK eye surgery. 👁
5. Changed my right foot dressing.
Got my right foot dressing changed at Kallang Polyclinic for the first time. The friendly nurse said my surgery wound from last month healed up pretty well. Hopefully when I visit my doctor next Wednesday for follow-up, she'll allow me to walk without an ankle bandage! I also cannot wait to get back into exercising again after 4 months!
Well-Being Circles is an 8-week programme where participants sit in a circle to learn from each other's stories, play reflective games, and learn research-backed well-being skills. The first session of 2026 began on 3 Jan!
I volunteered as a facilitator again to practise my soft skills and relearn the contents, which I found very helpful. It's also my service to God and to whoever He places in my circle. This wave of participants is noticeably older, more mature and complex with diverse life experiences, unlike my previous wave of Gen Zs. There are teachers, counsellors, and entrepreneurs, whom I have to learn from and up my facilitation game so they feel supported.
My co-facilitator is a Publicis strategist and pursuing a masters in counselling. 😱 He is far more eloquent and composed than I am, so my creative and chaotic energy balances his. 🤪
Also, I'm sooooo grateful that all participants' feedback were positive! They commended me for being grounded, relatable, knowledgeable, an active listener etc. I'm often clueless on how I'm being perceived because my own personality seems complex to myself. 😂 This is definitely an encouraging start, though I could improve on speaking confidently!
2. Converted to full-time at work.
My 6-month contract was a temporary cover for another designer on maternity leave and is ending in a month's time. Unexpectedly, my boss gave me the option to convert to a full-time staff because HR could add an extra headcount for me?! I've an official full-time job now.
I know the grass looks greener in other jobs and industries, but I'll choose nurture where I am planted already. 🌱 Yes, I'm letting go of my own wilfulness and letting God grow me in my current design role.
Prior to taking up this job, my prayer requests for my ideal workplace were: 1) a quiet environment, 2) autonomy, 3) a good boss, and 4) reasonable salary. This job not only fulfils all criteria, I get to leave office by 6.20pm daily to rest or work on side hustles! It eases my financial worry for now.
Of course, no job is perfect. Sometimes, creativity gets pushed aside in favour of bureaucracy, or I get shoved work that aren't in my jobscope, but the pros still outweigh the cons. At least I don't need to compete for new jobs, sit through long interviews, and cultivate new relationships all over again.
3. Considering to buy an action camera. 📷
I stumbled upon an Instagram reel featuring the Insta360 Go Ultra and couldn't stop thinking about getting an action camera ever since! It's sooo compact, portable, discreet, and lighter than a phone! I love that it lets you capture hands-free POVs by mounting it on your body or sticking it to any metal surface. Also, the FreeFrame mode makes it easy to extract different aspect ratios from the same footage. No extra planning, holding a camera or tripod, or resizing in post-production!
My only concern is the ridiculously short battery life at 70-minutes when shooting on 1080p, though it only takes 12 minutes to charge 80% full. It's 180-minutes in the action pod.
Another option would be the newer DJI Osmo Nano with better video quality and 90-min battery life when shooting on 1080p. It is bulkier, has a prominent logo on the cam which can be covered with gaffer tape, and I'll have to manually crop different formats from a 4:3 ratio footage.
Considering I already own an under-utilised point-and-shoot Canon G7X camera, spending $500 on another camera might be unnecessary. Yet, the thumb cameras under $100 suck so bad at image-stabilisation and low lighting, so I don't mind splurging a bit if I want decent videos.
4. Considering to do LASIK eye surgery. 👁
My company's offering 25% employee discount for LASIK surgery, which is $1k less than the non-subsidised $4k. It's a good opportunity to do it now, but my only concern is how ugly I look without pupil-enlarging contact lenses. 🤣 Still, LASIK feels like a better investment than 20 more years of contact lenses, which may further damage my cornea. I'll have to work on being confident with my naked eyes.
Update: I received an email from the senior optometrist saying I'm not eligible for LASIK. 😔 Guess I'll have to make do with spectacles then.
5. Changed my right foot dressing.
Got my right foot dressing changed at Kallang Polyclinic for the first time. The friendly nurse said my surgery wound from last month healed up pretty well. Hopefully when I visit my doctor next Wednesday for follow-up, she'll allow me to walk without an ankle bandage! I also cannot wait to get back into exercising again after 4 months!
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