2015 Is Over, What Does 2016 Have In Store?

Well 2015 was a mixed bag of a year, wasn't it? It actually started off alright with the discovery that we could make pretty good shortcrust pastry here in Indonesia but then it all seemed to go downhill from there. We started paying the mortgage on a new house that we wouldn't be moving into for over a year and that seemed to go ok, no huge changes to lifestyle just stopped thinking about holidays and knowing that it would be the last year paying rent.Then, in April, we lost my Dad which kind of put the kibosh on things for a while. This was followed a few months later by the passing of one of Dad's best friends and Dermot will be hugely missed by all of his family and friends.

But, as with all things in life, everything gradually returns to normal. Work continued in 2015 with new teachers coming and old ones going, things with the house progressed faster than expected meaning we were looking at being in by December. Mum came over for a holiday and got to see Singapore and Bali for the first time and then, seemingly out of nowhere, Christmas and New Year were upon us. Phew!

So as the New Year starts, with thoughts of resolutions and hope for what's to come, I thought I'd look forward to the year ahead....

House

Well we're still not in it. There's currently no electricity or running water hooked up and we've been told that the cable tv and internet service we currently use won't be available. On the up-side we're pretty close to finalising the fitted kitchen we want and think we can actually include a built-in hob and oven too. We've boxed up everything in our current house and have a man (actually 3 men) and a van organised for once we have the greenlight. We also have a contingency of paying an extra months rent on the current place if we need it. Hopefully one more month from now. fingers crossed.

Bike

I believe that I should get my repaired CBR 250 back this month (January 2016) which means that the Honda Beat will be available to rent out or sell. The CBR will certainly make driving the increased distance to work better than the scooter.

Gym

We've extended the membership at The Springs so this means that badminton practice can continue and allow me to stay fitter and healthier. Uchiel reckons that she'll be attending regularly too but I have my doubts....








Work

My contract finishes at the end of June with a new one due to start immediately. The big thing this year is to get something called a KITAP which will mean that I'm sponsored to stay here by my wife and not by my employer. I have been waiting for the paperwork to arrive but, as with all things, it's taking its time. Employment regualtions have changed again so we'll have to wait and see what recruitment of new native-speaking teachers is going to look like too.

Holidays

While the house continues to take up all available funds, we have some great stuff to look forward to. Mum is planning on returning for a few weeks in Spring and, just as my contract ends in June, we'll be heading to Bali for a weekend to celebrate Colm and Nova's wedding. Then in early July, Myles, Karan and Megan arrive for a couple of weeks and we've plans to visit Yogyakarta by train and then on to a beach holiday. That will probably be it for this year although it would be nice to think we might be able to do Korea for a few days skiing in December.

Movies

I've been enjoying writing #StokerScore (stokerscore.blogspot.co.id) as much as I've enjoyed the movies in 2015. There have been some surprises and some shockers too and from the look of the slate for 2016 it's going to be another cracker!!







So as ever a fun packed year ahead and I hope that yours is equally filled with awesomeness and that it produces many memorable moments. I plan to take 2016 by the scruff of the neck and wring out every last bit of enjoyment.

Love you and miss you very much, Dad, hope you're enjoying yourself.