Year 2022 – What a drama!

oh wow, another year passed, and this year recaps a lot of new experiences.

New job

2022 started with me changing a new role and new team at work, from a technical department to a more commercial department.

I loved my job instantly from the start! I have loads of things to learn and to figure out, with lots of space for my creativity; I have awesome colleagues in the same team and very supportive management; I have also lots of varieties in terms of job content and quite some responsibilities.

There are still challenges ahead, but I am definitely the happiest bird at work 🙂 So that started not bad!

Health

My health was a disaster in 2022 unfortunately. I had my first-lifetime hospitalization experience due to acute appendicitis in February, see my post How much does it cost to have appendicitis surgery in Belgium?

I was also pregnant in late 2021, however, there were quite some complications during this pregnancy, so in March I had to be hospitalized again for a painful induced delivery, so basically, I was immobile and incapable of work from mid-February to mid-March, such a disaster! On the other hand, this experience did make me more mature and appreciate life more, see the full experience here The bearable heaviness of being (1)

Workout

Since April, after my recovery from the hospitalization, I started with a daily workout routine, initially to lose all the excess fat I gained during the pregnancy.

After a few months, my daily workout routine became part of my life, and I started to appreciate the workout process itself, other than the weight loss goal. Now I still do daily workouts, for health, and also for the joy of the process.

Financials

ouch, Four financial situations in 2022 were not so optimal.

Our ETF investment had a big loss, our energy bill went 4 times higher than the year before, and due to inflation most of the expenses were higher, what’s more, our total family income didn’t increase compared to last year.

Anyway, I am already grateful that I didn’t lose my job, didn’t lose my home, or get separated from my family, I truly hope the war between Russia and Ukraine stops soon so things can start to recover to normal.

Travel – New experience unlocked

Travel seems to be recovering in 2022, we went on our first camping trip in July with 2 friends, and we fell in love with it!

The winter trauma of 2021-2022 was quite harsh on me, so in December I decided to stay 1 whole month in Tenerife combining work and travel with some friends, to enjoy the sun and escape from the cold weather in Belgium. I absolutely loved the sun, company, exploration, and food there!

We also traveled for one week on the island with my husband joining, it was wonderful!

New Hobby

In March, during our recovery time, we decided to learn piano, something on our mind for a while, and we finally started it! After half a year we leveled up by exchanging the original keyboard piano for a more expensive electrical one. Rui even quit the Japanese class so he can attend music school to dedicate more time to it!

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/jVy82nTrC20

Social

I feel 2022 is reconnecting time.

Finally, after the lockdown, we slowly recovered connections with old friends, it was amazing how life moved on, but we still know each other just as before. Our weekends were filled with meeting friends for lunch or dinner, sometimes we even had to go to 4 different meal parties in one weekend! But we do enjoy the reconnection, hope in 2023 we can have more chill planning.

Since last year, thanks to my Chinese blog, I got to know more and more Chinese professionals who work in Belgium. In July, I organized a face-to-face meet-up with my followers so we could meet each other and learn more about professional lives in Belgium. The event was quite a success, it was also outside of my comfort zone, but happy that I did it!

Resolution for 2023

All in all 2022 has been a good year despite the bumpy start, I am super grateful that Rui is always by my side and we will have amazing memories about coping with this year.

Big challenges ahead for 2023, I just hope I can cope with all the changes coming up and keep healthy physically and mentally.

And last but not least, thank you for reading, and happy new year to you!

Photo by fauxels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/top-view-photo-of-people-near-wooden-table-3183150/

Photo by Engin Akyurt: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-woman-writing-numbers-on-sand-with-her-hand-13088177/

2021 – Just another year in the pandemic
2020 – A whole year of challenges with a touch of sweetness 2020 一整年的挑战和一点点的甜
2018: My crazy year 我的疯狂2018