So I take my foot off the gas and put attention to the rear view mirror. It’s amazing how you find another year in your life passing away, and where you stand from your resolution. The year 2009 – the year when I didn’t plan for too much; yet it’s been one of the most remarkable years of my life, in fact, I would also say it’s been the busiest year of my life yet. That sort of makes sense when I question how did this year go by so fast, and what did I do exactly?
There are couple of very interesting and promising things that did take place for me. The most significant part of this year has been my new job. I didn’t plan, although I did send out my resume just about this time last year, only to see this becoming such a huge part of my life. And most of my 2009 has been around my work life. Call me workaholic if you will, but work definitely helps me. I think in the recent years I have started to think a bit too much, over analyzing and trying to find meaning to everything. And work has helped me stay focused and busy so that I don’t have to deal with the fact of being lonely or the grievance of the society where I grew up.
My new job helped in many ways in my pre-MBA career. I’ve had the opportunity to learn, lead, make decisions, develop strategies, and produce results. I had to make my way through many problems and issues I couldn’t forecast, and I had to deal with the stain of corporate world, I had to be at work till 2am, travelled to locations all over the country, dealing with people I never thought I had to deal with, pushing my reasons and fighting for my team, and in the end coming up with the highest growth in market share for the major products. That being said, this year was also the landmark for me to be annoyed by people more than ever. I have come across some of the most aggravating people of my life – many whom I met this year, and some who I knew but turned like this now. Even when it’s not been the dream job, I still found many employees nationwide who respect me for what I do, believe in me, wants my opinion, and listens when I have something to say. I really feel I have finally stated to do things in 2009 that greatly impact people’s lives. These are the things you cannot value with money; after all, this is how you make your mark as being different, to show the true essence of leadership. And when I look back and see everything I did to help those people whose work depend on my decisions, I feel good, I feel honest, and I feel it couldn’t have been without their support. And that’s why even when I have some of the worst days of my life; I come back next day for those people, and to do things that truly benefit my company – not just to impress the management team members.
I have travelled a lot throughout Bangladesh this year. I had the opportunity to learn from my colleagues and taste life in all corners of the country. I had been to Khulna for the first time, had excellent time in Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar, and got to learn a lot about national markets and lifestyle; from a business perspective, that is. I also had the fabulous Sundarban trip, where I literally experienced every corner of the South-West; from the huge seaports, to deep rainforests, beach, clear nights in the river with the stars, and then the incredible sea. This has been the year when I have travelled the most countrywide.
But work aside, my 2009 also includes the point of listening to the highest number of new artists. My life and bond with music has grown; with 1106 artists and 1643 albums now stored in my prestigious music collection, I am quickly growing that “show-off factor” of having an anthology of some of the most promising and uncommon artists of my time that none of my friends can even come close to. Music helped me just like every year, whenever I was lost, confused, broken, or happy – it all just works with music. The words and melodies, the sense, and the vibe – nothing else makes more sense to me. And I am growing a stronger addiction for it every second of every day. So yes, 2009 has been an important year for music to me. I have not only discovered more albums than before, but the industry did come up with some immense releases of existing bands. People have asked if I’m turning bitter, but Train’s “Save me Francisco” is my favorite album for 2009 – so you know I still do have that soul alive! Self titled album of the Fray and “Battle Studies” by John Mayer are also worth mentioning. I had big hopes for Natalie Imbruglia and Norah Jone’s new albums, but they just didn’t make me feel what I was looking for.
Work has taken away all of my hanging out and being on concerts thing, something I do plan to fix in near future. I have also been playing lesser video games – which is not a good sign for a free soul, but I have been on Businessweek and BNET sites more than ever. I have grown a feeling of disconnection with the society, and you can easily spot that from my Facebook page, which I’m increasingly finding to be useless. But that hasn’t stopped me from watching more of downloaded TV shows. This year I finally started watching One Tree Hill, and completed six seasons in 5 months to finally catch up (it doesn’t come close to the OC though). And great shows like Dexter and HEROES still keep me busy – so I barely make time for the real world.
You can’t also deny the fantastic come back of our cricket team in 2009. Sure the change of captain changed the whole way the game was played, more wins and more hopes. These days when the tigers go out there, I have started to believe they can fight the odds.
And yes I continue to be single, three years now. But I am getting more used to it than before. I do feel left out, but I try to keep facing life and deal with a lot of stress on my own. I’m not into alcohol or cigarettes, and that makes it obscure. It’s been tough but I would say I didn’t do that bad after all. There’s just a lot more to do out there, and I have made choices for what’s important to me.
So that’s pretty much my 2009. Here’s me looking forward for a bigger and better 2010, a new decade with new hopes. What happens in the next ten years will be how I leave my mark on this planet. Happy New Year!
