This is the fourth time I’m writing my year-end summary for 2011. The first time was on New Year’s Eve, in the dormitory at my workplace in Shiwan. The second time was required by my workplace and has already been printed and submitted. The third time was on the night of January 14, when I returned home and was alone in the office. The fourth time is now, on the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, the eve of the New Year. Despite repeated attempts, I still haven’t managed to complete this year-end summary.

Version 1

2011, a number that I only came to accept by mid-year, much like many previous years. This number will likely be hard to recall in the future.

2011 marked my first real job: a copy editor at an advertising agency. I had always wanted to work in a private enterprise for a few years to gain experience, but when job hunting, I unfortunately aimed for the IT industry to highlight my strengths. I could only apply for jobs within my existing experience range. Unexpectedly, this job turned out to be terrible. I spent my days fixing bugs on websites with documents, maintaining server systems with thick manuals, and constantly handling user issues, feeling like there was no way out. Later, due to various reasons, I was dispatched to Foshan Mobile by another company (I don’t know why it was another company; it felt like I was sold). The workload decreased, and with my years of online experience, the job became easier. However, most of the time was spent on soft articles and Weibo marketing, which involved a lot of low-intelligence copying and plagiarism due to the massive quantity required. Fortunately, the salary was somewhat acceptable for a fresh graduate. I must reflect on the fact that during these two jobs, while I occasionally chatted with colleagues at the first company, after moving to Foshan Mobile, I didn’t speak a single word to anyone in the office except for the necessary introductions on the first day. This was partly because I had already decided to leave by then. During those aimless days at Foshan Mobile, I spent every night in the dormitory pondering my future. However, the job-hunting atmosphere in the dormitory wasn’t strong. Except for Brother Sheng, who was determined to work in a bank, others were either preparing for exams or continuing to play games, as if the sky wouldn’t fall anytime soon. After days of contemplation, I still couldn’t figure it out, but I increasingly felt a pressing question: What was the point of studying law all these years?

If choosing a major after high school was a careless decision, thinking that any major would lead to a good future; if entering university revealed that the major wasn’t as great as imagined, leading me to consider whether law could be a supporting pillar for my career; if working showed that what I learned in class was useless; then was the four years of persistence just an inevitable, futile outcome of a youthful, careless decision?

Especially after working for a while, I realized that my previous understanding of the industry I was in was too simplistic. I thought I could get by with my limited experience, but I was not only wasting four years of professional study but also potentially ruining a bright future. Particularly when many classmates moved into jobs unrelated to their majors, I felt a need to wake up: I had to continue moving towards a career aligned with my major. So, when I heard about a court clerk position at the district court, I quit without hesitation.

During my studies, as a law student, I had a particular aversion to the clerk position. The painful memories of internships were deeply etched in everyone’s minds. The daily repetitive filing work had long destroyed the image of the court in our hearts. [To be continued…]

Version 2

2011, a year that should be remembered but is hard to recall.

This year, I bid farewell to 18 years of student life and officially graduated.

This year, after three short-term jobs, I finally found a job that I am relatively satisfied with.

This year, I failed almost every exam I took.

This year, I was fortunate to meet a group of good leaders, colleagues, and roommates.

This year, my four-year-old computer was officially declared dead.

This year, for the first time since 2004, I didn’t change my phone from the beginning to the end of the year.

This year, I planned to read over 30 books but only finished three.

This year, I resumed buying computer magazines.

This year, the number of times I went karaoke surpassed the total of previous years.

This year, I drank alcohol less than ten times.

This year, my weight remained between 120-130 pounds.

This year, I stayed up late as usual, with an average bedtime after 12:30 AM.

This year, I didn’t skip work.

This year, I wasn’t late for work.

This year, I didn’t leave work early.

This year, I slept in the office for two months.

This year, I occasionally cooked meals alone.

This year, my blog updates significantly decreased.

This year, my enthusiasm for Weibo cooled down.

This year, my Alipay expenses exceeded 10,000 RMB for the first time.

This year, my spending on JD.com surpassed that on Taobao.

This year, I worked for seven full months.

This year, I only received a salary over 2,000 RMB once, around April or May.

This year, the lowest salary I received was 1,230 RMB.

This year, I listened to over 5,000 songs on Xiami.

This year, the most listened-to songs online were Vivian Chow’s “Linger,” Julian Cheung’s “Wish You Well,” and Miyuki Nakajima’s “With.”

This year, the most played songs on my MP3 were Raidas’s “Someone Else’s Song,” Miriam Yeung’s “Little Star,” and Vivian Chow’s “Red Beauty.”

This year, the most sung songs at KTV were Chopstick Brothers’s “Old Boy,” Alan Tam and Hacken Lee’s “Can’t Say Goodbye,” and Yong Bang’s “Wild Lily Also Has Spring.”

This year, the songs I hummed the most were Leo Ku’s “Killer Move,” Eason Chan’s “Exaggeration,” and Leo Ku’s “Party King.”

This year, I only went home once.

This year, I impulsively bought two domains: cstir.com and ivovo.com.

This year, I gave up seven domains: foshan.de, faxue.info, gdust.net, tplife.org, tplife.info, bensky.cn, etc.

Version 3

2012, I hope it’s not the end of the world.