I’m breaking with tradition again and instead of setting New Year’s Resolutions, I will share the four things I hope 2016 will deliver.

Peace: I’m just tired of reading about death and destruction every single day. Bodies littering the streets in Burundi, carnage in Nigeria, tourists targeted in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, Al-Shabaab in Somalia and Kenya, Muslims and Christians attacking each other in Central African Republic and on and on it goes. 

When will this madness stop? Why are we killing each other? It’s stupid, irresponsible, wrong and needs to stop.

Common Sense: Many of the problems we’re facing today are down to lack of common sense. Some people still think Climate Change is a made-up concept designed to rob them of their right to do as they please with whichever space available to them and no amount of smog, floods and extreme heat will convince them otherwise. 

There are also many simple things we can choose to do, like making a conscious effort to throw trash inside a dustbin and not on top or near it, flushing the toilet because you found it clean and not spitting gum you’ve chewed for hours in the middle of a footpath. 

Twice, such gum has stuck to my shoes and it just won’t come off. And for some reason, it always sticks on the side, leaving an unsightly dirty-white mark. That’s why I can’t wear my cute red ballet flats anymore. Wish I knew the culprit so I would make him/her pay or something! Like one of my primary school teachers always stressed, common sense is indeed not common.

No Rent Hike: Two days ago, I walked passed construction materials close to our rental units. My first thought was that they belonged to someone else because if our landlord had delivered them, I would surely have heard trucks unloading sand, bricks and such. 

Besides, shouldn’t the materials have been placed inside our compound as opposed to outside? But then I remembered that our wall fence has never quite been completed and I think our landlord is just about to fix that, which is all good but it also means he’s going to charge us for it, which is also understandable but my worry is that he might use this opportunity to raise the rent and I’m not ready for that.

Salary Raise: Getting a pay raise is every employee’s dream, including those who earn six figures. I’ve not heard anything yet from our Human Resource people and I hope it’s just a delay in communication and not a deliberate attempt not to review our salaries. Surely, these people don’t expect us to slave 12 whole months and collect the same paycheck come the New Year! 

That would be unfair. I think I should send an anonymous email reminding the boss that not only have commodity prices risen but we also need to be rewarded for showing up to work diligently and helping the company grow. At least I did!  

On that note, I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year. Hope your wishes come true too.