Happy Christmas

It's probably my first time spending Christmas night alone tonight (or it may be the second time around? I dunno, I forget). I've 2 bottles of wine, a Christmas tree, and an attention-seeking cat. What more could I ask for? I'm alone, but not lonely.

Tonight also marks my first month being in Taipei. I'm glad I'm where I am today.

The first week in Taipei was difficult. Whilst searching for a place to stay, I spent 7 nights in 3 different hotels, and the depressing, gloomy weather didn't help. Living out of a suitcase from a temporary room in a city I were to call "home" for the next 3 months made me question my decision to leave KL, really.

It all changed when I finally found a place, thanks to my Taiwanese friend, Ethan. The apartment I live in is awesome! There's a busy back-alley street just downstairs, and I'm not more than a 5-minute walk to the nearest MRT station, several bus stops, a ubike stop, a large temple, Carrefour, Watsons, Family Mart, at least four different 7-Elevens! The place is so convenient!

Life in Taipei has been treating me well since. I've found a clique of good friends who have welcomed me into their circle, and the Taiwanese are very hospitable. Touch wood, I've yet to meet anyone who's unfriendly or rude. Even the bus drivers here are usually helpful and polite.

Anyway, I'm kinda tipsy now since I've chugged down an entire bottle of Bordeaux, so excuse me but I'll have to continue this discourse another time.

May you all have a very Merry Christmas.

Much love. xoxo

Trouble

The past two and a half years have been a roller coaster ride. I’ve had the pleasure of reaching for the skies as I lived my dream. But unfortunately this year, I’ve plunged.

Sometime mid of the year, after a bout of constant negativity at my former workplace, I left my position without having a new place to go (I know, I’m such a millennial!). I then dumped a big chunk of my savings into a long-term investment plan to avoid burning all of it while I sorted my own shit out. There's been a few significant lifestyle changes to ensure that I was spending within my means, which really wasn't much. It’s been tough, but bearable.

Thankfully, I got a really awesome gift from the rents many years back when I returned from my studies in Perth. I haven't touched it and it's been my saving grace this year! Thanks Mawmz & Daddykins!

Still, the rest of 2018 is gonna be hella challenging, and I don’t even dare to think how I’m gonna start the coming new year. For now, I’m just going back to taking one baby step at a time. This time, I need to make it different. This time, I need to make it work.

Wanderlust

Happy February bloggies! So the first month of the year is buh-bye! I hope that most, if not all, of your resolutions for 2016 are holding up well so far.

Mine's going pretty good (except for the 'Learn' part... meh); I'm still staying positive, I've gained a bit of weight but that's OK, found a few more books to read, and I'm writing more every week! I've been checking out HitRecord.org and it's been giving me a lot of ideas to write. If you're a creative person and/or enjoy the arts in any way, be it music, theatre, screenwriting, poetry, graphic design, illustration, film, or photography etc., do have a look to see if it interests you.

And oooh, my solo trip starts tomorrow morning! Lol, I think I'm gonna be way too excited to fall asleep tonight, which is just as well cuz my flight is at 7AM, and I'll be going to Chiang Mai! It's supposed to be a trip alone, but hmm... I've already befriended someone who lives there; we met online. I wonder if that still counts, since we'll be meeting up at one point or another. Ha.

It's gonna be so much fun! I've (sorta) got an itinerary planned out, with lots of room to explore the city and some parts of the outskirts as well.

(Pic from: executivenomad.com)

I'll be back just in time for the CNY reunion with my family, which may be cutting a bit close. But heh, it'll be okay cuz I've got the world on a string! ;)

I love you all!

Resolutions, 2016

So this happened. I finally decided to call it an early night (I've been sleeping late for the past few weeks), fell asleep for 20 minutes, had a weird dream, and now I'm here, wide awake. Fuzznaughts.

So I realised that I didn't really make any resolutions for the year. I guess it's never too late. I wouldn't take this list too seriously though; it is, after all, way past midnight and I'm just making my brain tired so that I can go back to bed. Ha!

1. Stay Positive
Definitely at the top of the list! I think I'm at a very fragile point in my life where I could very easily slip and fall, then blame the world for filling me with despair; but I'm not about to let that happen. There are definitely two sides (or maybe even more) to everything, and I'm learning to look at matters from different perspectives. And even if things worsen, if the rain gets harder, when the nights seem longer; well maybe that's a gift too.

2. Jumpstart Project #racetosix
Seriously. I've been putting this off for way too long! I went to the gym for the last time on December 31, 2015. That was when they told me that my free membership had expired in 2014. Lol. Since then, I've been sweating it out without the gym. It's been good, and I've been really disciplined so far, working out every day. I'm alternating between HIIT workouts at home, and running topless around the neighbourhood in the evening. It's such a thrill to get stares at the parks. Ha, I know, I'm such an attention seeker. I've also been doing a new abs drill, which is simple and effective. I'm setting an April deadline to achieve this, for Songkran. No, I'm not even going to Songkran this year. I just wanna say that I got my Songkran body 2 years too late. Haha!

3. Learn
No surprises here. I've been spending too much time online, reading useless articles, gossip, and "news" from social media. I'm going to limit myself on those and spend more time learning and acquiring new skills to upgrade my life. I'm currently reading some tutorials on economics, and will look into learning some basics of programming, and a refresher course for applied statistics (have I mentioned that I love statistics?).

4. Read
I've purchased so many books in the past, and I haven't even touched them. They're mostly fiction, but I think that's a good start to spark an interest to read. I think that with the rise of technology and its technological gadgets, as well as an addiction to social media, many do not read nor appreciate the art of literature anymore. I don't want to fall into that pit, so I pledge to read at least 12 books this year. I know 12 isn't much for a start, but it's 12 more than last year!

5. Write
I'm trying to discover my passion in life, and I believe that it may be writing - something that I haven't done in a long while. I hope to update this blog a bit more often, and do a lot more of my personal writing as well. I need find the inspiration to provoke my thoughts, and rediscover the many pleasures of writing. Oh, I'm so excited already! It's going to be a great year! - as long as I stay focused. Lol!

Okay. That's all for tonight. I'm sleepy again and ready to go to bed now.
Good night.
X

The 6 Month Recap

Hey bloggies!

So I guess I may start to spend more time writing here again. I find that writing (or typing) is actually a really good way to take my mind off negative thoughts. It's always good to look back and remember the good things and blessings in life, rather than to dwell on the negative. Plus I believe that both happiness and negativity are contagious; so I'd very much like to rub off my positivity to others.
Ah, spread the love~

Anywaaaaay, life's been treating me well lately, to say the very least. I've learned to play the ukulele for about half a year now, and it's really fun. TJ and I used to hang out at cafes on lazy afternoons and I'd arm myself with some paper, a pen, and my sister's ukulele (borrowed from her cuz I couldn't afford my own. hehe) and learn simple chords to some songs. Ecole P in Damansara Uptown was my favourite place to do this.
=)

TJ gave me a ukulele for my birthday, and I played it and sang at my brother's wedding earlier this month. It was an honour to sing on their big day, and I wish the newlyweds every happiness!

I've also started to learn songwriting recently, but that's an entirely different ballgame altogether. Hopefully one day when I get the hang of it, I'll be able to write songs and play them for the people who bring happiness to my life.
~

Daddy's also been helping me start a new hobby, so he bought me a camera. Thanks, Daddy! It's so new that I haven't even unboxed it yet. Lol, he just gave it to me this week. I'll probably explore it later tonight and bring it out tomorrow since it's a public holiday. Yay, I can hardly wait!


So much to do, yet so little time. I've been trying to workout as much as I can as well. Though I'm nowhere near having six-packs as yet, project #racetosix is still very much alive and seeing gradual results. Yay! But my target for early-November is turning into a pipe dream. I think I may have to extend my deadline to be more realistic. I'm gonna try for end of March 2015. Haha!

Also, I've ordered a new dragon boating paddle, which has yet to arrive. Hoping that I'll get it before this weekend so that I'll get to use it on Saturday. We're now training for our next race; it's gonna be on November 8 & 9  at Clarke Quay in Singapore. So excited cuz it's our first race outside of Malaysia. Wheee~

After the race, dragon boat training will probably slow down a bit for me (until the next season starts), so I'll get to spend more time doing yoga on weekends again. Yup, TJ and I started attending yoga classes on weekends some months ago, but we haven't been able to go recently cuz of my busy weekend training schedule. I'm as stiff as a board, hopefully more stretching and bending sessions will help fix that. Wish me luck!

I can't believe it's already coming to the end of October! Time really flies. But well, it's been a really good year so far.. And I'm gonna make the next 2 months the best of it!
;)

The Good Run

If you knew me 5 years ago, I would have been a very different person with a very different lifestyle back then. I hardly slept at night and I would spend way too much time and waste far too much money at the nightclubs every week. Looking back, I had so much silly fun then and although I wouldn't want to relive that part of my life again, it's something that I don't regret doing either. My past is something that I enjoyed at that time and I guess I just grew out of it. The moments and friendships I had will always be cherished, and it's something that I will look back at and smile. Here are 30 signs that my wild party animal side is behind me...

1. I don’t have new drunk picture tags of me on Facebook anymore.
2. Drinking cuz “Wednesday is the new Friday” is a total lie.
3. On Friday nights, I’m snuggled in bed by 12:30am.
4. I find and come up with all sorts of excuses to avoid going clubbing.
5. I don’t go clubbing alone anymore (dear god, what was I thinking back then?).
6. I don’t feel as excited to do shots as I used to.
7. No vodka.
8. Hangovers are real.
9. When I go out, I ask for the dress code of the place and if it’s OK if I wear shorts.
10. I don’t sleep in past 10am on weekends (I usually get up waaay earlier!).
11. It’s actually possible to make it in time for McDonald’s breakfasts.
12. I can only retell my old "night-out" stories and my friends will say, “We’ve heard that one before”.
13. I think twice before reaching for a cigarette when I’m out drinking.
14. I keep my own wallet instead of passing it to a friend for safekeeping.
15. I don’t bring more than a certain amount of cash when I go for a night out.
16. When I go out clubbing, I secretly wish I brought earplugs along.
17. I regret telling people, “If it’s too loud, you’re too old!”.
18. I don’t really know what to wear to a nightclub anymore.
19. The thought of making out with a random stranger doesn’t excite me anymore.
20. Instead of going out, I say things like “I’m really tired and need some rest tonight”.
21. My parents don’t remind me to not drink too much anymore.
22. When I buy shirts, I’ll think if I can wear them for work. Not for a night out.
23. I can no longer “dance like no one is looking” anymore.
24. That said, I don’t even dance anymore.
25. I no longer go to mamaks for supper.
26. I can count the number of times I’ve been out to a club this year with one hand.
27. I can almost forget how that ringing noise you get in your ear after walking out of a club sounds like.
28. I don’t remember the last time I smelled alcohol-puke.
29. I don’t buy concealer make up to hide hickies anymore.
30. I prefer quiet bars where I can have a conversation with the people I'm out with.