1. Plan an epic 2014 summer adventure
We all need something to look forward to and in 2013, I had my month long trip to Asia taking me through four Asian countries. In 2014, I don't think I will return to Asia or at least if I do, I will not come via the Middle East this time. (Perhaps I can go via South Korea, Japan, Mongolia or Russia.) Perhaps I can fulfill my long cherished dream of finally going to Patagonia in Argentina and if I do go, then I want to spend several weeks doing a few countries. Perhaps I could go to South Africa? Maybe I could return to North America - that's a bit less ambitious than going to South America and I have already several friends sprinkled around America and Canada I can visit. It's just a little bit too far ahead for me to plan right now, but if you have any recommendations, please do leave a comment below.
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| What adventures await me in 2014? |
2. Try to pick up a contract to work abroad
I spent some time working in Belgium in 2013 and regretfully, that was the only time I had worked abroad this year. I had a blast and totally loved it - I would love to do something like that again in 2014. Let's see.
3. I need to refine a theme for my blog.
I have written about a whole range of stuff on my blog this year - mostly if something catches my attention, then I will write it but I don't think this random approach works. I can look at the statistics - sometimes a blog post can go viral and generate thousands of views in a matter of days, whereas I can spend ages writing about something that interests me, only for it to be read by like 200 people or so. Okay I can take a hint - there's no point in writing stuff that hardly anyone wants to read. I wanna write stuff that will be read by many people. I also want to vlog some more.
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| I have written a lot about education on my blog. |
So far, the few themes that have proven super popular this year are fashion, education and Singaporean current affairs - now those three themes are so different it will be hard to tie them together! I don't know what to do - shall I split them up into three different blogs? Should I focus on one area where I know people trust me and like my writing - such as education (not too controversial as well)? I need to think about it and your feedback would be most helpful.
4. I need to spend more time with my friends.
It seems obvious but it has to be said - I have had some difficult episodes in the last few months and I have been very touched by friends who made the effort to spend quality time with me when I need their help the most. It reminded me just how much they meant to me and how I really need to make more time to maintain and nurture my friendship with them. It's too easy just to veg out after a long day's work and stay in, rather than go out to see friends.
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| London at Christmas |
5. I need to make a greater effort to get to know my parents.
It is a morbid thought but I just have to say it - my parents are not getting any younger and they are not going to be around forever. I guess a recent conversation with one of my readers Light Blue Skies has reminded me of an important point - I had to remind her that there is a huge generation gap between her and her parents, trying to ignore it or pretend that it is smaller than it actually is will only lead to intense frustration when it resurfaces. I told her that all she needs to do is to simply acknowledge its presence and live with it, work around it and allow it to explain a lot of the differences between her perspectives and her parents'.
It made me think about how I need to do the same with my parents - for so many years, I didn't get along with my parents at all and it took me a long time to figure out just how freaking huge this generation gap actually is. I still have a child-like mind in many ways: I am keen to learn new things, experience new cultures, accept new challenges, meet new people - whereas my parents are terrified of anything that is unfamiliar and have lost any interest in anything that has not already been a part of their lives. There are times when I feel like it is not just the normal generation gap between parent and child, but more like a double generation gap between a grandparent and a grandchild.
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| With my dad, there is a generation gap and a linguistic gap as well. |
I remember how my father used to have to act as translator for me whenever my paternal grandmother tried to talk to me - she would insist on speaking in Hakka, a language I didn't understand at all. I would have to reply in Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien or Malay - I'm not sure how much she understood but she made no effort to speak to me in any other language than Hakka. I couldn't understand her and I don't think she cared if I did or not. I'm beginning to feel it is becoming like that with my own father sometimes. Don't forget, Mandarin is but a second language that he has mastered to a very high standard - his first language is still Hakka and he doesn't really speak English.
This is so apparently when I skype my family in Ang Mo Kio - whenever it is just me and my sister, we would speak freely in English/Singlish and understand each other perfectly. But whenever my father appears on the screen, I would instantly switch to Mandarin out of respect and just to include him in the conversation and suddenly I find it a lot more challenging to express the same sentiments. I don't use Mandarin at all in England and only really use it when speaking to my father these days. Sure I can still have a conversation in Mandarin with my dad (and Hokkien with my mother as well), but good grief, it is my third language these days and it is so incredibly rusty from not having used it much in the last 16 years. Thanks to skype, I am able to feel closer to my family now - seeing them on screen on my iPad is actually so different from just hearing a voice at the end of the telephone.
I am still not quite sure what language it should be, but I will decide soon. Korean is very probable but a lot of it will depend on whether or not I can get hold of quality study material and if I can actually find someone I can practice the language with. I don't actually know any Korean people in London - that's a problem...
7. I want to help more people with my blog.
One of the greatest aspects of blogging is that I am able to respond to the questions of people who are looking for reliable advice - in the last few weeks, I had been interacting a lot with one of my readers Light Blue Skies (LBS) and I guess I really felt a connection with her because I can empathize with what she is going through. She is evidently a brilliant teenager who seriously lacks good career advice - but her family and teachers are not in a position to offer any useful advice (and have offered misleading advice), so at least, well, I am glad I am able to step in and help.
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| Some young people have been looking for good advice online. |
In posting my advice to her on my blog, I know I am addressing issues that concern a lot of young people out there who are thinking about the same issues - so I'm not just helping LBS, but a lot of people at the same time. Talking with LBS just brings back a point that frustrates me so much - there are some people who don't know the answers when a young person comes to them for advice and instead of admitting that they have no clue, they offer misleading, inaccurate and wrong information to that young person. Why? To avoid the embarrassment of saying to that young person, "I don't know?" Geez. Good grief. I find this process of helping out young people who have been misled and given bad advice extremely rewarding and want to do a lot more of it in the coming year, 2014.
8. I want to stay in control at work and prevent a repeat of what happened in 2013.
Okay for those of you who weren't aware, a colleague of mine Mark left the company earlier this year and I went through a difficult period when I was desperately trying to cover for him and did a bad job of it. It was frustrating and I fought hard to try to resolve the situation (including trying to quit twice) - eventually, I did resolve it and I am now okay, I am back to doing what my job was (prior to Mark's departure). The company is expected to grow and expand in 2014, new projects, new clients, new business - it's going to be busy and I am going to stand my ground: I do what I do, you need to hire someone else to replace Mark as it gets more and more busy in 2014. I'd like to think that I've learnt from my mistakes in 2013 to avoid making the same mistakes in 2014 - fingers crossed. I just have to be careful.
More on that soon. I am spending my first working day of 2014 - the 2nd January 2014 - with my Danish voice-over artist to record the Danish language section of it and it is going full steam ahead. So far, I already have Afrikaans, Welsh, Malay, French, Mandarin and Spanish. Danish and Farsi (Iranian) are going to be next and I still need to get to ten languages before I can launch it. Akan datang, watch this space, it's going to be exciting!
10. I need to get to bed earlier in 2014.
Aah something simple and practical. I am too nocturnal. I am always going to be too late and feeling crap in the morning. I resolve to get to bed earlier in 2014 so as to feel perkier in the mornings!
Hi Limpeh
ReplyDeleteFor point 1, have you considered going to somewhere like Africa? It sounds quite exotic to me, and I would love to visit the continent one day.
As for your themes, I really love your fashion articles, although most of them aren't applicable to Singaporeans due to the climate. As for education, I think that you have touched a lot on the topic already, in which case you can probably combine it with current affairs, and perhaps talk about how a lack of education led to this current event or something. I think that you won't have to branch out into 3 different blogs, and actually talking about 3 different topics can actually be quite a refreshing change of pace. I used to read TRE and TRS quite often, but after some time I realised that the articles submitted there are more or less the same topic, which bored me, so I don't really go to those websites anymore.
Lastly, Happy New Year!
Well I have made it to North Africa a few years ago and done quite a bit of Morocco but Africa can be expensive. If I had to choose between Africa and South America, then South America wins hands down, at least there's going to be less of a language barrier for me in S America as I speak Spanish.
DeleteI would love to do more on fashion - I did plenty on fashion in 2012 and it's time I got back to it. I already have an idea - it's how all Singaporean men seem to have no fashion sense and I have to make it sound constructive, rather than bitchy. Look out for that soon.
As for education, you're right, I do kinda feel like I've talked so much about it - I'm only just responding to questions now. Unless something topical comes up, of course...
Happy New Year to you too. It's nearly 3 am here now - I stayed up late to watch Hunger Games and Battle Royale back to back. Thankfully, it is pouring with rain out there, about 5 degrees, so hopefully that will keep the drunk people off the streets as I go to bed now.
PS. Let me explain how Africa can be expensive. If you're prepared to live like a local, take public transport, stay where the locals are staying, etc - then Africa can be dirt cheap. If you want Western-standard comforts (eg. air-con, restaurants, nice hotels, air-con taxi/bus etc), then you pay quite a bit for that kind of luxury there. There are places where they know that they are can make money from foreigners looking for luxury, so they get away with charging tourists very high prices. It's like a cartel - it's like they all agree to charge these western foreigners high prices, so the foreigner has to pay and pay and pay...
DeleteI was thinking of going on a safari actually, how much does that cost? And actually, i can't live without air con, so I guess I need to think of another destination or just fork out the money
DeleteOoooh safari - everyone who has done that tells me how amazing it is. Yeah it's not going to be cheap but one day Ronald, one day. The fact is Ronald, I am a people person, I like going to a country and wandering through the cities, experiencing the culture, interacting with the locals - especially in a place where they don't speak English: that's heaven for me. I totally LOVE the experience of being thrown in the deep end in a country where nobody speaks a word English and I have to struggle on in a foreign language: hahaha. Some people would view that as a nightmare but I find that to be my ideal holiday. A safari in South Africa where everyone speaks English.,.. experiencing it with other rich western tourists - like, is that really what I want? I'm like, I've been to Singapore zoo for the river safari and the night safari, I've seen the animals... I'd rather go to somewhere like Peru or Argentina where the locals don't speak any English and immerse myself in the culture there.
DeleteI've read an interesting article recently about the world's most expensive city: it is Luanda in Angola. If you live like an African local, it is cheap. But if you want western style hotels and transport, it is more expensive than Europe or America - why? Because everyone including the government wants to make money out of the expatriates and tourists, so there are all kinds of ridiculous taxes that make a hamburger in a restaurant cost like US$30 instead of $3. Likewise for a taxi ride... a hotel room - anything you may need as a foreigner. They know you have no choice if you don't want to "go local" and you're stuck in deepest Africa, what are you going to do? You will bo pien and pay those prices. That's why a lot of African cities are shockingly expensive for visitors. That just doesn't happen in Europe and East Asia.
Ah Limpeh, it's the thrill of the challenge that makes you enjoy learning foreign languages and meeting people who don't speak English right? I like a good challenge too, but I prefer to look for my challenges elsewhere haha.
DeleteAs for $30 hamburgers? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. That's daylight robbery!
Yup, that's Luanda for you. US$30 for a hamburger and US$500 a night for a basic hotel room. It is the world's most expensive city and (for visitors/tourists/expats) it is in Africa. The locals don't pay such prices at all but most foreigners are not prepared to live like the local Africans.
DeleteHappy New Year, Alex. I am so glad I got to know your blog this year. It has been interesting and enlightening. I love your supportive and objective suggestions. When I am down or bored, I go to your blog, and often I will find something that makes me smile. You are like my cyber-friend. I hope to meet you one day in Vancouver to chat and gripe. My husband will get a kick out of your humor. All the best in 2014.
ReplyDeleteHello Di! Happy new year to you too. Please let me know what you enjoy the most in my writing (fashion, travel, politics, education etc) - I always like to know when I am writing about issues that my readers care about and when I am writing about stuff that no one cares to read. Like I know only Kevin Jang responds to my posts on Kpop and no one else is really interested when I talk about Kpop, LOL.
DeleteI enjoy your take in politics, especially the stupidity n hypocrisy of PAP. I like the human commentaries. I also enjoy it when you give fashion tips. I relate to your frustrations with your parents. I find your travels interesting. I am not into kpop or kculture at all. I am more of an anglophile. As for education, I don't mind it. I find your annoyance with human folies entertaining. I would like to read more about your NS escapades. The one where you had to cover for your superior was hilarious!
DeleteThanks so much Di :)
DeleteHey Alex, happy new year and I hope 2014 is going to be better for all of usr. Ever since I want to buy a new pair of winter gloves, I have ended up reading all your previous posts and looking forward to your new posts.I really appreciate the effort you have taken to write each post. In fact, I have so much to say but to leave a comment on your posts are just not IT-friendly. Many times, I have to just save what I've written and I will forget to leave you a comment.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, I think it will be better to talk over coffee/wine if our paths cross each other. You seem like an interesting person to me.
About your comments on travelers getting charge higher, sometimes when you speak their language, you can get local prices or even free. At least it has work for me, I just have to try to speak their language and give them a great smile. Perhaps, being a woman just make things easier.
I also have the same plans i,e to do South America but I like to do Russia/Urumqi first. Your recent travel to Poland brought back memories to me as I once had a Polish mentor who helped me in my French.
Please continue to write as I will check for updates every now and then and even when I'm traveling. I just have to say your blog is part of my reading interests.
PS I will save this comment post and try to post. If it doesn't work then the coffee/wine date will have to be earlier (just kidding).
BR,
Berry
Hi there, don't worry too much about the gloves - they are so basic that you can buy them anywhere. I got my new gloves in a Carrefour supermarket in Warsaw for 15 zlotys, £3 or S$6 only.
DeleteAs for the problems with the comments, I know this was a problem last year but I believe that blogger has sorted out that problem. It's an IT issue that I cannot do anything about - it's like complaining to me that something is wrong on my Facebook page and I'm like, what can I do about it? I am just using a social media platform: Twitter, Facebook, blogger etc - I can't solve IT problems.
Imagine if many of us meet up in Singapore or London and have a big chat session about many of the topics on this blog. What a blast!
DeleteHappy New Year to you, LIFT. I think that learning a new language is a challenge for sure, and takes up a lot more time in your own free time than imagined. I am basically learning intermediate (high-intermediate) Korean now, and revising my intermediate grammar. The Korean grammar at intermediate level tends to be rather long compared to the basic level, and in fact, even more so than the advanced level which is more of a practical exercise in reading, writing and reading (without new grammar to learn at the advanced stage). Korean is arguably very easy from my point of view though, owing to the loan words from Chinese which take up about 75% of the language. You will discover a lot of similar sounds, even if you just see the hangeul script alone.
ReplyDeleteWhatever the choice of the language, it should be fun. All the best on that! I wish that I could have time to learn some Dutch or something of that sort, but it simply does not seem to be as relevant at this stage in life for me owing to location. Even Japanese seems un-related since I am leaving in a few months' time.
Long time lurker first time poster.
ReplyDeleteHappy 2014 LIFT! I enjoy reading most of your topics about UK and overseas in general. Any Singapore and PAP topic i can get from 10 other blogs and they have mostly been beaten to death and seriously nothing will come out of it so I prefer to get away from reading all those depressing stuff.
More winter escapades and exotic holidays please in 2014!
I am kinda sick of those blatantly anti-PAP pieces as I think Singaporeans (well 60.14%) need to bear the responsibility for creating this system in the first place...
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