When I was in primary school I used to wonder what it would be like if the world ever got to the year 2000

”2000 is SO SO FAR AWAY, I bet we will never get there and if we do I would be SO OLD BY THEN I can’t even IMAGINE!”

Today, it is 11 years since ‘the year that would never come’
I’m much older – but I always remind myself that age is only a number that tells you how many years you’ve been on Earth.
But still.. it’s really crazy that ELEVEN YEARS have passed since.

I celebrated the arrival of 2000 with my parents and a few close family friends. My sister was only four then – I cannot recall if she came with us or not! This is bad! We spent the night out in the city where I grew up (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), hoping to catch the fireworks. When the clock struck 12 I remember laying on the damp grass at the park below the magnificent-looking twin towers with one of my funniest friends till now, Bongo (an old nickname). We laid there with our limbs sprawled out, probably sweating in the tropical night-time heat. And we were laughing and giggling so much my stomach hurt, all while the fireworks explode in the sky above. I think we were also sharing a bar of my favourite candy at the time – Airheads. I love recollecting this moment.

At the end of 2001, my mom hired a feng-shui master/fortune teller who visited us at our new house. He cradled my palms in his, gazed down, and told a skeptical me what he thought the future might hold.

”You’re not the kind of person who prefers to settle down. You will go many places or travel to many parts of the world, but I cannot tell where you’ll be in x number of years, or where you will live”

Although my first thought was “how absurd/that’s stupid”, I wished it were true.
Growing up in a country like Malaysia where opportunity to travel was something only wealthy people had (at that time), it just seemed ridiculous and difficult to achieve. Besides neighbouring Thailand and Singapore, I had only ever travelled out of the country to Egypt and Japan. I definitely could not fathom doing all the things that I’ve now done.

Today, it is 10 years since.
I have spent 4.5 years in Australia and now just over 3.5 years in London
I’ve gone to places I never even DREAMED I would have the chance to set foot in

Now, I’ve paraglided down the Austrian alps and climbed an ice cave, gone mountain-biking in Switzerland (just like in one of those Salem/Mild Seven ads from when I was little!), taken a mud bath, went crazy white-water rafting and seen wild turtles in Turkey, eaten horse meat and driven around Lake Como in Italy, gone skiing in Norway, visited my first Disneyland in Paris, cycled across the Golden Gate Bridge and danced at the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, gone on a desert safari alone in Dubai, enjoyed the most breathtaking view of Copenhagen atop a magical ride at Tivoli amusement park, sailed, swum, and ate my way down the French and Italian coast with Joyce, driven around the whole island of Majorca, …the list goes on.

When I reflect upon these experiences I feel so LUCKY and GRATEFUL
These memories keep me afloat through days when I am not so happy and fuels my determination and desire to travel MORE – as much as I can afford anyway..

Work or career wise, I’m not at a place I’d like to be.
Although I have to remember that it was a sacrifice I made in order to be in London and do the things/go to the places I want, I am now more decided on what I DON’T want to do, where I want to live, and am more at liberty to change my situation. This is my biggest hope/wish/goal for 2011.

Of course, I think about what would’ve been if I never made the spontaneous decision to relocate to London. I think about my friends who’ve chosen to give more focus to their careers. They have high-powered jobs, are paying off their first house and car, are getting married, etc. Then I think of all the experiences and friends I’ve gained in place of NOT having those things, and I realise I would never, ever trade it for any of the conventional success milestones.
I’m not sure why I’m writing all this down.

I guess I wanted to verbalise (some of) my thoughts in a private blog – but reading back I think it’s ok to share even though it’s a bit messy…

Writing it down helps me appreciate what I have
And realise that the ‘bad things’ in my life are maybe not so bad after all..

I enjoyed the most wonderful 2010 filled with the best friends, holidays, food, and festivals.
And I’ll be honest, it all went downhill once winter arrived – I was put in a few challenging situations (such as being sick – I’m not a person who gets sick often) – but I must believe this is all fleeting. It is only temporary and this year will be an AMAZING year. It HAS to be.

Sometimes, the biggest and most important thing you need to be is positive

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Not that you’re interested to know, but the temperature was about 17 degrees when I wore the following:

Striped jumper French Connection
Scarf vintage
Key pendant Topshop
Boots Dr Martens

OMG found this old post from last year (nearly exactly a year ago, in fact) with pics of me wearing this same jumper
My hair was SO LONG!
That seems like a whole CENTURY ago

So much has happened since – i’ve quit my fulltime job, travelled to a few more places, made new friends, moved house, had 5 haircuts, eaten raw swordfish, got stung by jellyfish…… etc etc

It’s been the most fantastic year
I’m happy

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