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28 November, 2011

Like a Boss

If you're a friend of mine on Facebook and other platforms, you would have noticed my newfound affinity for this phrase. I like the false sense of arrogance it denotes, while having a laugh at myself and the situations I append it to.

Things have been happening like a boss lately however. It's nothing short of astounding what this year has brought.

Almost a year ago, I relocated to Singapore to pursue a new dream. I needed to go international, I'd never left my homeland and the wanderlust was simply too strong. What had held me back in years before was no longer an issue, and with the loss of an account I was working on was the catalyst for a new opportunity.

I continued with the agency I was working with in Sydney, and took on a new role, new challenges and new markets. I've learned some things as I go, and have embraced each change as much as I have worked through new doors that have opened.

People told me Singapore is a great place for travel. Having spent the last ten months living there, I've been surprised by how much I have been able to do. I've racked up eight countries thus far, and am only hungry for more.

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I was writing the above on the way back from Philippines, and we had to turn off electronic devices. I had a tale unfurling in my head but I'm distracted now. So I think we'll leave it at this for now. Like a boss does.

05 November, 2011

'Nam Baby


I'm starting to sound like a broken record. I'm on a plane again. This time it's Vietnam and I'm grateful as always for the opportunity to travel. I have a lot of friends in Singapore that find it pretty easy to jump on the "it's boring" bandwagon (myself included).

It's times like these when I realise I'm an ungrateful idiot.

I'm travelling with a mate from work and the trip was booked at short notice for a very modest price. It's a public holiday in Singapore on Monday so it's a semi-extended trip, but that doesn't mean the travel has to. This week I'm off to Sydney to work I'm quite excited about returning there as my last two jaunts to Australia have been to Melbourne. It will be good to return to the spot where I forged my career, not to mention seeing all my wonderful friends.

I managed to update my vlog again, I'm up to my eigth entry, appropriately titled: "Marshwah travelling". Check it out if you like at: http://www.youtube.com/marshwah

I'd embed it within my blog, but I'm on a plane and find such coding difficult given the lack of Internet.

It's been quite a fun project and I've enjoyed having a laugh with it. It does shit-all traffic, even this blog bests it, which has been a bit of a blow to the ego given my threads on Inthemix used to inspire dozens of comments. But it's a new platform and I'll persevere - it's good to have projects on the go.

I've started another project as well that's a bit closer to home, but I'm keeping quiet about it for now, I think I'm going to give it a few weeks before I start advertising what it's about.

Gosh I love the Internet and what it lets you get up to.

Well it looks like we're landing earlier than I anticipated as there was a bit more I want to say, we'll see how we go on the brief trip back to Singapore.

02 November, 2011

The Inevitable Musings on the Way to Bali

I'm on a plane again, this time I'm headed to Bali.

So naturally it's time for a blog update. I was listening to a Ferry Corsten mix, Creamfields, and it opened with a song I can't quite identify without the Internet on standby. It's a bloody solid tune, Father, I think it's called.

Anyway, it opened with a some lyrics. They went something like this:
"Brother, and sister, tell me how you're feeling..."

Then it continues, the lyric that really resonated with me was a bit later, it went:
"...one million miles away from home, one million miles away from love..."

It got me thining, because this is how I felt last Saturday. Sitting at home, gaming on my beloved Xbox 360, I was hit with an overwhelming sense of homesickness. It was massive. I know it comes and goes, but this was an overpowering wave. I say wave now because it passed, but at the time it was all that I could think about. It was so strong that I found myself searching on realestate.com.au for apartments I could rent in Melbourne, and then it ebbed away.

I spoke to my sister a bit later, not about that, but the exchange put my mind at ease.

Wow. Where did it come from? Will it come again? Will I be ready for it? I've done some self-reflection since and spoken to my friends openly about it. What's been stewing in my head is two things, the first is that my reasons for being away from home are no longer the same as they once were. I left what I consider to be my home city for a media gig in Sydney. I needed to build up my credentials before I return, I told myself. And build is what I have done. I could walk into a media job in Melbourne now.

The second, more subconscious reason, is that it's the only place I've been in love. I'm not disputing that love can be found in many places, and there are cliches about it coming when you least look for it, but I'm getting kind of lonely doing my own thing. One thing that travelling to places like Tokyo and Pai have told me is that it would be amazing to have someone to share it with.

I've had dalliances, with both sexes, and as enjoyable as its been I'm kind of sick of short-term exchanges. In the gay world, there are guys that scour the sites specifying that they are after a LTR (long-term relationship) - I used to scoff at this. You don't simply state that you are looking for a long-term relationship, it happens naturally. Yet I can relate to how they're feeling now and share their sense of perspective to a degree.

This is no woe-betide-me tale. It's merely what has happened over the past few weeks.

Another thing that's been happening over the past few weeks is book progression. I'm editing what I've compiled thus far pen-and-paper-style. It will also help me with the structure, as I can rearrange pages and portions as I see fit. There's something soothing about doing this too.

That's my plane blog, I'm about to land and catch up with an old work colleague who also doubles as a great bloke, to say I'm looking forward to catching up is an understatement.

I'm going to leave you with a compliment that I received from a friend this week, that not only has me smiling, but had me nodding in agreeance about a succinct summation of my attitude:
"I like that you are always you, and don't give a damn about treading in people's toes or caring what people might think <3"

So I'm having a weepy blog entry about homesickness and being lonely. If you don't like it you can go fuck yourself.