Leaving Singapore

It's been a long time since I updated, and that's mainly because there's been a lot going on. I've been meaning to come back to this and have been maintaining a list of things to write about on my Evernote, and now, as I sit somewhere in the SE Asian sky, I have time to at least begin writing this entry.

What's been going on exactly? Well, I'm leaving Singapore for one.

I lived right where it says 'Singapore'

15 months after I first boarded an international flight, my time in Singapore - at least for now - has come to an end.

I've got mixed emotions about leaving, and to be honest, my head space has been a bit all over the place as I come to terms with another relocation. Fortunately, I've lived in Sydney before, and it shouldn't be too tricky assimilating back into the fine city. I guess the mixture of emotions stems from whether I want to return to Australia, whether I'm ready to settle down, and whether I'm sure-footed about it this time. The short answers are yes, no, and sort of.

I do want to return. It's been long time and the first time I've been overseas. The amount of travelling I've managed to pack into this jaunt has been literally staggering. And is made all the more interesting  by the fact I've been lucky enough to hold down a job in the process and have not had to compromise on career. Progression was the key driver for my coming here, and I believe in that regard I've succeeded. The opportunities and wisdom I've gained from simply taking the plunge overseas have been bountiful, and if you're reading this and wondering if you should do the same then take the chance and do it. It doesn't have to be for the same reasons.

I'm not ready to settle down. I constantly plot, plan, and project. I've got a trajectory I'm aiming for and this is yet another step towards that target. In that respect, you could look at a trip back to Australia as regressive. It's anything but. I have an awesome role within an awesome company, and I intend to make the most of it. But that doesn't mean planting my roots and retiring. I've got places I want to see and live in yet and if nothing else, my first jaunt overseas has only increased my hunger for a second and a third and a... you see where I'm going with this right?

But I can only go so far, I can only be so certain of myself and life and career and everything else. I'm very driven, but I need to know the course I'm racing on, and currently I only have part of the track. As much as I've learned since going abroad, it's only compounded how much I actually don't know. And that's a good thing. If I was writing this and saying I knew exactly where I was headed, I'd be doing it wrong.

So I'm leaving Singapore. And am ready for the next adventure. Only this will be in more familiar surrounds, closer to dear friends and family, and in a place that I've come to appreciate even more while abroad. But don't for a second think I'm getting comfortable. The most exciting times of my life have been outside my comfort zone. And I intend to be in that zone for a while yet.