On Holiday - Be Back Soon

Melbourne, home of the cultured Australian, the tennis (I think I'm getting behind Andy Murray for the Australian Open title), and temporarily - me.

I'm here for a mate's wedding and have been doing the rounds. In lieu of my promised blog overhaul, I'm going to regale you with things I've learned since returning to my homeland.

Facebook is a Complicated Whore
It's pretty safe to say I haven't mastered the thing. I've tried deactivating it, oversharing, public posts, and adopting my online persona all with ill-fated timings. I got scolded last night for deleting family friends and this morning I got scolded for being incessant. I've been told that my status updates are disgusting and deranged, yet I still persevere with my tripe. I feel like a fat kid eating cake who only wants more pie. And when you offend them, a simple "welcome to the Internet" - doesn't seem to cut it. What gives?

If only people at their keyboards were escorted by this fellow.

You don't have any news

You could have:

*Gone on 20 dates (did happen)

*Been to eight different countries since seeing them (did happen)

*Got a new job (did happen)

*Rode on a unicorn made of bacon and vomited magic rainbows (may have happened)

But thanks to the above this news is müt. You could say that this is due to my affinity for sharing the news on aforementioned platform but shutup.

You've been told.

Australian TV is really, really shit

I used to read about the abomination that was The Project. But never thought I'd be exposed to it. Until my stint at my Mum's in Traralgon. It was left on and it was like being anally compromised with a pine-cone (hasn't happened). The self-serving drivel seems to be an institution in this country. All I can surmise is that the collective amount of bile produced from watching Charlie Pickering's smug adulation has export value.

A more smug, self-adulating wanker I am yet to come across.

Australia's still home

I may be jetsetting Australasian these days, but I still love getting back to my town and knowing where to go, walk around, and eat. I took secret pride in the fact that my sister was asking for directions through the Melbourne CBD, and being able to get from a friend's house to my Mum's in less than five minutes in Traralgon almost makes it better than Changi Airport.

Almost.

There's stuff going on with the usual stuff, but I'll revisit them next time.

Writing a Wave

I make no secret of the fact I like attention, and online I'm even worse. Between my time on Inthemix, to my slightly crazy videos on YouTube, and my engagement with the likes of Twitter and Google Plus, it's safe to say that I'm a fan of jumping up and down online.

But what about the blog?
In a bid to resume my love for sharing, I switched from my blogging birthplace at OpenDiary and relocated here. I started off in earnest, with a bold declaration about what I set out to achieve. Boldly declaring:

Lastly, I want the attention. I crave the attention. I thrive on my ability to capture someone's attention. It's why I write... I want your eyeballs, and this blog intends to suck them out of your sockets. 

What went wrong?
I don't think I got there. I treated this space like a stream-of-consciousness recorder. While I started blogging very early on, I didn't really adapt. The way I wrote didn't change. I failed to capitalise.

So what?
You're bold aren't you titular writing device? Well I don't have a problem with simply recording what's going on as such. I quite enjoy using using this medium as a record that I can check back on, reflect, and utilise. But there's a problem with this, you see I keep mentioning something called the book.

54 mentions from 40-odd entries - obsessed much?

A new focus

The more sharp-eyed among you might have noticed some changes to the blog recently. Besides some cosmetic changes, there's an assurance that my book will be published in April, 2012.

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Now there's a bit of pressure. An imposed deadline. And failing a publishing deal I need to make this happen. I'm not a complete failure, so I've been reading up on what I need to do to get there. And boy it's a lot of work. But it's also exciting.

A year for improvement

2011 was satisfying, the best year I've had in ten. I could just sit back and let it be. 

But why not strive to make 2012 better?

I've been reading a lot of blogs lately. Ones that have stood out include ProBlogger, 1000 Awesome Things,   Jeff Goins Writer, and Nerd Fitness. While they all cover different interests, what was consistent among them is a tale of self-improvement. They're successful because they didn't settle for being good. They're all properties that continually self-improve.

It's time for me to do the same.

Change is coming

Picture this, but in the written form. Yeah!

This year I'm stepping things up again. In the coming days I'll be writing about what this new focus will be on, and this blog will record it all. I hope you can come along for the ride.

Ever undertaken self-improvement yourself? What inspired you? Let us know!

A Befitting End, A Spectacular Start, and a Target

I really need to find a more varied way of blogging abroad. As has become the norm when I'm away, I generally begin with a banal statement about where I currently am (Saigon) and then a remark about my surrounds (a hotel room) and get started. It's a lazy writing device, and something I'll have to step up my game with if I'm to get the book published, but more on that soon.

For a channel that didn't exist in most people's lives ten years ago, social media has been something that's almost become a compulsory tune-in. My feeds are inundated with self-reflection, well wishes, and varied takes on 2011 and the year that was. This entry, will be no different, so if you had high hopes I hate to be the bearer of ill news.

It's not like I have an aversion to this form of contemplation anyway. My own writing, tweets, status updates, and emails to my friends are full of this kind of stuff. And I enjoy articulating my thoughts, sense-checking them, and recording, in order to keep myself honest, accountable, and most importantly, have something to look back on and remember.

As I look back on 2011, I find it quite befitting that I'm sitting in a hotel room in Asia bashing away at a computer. I'm here with a friend I hadn't met before this year, in a place I hadn't been to before this year, and feeling a strong sense of satisfaction that I hadn't had before this year.

Not since 2001, have I felt as satisfied with a year's efforts. I had a couple of beers this afternoon before my disco nap, but let me assure you, I will be downing some more to commemorate the year's that's been.

2012 is also looking like it will be quite the start. I wake up tomorrow morning with a hangover in a country other than Australia, I set off for another working visit to Tokyo, and then get to go back to Melbourne to see one of my best friends get married to his beautiful fiancee. All in the space of January, all in a sense of awe.

I intentionally made reference to the book at the start of this entry, and the sharper-eyed among you might see a declaration on the right of this page with a few words about me. I will have my book published this year. The deadline I've set is April 2012. It's ambitious, but a deadline is what I need. I've got a few leads I'm following up on, and have had a few doors shut in my face, but I'm gunning for this to happen and will see it through.

There's a lot of work going on behind the scenes to make this happen, so keep watching this space to hear more.

And that's really it. Tonight we've got drinks at a sky bar, dinner at a restaurant and then a table at a bar. I've been laying low the last few hours but as I understand it Saigon really converges on its CBD on New Year's Eve and I look forward to seeing it. Judging by the sound outside my hotel window it's going to be loud, confronting, and in my face.

Bring on 2012.

Keep Smiling - My Take on 2011

The weekend's been productive. I went out on two dates, trialled a new writing program, and had a ridiculously good time at a Swedish Christmas featuring Glögg.

Good use of a weekend in my opinion, but I'm not hear to wax on about the merits of a successfully-spent-Saturday-and-Sunday. Instead, I have decided to review 2011, a year of many firsts, and one that I am very thankful for the many opportunities it presented.

I was inspired by trawling through my old blog, The Tomes of Marshy, and recognised that in the earlier years, it was quite customary for me to do a year-in-review-style synopsis of what went down that year.

Given, that this year has been the most eventful by many measures this year, it only makes sense to resume this tradition.

****

Where to start? Let's start with some statistics:

Number of new countries visited this year: 7
Times I saw Gabriel & Dresden: 1
Times I have listened to Gabriel & Dresden sets since being disappointed: less than 10
Video log views:1,300+
Amount of guests that stayed in my new Singapore apartment: 13
Jobs had this year: 3 with two companies

And I guess that will do, I just calculated them on the spot and I guess it's indicative of what has preyed on my mind this year. Travel, music, personal development, friends/family and career.

And if this were a role-playing game, I've racked up a shit-load of experience and improved my stats in all the key characteristics. And I'm Level 28 now, I can dish out some serious pwn

First the travel. It's fair to say I used to eschew it. I had a lot of stuff going on in my life and shitting on about travel and trips and what I have/haven't seen did not interest me in the slightest. But, it's a bit of a life-experience impediment not having seen the world and I took it upon myself to do just that.

Without ever having left the country I jumped on a plane to Singapore for work, and in the meantime have managed to see Krabi, Chiang Mai, Bali, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh, and Manila. Some of these places more than once, and managed to go back to Australia to brag about the experience three times on top of this. Winning.

It's given me a fresh, new perspective on the friendships that count, reaffirmed my ongoing love for my family, and made me completely forget the people who aren't worth the time of day - who? Exactly.

While I've been further than ever away from my favourite clubs, my love for tunes and music has only increased. It's been a bloody good year for sounds and appreciation of it. So much so, that after years of deliberation, I chose to get a tattoo of my favourite song from my favourite band, Crystal by New Order.

I've been enjoying it so much that I might undertake another project, let's watch this space in 2012.

Speaking of projects, I made less headway on the book than I would have liked, but am realising that there's no rush and that progression comes in many forms. Another project is the entitled Marshwah, which has been a tremendous amount of fun and given me some great insights into video, editing, and new media.

Career has been the other big story for me this year. I've worked hard and reaped rewards far more rapidly than I've anticipated. If making the call to move from Melbourne to Sydney for work was smart, moving from Sydney to Singapore was incisive. I'm blown away by what I've achieved and have to shift the goalposts again. Not that I'm complaining.

The year has been colourful, chaotic, and an absolute pleasure. Next year has a lot to live up to, something tells me we'll be up to the challenge.

****

Another tradition I used to have from my old blog was a saying that I'd append to the end of each entry, it's ringing true for me now so I'm going to dust it off.

Keep Smiling.

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.

---

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.

'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.

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.