The List

Time to decide on some resolutions for the new year! 

• Write this blog more regularly, infact, at least every Monday and Thursday.
• Keep exercising.
• Eat less sugary things.
• Choose a path and stay on it. 

I can't think of any others  for the time being. If I do I'll add to the list!



Things that I want to have done in 2012:

• Started on a career path.
• Been to at least three countries and completed at least one thing on the adventure list.

The adventure list:

• Cycle around New Zealand.
• Muay Thai training in Thailand for 3 months.
• Cycle Vietnam Hanoi to HoChiMinh, then motorcycle back up.
• Drive around Australia, living in a van.
• Yoga in India for 3 months.
• Trek Africa.
• Backpack across many countries.

What a difference a day makes

It's November

How did this happen?

The last time I wrote anything was back in September and now here we are in November. I really need to set more time aside to write. 

In the time since I last wrote, I've cycled from Taidong to Hualien, been to Green Island, and many other things. I don't know how this happens.

I had a great Halloween last weekend but unfortunately I lost my bag! So there goes my camera, my keys, my purse and my phone! So silly of me. 

I can't believe that I've only got 2 months left in Taiwan. I guess this means I should start organising my crap and planning my next move. I mean, if time keeps going by as it has been recently, I'm going to wake up tomorrow and it'll be January. The thought of leaving Taiwan makes me so sad, but at the same time I am just full of excitement for the next step, the next phase, the next destination.  I'm excited for the people I'm going to meet, the sights I'm going to see and being reminded again how beautiful the world is. 

October was a great month, full of love, laughs and adventure. 

I made more time to see friends whom I neglected in my pursuit of new things and remembered how amazing the people I've met here are. I've pushed myself, challenged myself to do things that scare me. Studying Chinese has been given me a new confidence in my own capacity to learn and given me more determination to study other languages. 

How can I leave the country which has made so many positive changes to me? 
I've learnt to be more independent, happy to be alone and cut my own trail. 
The outdoors is no longer a daunting place full of nothing but dirt, insects and uneven terrain. I want to go out! I want to get dirty and explore! Find a waterfall and jump in the plunge pool without worrying about whether it's clean or not. It's just mud. I know I couldn't have said that before. Getting sweaty is not disgusting, if I don't sweat then I didn't work hard enough. I want to be fitter so I can climb a higher mountain. 

Tell this to an 18 year old me and I would've been incredulous. Sports wear was definitely not something that was on my list of cool. 

I have a friend staying with me right now. She's been great to have here. She's a yoga instructor and actually one of the people who have inspired me to go to India for a yoga retreat. We've been doing yoga the last couple of days and it's been brilliant. We had an hour and a half session this afternoon before work and I feel fantastic! I appreciate having her here so much. She's listened to me whine and complain about the same old things patiently and always had advice. 

It's hard to say that I haven't had a blessed life. Sure I lost my bag over the weekend, but really, it's such a first world problem. I miss my phone the most. But it's material, and can be relatively easily replaced.

You know, I woke up this morning super hurt, upset and unmotivated. But now, aided by my amazing friends I feel wonderful and happy. 

I love you all. 

Angela I miss youuuuuuuuu......

I'll take a tall skinny love please

Ah, another week is coming to an end, and time continuously ticks. Neither slowing down or speeding up for anyone or anything. 

I think I will only have 3 more months left in Taiwan, I will finish this semester and go to Hong Kong to save some money before setting out what I always intended to do: Travel. 

With everything that happens in life, you have to learn to recognise the difference between settling and opportunity. 

I thoroughly enjoy living in Taiwan, but it's like I said before. It's just become so routine and mundane. It's easy to forget where you are. As more friends leave the island, I feel that it is time for me to do the same. But for the first time since I arrived, I am actually very excited for the next step. 

The deadline is January. Then onwards to a new unexplored (by me) frontier!

In the meantime, here's the latest song that's been circling around in my head for the last few days. It's by a girl called Birdy and she is only 15 years old.

D.

A song for you - Count on Me

This song has been stuck in my head for the last 2 weeks.

I was hooked on Bruno Mars' album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans for the longest time. But for some reason, for the last two weeks, this song just keeps repeating itself and I find myself humming it without even thinking. 

My life is a musical.

D.

It's the end of the world as we know it

The day has finally come! 

Yes, I knew it would come eventually, but it just always seemed so distant.  

Next week begins three new things for me.


1. Chinese lessons every morning Mon-Fri
2. New schedule at two new schools, Banqiao and Yonghe
3. I move to the new apartment in Gongguan


It's nerve racking I must admit. Not just the prospect of all these new things but how I'm going to manage my time both working and studying and also, I'm going to navigate between them. They're all so far away from each other!


Nevertheless, I'm very excited for this new chapter. Hopefully it will put some spring back in to Taiwan, which, after 15 months has become so normal. 

Time to spruce up the old routine and find a new perspective. Meet some new people (I hope my classmates are cool... I hope my new classmates are cool I hope my new classmates are cool I hope...)

It's time for a new adventure!


You only live once, and only a tiny fraction of it can be responsibly devoted to irresponsible hedonism  :)


Peace out ✌

You're worth it

So recently I learnt, or was told, that the reason Taipei seemed to have so many lesbians was because parents encouraged it.

Don't confuse this with being supportive of being gay and then be disappointed by the lack of a gay pride parade and most of the gay community congregates in a cool but small area in Ximen (西門).

No, the real reason they support this is so that their over protected daughters can have some relationship practice. 

Read that how you will, but parents like their daughters to find a "girlfriend" that they hold hands with, hang out and go on "dates" with so when they get a real "boyfriend" they'll know what to do. 

I'm pretty sure it doesn't go any further than the hand holding but wow Taiwan. In a country where there are so many girls who will admit to being in a relationship for the sake of the label rather than notions of compatibility, maybe there should be less emphasis on being in a relationship. 


Women! You're allowed to vote! Your opinion and existence has the same value of any man. So why do you find it so hard to believe? 


Instead of finding a man to define who you are, why don't you first define yourself? 


Men! Those of you who are intimidated by strong women: Shame on you! 


What is society turning in to when women always have to be these submissive, helpless, damsels in distress waiting in their ivory towers for their prince charming to ride up on a white horse and save them from being a social outcast and eternal loneliness???


Girls shouldn't need to feel like they have to be in a relationship to be acceptable in society. It's ridiculous that they should reach a certain age (30!!) and be seen to have "expired".

No need to follow the white rabbit!
That's not your biological clock he's holding.

Do you believe that true happiness lies in a relationship? How many people could truthfully say no? From the moment we could hear, we are fed stories of blighted princesses who were saved from the claws of misery by a devilishly handsome hero. We are told that men are the key to happiness, they open the door and the other side is nothing but rainbows and bunny rabbits. Without them we are but at the whim of an evil step mother, an overbearing father, or these days, the critical eye of our peers.


Let's just ignore the fact that sometimes, just sometimes, we deserve more than the man we have. You know what they say; a bird in the hand is worth giving up ever finding true love and happiness. That's how the saying goes... Right?


I feel like I'm stating the obvious when I say, "You deserve better!" 
It's the old cliché isn't it? The guy obviously doesn't respect you enough, he talks down to you, expects you to do everything for him, but every now and then he'll show you a morsel of appreciation and because you're so starved of affection it feels wonderful and that'll keep you going for another year or so. 
Wake up and smell the burnt toast! 

Every person has the propensity to be an asshole. 
FACT. 
It's whether or not the people around the said asshole puts up with it. We are but human, and we will push boundaries to see how much we can get away with. You allow us to act like assholes, then we will act like assholes. Essentially, we are all still children. We will push and push and push until someone slaps us on the ass and tells us to behave ourselves or we'll lose something we want. Be it a bedtime story or our spouse.


The sad fact is, is that some lessons can only be learnt by walking away from the offending party. Forgiveness is not always a virtue. If a person cheats in a relationship, you can put them through hell to atone for their mistake, but if you forgive them, the lesson they learn is that you can forgive them for cheating. So it's likely to happen again. 
You walk away and they learn that they will lose the one they're with. 
So many times, relationships end, a few months down the line you see the other party in another relationship being everything you ever wanted them to be. You're left wondering why they couldn't be like that with you. It's because you taught them that lesson. The only thing left to do is to walk up to their new partner and whisper, "you're welcome".

You deserve to be loved and happy. But contrary to popular belief, it comes from yourself. Only you know what makes you happy, and if you really think about it, it's probably not making compromises and arguing about bills. Being single is the only time you're allowed to be selfish; embrace it: You can go on an around the world vacation and not worry that you're spending your children's tuition fund. You can quit your job and not worry that your children will starve. You can pick up sticks and move to an exotic country and not worry that your partner doesn't want to. You're free to go with the wind and do anything you want.

Don't stick in a relationship you're unhappy in. It will only get worse. Don't believe that a relationship is the key to happiness because unless you're in the right one, it's more like a big heavy iron padlock on that door to happiness.