Sometimes I forget I have a blog...

A good friend just the other day was telling me I should post more.
I agree.
But sometimes I forget.
I forget to post, I forget to email, I forget to call, I forget to visit...
Sounds a bit like I don't care I guess. But I guarantee you it's not that.

How to explain this forgetfulness of mine? Hmmm...

It goes a bit like this.

When you sit in front of the computer, you open your email and start going through your inbox. Your start reading the first one and you remember you have to pay a bill.
You open a new tab and go to your Internet banking. As you start inputting the data to pay the bill, you remember you have to do your laundry.
So you get up and get the laundry into the machine. As you're pouring the soap in you remember you need to sew o button back on a sweater.
You go look for thread and needle to sew the button back on and you get this urge to go to the toilet.
As you're peeing you remember you need to change the lightbulb in the hall.
As you're fetching the lightbulb you remember you need to buy milk.
So you go to the supermarket. But on the way you remember you need to pick up your dry cleaning.
So you head in that direction but on the way you stop on your favourite shop which happens to be on sale.
As you're browsing you remember you need to go to the dentist. So you call to book the appointment.
While you're on hold, you remember you need to RSVP to that wedding invitation.
So you start looking for the invitation and you remember it's a friend's birthday.
So you go look for the phone to give him/her a call. But before you find the phone, you find these earrings you thought you lost last week.
As you take them back to where they should be, you remember you need to iron the dress you're wearing later that evening...
And this keeps going (you get the picture, right?) until the day is done and you're in bed, exhausted.
And just before you fall asleep you think: Damn, I forgot to reply to that email! Will do it first thing tomorrow morning...

You know you're getting old - part 2

You know you're getting old when your hangover lasts 3 days.
Your stomach cannot handle well deep fried cheese.
You have attended 3 weddings in one month.
You have friends getting married for the second time.
You listen to a radio called Alpha FM and you can sing or hum along 9 out of 10 songs they play.
Your highest scores on Song Pop are on the 80's collection.
And your lowest are on Today's hits.

But you know you're not old just yet, when you have the mother of all hangovers but still goes to a party. Leaves the party after 3 am, sleeps 2 and a half hours, catch a flight, drive 100km to go to your mate's wedding and end up in a friend's couch writing on your blog at 1am, watching Family Guy.

This is what I call a CONFLICTED MIND.

Nostalgia

So for those of you who don't know me that well, almost 20 years ago my father was transferred to work in Shanghai. So we moved there, all four of us. And we lived there for 4 years.

When I first got there I was 12, going on 13, which means I lived there until I was 16 (almost 17).
If you remember those years of your life, you'll probably remember how crucial they were in influencing your personality, way of seeing life, forming opinions, morals and so forth.
So those years in Shanghai were a pretty big deal for me!!!

Since we left in 1997, I never had the chance to go back... Until now.
As I sit here on this rainy afternoon in Hong Kong looking for a hotel to stay in Shanghai when I arrive tomorrow I feel a bit overwhelmed... And with many mixed feelings.

I'm extremely excited to go back and see the city. But at the same time I'm a little apprehensive as I'm not sure what I'm going to encounter when I get there.

As you probably know, China, and Shanghai in particular, has been changing at a phenomenally fast pace over the past 25 years. Which means that the Shanghai I lived in doesn't exist anymore.
And even though I can't wait to see it with my own eyes what the transformation resulted in, I can't help it but to be all nostalgic about my favourite places and other little things about the city which I'm sure don't exist anymore.

I'm probably being a little unfair though. Because much like Shanghai, I have also changed a lot since then.
And for the better! Which I would think it's probably the case for Shanghai as well.
But nostalgia is a funny thing.
Even though you know things are better now, it makes you miss and idealise the old. So much, that sometimes you convince yourself that things are changing for the worse.

We need to watch out for the nostalgic side of us... To not let it take over and keep us stuck in the past, stopping us from moving on and embracing our futures.

So Pudong, new area... Here I come!!! :)

You know you're getting old when...

... You actually enjoy having dinner in a restaurant with a live band singing Sting songs.

... You refuse to drink a vodka because you never heard about that particular brand.

... You would rather go back to the hotel and watch National Geographic instead of hanging out in a bar full of drunk youngsters and listening to crap commercial music.

... You wake up and turn the tv on to CNN or BBC.

... You read a newspaper as you're eating breakfast - and it's not the cartoon or horoscope section.

... You own at least one anti-wrinkle cream.

... You own a pair of earplugs and an eyepatch.

... You post about political issues on your Facebook page.

... You actually bother to write a post like this!!!
;-)

Update

So... time to come back here for a quick post. Drizz, this is especially for you! ;-)

It's been ages I haven't written a post and the reason is I really haven't bothered sitting in front of the computer for too long at one go. Also, I have allowed myself to stop thinking and wondering and trying to figure things out and just live in the present.
And living in the present I guess sometimes seems like we are neglecting the past, not caring about the future, forgetting the people that are not there... But it's not at all like that, I can guarantee you.

It's that classical example of missing the sunset because you were too busy trying to get the perfect picture of it to share it with those who weren't there and then in the end neither you nor your friends get to see it. Anyways, I already deviated from what I initally liked to say.

I was reading the old posts and think a quick update is in order.

First of all, the stress is oficially gone! I could not be more calm and in peace than I am right now. Sometimes even I can't believe it!!! And I have the yoga training to thank for it. It was a gift and a blessing for me to have had those 4 weeks. Words cannot say how greatful I am to my masters and the group of people that I had the pleasure of sharing that experience with. Bless you all! Love and light always!

As for the bag... hahahaha
I have a confession to make...

I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO BE A BACKPACKER ANYMORE!!!!

I have sent many boxes to my parents place. I have donated and left many things behind. Still I'm carrying that convertible backpack weighing 20kgs around. Now mind you, half of that is toiletries! How spoiled am I? But you know what? I don't care! I LOVE my creams!!! And I'll carry them around no problem!!!! And you know what else? I MISS WEARING HIGH HEELS!!!!!!!!!! There I said it!
And you think that's it? No! There is more. The "little" carry on packpack weighs another 5kgs. With 2 cameras, this very netbook, harddrive, books, notebooks... You name it. If it's heavy, I have it!

It has been over 5 months now that I started traveling. I've been to India, Australia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, back to Thailand and just arrived in Malaysia tonight.

I've been having an amazing time. I'm meeting soooo many incredible people sometimes I have to pinch myself to see if this is real.
But I miss having a home.
I miss waking up hangover on sunday afternoon and just walking to the couch and watching TV for the rest of the day and ordering pizza at night - delivery of course! Just because I can't even bother to get out of the house.

But most of all I miss my family.
And I miss my FRIENDS!!!

My travels are not yet over and the future remains uncertain. But in a seemingly hectic way... It's all starting to come together now and maybe even make a little bit of sense :)