30 Going on 30

Wednesday, November 02, 2016



I'm now 24 years old. After a gathering over pastries (hey we love pastries, not coffee) with some girls I've known since college a couple of weeks ago, we've all agreed that we're getting older. Maybe this will sound like we're whining and it's a bit too much considering we haven't even reached 3-figure yet but we do feel old actually. We no longer have defined jawline like we used to when we were 21, our metabolisms are slowing down and we tend to feel tired easily nowadays. One of changes that is very obvious is the topic we discuss whenever we meet. When we were in college we always talked about boys,  movies, fashion, who-dated-who and what not. But after leaving college, all we talk about are about our boss, colleagues, who-married-who and all grown-ups' stuffs. Even the topic about kids is now included in our conversation.

30 before 30

This is actually the main point of this post. Few days ago I saw a Facebook post about 100 lifetime goals and decided to make myself a bucket list too. Rather than making 100 goals, I narrow it down to 30 things to do before I hit 30 as I am only 6 years away before I hit 30. 




Notice that I now have so many free times I even blog every other day?

Goodbye

Tuesday, November 01, 2016

Last Friday, on the 28th of October 2016, my youngest sister finally flew to Istanbul to further her studies. All of us were there to send her to the airport to bid our goodbye except for my big brother who was absent since he had some works to do.

All her luggage was ready weeks before but we all know that we would still be packing until the very last minute. What happened the night before was, since she had opened up her bag way too many times, the lock was not functioning anymore. It's impossible to zip up the bag without spilling all its contents. She then ended up transferring all her stuffs into my unused luggage, the one I was planning to use for my God-knows-when Europe trip. That night, I went to sleep knowing it's not only my sister I had to say goodbye to, I also had to let my pink luggage go with her.

 Location : KL International Airport

Of course we cried upon sending her to the departure hall, it’s a normal scene at the airport. Even my kid brother shed his tears. Not to mention my mother who looked so sullen on that day. She cried even more when my sister sent a picture showing she had entered the plane. After all, she is one of her favourites among us.

Knowing my kid sister, she rarely travels and we’ve never been apart this far. It’s like she is now in the other side of the world. What makes everyone worried is that she suffers from asthma and it’s now fall in Turkey and we know it’s very cold there. Apart from the weather, our main concern lies with what happened in Istanbul recently. All the bombings, coup d’etat etc. The headlines appeared in the media about Turkey lately is alarming for our peace of mind. But this is a journey to seek knowledge and what’s life without challenges and thrills. 

 No matter what we will continue to give her our unconditional support and we can only pray for the best. We send her there and put our faith in Him knowing she will be under His protection.


Home will never be the same without her. See you next year, sis. 

I’m happy but I know my happiness wouldn’t make my parents proud

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Soon it will be my forth month of being unemployed and jobless. While most of my friends are now either climbing the corporate ladder or living up their dream of becoming a practitioner, I, on the other hand, am very comfortable staying at home.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not fully unemployed. I have my own baking business but as everyone keeps saying now is not the time to own a business as the economy is going south. I just started and the business, though it’s slow but it’s growing and profitable. I’m planning to devote my time fully into the business but not so soon. I have other plans. I have a plan to work my ass off until I have enough savings to open up my dream café.

It is October now. Soon it will be November. At this point in time, the total number I was called for a job interview was three and people may say that I’m not trying hard enough. It’s true. I’m not trying hard enough because well… this may sound like I’m convincing myself that I’m happy while being jobless but I’m truly happy. It’s true that I’m not living my dream but I’m truly happy.  Who doesn’t like to stay at home doing nothing? I do. Maybe the facts that I’m comfortable at home, no pressure from parents, no student debt and money is not tight making me all lazy. I admit I’ve been procrastinating a lot from sending out resume or even updating it. To be honest I’m not ready to bear all the responsibilities like a matured adult would once I started working. I’m a coward like that.

“I’m happy but I know my happiness wouldn’t make my parents proud.”

That’s what I’ve been thinking once in a while and usually it popped up in mind after I finished running errands for my parents. I thought I was doing them a favour. But I know even that’s not enough to make them proud and happy. I could feel their pride and joy on my graduation day and even more on the day I was admitted and called to the Bar. Often, I heard their pride in their answer whenever relatives asked them what I was studying for in college. However lately no hint of joy nor pride was heard whenever someone asked them where I was working right now. Nothing to celebrate when someone is becoming a disappointment.


This month, my father was admitted twice for heart attacks. My uncle was also admitted for lung disease. Since the hospital my uncle was sent to was near my house, my auntie stayed with us. It was me who had to send and fetch both my mother and my auntie back and forth from the hospital. Early in the morning, late in the evening, you name it. All this happened in a span of three weeks! While my mother resumed her role as a devoted wife tending my father at the hospital, I had to take over the role of a house wife such as cooking (me, cooking? urgh), going for grocery shopping, bank visits, car service etc. It’s stressful but I was glad I was at home when they needed someone. My parents might not realise it, but I was grateful He gave me the chance being a good daughter for them. All the time I questioned why I was still jobless and now I had the answer.

Graduation Trip

Friday, October 21, 2016

When I was in college, I had two groups of friends. One, my classmates. And another one was a group of friends I shared a house with.
I love them all. I cherish all the moments I had with each one of them. Most of the independent trips I’ve taken were with the latter. Among of the trips were the visit to our neighbour, Singapore (though only some of us were joining the trip), the charity trip in Cambodia and lastly our ‘one last vacation’ to Cameron Highland in which it turned to be a food trip where we stuffed ourselves with strawberries and the best scones in town.
In our final year of study, we planned to have a backpacking trip to Australia as our graduation trip. But a plan without action is just a plan.
Because of something something, I went to Indonesia instead. It was fun I tell ya. The corals and scenery were amazing. I still relive every bit of the time we were there in my mind.
Have I mentioned that a plan without action is just a dream wasted? As someone who is not going to waste her plan, I started to plan for my trip to Australia. The company comes second. I even made myself ready just in case I have to travel alone. I’ve saved up from the first month of my employment just to make this trip happen.
And last August, at the end of winter, I finally boarded a plane to Australia.
*This post was originally posted on my previous blog dated September 23, 2016

The Birth of The Humble Travel

Friday, October 21, 2016

My very first blog post. Yeay.
I have been procrastinated to create a blog for months now and today marks the day I realise an overdue wish to have my very own blog.
The idea to create a writing medium emanated on the day I realised that I had so many things to say on my mind but I did not have anyone to talk to. Besides, given that I'm forgetful, this is a way to store every memories I've made, every journey I've taken, every challenge I've endured. So why not a blog right?

 Why The Humble Travel?
The name derives from my recent holiday trip. I’m a wanderluster (if that’s even a word). All the trips I’ve taken were very humble in which I had to save up, starve myself and the less I spend on a trip, the more satisfaction I would get. Even though I do not travel everyday but for me, life itself is a journey and hence the decision to name this blog as The Humble Travel.
Language?
I hope to write everything in English for the sake of improving my writing skills. Wish me luck and stay tuned for more stories.
*this post has been posted on my previous blog dated September 6, 2016

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