UK again and self reflection

A big part of me felt having only left UK 6 months ago to come back so soon was actually too early. I didn't feel like I miss everyone enough to come back yet, but since it was I just quit my job, being my Dad's Birthday plus my mate's wedding I had to come back.

It wasn't until I got back to UK did I realised exactly how much i missed  everyone and everything. The smile on my parents face, the banter I would have with my mates, the sound of the tube, the silly things I would do or say when I'm with certain friends. It was GREAT to see so many friends and family even if it was only a short time and hell of a rush. My mum hugged me for the first time since god knows when :) and the sensation of being able to walk around all these streets I once wandered alone with Pauline was rather pleasant. I even managed to pretend I know where I'm going most of the time. I tried my hardest to look at London as a tourist but after living there for so many years it was almost impossible.

When I was my friends it was almost like everything clicked and it felt great to be around them, I knew what I was giving up when I left UK but that joy of seeing them again is ALMOST worth leaving for so many months for.

During the days leading up to my trip back to the UK, I noticed I was looking at myself to see what had changed about me. As I know people would be asking me "How you been?" and "What are you doing these days?" I really wanted to be able to tell everyone I had already done this and achieved that, found a great job and now have a steady life in HK with tons of friends, but since I was still working for the same old company as a freelancer working from home, my life was rather limited to sitting at home and working through the day. The only thing that had changed was I now have a steady girlfriend Pauline who came with me to the "Fridge" that is UK and that I hadstarted doing parkour, it excites me and I'm dead proud of being a part of HKPA, I also know it'll excite some of my friends but to most of them I know would think "how old are you? why are you still jumping around and what's the point?" So in a way I really felt I had nothing to tell anyone apart from the fact that the weather for the first 4 months was rather unbearable, I really did not like that feeling. Deep inside I just wasn't willing to be the same person I was 6 months ago, maybe I was asking too much from myself, but i really wanted to proof to everyone that this had been a positive change for me that this is the right decision and it wasn't an as stupid move as some of them had thought.

Six months isn't a particularly long time compare to the various stages of my life - 5 years in high school, 3 years at Uni, 3 years in London...etc. Slightly disappointed how little everything had changed, never did I imagine I would have been freelancing for my old company for so long. I can't quit workout whether it's the job that stop me from doing more with myself, or if it's myself that couldn't let go of the security and stability of letting that job go... which ever it is, it doesn't matter now because that is finally over. Being at university was such a great experience the 3 years felt like it lasted only 1 year but this job felt like I've been doing it for 10 years!

Oh well at least now I have a plan for the next 6 months.  which goes a little something like this. Finish the 4 major projects I current have by mid of Feb and be working in a proper office at a design agency by end of Feb! Maybe when I finally have a full time job I would be able to meet my own expectation of life in HK and stop being so stressed :) not to forget the added bonus I would have proof of income and be able to get a credit card and even a mortgage!

No more

I've finally did it, after 4 years plus some months, I've finally quit my job! it's been a long process! waiting for this and that to happen! patience never been my best virtue so for me to last this long has been nothing short of a miracle! I stumbled across some old emails recently and it looks like I had planned to leave since working there for a year... maybe it was the security of it all that made it so hard to leave.

The idea of finally being rid of my time consuming is highly liberating. This video is highly worth watching for anyone wanting to work out of the box and remain creative instead of turning into just another drone The Power Of Taking Time Off by Stefan Sagmeister.  My original plan (which changed about 20 times so far) were to start look for work ASAP but after reading an article by Jason Cass which lead me to the video above, I think I'll take some time off before working full time again - December I'm going back to UK for 2 weeks visiting family and friends, after that I'm gonna work on my own portfolio website then through out jan There's at least 3 paid projects to keep me busy. Hopefully after all that i'll be as fresh as a daisy ready for the manic working world in HK :)

Here's to relaxing as a creative and unblocking my creativity - To FREEDOM

work work work

This little thing call work is starting to over take my life (again).. 14 hours in front of the computer working with no one to talk to is no fun! Talk about a way to kill you creativity which is why I'm getting ready for some change!

Watch this space, I'm about to do the dumbest / smartest move in my life

Loving it

It's been a while, i've been rather busy lately. Now the wearther is much more bearable I'm loving it!

I have a group of friends that i can train with now and really enjoy having a laugh with. My weekends are actually busy now. Even have a few BBQs lined up with some of mine and Pauline's friends :) Still haven't been to a beach in HK yet... have to do that soon, before the locals start finding it too cold.. wimps!

Even this working from home as a freelancer thing is working better because i can actually work comfortably and concetrate much better, still I'm still planning to chuck it in at the end of the month and hopefully have something new in 2010 after a 2 weeks trip to UK in Decemeber with Pauline, really looking forward to showing her what being REALLY cold means.

Can't believe time had gone so fast already! Been doing parkour for a few months and what a thrill it can be - there's been a few injuries here and there, bits of my palm ripped off and bruised knees but it's well worth it. It was strange to be helping out on the workshop for new members.  it's not working out as well for capoeira... not really feeling it to be honest and i might stop it for a while and concentrate on parkour....

Standing up and delivering punches

For once this has nothing to do with my love of of martial arts and apparent aggression which i still insist I'm not... 99% of the time. Im actually talking about stand up comedy

A few Saturdays ago i went to a stand up comedy class. Ive always knew the cleverest people are those that can make us happy and laugh. I loved the show, it was really good. At the end of the show, we were told about a class on stand up comedy, slightly intrigued i sat up a little, but thought "Nah that's not me i don't really wanna be in the spot light, sure like most i enjoyed the attention but on stage like that. No freaking way". But over the next few days that idea kept on creeping up in my mind.. Its only a class right? Its not like ill be on stage, just sit there and listen to the ins and outs of being funny. So i emailed the organiser and said i want in, in return i was given some homework, ten things i truely hate and ten faults my friends see in me. That pretty much meant i would have to speak up at some stage, a little nervous i got emailing and writing.

Fast forward a little and there i was sitting in class being asked if i want to give it a go. Knowing fully well i haven't wrote the best or most suitable stuff i forced myself to put my hand up. A few people went before me and i was thinking they're good, very good for beginners at least, am i gonna be their level with what i wrote... I've always been able to make my friends laugh, spotting perverted situations faster then most, how bad could i be? I found that out when i stood under those million watt bulbs feeling like i was standing on a tiny platform 10m above the ground, i read out what i had in mind from the shit loads of notes i've made and boy did i crash! I don't mean badly here and there either i meant from beginning to the end, not so much as a chuckle, the silence felt incredible painful, ironically one of the things i hate the most is noise! (Ring tones, people talking loud, construction sites 10m from my window) I knew i was doing badly about 90 seconds in... so I cut my loses and got off the stage with my ego the size of a penny.

We were warned there's nothing that would get us going for comedy but the real thing and getting on stage, I'm glad I got on that stage even though I sucked (Thank you for the class and opportunity Jami)... A very stubborn part of me is still thinking, no freaking way can i leave it like this... but the other 99.995% of me is thinking, don't you even think about doing that again. it was an interesting experience and I really would love to be better at this... maybe once I've settled in HK a bit more without working 13 hour days I would give this another go, at least now I know what a punch is. Meanwhile I'll keep on taking notes on what's going on around me and go to as many shows as I can despite the 2 hour journey to get there!

I'll post my "10 things I hate in life" & "10 faults my friends see in me" later when I get around to scanning it.

Anyone in HK should check out TakeOut Comedy they do shows both in Chinese and English!