I have been a little short on my promise to myself to update this blog regularly (at least 3 times a week) especially on this trip back to Malaysia, but for very good reason – I live in an area where computers & internet access is very hard to come by. Upon landing in Malaysia, one would assume that I would be traveling to the beaches, enjoying hot springs, diving in the corals, trekking through rain forests and tropical areas that this country is known for – but after being here for just about a week so far, that makes up 0.01% of what Malaysia is really made of – the local village areas. I’ve been spending majority of the days living in and visiting the areas where my mom grew up in Puchong Jaya, reuniting with the past village kids now relocated and built their families in the neighbouring areas, and visited the last living grandmother I have. It’s been an eye opening experience to see the way people here interact, work and live life. Materialism is their last priority, family is their first priority and religion (largely Islam) is a predominant factor in their everyday lives. I have taken hundreds of pictures so far to share, but will do so when I have internet access that is faster than dial up – for now, I am going to enjoy having my five small meals a day from street vendors, walking around in 35+degree weather, visiting the extended family, making a trip to HK & Singapore and getting my Malaysian ID done. Apologies for the less than satisfactory blog update, I promise loads of food pictures, local stories and awesomeness upon my return as I head back to living like a local – with minimal use of technology.
And now as a tribute to my newfound Malaysian patriotism – Negaraku, A Malaysian National Anthem
Tags: family, local, malaysia
Yes. I am Malaysian and it has been 13 long years since I’ve been home to visit all the relatives I’ve ever had. It has been sometime since I’ve been on a 3 week family vacation and I am so excited. The family, the food, the night markets, the sights, the shopping, and did I mention the food!?
Today’s Flight Schedule:
- Toronto (August 6th, 8:50 PM) to Vancouver (August 6th, 10:52 PM)
- Vancouver (August 6th, 1:55 AM) to Taipei (August 8th, 5:40 AM)
- Taipei (August 8th, 8:20 AM) to Malaysia (August 8th, 1:oo PM)
I am going to try my best to document this trip here. Here’s to hoping my family in Malaysia has cable Internet!
In T-6 Hours, I’m Leaving On a Jet Plane – Chantal Kreviazuk
Tags: Life, malaysia, vacation
Often, we have to be reminded that life is an uncertainty guaranteed by death and taxes, and sometimes it takes a tragic turn of events to realize that perhaps the current course that you are taking in life isn’t what you hoped it would be. The experience in the last few months of my life can be likened to that of a windtunnel, where moments pass you by and before you know it, you’re at the end of the tunnel with memories no more than flashes of instances in time not worth remembering. Living in this “fast paced” generation, working in the technology industry, starting a new career and being recently single certainly didn’t help the cause of complacency and self absorption. Once you are comfortable with what are you are doing, it is so easy to become caught up in the routine without actually considering whether or not they are contributing to your happiness or personal fulfillment. It took monumental turn of events and time to myself to make me realize that I wasn’t living a well balanced life, doing the things that made me truly happy and felt like I would eventually burn out. But what’s truly important in life is taking the time to think to yourself (which I find that majority don’t do often enough) to assess the current situation you are in whether good or bad and make any necessary adjustments. Sometimes these adjustments are easy, sometimes they are hard – but in the end committing to them can be life altering, lest we forget, that we only have one.
So within the last few months, I have set out a plan to do complete a list of “firsts”, seek out more adventures, spend time with myself periodically and sharing them on this blog. Here are a few things so far I can cross off my list:
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First & Last Mugging & First Time in Police Car
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First Time Fishing – Caught a large mouth bass with my first cast
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First Time Camping – Algonquin Park
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First Time Camping – Walking in the Rapids
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First Time Riding a Motorcycle
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First Puppy Portfolio – Momo
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First Puppy Portfolio – Momo
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First Puppy Portfolio – My Dog Jojo
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First Puppy Portfolio- Gigi
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First Puppy Portfolio – Pomeranian
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First Flower in the Garden
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First Art Show – Volunteered
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First RibFest – Scarborough Rotary
Many times we become prisoner to our technologies, our work and our relationships – and don’t devote enough time to yourselves. In the end, we only have ourselves accountable for the decisions we make, those decisions we don’t make and for me, regretting anything is not an option. So, today’s YouTube link is not a song, but a clip for those of you who spend more time with your cell phones than you do with people (you know who you are).
Tags: balance, firsts, happiness, Life
The reaction of the heart is one that is emotional and almost uncontrollable, despite the certainty & logic of your mind. It is hard to act on what you think is logical but it is not impossible. And as such, it is always easier to thrive on the feelings of the heart because it “feels good” at the moment, and not the mind when it causes you strife. That’s why it is important to take time and space from the situation you are in and evaluate “Is this what I really want? Is this what I really need? Is this causing me more frustration than it is instilling joy”? And if the answer to all three is undoubtedly “yes” then consider that although your heart is at the right place and it feels so right, your mind is telling you otherwise and you should heed its fair warning. But then you say, “love is never easy” and perhaps it deserves waiting or “waiting it out” – I would evaluate whether you can consider this love when the other person can hold you back and let you fall harder in love when they have no intentions to reciprocate at the time. If they know that this is what you need and want and cannot offer it to you, the honest thing to do is to be truthful and transparent. Your mind then needs to convince your heart that this is the case and move on. A few months ago, I asked myself “Mind can conquer of matters, but can it really conquer over matters of the heart?” The answer then would have been no. But if you ask me now, the mind and heart can conquer over all matters, if you really wanted & believed they could by committing to truth of your mind’s logic.
A smart friend once told me, “Judge a man by his actions and not by his words”. Are his actions one that demonstrate love, kindness and what you deserve in return for your love? Are you in an unparalleled situation where you are giving more than is being reciprocated? Have confidence in yourself that you are someone worth being loved, cherished and valued and believe your mind when it says, that you deserve more, because you do.
The theme song of my life that I leave you with today: Kelly Clarkson – Miss Independent
Tags: independent, logic, love
So after we were robbed of our summer sunshine this year in July, I am awakened today in a ray of sunshine to welcome me into August. Those who know me know that I am not one to wake up early on a weekend voluntarily, but without hesitation, I could not have been more excited to wake up & discover what beauty of life today holds. Already, the agenda looks promising with a journey to the grand opening of Sashlik Grill Restaurant by good friend & previous MESA associate Omi Ahsan. Then, in the spirit of good ol’ crowds and costumes, I am going to check out the Caribana Parade down by the Exhibition Center for the first time… ever. I have always been one to absorb & feed off the energy of those around me and with all the events of laughter & joy in the city today, I can only expect that today will be a happy one.
And on that note, I leave you with not one, but two Sunshine filled songs: You Are My Sunshine – Johnny Cash & Bob Dylan & Pocket Full of Sunshine - Natasha Bedingfield
Tags: caribana, happy, sashlik, sun
Parallel to the efforts of many broadcasting syndications, it is important that as an online entity of yourself – you are syndicated. I just spent the last four hours assessing all the various online and social assets of which I own to ensure that not only consistency with my naming convention “angielim” from each vanity URL but that when I have the opportunity to promote the other assets I own, I do. In this way, I am not losing out on the opportunity to drive traffic & eyeballs to other sites and properties in my scope. With the large array of social networks & communities in which we partake in everyday, it is important to update your activities within each to remain relevant. As such, think of the communities in which you frequent & best represent you, maintain those profiles & associate them as part of your portfolio of synicated assets that you promote predominantly.
My list would look like this:
www.twitter.com/angielim
www.facebook.com/angielim
www.linkedin.com/in/angielim
Tags: communities, social media, syndication
In embarking on this new online venture, the default title could not have been more appropriate (Although, I did take the liberty to make a minor edit). “Hello August 1! I am here to stay”. If there is one thing I have learned from years of saying that I was going to start a blog is, it’s to “just do it“. Countless times I’ve thought “Hey, that would make a great blog post” or wrote down a “potential blog” post and had so many thoughts I’ve wanted to share, but a) didn’t have an avenue to do so b) questioned over and over again about what the “direction” of my blog should be. But in the end, the blog is a representation of who you are and anything you want to say should fly. If you are constantly thinking about what you would like to write about that suits your blog, rather just writing about the thoughts & experiences you are currently going through, then you should consider writing a book instead. Sound advice from someone who just started hers after years of contemplation and honestly, procrastination? Well, better late than never!
There are three rules I’ve established for this blog:
1) I am to write in this blog at least three times a week even if it’s just a picture or one word.
2) I am to write whatever stimulating experience or emotion I am going through on the day that it happens so as to not lose the factor of recency or urge to blog about it later.
3) I am to write this blog from my heart & understand that although there will be readers & comments, that I write my thoughts & opinions only for my benefit, not anyone else’s.
And with that, I leave you with a music video from a recent favorite Elliot Yamin – Fight For Love.
Tags: blogs, elliot yamin, hello
