The 25 Year Plan

The 25 Year Plan

It started 21 and a half years ago.
But here it is all the same. Things to do before I turn 25.

run an ultra marathon. a hundred km. Well its only a matter of time till I tick this off my list. 17 weeks to be exact. all the same, its one of those accomplishments big enough to warrant its way here.

 graduate from UCL in 2013 with my LLB (honours).. oooh yeaah. Kay, once again, this is almost a given. sure sure, a matter of time. Just need to stick it through and be done with. But like running a hundred km, its really not that easy. and yea, this actually is gonna be another one of those life changing, milestone moments.

publish. a novel. or a series of poems. or coffee table photo book. THIS is really gonna be tough. its gonna take talent. and dedication. and 3 and a half years aint a lot of time. but me and andrea have this goal. and you know. Ive got to give this my best shot. at the very least.


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so yup! thats it for now, in the list.
thinking about what zhenghao said on the run yesterday. we're never gonna be completely satisfied with our lives. were always gonna keep wanting more and more. and its true, even with my dreams and goals. they keep changing, shifting, growing. I mean.
I have achieved quite a fair bit up till now. which I am proud of. damn proud.
but i barely mention these achievements, cause its in the past. and i need something new to work towards.
nonetheless, its still somewhat healthy to look back, and smile and what ive done.
a little healthy motivation never hurt anyone. and reminder as to what ive accomplished.

Run some marathons. and some half marathons, competitively. I think thats just purely satisfying. Knowing ive crossed this barrier. and run THE marathon. more than once. and now im going to start running marathons as training, for my ultra. its great and empowering, thinking about the limits of the human body, and how easy it is to push it.

commissioning from officer cadet school. in fact the whole damn thing. enlisting. passing out of BMT. going through SISPEC. crossing over to OCS. life in the battalion. learning about the army. learning more about my country. learning to love running. i know its easy to say this, now that Ive left. but those were some great days. =')

i passed my driving licence in one go. its not easy in singapore. but i did it. basic theory, final theory, traffic police, one after the other after the other. in 6 months. with an instructor who wasnt from the driving centre school. paying with mostly my own savings. Its not something to be proud about. I mean, whatever. either you can drive or you cant. and its not like im an amazing driver either. but the memory of finally doing it is fresh. and its a happy memory. i did it guys. i passed my driving licence. =D

okay, now, this happened like what 2 years ago. And since then, I have gone on some epic road trips. with my family from Gold Coast to Noosa. And im sure therell be more to come, here in England. the noosa trip is simply legendary, and will always have a special place in my heart. but putting that aside, Im still just really glad I passed. =)

the gap year. gold coast. living in a different country. meeting new people. somewhat working and whatsome studying. needless to say, this changed my life as well. its not exactly an achievement to be honest. but its an experience. one that im glad i had. I was initally gonna include my teaching experience in Singapore into this. Like my first real paying job. but it didnt compare. not even close.

and now we go slightly back in time to 2007. A midsummer nights dream. The chance of a life time. to finally do something i always dreamed of. act. and i did it. and I did it well. everyone did. the entire cast. it was amazing. not a thing went wrong. the set was beautiful. the concepts. the colours. the acting. the comedic timing. this was a blessing, a dream come true, a gift. I WANTED this. oh my god, so badly. I fantasised, when I was just a kid, 13 maybe 14, in a secondary school which didnt even offer drama. and finally it was granted to me.  this play. I had to do it. my last chance, before Id leave public schooling and enter the "real world". without film footage, and with such a small audience capacity, it pains me to think that such beauty would never see the light of the world again. but that ephemeral quality about it. its painfully magic. like faerie dust.

the truth is, as far as im concerned, the list ends there. theres really nothing else ive done that deserves to be up there. things I did back when i was younger dont seem worth a mention now. and some of those things which happened to me, just seemed to happen despite my control, and can hardly be counted as my own effort or hardwork. things which happened as a scout and prefect in st pats or as house captain in TJ. or even climbing mt kinabalu when i was really young. all these things just cant count, because i doubt i really knew what i was doing. when someone tells you to march, you march, and 72km later your done.


so what happens next?

hmm. 3 and a half years to go. guess, I've just got to carry on living life.
Ive got my ultramarathon to look forward to. the chance to make a real difference in Kenya.
Take a well deserved break in Tanzania by climbing Mt Kilimajaro (hopefully). and life.
weddings in Malaysia and Singapore to attend. poems to write for girls who may never read them. with some improvement perform at a couple more gigs. my cooking will get better, as will my photography. but im not trying to impress anyone. I just wanna make my life better. and fill it with love, beauty and good food.
and last of all, by the time I'm 25 Id have found my first real stable long term job. and that wont be an achievement. i promise.

it will be ordinary. so painfully ordinary.

but i will earn money. to spend on my friends and family. happy. only as I know it.

I am that merry wanderer of the night!

I am that merry wanderer of the night!

so im starting to miss more and more people.
dharvin, my sis, shalini

its valerie's CNY dinner party tonight. gonna try my hand at re-making those jemput jemput. arghh, so it nor quite banana season, and the bananas are still sorta (read VERY) green. which is a problem. that i intend to solve. with lots of sugar..

just ran 22km today. nothing to it. but then i think about it.
maan. need to run 100km. in Singapore. yeaah, its gonna be fun.
Its gonna be unforgettable.

valentinesdaymovie idea. Its actually pretty hilarious. Im gonna make this happen. =)

borrowed Seasons 1 and 2 of How I Met Your Mother from Dan Harris. Maan, I love that show. Its so feel-good. and funny. its how youd wanna live your life. The next best thing since Friends and Seinfeld.

Borrowed "Never Let me Go" from Ivan. Wanna watch the movie too. someone said Andrew Garfield's character in the movie reminds them of me. curious to find out. NOT gonna wikipedia this.


Roadtrip to winchester and Old Harry, next sunday. yeaa why not. Its only a 6 hour drive, there and back. itll be cool.


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thinking about this blog and why I have it.
Its pretty damn useful. Its a journal for my thoughts. an outlet for my feelings.
a repository for my songs and poetry. an online to-do list, and personal planner at times.
its self-motivational. its a reminder of my goals and who i used to be.
it also puts pressure on me to follow through with things I sometimes declare i'll do. because a blog is public. and once you say something in public. the pressue is on, to be good to your word.
it also forces me to carefully consider my opinions, which I write and share with the world. especially sensitive, and political opinions. because im not going to shoot off or rant  poorly formed ideas in this space. I find myself, thinking about them more carefully than i normally would in a coffeshop discussion. Its not that people read this blog. its that it CAN be read. and its that sorta healthy pressure and awareness that keeps me sharp and kicks my intellectual laziness in the ass.


yeaa. Ive had this blog for about 6 years now. SIX years.. unbelievable almost.
but i think im gonna keep it for a long while to come.

might make it private someday. or public with lots of ads giving me money. who knows what the future will hold. but right now, im pretty pleased with what this blog does for me.

most importantly: its kept me writing.