Monday, December 22, 2008

New Year, New Leaf

2008 has been a lifechanging year for me. After living and working onoff in the capital city of Malaysia for 10 years, I've decided to return home for good. By home, I mean the north of Malaysia. I bade farewell to heavy, daily traffic, road bullies, toll charges, flash floods, crowds, unnecessary stress and the likes. What a huge, huge relief!

I'm a much happier person now. I love waking up to lots of green and enjoy the breeze in the garden here at home. I get to see the sunrise and sunset everyday. I hardly got to do this when I was working in the traffic capital. My sensitive skin complexion and my intolerance to a certain type of food have improved. I don't have a scientific explanation to that, but I believe it has something to do with my quality of life now. I think a low level of stress does wonders to your health and well
being. Don't you think so?

I took a few months off just to figure out what I really want to do in life. Saying no to something comes quite easily to me, but trying to find out what I really want is something else. I've decided to leave the rat race for good and pursue what I've always wanted to do, that is, working from home and pursue my passion in photography. I'm currently enrolled in a postgraduate programme and planning to take up a photography course in the not
toodistant future. I didn't plan to pursue a postgraduate degree, but a family member offered to sponsor my studies, so I thought why not? Wish me luck!

I'm happy to say that I'm finally at peace with myself. For that, I thank the Almighty for giving me the inner strength to carry on. I feel truly blessed. Wishing all of you a very Happy New Year and may 2009 bring us endless love, joy, peace, discovery, prosperity, and last but not least, excellent health and well
being! I can't wait!

4 comments:

Joseph Pulikotil said...

Hi SkyJuice :)

I still can't get over your header photo. It takes my breath away!

I am happy for you that you are staying in a place you like and you are able to maintain good health.

Your photographs are really good and I think you have an excellent camera because you have taken some wonderful photos while moving at high speeds.

I believe if you follow your passion you will become famous. No one can stop it.

I love the city although it is very stressful and shortens a persons life.

I like the commotion, the noice, the smells of fried fish and chicken from the roadside restaurants, the honking of horns, the rush, the competition, people pushing each other and getting upset over minor things - in a city I can see how people struggle to survive.

Ofcourse, the pollution,the pot holes, the concrete buildings, garbage piling up, water and electricity shortage, frequent strikes and hartals etc. makes life difficult and unhealthy.

It could be that I have no choice and therefore I am extolling the advantages of living in a town :) :) :)

Visiting your blog is an immense relief and delightful diversion from the mad city life.

Many, many thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Have a wonderful day :)

SkyJuice said...

Hi Joseph,

Thank you very much for your long comment and kind words. Getting words of encouragement from readers like you makes me want to keep on blogging. I really appreciate it. :-)

I wish I could take a photo like the header. Perhaps someday I will after getting a good Nikon DSLR. I'm using a Nikon compact currently. I've used many cameras since I was 13, and I must say Nikon is the best when it comes to great image quality, durability and value for money. I'll still keep my Nikon compact when I get a DSLR as I usually bring it with me almost everywhere I go.

It's okay to visit big cities once in a while, but after living in a few concrete jungle for a number of years, I can't see myself retiring in such places, not that I'm retiring anytime soon. I'm in my early 30s now and a small–town person at heart. My heart yearns for home when I'm away. :-)

Have a beautiful day! :-)

Anonymous said...

Hi Sky,
I'm going to miss you. Eventhough we rarely met, you're one of the faces that I'll see in KL whenever we had a 'small friendly reunion'. And I'm going to miss you. Good luck in whatever you do and have a brilliant 2009. Happy New Year.

SkyJuice said...

Hi Aidee,

Thank you. Good to see you back online. Hope you've been well.

Selamat Tahun Baru to you too! :-)