I can’t believe that today is the last day of the second last month of 2022 and here I am typing my monthly blog post after procrastinating this writeup for about 2 weeks or so.
How was November for you? It was definitely a slow and boring one for me and despite all that excitement and ‘normalization’ of the post covid days, I find myself pretty empty at times with nothing much to look forward to (cause I haven’t booked any travel plans for the future). I know I might sound like a ‘Karen’ for yelping out my unnecessary thoughts but with the normalization of travel (in most countries apart from China and Hong Kong), I am seeing an increasing number of people travelling and somehow that makes ‘travel’ appears to be less exciting to me. Ouch, it’s like I can never have good things because I’m never satisfied >< Few weeks ago, I had thoughts of going to Japan during spring (mid-end March) to see the blossoms but from the photos/videos that I’ve seen on social media, it seems like Japan is crowded and overflowing with tourists right now. Everyone seems to know someone that is going to Japan next year and somehow that makes Japan less desirable in my ranking. This is not the first time I have had such thoughts about being less interested in something after its popularity surges. I am annoyed with myself for having such thoughts but I can’t seem to figure out how I can get rid of such thoughts. Weird ramblings but that’s just me I guess. When I can’t travel I complain and when I can travel, I find other things to complain bout too. Not very good in terms of negative energy I guess but.. I just had to let it out somewhere. Oops.
Another thing that I attempted to bring myself out of my ‘boredom’ was that I tried to see if there were any avenues I am able to find and connect with new people. As embarrassing and awkward as it may sound, I was one of those that had online friends during the period when internet growth was picking up in speed, during the days when scams were a lot less prevalent. Apart from chatting in random chatrooms like IRC, I was also active on neopets and random hobbyist websites where you can ‘meet’ people all over the world. I did end up meeting some of these virtual friends in real life when I travel and I’m glad that none of it turned out to be a disaster. Do you remember the days when your email accounts were not just flooded by advertisements and transaction statements but real electronic letters between two individuals? I had a few such friends and I used to spend hours on each reply and there was strong anticipation whenever I checked my mail. Some replies will take a day, some will take weeks or even months. Those were the days before instant messaging and every reply took time and effort, and I guess that’s what made the friendship precious. While I am no longer close to most of them, they still remain on my social platforms (Facebook/Instagram) but no one takes the initiative to say hi anymore. It’s just a scroll or swipes to know how each person is moving on to the next life stages, but there seems to be an awkwardness of ‘who is making the first hi’. Then again in life, how many people can you truly connect with at each point in time? Yes, I do sound a little sad about these lost connections but I can’t figure a way to make it less inevitable. The world is changing and we all, move on.
So.. wanting to rekindle the old days, I attempted to speak to people online. When I asked around my friends about wanting to know more people, most of them recommended me to download dating apps because that would be the fastest way and hopefully something sparks (and I can stop being single) but I did not want to go down that road so nope, I did not download any dating apps. And guess what, there really isn’t any app that is widely used, which can be used to make friends. There was a postcard app which I attempted a few years ago but the wait was so slow that I forgot about it. Anyway, so I ended up on a reddit forum which had a ‘get to know people thread’ and messaged 2 female individuals who had interests similar to mine and both conversations ended within less than five talks attempt? It has been more than a week and both did not reply to me and I guess that’s the end of my attempt. I guess I am no longer able to re-live the virtual friendships I had 10-15 years ago.
Anyway, apart from this random thing that I have done, the next exciting thing right now is the World Cup. I haven’t been going out lately and this resulted in me watching a lot of World Cup matches. I’m not a huge soccer fan (though I did spend a bomb in buying a ticket at Old Trafford one year ago) but I usually watch the big games, Euro Cup and World Cup etc. Also, this is the first time I set up an online betting account (legalised platform, by our government) and I’m sad to say that I’ve lost every single bet I made and I’m halfway into the losses of my original amount. The rule I had for myself when I first started was that I am not allowed to do any top-up if I wiped out the entire balance. I haven’t had a favourite player since Fernando Torres retired years ago but I do have a soft spot for Spain and I try to watch their every match. I feel that they are playing well this year but I don’t feel confident that they will make it to the top. Based on the current results so far, the winner could be anyone at all. Even the popular teams are underperforming and the confirmed teams moving on to the round of 16 is still pretty much uncertain after the two matches. Exciting days ahead and may the best and luckiest team win.
Can’t seem to decide where I want to travel to next year, and whether I am making the trips alone or with people. As I grow older, I feel like I get more indecisive, or perhaps are we being presented with too many options? I want to return to New Zealand to see my friends that are still there but the ticket pricing and the feasibility and convenience of solo travel is an issue. I want to go to Japan but the crowd is scaring me off. I will definitely go back to Korea but when and for how long? Should I go to Hong Kong because I have a friend there (with lodging) but I’m still not comfortable with the PCR testings and no dine-out policy for 3 days. No idea why ‘where to go next’ is a constant worry in my mind since travel was normalised in the post covid year but I guess travel is a hobby and interest that remains within my blood all this while..
How was your November and what would be your plans for December? Give me some suggestions though I know that my room is in a bad need for some tidying and marie-kondo. Oops.