Category: Uncategorized

Valamar Hotels, Dubrovnik, Croatia. August.

We stayed at Valamar Lacroma Hotel, which has a really great breakfast buffet, great views, great gym and so on.  There is access to a few beaches nearby as well as restaurants which are a short walk away.  Dubrovnik old city is a bus or taxi ride away. I recommend staying here! See below for some wonderful views during the night and day from the hotel.

Photo from the Valamar Presidential beach and it was really hot that day. The necklace that I am wearing is actually gold colored but here it appears silver:

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Here’s the sunset overlooking the islands of Koločep and Otočić Daksa:

But what about Dubrovnik Old City?

On my first night, while waiting for family, I had a meal overlooking the castle.

We also had a seafood in the old city near the bay, but you would be looking at quiet a price for it. I think it was a couple of hundred euros, almost.

I did not really do a lot of tourist things at the Old City, walked along the perimeter and in the streets during the evening. I was mainly relaxing around Valamar as I wasn’t too keen on the sunshine and crowds.

The coastline around this area is absolutely amazing. Most of it in Croatia but there is a part of Herzegovina that touches the Adriatic Sea, around Neum, otherwise much of Bosnia-Herzegovina is landlocked and not touching the sea due to Croatia.

My day trip in Bosnia-Herzegovina on my last day will be covered in another post.

Upcoming Trips! July and August 2018

July and August will involve a lot of travel with my family which I’m really looking forward to.

Brisbane -> Singapore -> Dubai -> Paris

Paris -> Milan

Milan -> Lake Como

Milan -> Naples

Naples -> Sorrento

Naples -> Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik -> Zagreb

Zagreb -> Prague

Prague -> Paris

Skin Care and Travel

I like to buy gift sets containing smaller versions (usually sample size) of products that I take with me.

This one is from the professional specialist skincare line Medik8 containing:

Hydr8 B5 Serum (15ml)
The ultra-lightweight gel-textured serum infuses skin with softening Vitamin B5 and Hyaluronic Acid, which retains up to 1,000 times its own weight in water for maximum moisture retention. Suitable for daily use, it leaves skin feeling refreshed and supple with enhanced protection and improved regeneration.

gentleCleanse Mild Foaming Cleanser (40ml)
This delicate, non-exfoliating yet deeply purifying foaming wash is designed to suit all skin types, especially sensitive skin. The mild, fragrance-free and pH balanced formula effectively removes make-up and built up congestion on the skin due to impurities, pollution and perspiration. All this without stripping the skin’s natural, essential moisture; leaving even the most sensitive skin feeling refreshed and glowing.

CE-Tetra® Vitamin C Antioxidant Serum (3ml)
Delivering high concentration with low irritation, the potent formula contains stabilised Vitamin’s C and E to regulate natural collagen production and improve elasticity levels. Rapidly absorbed and non-greasy, the lipid soluble format ensures optimum penetration and efficacy, working to combat free radical damage with synergistically enhanced antioxidant protection. Pigmentation marks and premature wrinkles appear visibly reduced.

Retinol 3TR Advanced Night Serum (3ml)
Tackle wrinkles with the refining properties of the Retinol 3TR Advanced Night Serum, a potent formula infused with 0.3% Retinol (a form of Vitamin A that is clinically proven to fight first signs of ageing). It rapidly absorbs with advanced encapsulation technology delivering Retinol slowly into skin to help build up tolerance with effective penetration and minimal irritation. Skin contours appear smoother and remodeled with the appearance of redness, lines and age spots visibly reduced.

Hydr8 Day 360 Total Anti-Ageing Moisturiser SPF 15 (5ml)
Lightweight yet powerful, the Hydr8™ day cream works to moisturise and soften skin while combating premature signs of aging. Enriched with the Anti-A.G.E complex, it actively protects against glycation, with Vitamin C and Moisture Magnets™ increasing optimum moisture levels. Providing SPF 15 protection as well as free-radical shields, skin is left feeling smoother and nourished with a natural matte finish.

It also comes with a pouch and a mirror.

The good thing about these sets is that due to their size, you can easily bring it with you while travelling and is also a good introduction to the brand.

I’ve had some mini/travel size sets from Lancôme (foundation and mascara) and Shiseido (a gift set).

Another item that I pack with me are face masks:

They are compact and easy to pack and can be reused again since there is enough serum.

On doing your own research, and why not all questions can be answered.

On a similar note to my previous post (about financially supporting creators), I also wanted to touch on a similar issue.  And that is – should you pay for advice? And at what point are people willing to pay for advice?

When I first moved to Germany, I spent many hours poring through German bureaucracy – one page after the other trying to reach the right form to fill in, translations of various forms to fill in, also questioning my dubious translations of such paperwork.  The final straw came when I spent almost 2 hours on a form, and decided to go ahead and hire a translator specializing in such forms. It turns out that most of it needed to be redone anyway and I was glad that I did.  If I ever was in a similar situation, I would definitely not hesitate to hire a translator.

The same goes with advice. Nowadays there are many advice blogs and articles, including my own, as well as online communities.  However, your mileage may change.  There may be changes to legislations.  Your situation will certainly be unique. You may find yourself in a hostile online community, even. Compound with the fact that the visa process can get expensive and risky for people and that official sources (ie embassies) are busy enough with other priorities then many people are left and stuck in some limbo.  Hence, free advice that you read online has some caveats in that it’s usually based on someone’s own lived experience rather than advice molded to your own situation. One of the main lessons I learnt while living in Germany was that I had a lack of preparation and research on some basic things that would have made life considerably easier for me. So prior to the move to France, I’ll be collating some resources on what will help me. Of course, I will probably share it here also depending on how helpful those resources are, and again those mileage will vary.  If you want customized advice and you’re not willing to take in the time and effort to look for it, then you may want to think about hiring an expat consultant to do the research for you.

I am still more than happy to write posts in this blog.  Maybe one of my posts may help someone’s burning question, or it may give someone an idea.  But keep in mind, once again, to do your own research.  Always follow the official sources online.  But please, do not ask me for official visa questions.  Period.  There are actual recognized entities and individuals that do this.  When I write my posts in this blog, I’m writing it based on my own experience.  And it may not be relevant to you.  Which is why you need to spend some time going through all other sources and cross reference what one person is saying versus what another is writing.  Take what you read with a grain of salt.  But keep in mind though – all this stuff about visas and digital nomadism, and what-have-you, it’s all risky business.   When I first wanted to dip my toes into doing expat consultancy type of services, I realize that essentially

Now another item that I also wanted to touch on is around free advice in general. Not just stuff like How is Lisbon like in May? What’s the best Internet service provider in Hungary? How long would I last with 10K in eastern Europe? Where can I get serviced apartments within the nearest vicinity of vegan restaurants in Bangkok? And so on. You can get these questions answered for free online.  And, when I get bored or when I feel like contributing (outside of my own blog), I do contribute to answering these questions and further discussions.  And then there are the deep questions that someone asks.  Should I be a digital nomad? Should I quit my job? Should I move overseas? These types of things require far more introspection from the originator.  And, if you are asking yourself these types of questions in the first place then I would say that you probably need more time and thought in this process.  The person that is asking “Should I be a digital nomad?” is a long way away from someone asking “Should I live in this arrondissement instead?”.  There are some philosophical, life questions that strangers just seriously cannot answer for you.

Don’t forget to financially support creators.

I’ve been on a roll when it comes to being more mindful of financially supporting (aka donating) creators that I look up to and admire. In the past few months, I’ve donated to six projects. These projects are varied. From language learning tutors, hackers, artists, right through to developers.

I financially support them and for many reasons:

– I want to give back to those that have inspired me, or those that have helped me whether it is a sysadmin tool they made in their free time or the YouTube channel they run with millions of views (which, for the record, is http://germanwithjenny.com who does an amazing job with videos)

– I want to let them know that they have someone that backs them, not just in word, but also in financial support.

– I know what it is like to be a creator/entrepreneur, and any means of support has definitely made the hard work and dedication pay off.

Without these individuals, we would not lead richer, more interesting lives. Think carefully about the page that you are viewing, the article that you are reading, the image that you are seeing, the YouTube channel that you watching and think about the hours and effort it takes to create something that contributes to other people’s lives.

Art Fair Philippines 2018

I have been to many art events, but this is the first one for Asia, in particular the Philippines.

Much of the artist representation are local as well as regional artists from surrounding countries including Singapore and Japan. There were even many artists here that are showing in the lead up to the art fair to go to in Asia, Art Basel Hong Kong, which I unfortunately am going to miss. Nonetheless I had a good time browsing through this art fair.

One thing to note is that in order to enter the fair you will need to go up about two or three levels of a carpark before you are taken into a ‘common area’ with seats. This is where you sit in rows until you are called up to be able to buy tickets.  I couldn’t tell if people that bought their tickets online were able to fast track, but it would be nice to be able to fast track this process if you had bought your ticket online.  I think that they did this since there was a line up last year but also because the fair venue was in a carpark.  The other alternative would have been to hire out a convention centre or a hall but I think that this would have possibly increased ticket prices.

Another item to note is that it would be nice to be able to buy an art fair booking showing artist bios and some pictures of the work.  I know that an art fair in 2015 had stopped doing this (Frieze New York) and I was disappointed to find out that I could not buy a book since that’s usually my physical take-away from these fairs.

Another one would be an option to be able to buy items like prints.  After all, it is a fair so there are a variety of buyers there – from serious collectors, to people that want a new piece of art for their home and prints tend to service a younger, less collector-heavy market.

Rendition of a famous Renaissance painting by Jason Montinola

Singapore, February 2018

Had a brief walk around Marina Bay in Singapore. My third time in Singapore – last time was a few years ago and the first was back in 1996 when it was a completely different place.

It was great walking around and remembering various little details that I forgot since my last visit.  For example, my first ‘post-plane’ meal (I was on a sandwich and breakfast bars for about 13 hours!) was in the same area that I had my last meal.  And this awesome hawker market was near Dhoby Gaut station, a station that I forgot until I was soon facing in front of the sign at the MRT. Oh, and when I first entered Marina Sands to go to a conference and remembering the little signage taking me there.

I only documented a few photos from my last trip.  And this recent trip was very short also before I needed to catch another flight.

I love the architecture and the little details that are in Marina Bay Sands.  They had an art installation set up outside to add golden wheat ‘fields’ in front of the mall:

This is one of my favorite places to sit down and relax a bit.  There are some bars and restaurants dotted on the outside and I remember relaxing for a couple of hours with a cold lychee beer last time.  This time around, I paused for a bit to take this photo:

They also had a new museum that I’ve noticed but I didn’t go inside called the Red Dot Museum. ‘Red dot’ or ‘little red dot’ is actually a reference to Singapore:

One item I missed out on my last visit was to walk all the way to the Parkland to these large ‘tree-like’ structures.  There were also numerous other museums and more tourist attractions in this area:

Overall, I had a nice stopover in Singapore and would love to come back again for another visit!  This time around I only had time to go around Marina Bay and not the other places like Chinatown, which is another area that I recommend.

How time flies, moving away, reality vs planning

How time flies.

I remember this time last year.  Still living in Dublin, and making my plans moving to Berlin.  My time in Dublin was soon coming to an end (I could only technically work there for a maximum of 6 months). It was a complete whirlwind of going through being sick, starting new professional commitments and going through all the motions of moving to a new country.  I made friends and caught up with family, did not do as much travelling around Ireland as I had wanted to, very busy with a new job and studying for certificates. Dublin was still fairly cold and rainy. I didn’t have much expectations moving to Berlin, only that I expected to get really involved with a lot of tech events and soaking up the culture, history and language here.

My apartment in Berlin has those huge windows and my room has a balcony, so plenty of sunshine coming through.  The heater is still on (it was snowing a bit recently) but with the warmth and sunshine, I almost feel like I am back in Brisbane, Australia.  I’m looking at the array of items in my room.  The printer that I am planning to give away to a neighbour.  The various beauty, skin, hair products that I am planning to bunch up to a female friend and give away.  The pile of books in which I may only be able to take a few and give away or recycle the rest.  The plastic bag filled with various electronics and adapters from various regions – Canada, the UK, Australia, now European adapters.  The clothes that I’ll need to wash.  And so on.  Half of my mind is making off lists and things to do for the time being (and things that I can’t do and must delay) and the other half just wants to savor each day that I have left here.

I want to stay in Germany.  And I did plan to stay in Germany. In October, I decided that I’d go for a longer lease at this apartment and marked down which day I need to go to the Ausländerbehörde.  I just want to have more time – to settle in, go out and make new friends, practice the language even more.  But then, I looked at my planning board.  I looked at the map of Europe.  While my perspective and world has managed to pinpoint itself into this city, I though about all the other places that I could be in.  That I also want to fly home for a bit, back to Australia, since a week or two with family wasn’t enough.  There are some things that I want to do back home. See friends that I haven’t seen for many years (and probably won’t be seeing once I leave again).  And I still have a few more countries left to be able to live in as part of the WHV arrangement.  If I decided to reside here longer, then who knows if I am able to live in those countries?  And thus, planning has persisted.

And, here I am.  A part of me is sad at the act of leaving. Even if I am back in Australia for a few months and that I also have plans to move to Europe (France this time around) I still can’t shake off the feeling of potentially not being able to come back.  Like this feeling of being on quicksand, constantly, every day.  I really like those moments when it was just a normal type of day and feeling of being settled.

Asterix & Obelix, and Tintin

Back when I was young, we only had libraries where we could borrow books.  One day, I happened upon comics and from there on grew my love for Asterix and Obelisk and the Tintin comics series.  This was in Australia, in my home town. And their exploits captured my imagination.

In my walk around the city centre, I noticed quiet a few shops and storefronts specializing in the art of comics and cartoons like the above.

There was a Tintin museum (above) which was more like a fancy memorabilia and gift shop selling shirts, calendars, postcards, stationary, art and more.  I picked up a postcard and also a folder.

What I didn’t realize until much, much later on (in my mid 20s) was that Tintin was a Belgian creation, and Asterix and Obelisk were French. Obviously, I was reading the English translations when I was young.  I would love to one day be able to read the originals!

 

FOSDEM 2018, trip to Bruxelles

FOSDEM was not the first free and open source event that I have been to, but it’s my first major one for Europe!

When I attended LibrePlanet in Boston a couple of years ago, I made a mistake of having a really tight schedule which meant that I barely spent enough time to explore Boston. This time around, I made sure to have plenty of time to explore Brussels and also attend the conference.

My only wish was that I was better at scheduling. On my first morning, I did a walking tour and the second walking tour was cancelled due to low numbers. I ended up wandering around the city centre on the first day.

My second day was at ULB (pictured above) for FOSDEM.  I arrived in time to catch the talks after 12 noon, browse through the stalls a bit.  Top talk was end of the day with Meltdown/Spectre by Jon Masters from Red Hat.

One thing about going to cons is that I’ve found it hard to talk to and meet new people. I’ve noticed many people there either already knew each other or they were in groups.

Many people left after FOSDEM so there was nothing much on (note to self: try to arrive a day or two early instead). On my final day, I had a late flight and wandered around Bruxelles including spending a good hour in one of the chocolate cafes.

I had a leisurely time – unfortunately I wasn’t prepared for the cold, my legs were getting a bit numb from walking around all day for the past three days and I really didn’t feel like going inside any museums.  This is the part where I wish I was better at scheduling as the weather was considerably better so I could have instead gone to the conference over the weekend and did my walking tours on this day.  At the very least, it was better than my scheduling at Boston as this time around I did have plenty of time to go sightseeing around the city!

Bruxelles was definitely a fitting destination to go to before my move out of Germany for some time back in Australia.

Digital Nomads and Language Learning

Digital nomads typically flit in and out of countries, either staying there for merely weeks at a time or even months but definitely not years.

One of the downsides is that digital nomads don’t stay long enough in a place to pick up a language.  Either that, or they pick it up in bits and pieces as they return back to their favourite country or countries.

I lived in Germany and I greatly regret not doing more work at the language, knowing that I will soon be leaving this great country in a couple of months.

For many years, I have been on/off in learning German on my own using free resources online.  And yet, despite being here for nearly a year I haven’t attended any German learning courses nor am I able to go in lengthy conversations in the German language.  I am able to understand, just normal / simple talk, with the likes of shopkeepers who cannot speak English.

Living here in this country and not being disciplined in learning the language has been the greatest digital nomad regrets that I’ve had in a long while.

Yes, I know, digital nomads don’t ‘typically’ learn the language in the country that they live in.  But, I use digital nomadism as a tool to live a life that I want.  And one of the features that I want in my life is to pick up new languages.

There is an upside to feeling this regret though. And that is, it has made my resolve to learn new languages even stronger.

In the next few years, I’ll be living in (plans as of writing at least) France, the Netherlands and Norway.   And I fully intend to learn the languages in these countries*.

Yes, I will be reaching various proficiencies. Ideally I would like to be fluent in at least 2 to 3 other languages.  I’d consider fluency to reach at the least B2 to C2 level equivalency.

So, I either just try to learn the languages and have a better life nomading in these regions or I don’t make the effort learn the languages and have a harder life.  Having already been through the motions of living in Germany with basic German skills, I don’t intend to go through this type of experience ever again.

As an FYI, I’m already bilingual. And from age 11 to 12 years old, I was taught Latin and ancient Greek as part of my elementary school curriculum. My high school offered Japanese as a second language, which I had taken up about 4 to 5 units.  I’ve been exposed to new and various languages for a long time now, however growing up in a country town Australia, I really only just stuck to being bilingual.

We will see how things go in the next few years!

Holy Shit Shopping Berlin!

I went to Holy Shit Shopping Berlin which is like an Etsy-meets-Dumbo type of fair but more German and a dash of Weihnachtsmarkt to it. It was at the hip venue, Arena Berlin.

There were so many stalls lined up filled with art, prints, jewellery, clothing, stationery, consumable goods (food, drink) and home decor items. If you go to Bikini Berlin, then you might be familiar with some of the products here.

It was great since you know that you are supporting small businesses, start-ups and artists.

Some photos below!

Homebasing

Homebasing. It has its roots around the travelling military families who change bases. Same with other types of families like expats, people who work in international organizations and so on.

It’s still consider it as travelling but it totally depends. For example, if you are ‘homebasing’ in a culture and country completely different to your own, you’d still be spending many months in that travel type of mindset. Especially if you intend to integrate yourself in the culture and community (ie make friends, learn a language, and so on). In fact, it’s hard to move around and put down roots, so having a homebase is a balance of being able to travel, while also being able to put down some sort of roots in a place long enough to develop friendships, business partnerships, learn the language, learn the culture and so on. And one of the issues some people have is absence of roots (at least for those that want to do this for a long time, and want to keep some sanity with them or something).

Another thing is that if you experience a location / city / country for a year then you can really see how it is for a ‘normal person’ living there – for example, being able to follow through with the seasons if you are in the northern hemisphere or being able to experience what the holidays and special events are like for the calendar.

Now, if I was homebasing in my own country and staying one hour away from where I grew up in, I wouldn’t really consider it travelling unless my agenda is to go bushwalking and going on the beach before spending a year in a different culture that’s the complete opposite.

Digital Nomads Are Tourists

Digital Nomad, Traveller, Expat are just a few states that someone can be in at any one time. Yet it is not even official terms that governments in immigration and border control use like:

  • Citizen
  • Permanent resident
  • Temporary resident (other types)
  • Foreign exchange student
  • Worker (on temporary business visit)
  • Worker (on a special extraordinary ability permit)
  • Worker (humanitarian grounds)
  • Worker (unskilled labor)
  • Tourist
  • Refugee
  • Illegal Alien
  • And so on, and so on.

Digital nomad is just some made up term that could easily be in any of those ‘official’ categories. A digital nomad can be a temporary resident, a foreign exchange student, a tourist, someone on a temporary business visa or a citizen if they are nomading in their own national jurisdiction. However it’s common knowledge that once outside their own national jurisdiction, many are merely just tourists, living and working under the guise of tourism. The only way to break out of this is to go underneath other visa categories – temporary resident, working holiday agreements, start-up visas, freelance visas and so on.  Ironically, but only if you believe in the shallow definition that a digital nomad must always be on the move, you might think it difficult to comprehend a nomad who is also setting down roots to meet non Tourist visa arrangements.

One of the discussions that I’ve run into in the past is that a digital  nomad, to be considered one, must always be on the move.  They must not have roots.  They must not worry about all those pesky normie stuff that involve having any form of residency like bank accounts, rental contracts, tax numbers.

The problem here is that we have to function and live within existing systems of the worlds.  And of those systems is the Almighty Immigration and Border Control System. There is no way around it.  In my mind, I’m one of those carefree digital nomads.  But officially…I’m a tourist in Paris, I’m a temporary resident for non-taxation purposes in Makati, I’m a temporary resident for taxation purposes in Berlin, I’m a permanent resident in Canada, I’m a citizen of Australia, I’m a non-resident citizen of Australia visiting New Zealand and so on and so forth.

Even if you are a digital nomad couch-surfing it and going to those special Digital Nomad meetups, working in some cool co-working space...you are a tourist.  You are on the same category as the sightseeing-on-a-bus, overpriced-hotel tourist types.  Unless of course, you figure out how to hack the immigration and border control system in place and find a way to make things work for you in the long term without being a complete slave to the visa systems in place in this world.

And by the way, I suspect that the nomads who are strict with the rule of constant movement probably are doing so out of complete necessity – in order not to overstay in their host country, they have no choice but to be on the move.  Where is the freedom in that type of life?

My current (personal) reading list and recommended readings on overseas life.

Below is a reading list of interesting books aimed at those inclined to live overseas.  They are available on Kindle, PDF, ebook, print formats.  Unfortunately, I don’t provide the links for these (otherwise, it will just be free promotion) but feel free to take a look and hunt these down!

Currently reading: Creating Freedom – Power, Control and the Fight For Our Future

I picked this up in Oxfam in Notting Hill. The book is pretty much new and only for a few quid.
I’m really interested in reading more on topics around freedom (or what we think freedom is), choice, logic, reason. It’s the reason why I am now finishing off this book called Descartes’ Error by Antonio Damasio.

Third Culture Kids – Growing Up Among Worlds

In London, I had flatmates that the book would consider ‘third culture’.  I’m not one, but I really wanted to gain an insight into this particular group.

Expat Women Confessions – 50 Answers To Your Real-Life Questions About Living Abroad

I bought this book when I left London to go back to Australia after living there for two years.  I was pretty upset at the time since I wanted to continue travelling but couldn’t and made the decision to go back to gradschool.  It ended up being a good decision.

I remember finishing this on the plane and on the final leg of the journey, got changed from my comfortable UK clothes into comfortable Australian-weather friendly clothes.  I still remember the old couple sitting next to me in the plane if I have done this before.

Your Career Game – How Game Theory Can Help You Achieve Your Professional Goals

After deciding to go back to Australia, I was really immersing myself in a lot of career-oriented books.  Partly due to guidance, but also a lot of the time it was for motivation.  During the time I must have read about five different books. This book takes on an interview format, interviewing corporate executives.  Some of the assignments that they have taken on involved overseas stints.  I wanted to gain some sort of insight as to what my life would be like if I went down this road and what I can do to mirror lessons learnt from their overseas stints.

The Global Expatriate’s Guide to Investing: From Millionaire Teacher to Millionaire Expat

While preparing to go overseas again while back in gradschool, I was also studying a financial certification (Claritas Investment Certificate) and was also studying CFA Level 1. I wanted to seek out personal finance books written from an expat perspective and this was one of them.

—–

I have a number of other (printed) books that I want to share but I don’t have the titles with me right now since my library is at home in Australia. But will post a follow up entry once I can!

On taking travel for granted, on circling back to places

In Seattle back in 2010

Do you remember the first time that you travelled as an adult?

I sure do.  It was back in the winter of 2010 to 2011 when I went to Canada and travelled all the way from Victoria on Vancouver Island right through to Quebec City, as well as day stop in Seattle which was my first American city.  Most of the time was spent in Vancouver.  I had a big adventure with my bag (and passport and wallet) stolen in Toronto.

Interestingly enough, it would only be five years later where I would later go to North America again – this time living in Vancouver and Toronto and spending one week in Seattle.  And most interesting of all is that I have a pending application for permanent residency in Canada.

I like to circle back on cities and places that I have already been to, to see what has changed and what has stayed the same.  Knowing that I can ‘circle’ back on these places is a bit comforting, I guess, less pressure to run around and going to all the sights in one go.  Cities change all the time, you can live in one city like London for years and there is still something new to see and do.

At the same time, circling back to the places that you have been to puts you in a comfortable position.  You’ve been there, done that.

I feel that I am taking travel in these ‘circling-cities’ for granted, and taking the new experiences for granted.  For example, when I was in Vancouver, I barely went outside the house.  A lot of the time was spent, surprise-surprise, in front of the laptop and typing away at who knows what.  Back then, I was really stressed out juggling a freelance contract that was in a different timezone as well as looking for work-and-a-career-change in a foreign country.  I decided to spend the time on side-projects, not wanting to take on board full-time commitments for 3 to 4 months.

Part of taking things for granted has been due to trying to continue to be a digital nomad, while also maximizing my savings rate as much as possible (with some shopaholic induced fails).

Living in Toronto, I was in a complete frugal-living phase and was determined to set some savings goals and meet it (which I did).  However, I went too overboard with the frugality, leaving very little time to do a lot in and around Ontario other than two trips.  If I wasn’t frugal, I was travelling to the USA with a total of six trips in the time I was living in Canada. Some lessons were learnt and I later noted that there is such a thing as being way-too-frugal.  I felt that I could  have spent more time exploring Canada and Ontario some more while I was there.  I don’t regret taking that many US trips, though, considering the climate that we are in this year.

In Dublin, again, I was taking my time there for granted.  The first reason was that I already travelled throughout Ireland back in 2012.  The second reason why was that I was sick for about half the time, while also starting a new role.  Therefore, the last thing on my mind was to go around exploring Ireland.  Again, there were familiar sights which lends my sense of comfort and familiarity with the place.  Maybe familiarity breeds laziness, perhaps?

Berlin seems quiet different, though I don’t know if it’s because I am living in a completely different culture now or because I have never been to Berlin or perhaps both.  However, I am not really heading out and exploring the city and culture as much as I wanted to.  And now that it’s the beginning of these colder months, the cool spring and summer Berlin that I have first been introduced to is now gone and will be for a long time.  Maybe..just maybe…I should try to find the balance between not taking my situation for granted, to relax a bit more, and not be so fearful and risk-averse of the future?

On consumerism

Ah, the magical Dior hot air balloon hovering over Galleries Lafayette.  It provides an ironic metaphor as to how my pursuit of things continue to weigh me down.

Other than a trip to a town in Germany, I am settling in Berlin for at least a few months with no other travel plans.  I have been seriously considering going to Venice in November for the Biennial and witness the wonders.  It’s still up in the air.  But, we’re not talking about travel plans.  Instead we are talking about things.

Being a shopaholic…

This has been a complete ire of mine.  Despite my best efforts at being frugal and minimal, I just keep on buying and collecting and receiving all sorts of things.  Things that are no more after being used like the mountainous collection of hotel amenities.  Things that are hard to get rid of like a new Chanel bag.  Things that are seriously not necessary business expenses like two expensive room perfumes that I bought from Harrods, each at the cost of designer perfume.  Also, books.  I love printed books as well as the electronic format.  When I left London I spend who-knows-how-much on a small bookshelf worth of books only to give it away, including books I bought from art fairs now sitting in a friend’s parent’s basement.  And my most conundrum of all – make-up.  As someone who travels around and works from home I have ungodly amounts of makeup.  And bandages, I have a lot of bandages.  And let’s not talk about clothes.  I’ve donated a few things yet after doing a mental check, I managed to have with me five coats, two jackets, three cardigans?! Why so many?!  And, even though I work from home and my time outdoors is largely spent in jeans, I have something like ten stockings and multiple dresses that have only been worn once this year.

…and being shopaholic a digital nomad…

This is what happens after accumulating stuff for over three years since my last digital nomad / expat break to pursue a Masters.  I’ve had far more that I’ve had to shed and I still have some more to go.

The reason why I am in this state of mind is that I am looking at what my options are to store some items while I go to Asia / Australia sometime for about half the year next year.  Bringing everything with me is not at all practical – as I would have books, some ‘household’ items (somehow, I feel like I’m going to miss all my efficient German cleaning products), all my bulky winter clothes, all my electronics (somehow I wound up with two printers – I gave away one to my neighbour) and more to stash away.  If I go down the route of a self-storage solution, I would have to consider the costs as well as make a pit-stop to Berlin from wherever I am to where I am going to pick it up. A bit inconvenient but far better than trying to haul everything across the world and back again.

When it comes to buying and owning stuff I am faring better now in Berlin than before.  But I am still failing.

Ok, so I still have purchasing fails*.  Like the Welton London candle, Cochine room perfumer, the three Chanel skin care products, the massive Lancome skin care set, the leather Ecco shoes, the Chanel skirt that doesn’t fit me but I am keeping it anyway, the crappy YSL sweater that I later gave to my sister, the YSL wallet, the Bottega Veneta wallet that I don’t use, the 20? makeup brushes that I own.  Ok, that list of purchasing fails is still completely embarrassing.  But, I guess it was better than last year in 2016 where I bought and bought way too much skin care, makeup, clothes, designer brands.  At some point I must have had 40 or so face masks, bought from TK Maxx because I was so damn bored.  Much of the shopping has been via sheer boredom, escapism, YOLO, caring too much about impressing people, caring too much about what other people thought of me.  I feel that last year, I must have gone through some odd phase in my life where I felt that I needed to buy these designer brands, either to impress others, or for myself, or just because YOLO and I can.

I really wish I could just be minimal, be more frugal, just being able to resist the shopping and the brands.  Once, I went for weeks (or even months) where all I ever did was check online shopping sites and watch make-up YouTube videos.  Now, I just have personal finance blogs open and I’ve just finished an entire gameplay of Wolfenstein: The New Colossus series.  When it comes to spending, I have two triggers.  One, is my online triggers.  I no longer feel like I want to go shopping with the haul and makeup videos that I watch, although I am watching less of these now.  I occupy my time moreso around studies, personal finance blogs, bumming around Netflix and if/when there is a new video game on, binge-watching a lot of walk-throughs.  The next is offline.  A lot of my shopping purchases have happened while I am either out travelling on holiday or when I am about to travel.

Time to double down on my personal finance.

I have my February savings goals written in a piece of paper, right up high on the shelf so that each time I look up, I see the figure. When I am more comfortable about embracing frugality with more aspects of my life, I want the following for myself:

  • Continue to be in LCOL areas, even further push limits of LCOL.
  • Double down on side-income streams.
  • Stay away from anything considered the ‘L’ word.
  • Go through and sell off my things both accumulated from the few years that I’ve been overseas and the things stashed away at home in Australia.
  • Inject more money into my investments.
  • Clean up some leftover paperwork back in Australia.

So yes, I’m still cozying it up in Berlin and withstand the German winter, then will be heading back to Australia for a short while before I head back to Europe again.

Tips and Advice for a better Remote Work Life

When I first started working remotely, I was already ‘used’ to the rythm and self-discipline of working on your own having been a Masters student (distance education, as my university was in another city) for a year.  I had also moved in a new city and in a new country, and pretty much had little to no professional contacts in the city that I was based in.  Not only that, but the rental that I had chosen was far away from the city centre and it would have made the job search far more difficult.  It seemed that a lot of cards were not stacked in my favor, when I decided to apply for a job that I found online on Craigslist (yes…Craigslist).  A week later, I had landed my first full-time remote job.

Biggest difference in remote work is how you communicate

One of the biggest difference that you will notice in remote work is communication.

  • You log into a chat software to show that you are now present in ‘work mode’, and also communicative if you are away, looking into an issue and so on.
  • You can add notifications to changes to documents to be passively informed.
  • A lot of communications and knowledge transfer is dependent on what is left behind – comments, articles, reviews, wiki, guides, tickets, and so on are crucial.
  • What you write is important – be succinct but also be more informative in your thoughts.
  • Get over the fear of sharing processes, ideas.
  • Respect that people need uinterrupted work times, decrease noise (email, notifications, pings, and so on).

Introducing yourself

I found that the ‘getting to know you / me’ stage in remote work companies tend to happen at rate that is ‘usual’ for the company.  For example, you might arrange meetings to chat to the rest of the team on your first week, or wait until your first month or two.

In this way, I find that having a blog is a way to introduce myself to the team.

Dealing with conflict and difficult conversations in a remote work environment

One of the challenges of a remote work environment is how one can deal with conflict and difficult conversations.

The issue with asynchronous communications that includes conflict is that the issue will remain an issue so long as it is not being addressed.  In this way, you need to determine when it’s time to switch to having real-time conversations, such as voice conversations.  This is going to be the case when you need to troubleshoot with someone over an issue, or if it is best to do a ‘live AMA’ over chat.

Learning on the job and independent study

Remote work involves a lot of learning on the job and independent study.  You don’t have the advantage of being in a room with your team and have that natural way of collaboration.  Therefore, collaboration and asking for help needs more of a push online.

Work and life balance

It is really up to you to make sure that there is a proper work/life balance.  I’ve come up with a number of workarounds.  It can be small changes like changing my email settings so that I do not get work email on my mobile devices, to adding filters against work-related resources (you can develop a habit of just automatically typing in a Github link!).