Move aside, boring news post! I is here with my first actual blog post!
Hello, everybody! I’m Yawhann, but my friends call me Hann. I’m also known online as ChickenBall, ChknBall, and ChknBallistic. Remember when online handles were cool? The Hackers movie in 1995 does.
So, some crazy stuff has happened in my life. Long story short, I met a girl! Eee! Excitement, right? Here’s the rub – she lives in Malaysia. As a result, I’ve decided to start a blog to chronicle my journey from Thompson to Kuala Lumpur. There’s just one teensy catch.
I quit my job and bought plane tickets already. My last day of work is this Friday and I leave at the end of next month.
Wait, what??
That’s right, I’m already halfway there. So what’s the point of this blog?
Obviously, I want to share my journey with those of you who think what I’m doing might be insane. Of course, I don’t actually care if anybody thinks I’m insane, because it’s my life. Take it or leave it. Set me free. What’s that crap papa, know it all?
That just happened – I quoted Dr. Alban. Yikes. I haven’t heard that song in years.
Yes, I have no job going there. Yes, I have no prospects either. I’m selling pretty much everything I own. I do have a place to stay – several, in fact. My trip is going to last the maximum allotted time I’m allowed to be in Malaysia as a visitor, which is three months. I have enough money to survive on basic living expenses for a month. Still think I’m insane?
People who read blogs love lists. So here’s one for you.
Ten reasons why I’m not insane and things will work out for me in a foreign land
- Malaysian currency is roughly 1/3 the value of Canadian currency. Which means my money will have triple the value. Unless Canada’s dollar tanks even further. Umm… I hope I didn’t just jinx myself.
- I have family in Malaysia. Extended family, mind you, but they’re there. Even if I won’t be able to pay my bills, I’ll never go hungry or cold. Hot, that is. The weather is tropic. You know what I mean.
- I won’t fly Malaysia Airlines. Just kidding. But seriously, that airline can go suck a lemon.
- Malaysia can be a dangerous country, yes. But so can Canada. Terrorists are totally sneaking into our country and causing havoc! Also: wrong place, wrong time. Motor accidents. Drunk drivers. West Nile Virus. Bird Flu. Cancer. Dysentery. There are many things just waiting to kill us in Canada, only we’re blind to it all because we’ve become complacent. Malaysia won’t be any different; I just have to exercise the same kind of caution.
- I read a lot of travel blogs. Sometimes, it’s a smart idea to learn from the mistakes of others. The biggest takeaway is that people generally want to be left alone. This is a common topic among many travel bloggers out there. The world is big. Cultures are numerous. The guns, they hurt. But one constant that ties us all together is that we want to be with people we love, living life without interference from others, and earning money to survive. We’re not all out to get the “evil” tourist armed with a camera. If you treat others with respect, they will too. Just don’t trust people entirely, be nice, and maybe one can make some new friends for life.
- “I have a particular set of skills for dealing with people like you.” Damn, Liam Neeson is the shiz. But seriously, I am quite skilled. I’ve been alive for 37 years and I’ve picked up numerous skills with which I can make money. Worse case scenario, I have to fix computers for ringgit. By the way, ringgit is the name of their currency. Cute, right?
- I’m not completely fluent in Chinese or Malay, but English is a major language there. And as somebody who aspires to be a polyglot, I’ll get a chance to flex my multilingual muscles. Learning experiences FTW!
- I’m personable, or so I’ve been told. As mentioned in the 5th reason above, if you treat others with respect, you’ll get the same in kind. By the way, my CHA is 19, for all you D&D geeks out there. I’m sure I could always convince somebody to kill Jester for me.
- I have a return ticket. If I don’t like it there, I can always leave. And if I have no money left, there’s always the second reason mentioned above. When I come back, I can always stay with my parents and get a job if worse comes to worst.
- Waiting around for life to happen is a good indication that it won’t. I know this from years of saying things like, “Oh, I’m just waiting for the perfect moment,” or, “Yeah, I should really travel someday.” Well, guess what? The perfect moment isn’t going to happen. “Someday” may as well mean “never”. I’m taking a huge leap of faith, but life works out in mysterious ways. Each time I went and did something crazy, it seemed to just work out. So in the words of an athletic shoe company which I shall not name for fear of legal repercussions, just do it!
By the way, I dislike lists. I think I died a little bit inside after writing one. But oh well. Other people apparently love them!