My Journey Archives - ChickenBall.com

Dec 21 2015

The lure of Malaysia – food and shopping is king

I’ve been in Malaysia for 3+ weeks and my blog has been silent the whole time for good reason. The food and the shopping!

Also, I was sick, but that was to be expected, coming from winter to tropical weather in the space of 24 hours.

There’s certainly no shortage of good eats and malls to explore in this crazy country. The culture is rich and full of life, and I’ve been hard pressed to stay indoors to blog about it instead of experiencing it. However, if you’ve been following me on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, you’ll see that I haven’t forgotten to let you know what I’ve been up to (and what I’ve been eating) in photos.

You’ll never go hungry

I’ve certainly been eating like a local. I have tons of family here; between them and my girlfriend, it’s been a rare occasion to eat at the same place twice (aside from cooking at home). Food here is culture, and you learn very quickly about how serious Malaysia takes their gastronomy. When pressed for time, I’ve eaten at random places (like a hospital or some corner hawker off the beaten path). People would tell me that it was a no-good place to eat, but damned if my stomach can’t tell the difference. In short, even the worst food here is ten times better than the worst food back in Canada. And yet the locals here can tell the difference.

The only drawback is the option of healthy eating – that mentality hasn’t quite reached this part of the world, and you’ll be lucky to find something that isn’t battered, breaded, deep-fried, or all of the above. In fact, the only way I could eat something healthy and give my poor stomach a break was to cook at home. Buying groceries was also a fun experience. Tesco is a very Malaysian version of its UK roots here. You’ll find numerous UK brands next to their Chinese, Malay, or Indian counterparts in the aisles. Expect to pay high prices for westernised options (I will have my Ruffles one way or another).

That segues into the next best part of Malaysia – the shopping experience!

Malls to the walls

I’ll be upfront with you – I really detest shopping malls. While I like the exercise, I hate the idea of having to walk past a bunch of unrelated shops just to get to the one I need, only to find that what I want isn’t in stock. Mind you, that still happened to me here, but with one major difference – Malaysia has taken the art form of shopping malls to a whole new level. I actually look forward to going to a mall. Every complex is a unique marvel in engineering, architecture, and interior design. Don’t even get me started on the seasonal interior decorating and events.

In Canada, I’m used to the wide open spaces, outdoor parking, and two floors of the same franchises repeated at random in each mall. Malaysia has large malls too, but it’s been a challenge to find a mall with less than 4 floors. Indoor parking is the norm here, and there are mom-and-pop shops sitting next to the big brands. Fancy restaurants for those with expensive tastes occupy these spaces as well.

Also, Krispy Kremes are a thing here! 😀

Ignore the politics

The locals here will tell you (in hushed silence) that their political and economical state is in shambles. However, don’t let that deter you from everything else that Malaysia has to offer.

I haven’t been to many other places in the world, but I can tell you that Malaysia is one of the most unique experiences for shopping I’ve seen, and your stomach will love your mouth from all the amazing food you will stuff into your face. For more on my meals, follow me on Instagram!

Dec 14 2015

What tech is in a creative media professional’s international travel bag?

Getting prepared for a trip is a daunting task, especially when it comes to going overseas. As a creative media professional, I have some tech hardware requirements that will let me get the job done properly, and I needed to do it in an international location. I knew this was going to be like watching past the first season of Heroes; you know it will all go downhill from here.

The trip to Malaysia took me on Air Canada and Cathay Pacific. Each airline has different regulations when it comes to carry-on sizes and weights. I wanted to travel light and fast, which meant leaving some things out. I also wanted extra security for my gear, so I had to buy new bags.

The essential tech for creativity

My gaming ultra book was a must. It would give me all the power I needed for processing photos and video post production. I had lots of data stored on separate external hard drives, which can add to the weight. I also brought other accessories, such as a wireless mouse and a USB 3.0 hub that lets me connect more than one USB hard drive to one port. The hub keeps my sanity so that I can run automatic backups, work on video post-production, and chill out with my media library over Plex without continuously disconnecting and reconnecting separate drives. However, I couldn’t bring spare drives for capturing more video footage.

Communication is important for me to keep in touch with friends and family, at home and abroad. Without my smartphone, I’m unable to communicate with anybody, and while I could get by with a cheap, burnable phone in Malaysia, I’m familiar with my current phone and I also have access to work on the go and social media. I actually wrote this post on my phone while in the air from Vancouver to Hong Kong. Along with the smartphone, I needed my charger and power bank to keep my phone topped up.

Photography is doable with just a camera phone and Instagram, but nothing beats the versatility of a DSLR. I packed my Canon 60D with two lenses – a 28mm f/1.8 and 50mm f/1.8. Some other photography must-haves were a battery grip, spare battery, battery charger, two SD cards, anti-theft camera strap, and a remote. A tripod was too big, so I would have to buy one there. I also wanted to do some podcasting and audio production, so I brought my Zoom H4n, dynamic microphone, pop filter with gooseneck, and an XLR cable since they took up little space.

What to wear

Clothing was simple – dress shirt, one tie, one bow tie, and several pairs of socks and underwear. Buy the rest later as needed.

As it turned out, I didn’t even need the ties.

Secure your gear

Finally, I needed new bags for security. After much research, I went with a Pacsafe Camsafe V25 backpack for carrying my laptop and camera. I chose it because it was just the right size as a daypack, under-the-seat bag with padded compartments for camera gear. At least, that was the plan at first. I ended up prioritizing my hard drives and they ended up in the padded compartments, since it was ideal for protecting the drives from bumps. For carrying my camera gear on the go, I went with a Pacsafe Camsafe V6, which actually ended up as a very convenient daypack. A Samsonite 20″ spinner luggage took care of transporting everything else (including the fully-loaded V6). While there are weight restrictions for carry-on luggage, I went over the limit because I learned from experience that going to the checked baggage counter when there are no extra bags to check is pointless – if they can’t weigh it, they can’t check it. So long as I can lift my bag comfortably, I would be good to go, and that was certainly the case.

I chose Pacsafe because they have anti-theft features built in to their bags. Check them out, they’re a bit more expensive than standard bags, but they felt more effective when combined with common sense techniques.

Ready to go

This may all seem like a lot of stuff to transport, but I looked at it this way – if it didn’t fit in my backpack or carry-on luggage, I left it behind. I figured if I really needed it, I could buy it there. I ended up doing exactly just that.

Another thing I did keep in mind was the different electrical requirements. Malaysia runs on a 220V system, and fortunately, all of my electronics can automatically handle between 115V-240V. All I needed were travel plug adapters – I found a little computer shop in Bangsar Village called Chanz IT that sold travel power bars and plug adapters for super cheap.

Being a creative media professional is challenging when you have to consider international travel for your work. There’s always going to be one facet of your creativity that’s going to be sacrificed; in my case, it was filmmaking. However, I could focus on copywriting, photography, and blogging while here, which suits me just fine.

Nov 04 2015

Location Independence is my plan.

In my last entry, I explained that I quit my job, I’m going to Malaysia for three months, I have no job there, and that I wasn’t crazy.

It doesn’t mean I’m without a plan.

The beginnings of an idea.

Since my mid-20’s, I’ve always wanted to live anywhere I please, go anywhere I want, and pretty much work from anywhere I want. What I didn’t realize is that this wasn’t some nutty notion I had – other people had the same thoughts as I did. In fact, other people are actually living that dream!

I got a taste of that when I discovered Ramit Sethi and Tim Ferriss, almost by accident. Ramit, and to a lesser degree, Tim, got me to change the way I thought and take action in my life. Thanks to some of the online courses I purchased from Ramit, I learned about the power of hacking your inner psychology and taking action on achieving a New Rich life. I improved many of my soft skills; this was probably the hugest benefit, because I never realized how little I really knew about how to think, communicate, and convey myself.

The two courses, Success Triggers and How To Talk To Anybody, kicked my butt into gear about how to improve and represent the best parts of myself to a ridiculous degree. In fact, this blog is a testament to that, because I used to be very uncomfortable about opening myself up to others and showing my vulnerability, whether online or offline. Going further, Earn1K helped me to earn $1000 a month. I’m currently tackling Zero To Launch (ZTL), and it’s absolutely eye-opening.

But how does that help me now? I’m actually nowhere near finishing it, since ZTL is more of a long-term ideal. I needed a quick solution.

Enter location independence.

After my research on travel hacking, I stumbled across Location 180 (L180). It was refreshing to see somebody living the life I wanted. Traveling anywhere he wanted and earning income abroad, Sean Ogle was kicking ass and taking names, and he has built himself an amazing community through Location Rebel (LR).

I should know, I bought the course.

The job I quit last week was my first professional foray into copywriting. I learned a lot during my 8 months there, and I know more than ever that I want to be a professional writer. Pro writers are always in demand. They are the foundation for nearly any creative idea. They are at the heart of your marketing campaign. Most of all, I’ve been writing since I was a child and have been cultivating different areas of the written word for years.

When LR promised a decent earning through SEO writing with the freedom to work from anywhere I wanted in the world, Sean called it location independence and I nearly bounced in my chair with glee. Picture that for a moment. It’s kinda weird, right? Okay, moving on.

The map that leads to freedom.

Now that my burning desire had a name (and a logical one, at that), I knew I was on the right path.

Sean and his highly successful community of students in the course offered up blueprints and maps of the choices they made to get to where they are now.

I did some quick calculations based on several LR top performers’ results – many of them were able to achieve monetary results in one month, even while working part-time.

Several months ago, I had mentioned to my employers that I was planning to leave in December. The timeline seemed doable.

However, I felt like something else was missing.

Optimize and accelerate.

When I also came across one of Sean’s L180 articles about earning your first dollar online, I noticed the point of selling your stuff. I have tons of things I no longer need with which I could probably make a decent amount of money. Also, living a zen life with few belongings might actually be a good thing.

I’m also working on my final paid film project. When it’s over, I’ll get paid some more funds from my contract.

The LR community and sites like Upwork would provide the remaining income I’d need through SEO and copywriting. Once my stuff is sold and my film project is over, I can tune up the amount of writing work as needed while I shift my part-time efforts to ZTL and other long-term ventures to increase my multiple income streams.

No matter how I proceed, the overall goal is to achieve location independence and say goodbye to the daily grind of employment.

As a result, I fast-tracked my timeline by booking my flights to Malaysia for the end of November and put in my notice in mid-October. Three weeks later, here I am!

Action step.

This is my action step for this week, and I offer it as a challenge to you as well. Generate income using any of the methods I described above. Whether it’s through selling personal stuff, doing work on the side, or a combination of the two. Don’t just study or research how to do it – use that information and get paid by the end of the week.

Don’t have time? Maybe you don’t want it as much as you think. Reevaluate your personal goals and identify why you would want to do this.

I’m open to conversation – leave a comment below!

Oct 28 2015

And now for a fun welcome!

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!