Been such a year of blessings and I’m so grateful for it all 💕 I do feel that I’ve worked very hard and am reaping the rewards and am deserving of all the nice things, but I feel lucky nevertheless. Thank you, life. I’m so in love with you ❤️

Here’s a look back at September…

♥ Desaru Coast

Short but very luxe and very nice. Already went on a work trip (Genting) earlier this year so wasn’t expecting a second one but woohoo. I love media trips because they tend to be very indulgent (the ones I’ve been to anyway) despite the itinerary always being tight hehe more pls!!! Will gladly do all the work.

This one had a group interview segment and each publication was allowed to ask one question. I felt very proud of my news background because at the end, the organiser said there was time for one last question, any takers? I gave it one second out of courtesy before jumping in and loved the answers I got. Everyone else (mostly lifestyle/magazine writers) was so meek… I guess old me was like that.

Azhar would be proud lol I really learnt so much from him. Not just about work but about life 😂

♥ Marked 11 years of work

September 2013 was when I joined the company full-time, after 6 months of internship and another 6 months of temping. Crazy how a decade has flown by!!! I’ve learnt so much and am still learning (also writing lifestyle pieces at another publication now).

People are always shocked by how long I’ve worked here especially after they find out my age and wonder how I can stay for so many years. But maybe we should normalise not job-hopping. Not everyone wants to hustle day and night.

I am happy, I enjoy the work, I am constantly learning, I feel satisfaction each time I hit the ‘publish’ button, Most importantly, I love the time and flexibility and freedom it allows, none of which came without lots of hard work during my early years here. I earned it!

I guess it depends on what you value. For me, time is the most priceless commodity.

♥ Disney Studios quoting my movie review

This feels so surreal even now. When they asked for permission/approval, I’d assumed they would be just using the one-liner quote and crediting TNP. So I was pretty stunned when they not only included my full name (it’s not like I’m Roger Ebert or something LOL) but also pushed it out globally.

It’s funny how life works. I used to be skeptical about things like manifestation and affirmations and law of attraction but there’s no other way to explain.

The first few lifestyle articles I helped TNP with were for lesser-known / not-so-popular stuff. I did them anyway, in hopes of building relationships and getting the popular stuff in future. Didn’t take long for Oppenheimer to fall into my lap (I was so bummed when I had to pass on the premiere because it clashed with my Penang trip, but then I got another invite to a reviewer’s screening days before official release!!!) and Nolan is one of my two favourite directors so cue lots of fangirl screaming internally.

Same for how I was a bit sian about having to get my ass outdoors to cover Nomination Day (and subsequently Polling Day) but it turned out to be a very good day. Then the Desaru Coast invite came not long after so I feel like it was my reward in some way 😀

I do feel tired and overwhelmed and stressed taking on so much, but at the same time I appreciate the change of scenery and different exposure.

♥ Turkey

I was in Greece in May when Deborah suddenly asked if I wanted to go and of course I was like yes!!! Funny that when planning my Greece trip, I had contemplated visiting Istanbul for a few days before flying home. Italy and Bulgaria were contenders too because everywhere is just 1 hour apart. But ultimately I decided to just focus on Greece because 2 entirely new-to-me countries felt overwhelming.

Before I knew it, four months had gone by and off we went. I’d been too swamped and tired to do much research (she did most of the bookings + logistics which I’m sooo grateful for) so I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I had the most amazing time!!!

Cappadocia was magical and stunning with all the hot-air balloons, paragliding in Pamukkale was super surreal, Selcuk was a dream with all the cheap eats and shopping. And the people!!! So warm and generous and welcoming. I thought Japan already set a high bar but the kindness I experienced in Turkey was seriously of another level.

I also said yes to drinks with a local on my very last night and I’m glad I did because it was nice seeing Istanbul’s buzzing nightlife and just very refreshing overall after all the hiking and shopping etc.

Oh gosh I hit the big 3 this month 😂 Excited for October and all that is to come!!!