So, what exactly did I do then?
Door: Yaisa
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Yaisa
19 Maart 2008 | Singapore, Singapore
Dear all,
First of all I want to thank you for the numerous heartwarming (offline and online) reactions on my recent blogs. Those of you who already knew about my plan B in case plan A (haha, no pun intended) wouldn’t work out, have shown so much compassion and support that it makes me want to kiss and hug you all forever. It gave me the strength and confidence I needed. Those of you who didn’t know in detail what has been going on, have made me giggle with all your impatient and inquisitive questions on the teaser I posted last week… Curiosity killed the cat, didn’t it? But then again, I have been attributed feline traits myself by several people, so I sympathise with the nosy among you :-).
So… What exactly did I do on Wednesday 12 March? Well, in case you hadn’t guessed, here you go. I told my boss I was going to resign. You can call it whatever you want: quarter-life crisis, identity crisis, bored with standard office hours, longing for adventures, broken heart, restlessness, going fishing in a bigger sea, fulfilling the dream of a lifetime, nothing better to do, an opportunity not to be missed, needing a drastic change of scenery, soul searching, a typical Yaisa just-do-what-you-want-to-do decision, the best thing I’ll ever do…
Whatever you want to make of it, the crux of my message is: I’m taking a loooong sabbatical and going to Egypt to work as a dive master! YES!!!!! This little girl is jumping from a desk on the 22nd floor down to the coral reefs of the Red Sea… Now let’s not make it grander than it is. It’s not exactly a uniquely brave thing I’m doing, millions of people go on even much more adventurous sabbaticals. But I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am about this and how extremely impatient I am to get going (what’s new!), now that I’ve finally decided to do it.
Just to be clear, I have every intention of doing this as a temporary break, meaning I will return to my tracks. The bank is even considering to offer me 12 months unpaid leave, practically unheard of here in Asia, so I must have done something right! But hey, who knows what tomorrow may bring! Who am I to turn down a tanned, muscular, intelligent, fun loving diving instructor who speaks 6 languages, wants to discover the world with me and pledges to love me till eternity? Hihi, dream on girl…
Anyway there you go. When am I off? Probably in June, which gives me enough time to wrap up my job, take care of packing and storage of my belongings, buy some superduper diving gear and do a few more things while in South East Asia. Go to Bali for a weekend perhaps, visit Hong Kong one more time, do a girlies weekend in Perth again, buy some electronic goods at Sim Lim (new laptop? new camera?) and entertain my last guests here in Geylang (that’s a odd way of putting it, considering Geylang is the redlight district of Singapore :-)). Anyway, Taco is already halfway here and then Siobhan is next! Jippie! And hence the hint in one of my previous blogs, if you still want to visit Singapore and surroundings while I’m here, you’d better get booking!
And just to avoid any misunderstandings, my move to Egypt is not a loss, but creates a whole new opportunity for all of you. As my mom said on Timmo’s and my farewell party in Amsterdam, she was in no way sad that I was moving to Singapore, because it only meant that she had a nice new holiday destination. And that of course, is valid for all of you once I’m in El Gouna too. My door will always be open and it’s a whole lot closer to Europe (and therefore the majority of you) then Singapore! I’m taking bookings as of now! :-)
One more thing.
Although I enjoy sharing all my adventures with you, a blog is not the most appropriate medium to tell in great detail about one’s very personal and intimate affairs. But there is one thing I do want to be explicit about. I am not leaving Singapore because the 10 year relationship Timmo and I had has come to an end. I am not running away from him, Timmo hasn’t done anything wrong or hurt me in any way. On the contrary, I hurt him and he returned the favour by showing support and integrity. Over the course of the last few months, Timmo has proven to be who I already knew he was: a man with principles, strong, noble and determined. We grew up together from young students for whom the world lay at their feet, to adults who are now going their separate ways. My own actions, good and bad, defined the course of my life and thereby partly his as well. Just like his actions, defined my life. We grew rich together, we became who we are thanks to eachother. Our intertwined lives have been fantastic, but somewhere along the way, I took a turn without warning him and we both know that there is no way back. And though we are both sometimes still struggling, trying to understand what happened and why, I leave Singapore and him, hoping that he will forever remember the wonderful times we had, as I am sure I will. And I also know that he is going to be just fine, because he’s gifted with emotional strength, personal ambition and he has so much honest love to give.
To be truthful, going away gives me a whole mix of feelings: excitement, sadness, freedom, relief, heartache and much much more… But on my way to the Red Sea, I can look back upon a year full of invaluable experiences, extreme & intense emotions, new discoveries about love, faith & hope, great times with great people and all I know is that I will do my best to let all these lessons not go to waste. So very soon, off I shall go, with my suitcase packed with memories & friendships, to a new place where I hope to fill it with some more. I’m nowhere near the end of my voyage yet and I can carry a whole lot more!
But let’s not run ahead om myself, I am still in Singapore and plan to enjoy my time here to the max!
So… till the next blog!
Big hug to all,
Yais
First of all I want to thank you for the numerous heartwarming (offline and online) reactions on my recent blogs. Those of you who already knew about my plan B in case plan A (haha, no pun intended) wouldn’t work out, have shown so much compassion and support that it makes me want to kiss and hug you all forever. It gave me the strength and confidence I needed. Those of you who didn’t know in detail what has been going on, have made me giggle with all your impatient and inquisitive questions on the teaser I posted last week… Curiosity killed the cat, didn’t it? But then again, I have been attributed feline traits myself by several people, so I sympathise with the nosy among you :-).
So… What exactly did I do on Wednesday 12 March? Well, in case you hadn’t guessed, here you go. I told my boss I was going to resign. You can call it whatever you want: quarter-life crisis, identity crisis, bored with standard office hours, longing for adventures, broken heart, restlessness, going fishing in a bigger sea, fulfilling the dream of a lifetime, nothing better to do, an opportunity not to be missed, needing a drastic change of scenery, soul searching, a typical Yaisa just-do-what-you-want-to-do decision, the best thing I’ll ever do…
Whatever you want to make of it, the crux of my message is: I’m taking a loooong sabbatical and going to Egypt to work as a dive master! YES!!!!! This little girl is jumping from a desk on the 22nd floor down to the coral reefs of the Red Sea… Now let’s not make it grander than it is. It’s not exactly a uniquely brave thing I’m doing, millions of people go on even much more adventurous sabbaticals. But I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am about this and how extremely impatient I am to get going (what’s new!), now that I’ve finally decided to do it.
Just to be clear, I have every intention of doing this as a temporary break, meaning I will return to my tracks. The bank is even considering to offer me 12 months unpaid leave, practically unheard of here in Asia, so I must have done something right! But hey, who knows what tomorrow may bring! Who am I to turn down a tanned, muscular, intelligent, fun loving diving instructor who speaks 6 languages, wants to discover the world with me and pledges to love me till eternity? Hihi, dream on girl…
Anyway there you go. When am I off? Probably in June, which gives me enough time to wrap up my job, take care of packing and storage of my belongings, buy some superduper diving gear and do a few more things while in South East Asia. Go to Bali for a weekend perhaps, visit Hong Kong one more time, do a girlies weekend in Perth again, buy some electronic goods at Sim Lim (new laptop? new camera?) and entertain my last guests here in Geylang (that’s a odd way of putting it, considering Geylang is the redlight district of Singapore :-)). Anyway, Taco is already halfway here and then Siobhan is next! Jippie! And hence the hint in one of my previous blogs, if you still want to visit Singapore and surroundings while I’m here, you’d better get booking!
And just to avoid any misunderstandings, my move to Egypt is not a loss, but creates a whole new opportunity for all of you. As my mom said on Timmo’s and my farewell party in Amsterdam, she was in no way sad that I was moving to Singapore, because it only meant that she had a nice new holiday destination. And that of course, is valid for all of you once I’m in El Gouna too. My door will always be open and it’s a whole lot closer to Europe (and therefore the majority of you) then Singapore! I’m taking bookings as of now! :-)
One more thing.
Although I enjoy sharing all my adventures with you, a blog is not the most appropriate medium to tell in great detail about one’s very personal and intimate affairs. But there is one thing I do want to be explicit about. I am not leaving Singapore because the 10 year relationship Timmo and I had has come to an end. I am not running away from him, Timmo hasn’t done anything wrong or hurt me in any way. On the contrary, I hurt him and he returned the favour by showing support and integrity. Over the course of the last few months, Timmo has proven to be who I already knew he was: a man with principles, strong, noble and determined. We grew up together from young students for whom the world lay at their feet, to adults who are now going their separate ways. My own actions, good and bad, defined the course of my life and thereby partly his as well. Just like his actions, defined my life. We grew rich together, we became who we are thanks to eachother. Our intertwined lives have been fantastic, but somewhere along the way, I took a turn without warning him and we both know that there is no way back. And though we are both sometimes still struggling, trying to understand what happened and why, I leave Singapore and him, hoping that he will forever remember the wonderful times we had, as I am sure I will. And I also know that he is going to be just fine, because he’s gifted with emotional strength, personal ambition and he has so much honest love to give.
To be truthful, going away gives me a whole mix of feelings: excitement, sadness, freedom, relief, heartache and much much more… But on my way to the Red Sea, I can look back upon a year full of invaluable experiences, extreme & intense emotions, new discoveries about love, faith & hope, great times with great people and all I know is that I will do my best to let all these lessons not go to waste. So very soon, off I shall go, with my suitcase packed with memories & friendships, to a new place where I hope to fill it with some more. I’m nowhere near the end of my voyage yet and I can carry a whole lot more!
But let’s not run ahead om myself, I am still in Singapore and plan to enjoy my time here to the max!
So… till the next blog!
Big hug to all,
Yais
-
19 Maart 2008 - 07:50
Sandra:
hejj Yais! jeetje wat gaaf en moedig en super-levensgenietend wat je gaat doen, en wat een lieve woorden allemaal op je blog, zit hier na een nachtdienstje helemaal met kippevel op mijn armen, en wow wat een spannend avontuur wat je tegemoet gaat...wat een lekker gevoel moet dat zijn...enne...egypte najaar 2008 moet het nu wel echt gaan worden als je nu zo dicht om de hoek zit:-)
Bigg Hugg and kis from Sandra -
19 Maart 2008 - 10:08
Titia:
He lieve Yais,
Helemaal de juiste keuze gemaakt!!
Go for it!!
Gaaf hoor, en inderdaad Egypte najaar 2008 gaat nu zekker lukken!!!
Wie gaat er mee??
Dikke kus, Tiets. -
19 Maart 2008 - 10:22
Mama:
...... and meditate while fishing in the big ocean of life .... -
19 Maart 2008 - 12:19
Chantal:
keep living life to the max, couldn't agree more.
If you get bored by the Red Sea, please be invited to visit the seas of Curacao ;)
x Chantal -
19 Maart 2008 - 14:13
Taco:
you total bitch !!!!! We are willing to come all the way to Bangkok for 3 years just to see you more often and now you head back west ! -
19 Maart 2008 - 17:03
Mir:
Wat een mooi verhaal weer Yais!!
Big hug back!
XM -
20 Maart 2008 - 17:40
Iris.:
Snifsnif, ik word er toch wel een beetje emotioneel van eigenlijk (en shit, ik zit op kantoor nu....:-))......wat een mooie (en terechte!) woorden als afsluiter en met name voor Timmo en wat is geweest!
Alle dikke geluk van de hele wereld wens ik je toe en........mag ik je ook gewoon boven water komen opzoeken?
Kus, de niet-duikende Iris. -
25 Maart 2008 - 11:20
Hanneke:
Hi Yais,
Wat je energie geeft is vaak de beste beslissing. Go Egypt!
Fijn dat Timmo er zo voor je kan zijn. Dat is inderdaad wat je noemt innerlijke kracht.
Succes met de laatste voorbereidingen. June is here before you know it.....
Groetjes,
H
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