Tag: cultural

045a – book review: on earth we’re briefly gorgeous

You know you’ve consumed something great when it changes you. Really changes you. Ocean Vuong’s “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous” does that for me.

I’ve been wanting to get back, really get back into reading for the longest time. And while this year has been better than the last couple years in terms of “successful” reading, it’s only now that I truly feel like I’m back. Ocean Vuong is obviously someone who loves words the way they are meant to be loved. And it’s this love that washes over you, dissolves a bit of you with every page. 

Every page is cathartic, every sentence is magic. 

It’s a book that makes you want to read more, write more, feel more, live more. 

Side note: this is what inspiration must truly feel like, to want a layer of this person added to your layers. And then you could apply this new combined layer as a filter to all your thoughts and everything you want to express, and that’d all be really great.

Anyway, the language in the book, by itself, is simple enough, and I mean that in the best way possible, and it’s the arrangement, the tone, and the content that makes it an absolute gem. I could tell you that it talks of war, of immigration, of love, of abuse, of family, of friendship, of art, of addiction, of identity but that’d give you very little information. 

What I want to tell you instead, is this: with every feeling that the writer expresses, there will be five more of your own that you’d be able to get in touch with. And then of course, there’d be some that you might just directly resonate with. Both of these experiences, when they occur truly, are priceless. 

If you had to read one book this year, make it this one.

041a – big changes  

So I finally handed in my resignation letter at work today. I’ve been thinking about this for almost two years now, the first time when work became immensely stressful and I felt like I just couldn’t do it anymore. I’m glad that I didn’t quit then, and yet, over the last few months, even though work was absolutely fine, I still couldn’t stop thinking about “what if I could do something else”.

So.. here I am. Anyway, I don’t have a plan. I don’t know whether there’s an answer to that question. But I’m going to take some time. At least, start with a break. Then give myself a few months (more if needed) to see whether there’s an answer to the question. 

To be clear, I don’t think our work needs to be a huge part of our identity, I do firmly believe that the primary purpose of work is a pay-check. And I think I’ll continue to live by that philosophy. But yes, maybe it’s possible to be a little happier at work? Just maybe? I don’t know, but I hope so. Maybe if my overall work satisfaction (this is including the money and the flexibility and all the other factors) is at 6 right now, maybe it can at least be a 7? I know that sounds like a small shift but that’s like a 16% increase, which I think is significant. So, let’s see. Big question marks here. 

I’m also moving cities (nay, countries) again. Because taking a break means it’ll be nice to have other forms of support (ie familial, etc), I’m moving back home. I think this is a step in the right direction as well. More and more people are also recognising the value of living in tight-knit communities, and I think I have those structures available back home. I’m optimistic. 

I should note that I do recognise that there are 4 big rocks which have the potential to take down my overall life satisfaction — ie individual safety, infrastructure, noise+pollution, conservatism. However, I think I just hope that the improvement in social+cultural satisfaction will be worth that potential cost.

I sincerely think the scary part of this gigantic step is over. Of course I may end up being severely wrong. But for now, I’m happy. And optimistic. And that’s more than enough.

I’ll really miss Amsterdam. It’s a cute, interesting, logistically easy city. Except for the 4 months of winters (which is quite a lot for my tropical self), there’s so much to love and learn from. I’m glad a spent this year here. But life calls, and I must leave for now.