Travel, trave, travel....

I didn’t realise how long it’s been since I last wrote a blog. Thanks to someone who reminded me that I still have a Blogger account—and at least one reader!

Right now, I’m in the middle of applying to change my visa, and it suddenly hit me how much I’ve travelled since leaving my last job. I feel so good knowing that I no longer need to ask for holidays two or three months in advance, only to be rejected because I didn’t reach some KPI. Now I can just buy a cheap ticket and fly wherever I want (well, as long as I can get a visa). Every day feels like a holiday.

In the past few months, I’ve been to Spain (twice!), China, Japan, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Turkey, and the U.S. I just came back from Florida last weekend, and the weather there was amazing. I still can’t believe I went from sunshine and warmth back to London’s winter overnight.

This half-year has been so lovely. I have no plans to travel again this year—it’s time to focus on earning—but I feel deeply grateful for all these experiences.

My body, however, is still confused by the time zones. Since returning from America, I’ve had trouble sleeping. While I was there, I’d fall asleep before 10 p.m. and wake up around 7 a.m., never feeling tired. The sunny days made me so full of energy that I wanted to stay awake longer just to enjoy them.

One of the highlights of my trip was that my best friend fly from LA to visit. We wore friendship bracelets, watched sunsets together, and talked for hours—just like five years ago when we travelled together in northern Japan. I was the driver back then too, and she still can’t drive now (can't believe she still didn't get a driving license!! haha).

Recently, I also finished reading a book called “The 12-Week Year.” It inspired me to treat the last 12 weeks of this year like 12 full months—to focus and achieve what I’ve been putting off. This week was my first week applying the method, and interestingly, I suddenly got three interview invitations in one day! Maybe it’s already working.

I’ve travelled so much this year; it’s time to shift gears and make the rest of the year productive. There are not even 12 weeks left in 2025—let’s see what can be accomplished before it ends.