This is my now page for 3rd April 2024. What is a now page? A now page goes to a page that tells you what a person is focused on at this point in their life. Inspired by Derek Sivers and his Now page movement and subsequent website.
This is what I'm currently doing:
Where Am I
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Back in Malaysia! I have a serious love for Malaysia and it’s great to be back. It’s not for everyone, when you compare it to the orderliness and high quality of Singapore, the chaos, nightlife and party vibes of Bangkok, the chill of Chiang Mai, or the bustle of Hanoi, it doesn’t compare. But if you aren’t looking for those things and just want an easy, affordable, friendly, safe life, then Malaysia is great. Also the food is by far the best in the world, it just doesn’t have the marketing of pad thai or mango sticky rice.
Where Was I
I was in Taiwan. A good month spent there. Did a WordPress conference, hung out with some friends. Was hoping it would be bloody amazing and we would possibly live there, but overall the experience was a bit “meh”. Taipei itself is a great city, transport links are good, the food is OK (I think if you’ve never been to Asia before you’d probably think it was great, but as an Asian-food aficionado I didn’t really rate it – most things needed seasoning, a lot of things tasted like “healthy” versions of dishes you’d easily find in Malaysia or Thailand. Herbal eggs everywhere – urgh. There were standouts, but nothing I couldn’t live without), the weather is super variable (worse than England I’d say, but that could have just been the month of March we were there – a temp range of 10-36 plus rain and wind), accommodation seems expensive (on par / maybe a little cheaper than London rental prices) and China is clearly a big problem (I didn’t realise that they were still “at war” with China after 75-odd years).
Two days after we left Taiwan was a 7.X something earthquake, and it was only 5 days after we left the area of the epicentre (Hualien). So a lucky escape. But also another cross against living there.
Where Am I Going Next
After a month in Kuala Lumpur, back to Chiang Mai I think. Hopefully the smoke season will have stopped along with rains and cooler weather.
What Am I Working On
Had a quiet month of work last month, mostly time off which was nice. Did some work on my WordPress plugins. This month I’m back in to a few projects, WordPress 6.5 upgrades, a new Laravel project to sync a Shopify store with a companies internal product database.
What Am I Thinking About
AirBNB. I know that’s random, but we are in an AirBNB apartment now and it’s fucking terrible. I have gone from someone who loved AirBNB, used them all the time, promoted them, hosts on them, holds shares in them, and now to someone who despises them. They have ruined Short Term Lets. They have created a tick list of shit for hosts to follow and its created terrible off-the-shelf apartments which have never actually been lived in and are devoid of life, character, usefulness, and good user experiences. They have triggered me big time, so I am currently thinking of ways of destroying their business as much as possible.
What Was The Main Challenge Last Month
Relaxing. Supposed to be a holiday month last month, but hard to switch off, and I just don’t want to switch off. I enjoy business, I enjoy coding, I enjoying reading about it, thinking about it, planning it. But apparently this is “work” and I’m not supposed to do it.
What Have I Been Reading
Still reading John Sandford books. I am now on book 6 – Night Prey. It’s probably the best one I’ve read yet.
What Have I Been Watching
Movies. Had some time off and the apartment we rented in Taiwan had a few movie channels on the TV. I love watching movies on TV, it really tests the movies ability to keep you hooked, and I get easily sucked in. What have I watched – Jurassik Park series, Mission Impossible series, RIPD (Jeff Bridges is so good in this), Mississippi Burning (Gene Hackman and William Defoe in one of those classic 80s/90s films that would probably never get made now), and I’m sure a few more movies I can’t remember right now.
What Have I Been Eating
The food of Taiwan. Highlights – Gua Bao (Yuan Fang Guabao – straight up deliciousness with a unique flavour I’ve not had before),
Braised Pork Rice (Wangs Broth – simple braised pork on rice, levelled up with chilli oil), Beef Noodles (Lao Wang Yuan Zhi Beef Noodle is a great place near Yongchun MRT, proper locals food), Xiao Long Bao (at Ding Tai Fun of course).
See past Now pages: