I’ve been slack again with my writing and it’s made me realise that I feel like I’ve lost a part of myself when I don’t write. At the end of May, I received an email from a long-time reader of my blog. She was very sweet – she said my blog posts were wonderful and that she was grateful for sharing my voice to whoever passes through. That meant a lot to me and it also surprised me that there were people still reading. For writing, I’m so grateful to her. So Lizzie, if you’re reading this, thank you again.

So what have I been up to these past few months?

After my grandaunt’s funeral, I stayed in Singapore for another two weeks before flying back to Sydney on 12 June. It’s difficult saying goodbye to my family, friends and Singapore as I get older. On the one hand I’ve chosen to live in another country and I’m starting to build a life for myself in a city I enjoy, yet I’m also emotionally tied to Singapore because of the people I hold dear there. And on returning to Sydney, I needed a few days to recalibrate back to life here, as was the case whenever I returned to Hong Kong on visits back to Singapore. I think it’s a feeling that only those of us who have left our home countries can understand.

The second half of June and the whole of July were terrible months for me health-wise. I fractured my left big toe because I slammed my left foot into a step by accident. I’m an idiot. Then I also sprained my left ankle while running along a trail. Then I came down with a pinged nerve at the base of my neck which was due to degeneration of the disc in my cervical spine (I’m getting old!!!). The pain was so bad that I couldn’t even turn on my left side and the pain ran across my shoulders for almost 5 weeks. On top of all this, I came down with a bad bout of flu that last two weeks. When it rains, it pours!

Even now, after almost two months, I haven’t fully recovered from my fracture and pinged nerve. I have had to stop many of my physical activities like jogging, hiking and high interval fitness workouts. As a result, I’ve put on weight. I’m having a food baby now; I look four months’ pregnant. Argh.

I’ve been reading a lot because of my sedentary status. In July, I read a total of 10 books! I think that’s a record for me. This year I decided I would keep a record of the books I have read. Most of the books I read are non-fiction books about personal finance and investment (I feel like I need to know more about this area) and biographies or memoirs. I like reading about the lives and experiences of others, living vicariously through them.

So I have decided that I will commit to writing something every day from now on, no matter how short. I’m a writer. This is who I am and I owe it to myself to live up to it.