Let's Try This Again

So this isn't strictly a new journal, as the five entries way back in May 2012 will prove, but to all intents and purposes this is a new journal. I don't play Taiko anymore nor do I live anywhere near the Mugen Taiko Dojo, but I am still me and this is a continuation of my adventures through life. Instead I now live in New Songdo in the city of Incheon, South Korea, where I run a pub. Really.

After going through a period of solipsism and having followed that up with a period of freaking out at the sudden lack of direction in my life, I had a conversation with a good friend who accused me of just wanting things passively which meant I really didn't want them. That stung not because she was wrong, but quite the opposite. On top of that uncomfortable truth was the realisation that I had never thought of myself as that sort of a person, and indeed many of the greatest adventures in my life have come about as a result of actively pursuing whatever venture I felt passionate enough about to put body and mind towards.

Now, the mere fact that I've flung myself to the other side of the world to pursue a passion only 7 months ago would indicate that I shouldn't write myself off yet, but I have come to the point of realising my own limitations in pursuing said initial dream. I had high hopes of distributing fine alcohols in the burgeoning Korean market, but the reality of my existence here (no contacts, no money, no access, too little free time and no experience in the distribution side of things with nobody at present who would give me a chance) has become too difficult to see a way around. Some of those problems I should have foreseen before I headed over here, some I could only have known after getting here, but either way I need a new plan and I need it relatively quickly.

However, having acknowledged all this, I am aware that situations can change dramatically at a moment's notice. You never know when the love of your life will walk through that door, and you never know when you'll share a drink with someone who invites you on a new adventure you had never even dreamed of before. Of course that reliance on luck can be frustration, but what you can always do while you are waiting is improve your odds of being able to take full advantage of the situation or opportunity when it arises. Said love of your life prefers men who travel, so then booking your round-the-world trip after you learn that is false and desperate, and too damn late - you should already be that person. In my situation, I have come around to realising that I would like to do something involving writing in the future, and I want to improve my language skills in the hope that they will open some doors for me in my future career whatever that may be. So, in response to my friend, I'm going to Do The Thing, instead of Whining and Complaining and Merely Talking About The Thing.

For the former plan, well, you're seeing what I hope to be the first of a now-daily blipfoto entry. If Henry Rollins and Anthony Bourdain, two of my heroes and two intensely busy men, can fight their way through a packed schedule, extreme fatigue and (in Mr. Bourdain's case) a savage hangover to write books, I can find a few minutes in the day in my much-easier life to write a few paragraphs. The latter plan features my daily photo, the sign for Culture Complex which the school where I have been learning Korean. My Korean is still at pre-school level but it's better than nothing, and I plan to redouble my efforts to speak with at least a limping fluency by the end of the year.

I'll update my bio and talk more about my life here in due course, but here's my statement to myself: Engage the World, and get back those good bits of That Guy Who Did The Thing. Feel free to comment to slap some sense in to me at times, and I hope we're still following this path a few years from now when I'm in god-knows-where doing god-knows-what. It might be fun!

Cheers,
Chris