Flawless Fun

This morning, I had the pleasure of having my face made up by Tommy Charles, one of Laura Mercier's top artists who works on celebrities like Julia Roberts and Mandy Moore. Needless to say I felt like a million dollars and giggled like a school girl when he commented to the crowd that I had flawless skin which needed very minimal make-up.

Although I was floating on a cloud by then, it wasn't Tommy or his comments that made my day. I can't remember when was the last time I had so much fun with my mom. It was totally a girlie day out with her, laughing and chatting with other women. We have been so caught up with the daily routine of life, getting on each other's nerves and listening to the same mundane stories that it was just awesome being with her in a totally different environment.

We met this wonderful American lady who just arrived in Kuala Lumpur two months ago. She's a widow, mother of 3 and grandmother of 5. Recently retired from US Customs, Pam is not your typical grandma retiree. This amazing woman inspired me so much by her courage and love for life. She's out here in Asia all by herself after accepting a position with the US Embassy in KL. No friends, no family and halfway round the world from home, she's upbeat, cheerful and just game to embark on the next adventure. Meeting her fueled my desire even more to start a life in Australia. She showed me that no matter how old you are, you are never too old to follow your dream and your heart.

Sometimes you meet someone and you instinctively know that this person is going to be prominent in your life and that's exactly how I feel about Pam. It doesn't matter that she is probably 30+ years older than me, she lives her life according to the spirit that I am trying to live mine.

It was great that mom got along well with Pam. She's normally so shy among new people that I was surprised that she was chatting with her so easily. I was also deeply touched to see the reaction of some business associates when I told them that I am leaving Malaysia by the final quarter of next year. I never dreamed that I made such an impact on them, seeing their tears and being enveloped by hugs all day, it surprised me.

Like I mentioned before, I am learning new things about the people I knew and thought I knew. Sometimes you think that the people you feel closest to are the ones that care the most about you but then by their actions, you soon realise that probably it was just you that cared for them. Then there are others whom you just didn't have a clue as to how much they cherish you.

For these next 10 months here, I want to focus my time and my love on the people who genuinely care for me and treasure my friendship. When I am on my own, it is these very people who will keep me going from where ever they are. It will not be the ones who take my existence for granted even though I may love them and treasure them.

All in all so far, today has been a fun filled flawless fantastic day. And the best of it all was hearing my mom say this would be one of those days that she will always remember being with me.

Why Go?

"We must look for ways to be an active force in our own lives. We must take charge of our own destinies, design a life of substance and truly begin to live our dreams." - Lester Louis Brown-

I have had many dreams through the years. Most involved setting up some business of sorts. The earliest in my dream book was turning an old colonial bungalow into a classic book store cafe. The kitchen would be the cafe, serving home-made snacks. There would be lots of comfy sofas and chairs spread about around the house while the walls would be lined with solid oak book shelves from floor to ceiling. There would be lovely music playing while patrons could just sit, relax and read.
I dreamed up this house when I was 14.

Once I turned 17, I was convinced I was going to change the world and decided that I was never going to lead an ordinary life. I wanted to join a missionary organization right after school and volunteer for 3 months in India. I had read City of Joy (by Dominique La Pierre) when I was 15 and the true account stories of the slums of Calcutta ripped at my soul. But I fell ill with a blood disease and my mom threw a fit saying it was over her dead body before I ended up half way around the world, living in a third world country.

Then I turned 19 and decided that I wanted to backpack around Europe for a year. Apart from wanderlust being the motivating factor, the love of my life then happened to be a much older man who was doing his Masters degree in Amsterdam. This time, both mom AND dad threw a fit and hurriedly enrolled me in a local college.

Thus began the ordinary life I swore that I would never lead. Slowly, I tried to move myself out of the routine of daily life and the expectations that were put on me. My life long ambition was never to get married by 25 and pop out babies till I was 30 or more. I needed so badly to see what was out there, outside this world that I knew, to live a different kind of life from what I was living. But I just didn't know how to go about it or to actually define what it was that I was yearning for.

I was restless.

In the span of 10 years from when I turned 25 to now, I ended three wedding engagements, much to the chagrin of my mom, moved from the little town of Ipoh to KL and almost moved to Toronto and Singapore to work. It didn't happen because honestly, I could never see myself making my home in either Canada or Singapore. Both were extremely cold countries in different ways and neither tugged at my heartstrings.

But Australia did just that. Sometimes, you just know these things. Like when you are looking for a house to buy or rent, in the stillness of all the emptiness, you can get the vibe of the place. Instinctively you know if you gel with it.

In my heart I knew. Australia was where I had to go, it was where I had to be. It would be a dream come true.

Finally.

Tala's Journey

Destiny Australia chronicles my life as I prepare to uproot my existence from everything that was familiar and comforting to start anew in Adelaide.

In late October, I received word from the South Australian government that they welcome me to live and work there. I am now waiting for my visa to be processed by Australian immigration.

I am hanging between two lives wondering when one will end and when the other begins.

In leaving I am beginning to realize so much about myself, my family and the people I call friends. I am looking at everything that has defined my life thus far through new eyes and have found a new sense of appreciation for all that I have taken for granted.

Goodbye Kuala Lumpur, G'day Adelaide

The very first time I set foot in Australia was in 1996. I was awed and amazed by her vast natural beauty and warmed by the friendliness of her people. I wondered what my life would have been like if my parents made the move years ago when dad was offered an Australian PR in 1976?

What kind of person would I have turned out to be? Where would I be today? Would I be the same restless spirit I am now, looking beyond the shores of home, seeking a new life and new experiences? Or would I have been content living the Australian life?

After a couple more trips since then to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra, the longing to live there, to call Australia my home become a pull so strong that I knew that one day I had to leave Malaysia for her.

How I was going to do just that, wasn't very clear. All this while, I didn't think that I would qualify for migration on my own and mistakenly assumed that I would have to depend on an expat spouse or a business opportunity.

As the years passed, the glimmer of hope slowly faded until a conversation I had with an uncle in Feb 08. He told me the only way I was going to get there was if I met and married an Australian. It irked me so much to think that my destiny, my dreams depended on someone else that out of sheer determination to just prove him wrong, I took the first step of contacting an agent to do an assessment.

That step soon changed the course of my life and reinforced in me the belief that if you really want to go after your dream, to just do it, against the odds and more so when people tell you that you can't.