To be honest... I only remembered several big stuff happening last year maybe because they were too overwhelming that it kinda overlapped the little things in my life which kinda makes me regret not blogging when these small things happened...
First things first... I hit the big 3-0... and a lot has changed!! Knots are starting to tie and I am finally getting to know what I want in life, the main objective that I want to achieve in my future... SECURITY.... regardless in whatever aspect in life, I need security... I am not someone who can settle with being healthy and happy, I need more, and I used to feel guilty about that, I thought I was being greedy but it turns out, some people just want more in life... I am one of those people... I am not saying that it is wrong to just want to be happy and healthy, just for me, being healthy and happy is not enough, I need to be in control and feel secure...
So, I made a decision... Quite a scary one... I decided to start a business!! In a different state, 2 hours away from home, everyone I have told will ask me, why?? Why did I choose a place that requires 2 hours of travel?? To be honest, I guess it's just fate... I have the chance of nearer venues but my indecisive nature cost me to lose them... So, this an opportunity that appeared after seeing a few slipped passed so before much consideration, I took it.
Then here comes the part where I had to become an adult, I had to meet with suppliers for renovation, sign contracts, learn about business, register the business and a whole lot of adulting stuff which includes bills and being organised... So, here's how it looked like...
Quite a huge space and minimal stuff to be done... but minimal doesn't mean zero... here's the con when the place is 2 hours away from home, you have to place 100% trust on your suppliers to do a good job... They didn't fail me though... At least I think they didn't..
Then... It's time to work my magic... had a personal assistant with me to work on the display bookshelves... These were 100% DIY-ed...
From wooden pallets that look something like this...
To these... attached some plywood to create the shelves and there you have it... A wooden pallet book display shelves...
A simple arrangement for the classroom setting and voila... A class is born...
The exterior of the lot... I haven't got a signboard yet... never ending of stuff to do, I need to apply a gazillion types of licenses...
Look out for our bunting... It's quite eye-catching... Huge shoutout to my colleague who helped me design this FOC!!! But I do respect creativity, I am gonna repay him with countless meals of his choice...
Classes have started and here are some of my students hard at work... Doing great at every class...
So that's my biggest achievement made in 2018... It was not an easy one... I started to worry about stuff like if I were able to pay rent... or do I have enough students to sustain... This stuff really bugged me to the extent that it will wake me up in the middle of the night having me wonder if I have made the right decision, was all these just a huge mistake?? Did I fairy-taled the whole idea to make it seem easy which in reality is undescribable times worse than it seems??
Besides that, being a licensee with a licensor who has principles that sometimes doesn't make sense is a huge PITA!! Not to mention, these requirements kept me from sleeping too... Restless days... Sleepless nights... What have I gotten myself into??
And sometimes I would think... Why didn't I start this 2 years ago when I was still in my 20s where I will still have the energy to push myself to the limit?? I always thought that 30 was supposed to be the age where people start settling down and build a family, instead, I am building a career... But I am still glad I took the opportunity and started... It's better late than never though... And this is a huge contribution to my future's security... In case I get retrenched or just got tired of working in an office, I will always have something to fall back on to without having to depend on anybody...
Well, I sure hope things could get better...
signing off!
Toodles!
