I’ve been blogging semi-regularly since I came to Canberra 13 years ago. To me, it has always been about keeping in touch with family and friends in Singapore and around the globe – an extension of my Facebook profile, really. A means of chronicling our moments and milestones, of keeping a loose scrapbook of my life in general and my children’s lives in particular.

And I dare say that for the most part, my blog will continue in that vein. I think having the children has sharpened the focus of my writing, and has in turn brought me a small but loyal following of readers within my family and friends. Thank you for keeping in touch all these years and for delighting in my delights. I love writing these open letters to you.

A few things have changed in more recent times.

  • I’ve started getting a few requests to spuik parenting related products and while I’d be happy to try them out and pass along my reviews, I’m not always keen about pushing these reviews on my personal Facebook profile. A Facebook page enables me to reach out to a slightly different crowd who might be more up for that kind of thing.
  • As the children get older and the newness of parenting starts to wear off, I find I want to talk about other things in equal measure. I blog about my children because they are EASY to blog about – they give me a lot of joy, and they provide so much material. But I also want to be challenged to think and write about the intangibles – stuff in the heart’s nebula, that I haven’t been able to pin down but I should. This explains the change in blog name and, hopefully, direction.
  • Singapore will now have direct flights to Canberra starting this month. It’s been the perfect storm of helping a few Singaporeans settle into Canberra over the years, and wanting to write about my love-hate-ambivalence-love of Canberra, but from a uniquely Singaporean perspective. And I think it’s about time I explored that in earnest, now that I’ve lived here a whopping 13 years. Where did that time go!

So what can you expect from this Facebook Page?

  1. More of the same — I’ll still be blogging about the kids. I’ll still be posting them on my personal Facebook profile. But the default feed from my blog will now go to this Facebook page first, so if you would like to catch all of it, I’d encourage you to Like this page.
  2. More about recognising what gives you the jollies — I think Happiness and Joy are often talked about but seldom really acted upon. I’m no expert but as I get older and continue to grapple with how I spend my time and what success looks like, I’d like to put it out there and hear what you have to say about it too.
  3. More goodies – If and when I get asked to try out a product and give away prizes, you’ll be sure to hear about it first from this page. And hey, the earlier you get in, the likelier you’ll be in actually winning something! Just sayin’…
  4. More about moving to Canberra from Singapore — No, I’m not funded by Canberra tourism or SIA. But I’m a genuine advocate of Canberra as a place to bring up your family. It’s not for everyone — it wasn’t even for me initially — but it’s now home. Let me help you navigate the ins and outs of Australia in general and Canberra in particular.
  5. Even more change – Because I don’t know where this will go, ultimately. I’m going into this slightly blind and bumbling. But if you’re willing to stick it out with me, we could go places I hadn’t even thought of trying out before.

So please. If you think this is your cup of tea, LIKE my new Facebook Page. And then please do me a solid by sharing my page to your community to get others to like it as well. Pretty please?

Thanks again for sticking with me. Here’s to a brand new start!