This month marks one year since I was made redundant at my previous job, and the beginning of a metaphorical journey of a lifetime. I have already written and reflected on that fateful date, and the start of my current chapter.
Looking back at these past 12 months, so much has happened. While I haven't been cognitively taxed in the traditional corporate sense, I have been challenged more mentally than ever in my life.
I’ve talked previously about how my entire belief system was torn apart; for a time I was completely lost, and my whole foundation was shattered. It was not an easy time, but one that was probably necessary. Nothing learnt comes easy. And boy did I learn!
I was given an opportunity to start with a blank slate. At the beginning, that sounded daunting because I had no direction and no guidance. But I was incredibly lucky that so many people—both old and new connections—were generous enough to share their time, their own experiences, and their wisdom. Along with this, I started looking inward to what I wanted, what I was good at, and what I enjoyed, rather than what was expected of me. This introspection led to further conversations, and ultimately, to where I am today. The year helped me reaffirm what I didn't want, but it also reaffirmed what I needed to work on if I wanted my desired lifestyle.
Professional Momentum: Month 2 of Rupen 2.0
I am only in month two of "Rupen 2.0," but I am actively progressing on most fronts. Actual legal fee earning and fee generation is happening. We think we have finally won the battle of the right forms with the HK Law Society for my admission, and I recently attended Consensus, which was my first in-person conference in a while.
The momentum is definitely there. Looking forward, it is important to continue focusing on business development efforts. I need to make sure I am targeting the right people who can generate leads, while also focusing on trends and themes to see where there may be potential demand. I also hope to shortly announce an exciting and new opportunity I will embark on which complements my role at GPS Legal.
In fact this week, this actual post couldn’t be finalised until later on Friday, just because I’m now busier than before.
Family, CNY, and Finding Joy
Perhaps the greatest silver lining of this transitional year is that it gave me the time to really spend time and connect with my kids. I was able to join them on school trips, do homework with them, take them to the park, and just generally goof around with them. I was able to travel, spend quality time with friends and family, and try and learn new things.
We enjoyed our week over CNY in HK. The weather was fantastic. We went to the Flower Market, saw the fireworks, went to the Palace Museum, caught up with a bunch of movies and TV shows, played board games, and generally relaxed. It was very nice being in HK during this period, and we very much enjoyed the Harbourfront—especially now that the Eastern Island Boardwalk has opened.
The week was thoroughly enjoyable with the kids. My daughter spent time pretending to be a baby wolf who had lost her pack and was living in an animal sanctuary. She even built a tent in the living room and gathered her essential supplies (which naturally included a torch, moisturiser, and her books). My son, on the other hand, was busy helping with various Easter bookings. It was lovely to see the two of them play independently together; they have both gotten into Minecraft recently, whereas previously they just watched YT videos about it. To top it off, my daughter also performed at the AIA Carnival with the school choir—and it's actually the third time she has performed at the AIA carnival!.
Habits & The 2 AM Rabbit Hole
I’m back to a solid fitness regime and am in the process of writing a much longer article about the journey I’ve been on over the past few years.
One key elements to a solid fitness (and mental) regime is proper, quality sleep. I was reminded of this again when listening to Sahil Bloom’s Five Types of Wealth a few days ago, where he talks about sleep being crucial to recovery. This isn’t anything new, but it jolted me back into action on the sleep front.
I’ve mentioned previously my 3AM scrolls. These did return for a while, I have been a bit lax with my "no screen time after 9 PM" rule. And I note the irony that this blog post is getting finalised late Friday night.
On the flip side, I am actively experimenting with having no screens while waiting for (and in) the elevator, whereas before the rule was no screens just in the elevator.
A Few Random Admin Notes
- Digital Cleanup: I am migrating some very old emails from Yahoo and Hotmail and shutting those accounts down. It has been harder than I thought, with Hotmail not playing nice with POP or IMAP migrations. Good thing the Thunderbird email client is still around.
- Notes Migration: I am migrating my old notes over from Evernote to Obsidian. This process was easier. I got a bit stuck with sync issues, having my Vault folder in Google Drive, but this was an easy fix, and I am actively avoiding the urge to install too many plugins.
- Life Admin: Trying to sort out medical insurance for the family means you need a degree in this. On a lighter note, Easter hotels are booked—thank you HSBC Everymiles and Accor Rewards.