You never know what's round the corner

Got double jabbed. I didn't want to get vaxxed but I do want to travel. Government overreach around the world has been terrifying. Some Europeans are protesting but compliant Asians have bent over and taken it - no lube. The Army starvation lockdowns in HCMC were brutal - the worst on earth!

It's all on apps these days. The Vietnamese love em.

Just as people were staring into the abyss, our employer offered to fly us to a 5 star resort on a tropical island - for free. We were like rats up drainpipes.

Had to have a dozen PCR tests and wear NBC suits for the 1hr flight to PhuQuoc. The normally bustling Tan Son Nhat airport was dead. Surreal.

Any complaints were short lived once we saw our beach front villa for the next 18 nights.

Spent hours sat by the pool listening to birds and crashing waves. Enjoyed every minute. What a relief to be out of the noisy concrete shithole. It's easy to forget more harmonious places exist. The sunsets were golden.

Sharing a luxurious villa with Andy (Geordie) and Michael (Blackpool) was brilliant. Couldn't have asked for better housemates in the Big Brother house. Mint crack.

On the final night they laid on a posh BBQ by the pool. Can still taste the ribs and mussels. Magic.

Alas, nothing lasts forever. The return flight was always in the back of our minds, the sword of Damocles looming over us.

It was depressing to be back in HoChiMing so I cheered myself up with a haircut to celebrate the easing of the 4 month lockdown.

And so it was back to online teaching, daily 9km walks and drab sunsets in a comically small park. A park that seems surprised by its own existence. Where TPTB gave a small nod to nature - so long as it's manicured to death. An inverse aberration - a small green zit on a beautiful concrete face.

Had some good news at work. After months of persistence they finally agreed to a more chilled workload. I battled hard for a reduced salary and was rewarded with the best timetable I've ever had - 14 periods of A-Level Physics. I see it less as losing money and more as gaining less stress.

Not like AWOL Geordie to decline the green stuff eh? While it's true I came here to stack cash, my investments have performed beyond my wildest expectations, meaning I'm literally able to take my proverbial foot off the figurative gas and enjoy a more relaxed life. Try unpicking the logic in that sentence.

This got me thinking about the best life choices I've made - things I wish I'd known at 20:

1. Leaving the UK. Perhaps the single best thing I ever did. The thought of being tax-farmed to fund a 🤡🌎 woketopia turns my stomach. It's simply blissful not being there.

2. Never marrying. A sovereign life of freedom is impossible with a ball and chain. Pleased I had the fortitude to resist the pressure to conform from family, exgfs and society. Especially with today's corrupt family courts in the west.

3. Quitting alcohol/nicotine. Pulled it off at 45. Wish I'd done it at 35.

4. Studying philosophy. Wish I'd heard of people like Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Descartes, Marcus Aurelius, Diogenes, Alan Watts and Carl Jung in my late teens. The thing is I wouldn't have read them even if I had - youth is wasted on the young hehe.

5. Understanding investing. Was always a good saver but knew nowt about investing. That ignorance cost my entire life savings ($190k usd) at 40. Since then I've educated myself - and it's paid dividends. Pun intended. Literally.