CURRENT MISSION

To live my life true to my style statement: Sophisticated Adventure

ABOUT ME

Wow! I can't believe it's the middle of November already! My 1-month whirlwind trip was really fun and I met some really awesome people! =)

I really need to travel more often!

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I am FINALLY planning to travel again in October, 5 years after my 14-month round-the-world trip! I'm so stoked for this 1-month 3-continent trip: NYC -> Europe -> Singapore (maybe Australia too)

I am planning to visit Piedmont and Cinque Terre as I missed out on them in 2007.

I'm looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones!

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I'm moving (again) so I am not able to host right now! I'll update when I am able to host!

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I am missing FOUR bath towels! =( I'm a tad sad that they're missing...

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Since this happens a lot, I want to clarify. My name is Ying Ying, not Ying. Now that we sorted that out, if you send me a request and call me Ying, you will most likely get a polite refusal. =)

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Great news! I have found a roommate who isn't on CS but is ok with surfers! Yay! =)

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Oh wow!

I just saw that I've been a member of Couchsurfing for 5 years! Yay! =)

What a crazy 5 years it has been! So many things have happened and somehow I've lost my motto of living life to the fullest! :-/

So starting in August, I have decided to change my attitude and rediscover my joy for life and travel.

I will be hosting but please note that I am looking for a roommate for September so I may not be able to host if I can't find a roommate that is ok with surfers. So fingers crossed!

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I've been in school for the past 1.5 months and I have another 2 weeks before I'm done and I start my consulting business! A very exciting and nerve racking time. I have also decided to look for a roommate and start hosting again, so we'll see how that goes!

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Ok, time for another update:

I've moved! Yes, I've finally moved all my stuff to my new place and it is now onto unpacking. It'll be a change of scenery as I've moved from downtown to East Van, near the Drive. I'm looking forward to a new neighbourhood to hang out.

Another big news is that I will be going to Beijing and Tokyo in Feb! It'll be my first business trip or sorts. I'll be contacting CSers in the next week or so. :)

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Happy New Year!!!

2011 is shaping up to be a fantastic year and I am determined to make it so. :) I started my own consulting business and launched the website last month: www.sophisticatedadventure.com Please check it out and let me know what you think.

I am also moving in a few weeks so hopefully this means I will finally be able to host! I am also hoping to start traveling again this year so watch out, I may be dropping by your neck of the woods!

Best wishes to everyone!

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Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I have started my consulting business and everything is slowly getting organized. My business cards are printed and my website is being set up and I already have a few protential clients!

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It is now the first week of June 2010 and I have been unemployed for a month & a half. In that 6 weeks, I've dealt with lots of issues and FINALLY figured out what I want to do. I've decided to start my own consulting business! Yay!

This means that I will be in Vancouver for the next little while launching my business but once it's up and running, I would be able to travel and work anywhere in the world! Double Yay! :)

Right now, I have my first trip to Mexico coming up in a couple of weeks and Burning Man in September. I still want to go to Singapore but not sure when I'll be going.

Check back in a few months for the next update! :)
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It is now the end of 2009 and I have been back for 2 years and yet I still don't feel like I should be here. Is this a sign I should keep travelling? I think so!

I'm planning a trip to London/Paris in April, Las Vegas in May, NYC in August, Burning Man in September, and Singapore in October! Plus any other places that catches my fancy throughout the year. :)

Here I go again!
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So, after traveling for a year overseas and two months in North America, I am back in Vancouver I still feel a strong urge to go away. So I guess I'm not quite ready to give up traveling yet. :)

Which is why, for my 30th birthday in 2009, I will be traveling to various cities to celebrate it with my friends.

Toronto, New York, London and Paris, here I come!
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I've been back in Vancouver for over a year now! Wow, I can't believe I've been back for over a year already, where did 2008 go?

I finally moved back to my apartment and it is so nice to have my own space again. Now I am organizing and getting everything set up. Looks like I'm finally started to feel settled back in Vancouver.

I've finally getting more active in the Vancover CS group. My friend, Christiane, and I organized two Freeze events so far and I'm organizing the Free Hugs in a couple of weeks. It'll be good to go to the get togethers and meet new people.
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I was born in Singapore, and I moved to Vancouver, Canada with my family in 1990. I pretty much grew up in Vancouver and it is now definitely more home for me than Singapore.

I like to think of myself as a well-rounded person, and I would rather be good at a lot of things than excellent at only a few things. (I'm sure we can debate the merits of this line of reasoning!)

I love learning new things and expand my horizons, which is one of the reasons why I took a year off to go travelling. It has been absolutely amazing, definitely one of the BEST decisions I've ever made. I went to New Zealand, Fiji, Australia, Singapore, Egypt, Greece, Turkey, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, Bosnia, Croatia, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, UK, Ireland, France, Monaco, Italy, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium, The Netherlands, Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong. I also managed to go through Canada and the US for two months for work.

From this trip, I learned that there are two kinds of travelling:
1) going from place to place and seeing the sights within a short time.
2) staying in a place long enough to meet and get to know people in depth.

Each type has its pros and cons so it's up to the individual traveler to decide what kind of traveling he/she wants to do.

There are many places still left to explore plus a few places that I am dying to go back again...and again and again!

PHILOSOPHY

My style statement is Sophisticated Adventure, and that is how I want to live my life.

I found this quote by Robert Louis Stevenson which describes me perfectly right now:
For my part, I travel not to go anywhere but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The grand affair is to move.

Favourite quotes:
* You can't steal second base and keep your foot on first.
* You have to trust that the universe knows what it's doing when it gives you that sucker punch.
* Regret is pain relived, not pain relieved.
* Everything happens for a reason.
* Everyone you meet, you meet for a reason.
* Life is short, live it up.
* Only do the things that make you happy.

* Religion is an insult to human dignity. Without it, you'll have good people doing good things, and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, it takes religion.
Steven Weinberg Nobel prize winner in physics

* Don't do anything that you don't really want to do. Keep yourself in a place of feeling good. Reach for the thought that feels better -- and watch what happens.
Abraham-Hicks

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm hosting in Vancouver! =)

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When I get back to my apartment, I do have a sofabed available for couchsurfing.

I went to the Free Hugs event in London and another one in Vancouver. I also helped organized a Vancouver Freeze event which was a total blast! Check out the video here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvVXSGXN8cg

I organized a second Freeze event with Christiane in Feb 2009 and a Free Hugs event in April 2009.

I am telling everyone I know and meet about this project and that it is a great way to expand one's boundaries and horizons.

I have yet to make it to the regular Tuesday night meet up (I know, shame on me!) but I have shown a few people the sights and sounds of Vancouver.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

My first couchsurfing experience was in Christchurch New Zealand with Martin and it was great. Thanks Martin! :)

So far, my experiences with couchsurfers have been fantastic, whether it's staying with them or just hanging out and walking aroun the city. I love learning about each city from their perspectives and also learning about each person. The more people I meet, the more I realize that we are all very similiar yet different in our own ways. We all have hopes and dreams and fears and pet peeves and likes and dislikes. It is great to see that even though we are from different countries, have different cultures and different backgrounds, we are all, in the end, people-human beings.

Thank you to Martin in Christchurch, Peter in Berlin, Bernardo in Copenhagen, Maija & Abel in Helsinki, Roople in Krakow, Virginia in Salzburg, Zsuzsa in Barcelona (twice!), Myriam and Amelie in Paris, Sebastien in Bordeaux, Alessandro in Naples, Liz in Byron Bay for hosting me and Josh in London for letting me housesit. A shout-out to Paul, who's not in CS but should be, for hosting me for a week in Den Haag. :)

2009 thank yous to Jonathan & Adrian in Washing, DC, Nika & Avery in New York, Ashley & David in Portland for hosting me. :)

Thanks to Erik in Stockholm, Clabbe in Prague, Alain, Josh, Effy, Sarah, Chris and the rest of the gang in London, Amelie, Fabien, Julien, Sam, Saidou, Felix, Elina, Antoine, Sonia and everyone else (too many people to name!) in Paris, Guillaume in Bordeaux, Hannah, Dave, Sally and everyone at Hannah's going-away party in Barcelona, Ween, Stella, Rene, Marcus, Yui, Sally, Jai, Tian, Odile, Haniffa and many others in Singapore, Taylor in Canberra, Mike in Boston (soon to be in Beijing), Michelle and Chris in Chicago for meeting me, Mark, Josh and Mike for hanging out with me at Oktoberfest and Giovanna in Bologna for arranging a dinner with fellow CSers.

Back in Vancouver, I've showed a few people around Vancouver. If you want a whirlwind driving tour of Vancouver in a nutshell, let me know! =)

I am looking forward to more adventures with other couchsurfers. After all, a stranger is simply a friend you haven't met yet. :)

In Vancouver, I have hosted Elisewinn, Charlvyn, Garmentlady, Kav & Hannah, Jessica & Damien, Mia & Jan, Christophe/Daphne/Phil/Marie-Pierre with more to come! I've really enjoyed hosting. =)

Thank you to Danelle, Josh, Elodie, Guglielmo, Alida & Fabri for hosting me! Thank you to Anders for a delicious pasta meal with procini mushrooms & white truffles! Thank you to Sebastian & Yvonne for being such cool tour guides! =)

Interests

Too many to list but I'll try...
Travel, travel, travel!
Sports, shopping, movies, music, dancing, books, philosophy, hanging out at cafes, wandering around in a city, beaches, cities, art, meeting cool people, new countries, scuba diving, surfing, wine, food, yoga, pilates...

• pets
• arts
• books
• oktoberfest
• dancing
• dining
• wine
• yoga
• pilates
• running
• walking
• partying
• shopping
• news
• movies
• traveling
• music
• hunting
• surfing
• scuba diving
• sailing
• skydiving
• sports
• rock climbing
• volleyball
• business
• physics
• religion
• science
• tourism
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

Favourite movies:
* Legally Blond, Lord of the Rings trilogy, Amelie, Old School, Pirates of the Carribean, What the Bleep Do We Know, Sex & The City...
Favourite Music:
On my iPod right now: Jack Johnson, Fat Freddy's Drop, Estero, Amy Winehouse, Diana Krall, Nora Jones, Miles Davis, Johnny Cash, My Chemical Romance, Sheryl Crow, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Green Day, The Killers...
Favourite Books:
* Anything by Bill Bryson, Harry Potter, The Alchemist, Mutant Message Down Under, Around the World in 80 dates, chick lit such as the Shopaholic series...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

* Burning Man!!!
* Skydiving
* Ice climbing
* Sailing down the Nile River in a felucca
* The Ancient Greek ruins
* The breath-takingly beautiful Dalmation Coast
* Standing next to an amazing waterfall
* Experiencing Stockholm in the 3am light
* Sunlight at midnight in the Arctic Circle
* Beach volleyball in Barcelona
* Military Tattoo in Edinburgh
* A shooting star in the English countryside
* Seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time and up close
* Monet's home and gardens in Giverny
* D-Day beaches and cemeteries in Normandy
* Leaning Tower of Pisa and Michelangelo's David in Florence
* Fall colours and amazing scenery in Switzerland
* Gourmet meals in Michelin-starred restaurants
* Being next to tigers at the Tiger Temple in Thailand

More to come!

Teach, Learn, Share

Sharing is great. Ask and you shall receive. Learn as you teach. Teach as you learn. I look forward to sharing what I know and what I've learned and to learning more as I go.

I have a bachelor's degree in Applied Science, with a major in Kinesiology and a minor in Philosophy.

With the former, I worked as an athletic trainer for sports teams for over 5 years and so if you have an injury, I can probably help you with that.

With the later, I love to talk and debate about many things, but you have to be open-minded to accept the fact that there is no right or worng, simply a matter of differences in opinions.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Singapore

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