I'm super serial...
Someone said the best thing to start any presentation is to start with a joke. So here's mine, I'm Limo, minus the sine. ;) Did that give you a laugh? If it did, great, if it didn't... <insert another joke here>. I'm not a Transformer unfortunately just a carbon based life form that breathes in oxygen and expels carbon dioxide.
I've been a traveller and adventurer most of my life, having lived and brought up in 3 continents. Exploring every nook and cranny is what typically excites me (Biology joke: I swear my DNA sequence comprises of the TRAVEL box instead of the TATA box, I guess that makes me an X-man, or Superman).
The adventure thus far!
Even though I'm not as old as a mountain or grey like Gandalf, I have achieved financial independence as of 2024! (Yes, really, and you're thinking... where is that walking stick I'm supposed to be carrying?). All that stuff about you can't be wealthy or travel until you're old and grey? A complete myth perpetuated by the average person.
Born and live free!
Pure freedom is my way of life (and it can be yours as well. In fact I'm currently writing a book on how you can have your cake and eat it too). Knowing about history, different people and countries, life experience, is important to me. Plus being a renaissance man of sorts. My other interests range from cooking, to art, to neuroscience, economics, marketing, finance, climbing mountains, forest hiking, skiing, sewing, and being a piano playing wannabe. And many more undiscovered interests.
"Life is about moving your bum from one chair to another."
Or so the saying goes.
Thus came one day in 2010 when my bum heeded that advice. And so I moved from the other side of the world, Brisbane, Australia to Oslo, Norway.
Behold! I moved from point A to point B!
I arrived with 30 kilos of clothes, a laptop, and nothing else to work in a country that I knew little of other than majestic fjords, northern lights, mountains of snow and ice, and angry people called vikings. But to be fair, I've been around Scandinavia before, so I knew somethings.
This is how I used to get to work. It takes a while as you can imagine.
I'm from Singapore, the country where Americans come and get their behinds caned. Yes that is the country where I spent most of my life. In 2004 I moved to Australia, because I was chewing so much gum and getting caned so many times, I figured moving would be a good idea. I'm just taking the piss.. don't believe so much of what I say!
Personally, we have more in common than you probably know
Ever used Amazon to purchase anything? What about flying in a plane supplied by Boeing? Ever played the game Grand Theft Auto developed by Rockstar games? What about shampoo, did you ever use Johnson and Johnson to wash your wonderful hair? What about music, you listen to music right? The common answer to all the questions is, you've indirectly used my software, which these companies use.
I work play all the time
At the age of 18, I sold my first piece of software to Pfizer, and ever since then I've sold thousands of copies of my software spawned from my software company with users in over 40 countries around the world! My real personality is that of an entrepreneur. I'm an opportunist and a thinker. If you ask me "why" I typically answer with "why not?". As you probably have already read, I love to travel and have lived in 3 continents, i.e. Asia, Australia, and presently, Europe (Norway). I love investing, seeking truth, and a firm believer of personal liberty and freedom. I believe in freedom for everyone, and I believe in following your dreams. Freedom, wisdom and knowledge is more important than your job (Just Over Broke ;)) and ultimately worthless paper notes that you can't take to the grave with you (but it makes good bragging rights while you're alive on this good Earth, and I can completely agree with that). I believe taking the harder and tougher route always equates to better learning and improving oneself. I believe in doing things that no one else wants to do. I am stubborn and I am headstrong. I do all that the common person think is impossible. Life is just too short to be living by other people's bullsh*t. :)
Also I believe in being silly (if you haven't figured it by now). Haha! It's my blog after all.
I have left Norway. Previously when I worked here my official disguise (at work anyway) is Software Engineer. Not as interesting as mild mannered reporter Clark Kent... but anyway... frankly I feel that is a bit too corporate and rather snobbish. I prefer the title "Ice Cream QA Guy". Well that depends on the season, during summer we get free ice cream everyday at work. If it's not summer, we don't get ice creams but we still get free dinners at work on Monday and Wednesday, so you can call me by my other unofficial title "Free Dinner Guy". Double woohoo!!
Purpose of this blog
To entertain, enlighten and everything in between. Maybe you'll learn something, maybe you won't, but what's guaranteed is that you'll read entries about what's it like to work and live in Norway, and me reminiscing about life outside of Norway. My travels. And probably a heck lot more. But just a maybe, because life and I offer no guarantees.
Longer term, this is my life's inevitability
- As of 2024 I've achieved financial independence! The book is yet to come though.
Achieve full retired status. And I'm writing a book about it. Because, believe it or not, you can have your cake and eat it. If you want to find out, sign up as a follower.
- Travel around the world for a year. It's going to happen. Probably within the next 2 years, i.e. 2016 or 2017. Life is meant to be lived. Not to sit around on a computer forever, and definitely not making monopoly toilet paper that's considered money. Today's idealism of life for a typical person is as follows, accumulating a house as large as possible and at the same time going on a stupidly albatross around the neck length of mortgage, then you spend most of your time in the office collecting money in order to buy trinkets to put into your home, and rinse and repeat for at least 50 years until your bones are ready to fall off their sockets. Tell me it isn't a joke, but that's life for many people (and the excuse given usually is "I have no choice").
- Help others achieve their financial goals and spread the truth. And I mean it, seriously. Life is full of propaganda. It's especially hard to discern between truth and lies when there's so much noise around the world. That's why I'm writing a book. Because I'm truly sick and tired of people not achieving their financial goals and not being free.
Questions?
Feel free to ask anything serious, but you may get a silly response. Or maybe you will get a serious response, depending on my mood.
You can always touch base with me at the following address (And yes, it's real!).
