“I did send the request to my accountant to deposit into your account X,XXX baht as agreed.”

The frustrations of being a freelance writer are many.

I have never felt like I could take a good photo. It’s only in the past year or so that I’ve really begun to appreciate what a good photo is. With plans for my impending trip taking up most of my time, I decided that if I’m ever to be taken seriously, then I need to learn about photography. After a great deal of thought, I bought a Canon EOS 450D from Fotofile in MBK. The camera itself was about 24,000 baht, but with the lens, memory card, bag, hood and protection lens it end up being a lot more.

Having never used an SLR camera, I really had no idea what I was doing. Through a process of trial and error, however, everything has slowly begun coming together. My Canon has pre-determined settings so that it is possible to shoot without having to manually alter the focus, aperture, shutter speed and exposure. I’m trying my best not to use these settings, instead opting to learn about which settings suit a particular scene.

It isn’t rocket science, but it’s a lot to take in. I have a much greater appreciation for photography, but I’m confident that I can learn how to use my camera proficiently. Luckily for the rest of the world I don’t have any desire to take pictures of people in nightclubs or at glitzy parties.

Expect to see a lot of photos from East Timor. You can follow me on FlickR. I haven’t upgraded my account yet, but I will within the next week or so.

That was perhaps the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. Usain Bolt just won the men’s 100m final at the Beijing Olympics in 9.69 seconds. He didn’t even run flat out all the way. That kid is unbelievable. Congratulations to the world’s fastest man.

I have booked three one-way flights: one to Singapore, one to Bali and one to Dili. I’ve handed in my notice and work and my last day of full-time employment in Thailand will be on August 26, not including a few vacation days that I will be cashing out. As if that’s not enough, I’ve also taken three-and-a-half days’ holiday this week (I’m sat at Indigo Pearl at the moment) – my first time off in more than a year, not including a couple of weekends in Bangkok.

This is my way of saying that I’m leaving. After a love affair with Thailand that has taught me a great deal about life, love work and the universe, it’s time to move on and try something new. I will, of course, return to Thailand, but my plan is to live elsewhere, unless a dream job presents itself.

It’s been a little more than a year since I arrived in Phuket. While I have enjoyed my time on the island, I have to admit that it just isn’t “me”. Something about the place, the people, the atmosphere just doesn’t grab me. I miss the big-city feel of Bangkok, but I don’t feel inspired to return to the City of Angels for anything more than a visit.

Most of my possessions will remain in Thailand along with about half of the money I possess, so I’m still tied to the country whether I like it or not.

As for my choice of destinations, Singapore is a brief stop on the way to Bali, where I will spend about a week relaxing, milling about and probably not blogging. My final destination is Dili. I can’t take the kudos for formulating the idea of moving to Dili, but at this stage in my life, I couldn’t see any reason not to go to Dili, much in the same vein as I couldn’t see any reason not to go to Bangkok three years ago.

As for what I will be doing in Dili, well, that’s something that will unravel once I arrive. I have touched base with two Dili-based publications and established a few contacts. I have also started contacting foreign publications and for some time my primary job will be to learn, make contacts and send a lot of emails while establishing myself in Dili.

Being unemployed will also give me a chance to study for my NCTJ qualification – something I’ve been unable to do in Phuket given my workload. To make ends meet in the meantime I will be blogging, writing and editing, which probably means I will grovel for people to send work my way.

I have a real challenge ahead of me, but I’ve never been so excited. My goal is to study and do as much credible work as I can. I plan to help out with the two publications I mentioned, although to what extent I won’t know until I arrive in Dili. There’s a lot of uncertainty at the moment.

I have all manner of things to do. I need a new laptop, new camera, new bag, a torch (apparently), some decent shoes and, sadly, real travel insurance to buy. So that’s me in a nutshell. For anyone in Bangkok, I’ll be visiting this weekend.

I should probably mention that I will keep blogging. My focus will shift, but this blog will become something new. It will form the basis of my initial work in Dili, so there will be a lot of changes. I won’t have as much to say about Thailand and, who knows, I may lose my entire readership, but there’s nothing I can do about that. There will be photos, videos (if Preya remembered to post my Flip cam) and stories.

So that’s me in a nutshell. I fly out on August 28.

Interesting bit of news today. The guys behind BK mag (Asia/Azia City) are setting up a tourist rag in Phuket. For anyone who might want a job in the media in Phuket, now’s your chance. I’m guessing the salary would be pretty decent, but I just find it hard to imagine that there is room for any more magazines in Phuket. Time will tell.