Hello Mr. 3!

I turned 30 today. Man..what a strange feeling. A decade has passed since I turned 20 back at Stanford. Yesterday, as I was waking up and laying on my bed, the only thought in my mind was 'this is the last day that I will be in my twenties. Tomorrow, I will join the thirties' club'. I once read about an old Chinese saying. It said 'at thirty, a man stands firm'. It is quite scary to think and compare my life with this saying since my ground at 30 isn't firm at all. Many questions popped up in my mind..questions like am I doing what I am supposed to be doing? Am I living my life right? such a hard question to answer :-\

I started to think of other alternatives that I could have been doing..options like working in a corporate world, taking on my family business, or super-focusing on academia and research fields. Will I be happy or more happy with those alternatives? May be I am biased but my gut feeling at the moment tell me the answer is probably 'no'.

As I wrote back in 2012, that year was a roller coaster year for me..It felt like yesterday, but 2013 is already gone as well. I didn't have a chance to write a post wrapping up my 2013..but overall it was such a great year. I learned so much about myself and the startups life. I got to start Noonswoon with awesome people and have been having new experiences almost every month..Along the journey, I got to talk with many people..people from Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia and made new friends along the way. It is quite inspiring to see other people who have been pushing their dreams as well. I got to know the founder of Trippiece , Ian, a 24-year-old Japanese who started this venture from his mom's house and now doing about 1m USD in annual revenue. I asked him what his working hours are like? When do you go to work and when do you go home? He said.."oh I worked from 9 to 4". That wasn't that bad for entrepreneurs, I think. He has quite a work-life balance. However, a couple seconds later, he elaborated that it is from 9am to 4am..not 4pm..hahaha..wow..I thought to myself, this guy is crazy..but he said.."Well, yeah, there are so many things to do and I am the CEO". Keep up the work Ian!

The future is so uncertain and sometime it is quite scary. I still ponder whether I have been doing alright in the last 10 years. One situation I don't really really want to be in is asking myself the "what if" questions. "What if I have done this?", "What if I try harder", "What if I have started a company with my friends?", "What if I have said 'I like you' to the girl that I have a crush on", ...I guess on this side of the coin..I did pretty alright. In the past 10 years, I think I have taken most of the shots that I like to take...careers, romance, friendships, opportunities, not to say that I am happy with all the outcomes..but I can say that most of the actions were taken off from the table :-).

Happy Birthday to everyone who turns 30 this year. There are so many things to be grateful for. Thanks mom and dad for this wonderful life you have given me. Thanks all the friends whether close or distant for this lively life. Thanks the Noonswoon comrades for believing in this project and putting your hearts out with me. Keep the heart pumping and the head up high...let the journey of the 30 begins! See you again in your 40!