It’s Saturday afternoon here in Thailand – National Children’s Day – and here I am, sitting in the computer room of one of the language schools I work at, trying to come up with something meaningful for my 200th blog post.  However, I’m not feeling particularly retrospective.  In fact, it’s only the 200th post for this blog.  I had other blogs before, now (mostly) long-lost due to a hacked site and a few hard drive failures.

I started my first web site on Angelfire in 1999 and my first blog in late 2003. I have probably written something like 2000 posts in the past ten years on a wide range of topics.  While it would be nice to look back on some of that old material, my theme for the New Year of 2014 is all about moving forward.  I don’t even have much of a desire to read many of the post here on Asian Meanderings, which I started back in June 2011.  It has taken me quite longer to reach 200 posts than on any of my previous blogs but I no longer force myself to write as I did in the past.  I simply write about what I want, when I want.

I don’t even have a particular favorite article.  I do believe my most “popular” article of all time was one I wrote for the old Baan Jochim Phuket detailing the steps involved in obtaining a Thai driver’s license.  I do enjoy my travelogue blogs and would like to create a series of “how to” articles involving tips for visa runs, etc.  I’m always giving advice to new teachers at work so I should put some of those tips into print. 

My current main focus for Asian Meanderings are my current hobbies of Postcrossing, philately, and reading.  Look for more articles in the near future covering these topics. 

I have written quite a bit in the past about local festivals and holidays and will continue to do so, perhaps telling more of the history and significance behind some of these celebrations than merely recounting my personal experiences.  In fact, I’d like to write more about Phuket’s history in the upcoming year.  The more I discover, the more interesting my chosen home becomes…

A big hit with some of my students was a series I did on a previous blog listing some fascinating tidbits about my life.  I’m thinking about writing about a few of the more “adventurous” things that have happened to me over the years (including, if I dare, the time I was kidnapped and then testified in a murder trial). 

While this particular post doesn’t feel like a significant milestone, it will be interesting to see how long until I’m marking the 500th post.  At the very least, it should be a fascinating – and meandering – journey.