One new thing, one new place

Every year, I tell myself that I would do at least one new thing and visit at least one new place. Different goals come and go with my annual plans, but these two goals make it to my list every single year.

Thankfully, these are also goals that I seem to be able to accomplish every year. Often, even getting the chance to do more than just one thing and see more than one new place.

So, what's with the new thing and the new place anyway?

Well, when it comes to the new thing... I just figured that it's important to be able to do something that I have never done before, something to jolt the senses and encourage new ways of thinking and feeling. Preferably, it should be at least a tad bit scary for me.

It may be something that I may have wanted to do for a while but never got the chance to do, either out of fear or lack of resources.

Or, it may be something that I have never even thought of doing ever. But, the opportunity presents itself and I just need to go ahead and give it a go. It may be planned or spontaneous.

The new place, on the other hand, is often dependent on what the family may have planned for the year and/or what the budget might be. Sometimes, it's just a local destination that I have never visited

before. At times, it can be a faraway place that I have also longed to see.

I suppose you can consider me a “life experience junkie.” That's why I love engaging in different activities and travel. And 2011 is already proving to be quite a year of new life experiences. It's only the first month of the year, and I have already met my goals of doing one new thing and visiting one new place.

You see, early this month, my family ended up staying for a few days in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on the way back to Adelaide from Manila. Although I have been to KL before, I have never really fully explored it. So during this visit, it was wonderful to be able to see more of this amazing city, especially with the help of local friends.

The new place we have visited this time around that really became the highlight of the stopover is a place called Sunway Lagoon Resort. We have booked a family stay, which included an entry to their incredible theme park. The park was filled with water slides, surf and wave pools, rides, an interactive zoo, and other entertainment features.

And while visiting new places tend to lend to new activities, the most memorable new thing that happened during that trip to KL didn't occur at the theme park. It actually occurred at Sunway's shopping center. And strangely enough, it has nothing to do with purchasing wonderful new things.

You see, one of my childhood dreams is to ice skate. Of course, growing up in tropical Manila, ice skating isn't exactly something that you can just take up. It was only later that some shopping

centers built ice skating rinks. By then, I was too timid to give it a go. So, I never tried.

This year, with much trepidation, I put on my very first rented ice skates and tried to put up a brave face in front of my two young kids who were both excited to go on their first ice skating experience.

The best bit? The kids loved ice skating! My six-year-old son took to it really well, and can manage to skate when holding someone's hand. And by the end of it, he was begging for more skating time. My

three-year-old girl was a bit more like me – unsure, but willing to give it a good try. She still enjoyed it.

Me? I could barely lift my feet off the ice. And when my husband tried to assist me in the rink in an attempt to give me a quick lesson, I just fell flat on my bum a few times. It made me wonder how people can make skating look easy! My only consolation was that there were a number of other folks in the same boat as I was at the time. Even though I won't be rushing to do another round of ice skating, I am glad I did it anyway. It's exactly what trying out new things are all about.

What about you? Have you got your new thing and your new place yet?