soyoufound.me

So you found me. I’m glad you did. My old cyberhome used to be at Multiply but recent turn of events made me migrate. Many of my old posts are still there, just in case you’re wondering. Or you could really just be wondering who I am. Okay, then.

I am Joni Cham, a wanna-be novelist. I am recently finally really (I know, adverbial diarrhea) able to do actual writing on my novel. I am halfway through the second draft and I am hoping to finish it within the year. (Because I have been “working” on it for years.) Incidentally, the novel is also my thesis for a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing so once I am done with it, defended it to my panelists’ content, I would also magically become a Master’s degree holder. Not a bad deal, all in all: I get to have both a book and a degree! Right now, most everything takes a backseat for the novel. Yeah, including a social life which I had never really had much of now that I think about it.

[UPDATE May 7, 2010: I have successfully defended my thesis on March 19 and will graduate in June!! And did I mention anything about an Outstanding Thesis Award? Ahaha! The publication of the novel will take a little more time though.]

My other interests include traveling and learning languages. I would love to take more classes to improve my Mandarin and Spanish but I’ll have to work that out in my schedule, which I haven’t done yet. To compensate, I study on my own when I have the time. Yes, I’m a geek. But since I have decided to devote much of my free time to writing the novel, I have less and less of it to work on improving my language skills. Sometimes (most of the time, more like) I wish I am one of those people who can get on with very little sleep, because I can’t.

I have taken up yoga again and am very much addicted to it. I do it once a week. I loooove it! Other than that, no I can’t play any sport. And I can’t drive. And I can’t dance.

My day job is at a risk consultancy firm where I am a research analyst. I write reports about China and everything about it. That means my typical day consists of Chinese politics, economy, history, culture and pretty much everything else about China. Aside from finishing the novel, I have also vowed to become an expert on anything China-related.

So my life is populated by all those, and the fictional world that I am spinning for the characters in my novel.

Sometimes it feels like I am always on a race with time. There is always something I wish I could do or do more of. So if you don’t mind, excuse me while I go figure out how the scene where Carlo and the mom meet for the first time will play out.

And this is my prettiest picture ever:

While this is my second prettiest picture ever:

Please understand that I do NOT always look like the above two pictures (but I would like you to believe that I do so I posted them here.) I can’t just let them go to waste is what I’m saying.