Van
1 supporter
Writing Sample

Writing Sample

Jan 11, 2021

(From Patreon)

Hello folks! Greetings from the sunny island! It is time to sit down and write a proper public post. You know, like the corporate folks love to put it - we would like to see some writing samples. So here you go, writing sample

Long story short: You will read about me (not being entirely narcissistic, I am just introducing myself to you), and the peculiar Banana Notes account. 

Now, onward to the long story.

Introductions

Banana Notes was first established in January 2018

October spells World Post and World Postcard Day. What better time than now, to set up a Patreon account for Banana Notes? I have printed quite a bit of postcards since 2018, a series for each Singapore stamp release. Banana Notes began in Instagram, with the sole intention of sharing bits of the weekend Postcrossing hobby. I do not really think through thoroughly - I just dive into something and do it.

Most of these cards that were made back then were strictly for penpals and personal collection - friends who eventually receive these cards keep them in their treasure troves, or send them to a special friend. I secretly slipped some of the cards I made on the Postcrossing site when the moon is blue. It thrills me when people genuinely just love the card and not judge it simply because it was...a self-designed card.

The name for Banana Notes comes from a chapter in the history of Singapore

I get it. Yes, I totally get it when you have this burning question for me. Why on earth did I call my account Banana Notes? I wanted you to Google it, and read a piece of my country's history. It was all done to get people to be curious and start googling what banana notes are. I do that very often - get curious and jump into rabbit holes. Plus, I love that shade of yellow too (as in #FFE135).

Banana money (or notes) were used extensively in Malaya during the Japanese occupation. The notes had banana tree motifs on them, which gave them that interesting name. Singapore used to be part of Malaya too, until 1965. 

Oh, and we recently marked 75 Years Anniversary of the End of WWII. Sometimes I just want to introduce myself as Banana

Believe it or not, Vanessa can be quite a tricky name to process for some people. My 7-lettered name has been brutally misspelt/misread/mispronounced/misinterpreted for decades.  Va is pronounced as Ba in Japanese and in Korean.  The older folks in Japan and Korea struggle a lot with my name that sometimes I feel like assuring them that it is completely okay to just give me a random name. A random name like Banana.

Bear with me, as I do think that I am a funny and fluffy ENFP

I was ENFP (NeFiTeSi) for as long as I had memory in my brain. You can read all about the ENFP, which sums up very perfectly what kind of person you are about to expect on this Patreon. Rest assured that I am also going to write quite a fair bit about what life is like in the eyes of an ENFP person working from home. 

If there is something you want me to write about, do feel free to comment away. I submit writing samples, remember?

I laugh at myself A LOT. I tend to think I am a constant magnet to drama. 36 hours ago, I was chased down by a huge (in my eyes) fat cockroach seconds after I was done washing my hands. The vermin cornered me (if I were to run away, I had to jump down the window from my flat and end up dead) so badly I was screaming for help. Thank goodness, someone came to the mighty rescue and ended the harrowing ordeal within minutes.

And oh, I was stranded at the train station just 18 hours ago because of a massive power failure - it tripped most train lines of Singapore. I had no pennies for taxis and the free bridging bus took aeons to get to me from the distant rainbow bridge... I took three buses to get home. I had to walk 1km in the rain too (no brolly in my baggy).

This is my writing sample for October. I will update the rest in the community!

I was supposed to come up with MORE tiers but wow I was boggled with World Post and World Postcard Day. There is also a Skyline stamp release today, with a 16.3CM stamp! More details in the community. I am in the midst of setting up a store on Facebook/Instagram for random folks to drop by and get a card or two. It has been really challenging for me because I am absolutely clueless at e-commerce mechanics. The staff at Facebook/Instagram is doing her best to get my store up and running.

Even Patreon to me remains a nerve-wracking puzzle to this date. I will emerge victorious from this lol. Thank you for reading!

Enjoy this post?

Buy Van a banana

More from Van