Hi All!

Here is your weekly round up of what I’m pondering and exploring. Feel free to forward along to a friend if you think they might enjoy.

Happy Birthday Mum

I am so blessed to have been gifted my mother in this life, and wanted to take a moment to wish her a Happy Birthday.

Without her, I would’ve never had so much self love, self worth, and self belief instilled in me.

Not only did she literally build me from the ground up, but also built me emotionally and spiritually.

Because of her, I’m unbreakable.

She taught me to stand up to the world, and to never take shit from anyone.

Both her and my dad are my biggest heroes, not some fictional character who puts on a costume, but two real people, who put on their uniform, each and every day, even if they don’t want to.

So thank you for everything mum.

You’ve already given me more than enough love to last me well into the next one.

I’m so grateful to get to be your son.

Sylvia

Lately I’ve been on a huge writing streak.

It’s come effortessly, and I’ve been enjoying everything I’ve been working on.

However, as I sit here at my keyboard in the middle of Beijing, I’m struggling to figure out what to write next.

I met a lady in the hostel I’m staying at, and wanted to try dedicate a section of this newsletter to her, but everytime I tried piecing together a string of words to describe her, I felt like I wasn’t doing her justice.

Thankfully, after calling out my inner-resistance, I can feel myself warming up, so I’ll give it another go.

Her names Sylvia and she’s turning eighty years old next month.

She told me she’s been travelling all over the world ever since she was in her twenties, and has never once let someone tell her what she could or couldn’t do.

Take this short story she told me as a sample of her character.

One time she found herself at the Spanish consulate seeking a new passport. They tried telling her she needed to wait a few weeks for her application to be processed.

However, she had a flight to catch, and didn’t have time to be waiting around. So, what she did was cause an argument between a group of strangers, divert the attention of the security, and charged into the head office of the head decision maker.

And before she knew it, she was walking out of there with a new passport in her hand, even rubbing it in the faces of all those who tried telling her it wasn’t possible getting it the same day.

She also told me another story about a time she took on a solicitor who was taking advantage of her, and beat him at his own game, with zero representation at court, other than herself, of course.

However, the thing that impressed me the most was the fact that she is currently cycling around the planet, completely by herself.

Hearing her talk about her travels, and still see the passion in her eyes, made me realise life doesn’t end when you get old.

It ends when you let it.

Trust in China

I just left my laptop in Starbucks, and walked to another part of the mall to go chuck a piss.

Normally, a voice in the back of my head would be freaking out at the idea of someone knocking off my stuff, but that feeling doesn’t seem to exist here.

People either trust each other, or they trust that if they misbehave, theres a high likelihood they’re going to get caught, especially with the ammount of cameras here.

Take a story someone told me the other night when they accidentally left their handbag somewhere in China, and were able to get the police to backtrack their steps, from the cameras in the street, until finally, they found there bag sitting in the same place they left it.

I really appreciate how safe it feels around here.

No ones trying to scam you, and people are generally very friendly.

Also, this might be a conversation for another day, but their payment system using apps like WeChat and Alipay are extremely efficient, and is exactly how I envision crypto integrating into our daily lives, once it’s genuinelly adopted by the masses in the west.

Live Laugh Love

Here’s a great clip of Earl Sweatshirt speaking on how he’s come to take the terms he used to make fun of when he was younger, to now appreciating them from a place of sincerity.

What’s In My Bag

I’ve always loved seeing what’s in people’s bags.

It’s like getting a cross section of someone’s life through the items they carry.

The last time I shared what was in my bag it was all the way back in 2022.

So, with that being said, here’s the revised 2025 travel edition while I’m here in China.

My Bag

The bag I use is a Supreme messenger bag I bought the first time I visited New York. I’ve taken this thing all over the world, and it’s been the perfect bag to keep all my essentials in one place. I like how understated it is, and the fact there’s so many different compartments to organise my belongings.

Books

I currently have three books I’m carrying with me around China.

1. Off The Rails - As you know, this is the novel I’m publishing at the end of the year. Currently, I’m reading through the latest draft of the book and making some final edits before it gets released. I’ve been finding it really fun editing the physical book with a pen compared to just doing it on the computer.

2. Ghost Cities - I bought this book at Sydney International Airport right before I boarded my flight to Shanghai. My reason for doing so was because the story is set both in Sydney and China, which I found quite fitting for my own journey. I’m about halfway through it, and can’t wait to finish it. It reminds me of my favourite author Haruki Murakami’s writing style.

3. The T-Shirts I Love - This is a book also by Haruki Murakmai, however, this is slightly different from his fantastical, dreamlike stories set in Japan. This is a simple photobook with a collection of essays about his favourite t-shirts and the backstories behind them. Which might sound boring, but weirdly, I find it very interesting, and in all honesty it was the inspiration behind writing this post.

Notebooks

I carry two notebooks with me.

1. Journal - I write all my private entries in here daily, and stick random things I collect into its pages. This is where I come to find clarity, and to document my days.

2. Pocket Notebook - This is where I take random notes, and create to-do-lists. I normally just make my lists in the notes app of my phone but there’s something much more satisfying about physicaly crossing things off.

Stationery

I used to carry entire pencil cases with me but now I’ve refined what I carry down to the bare essentials.

For most of my writing I use my fountain pen. However, for quick note taking in my pocket notebook I’ve been using a cheap pen I bought at Muji.

I also make sure I always have a highlighter on me. This is because whenever I read, I like being able to highlight any passages or quotes I like.

You can tell I’ve liked a book if the pages are painted yellow.

And finally, the last piece of stationery I like to use is my date stamp I use every morning when I first open my journal.

Miscellaneous

1. Earplugs - These cost a couple dollars and have better noise cancellation than AirPods.

2. Blistex - Must have. You can’t ever be walking around with dried lips. Like, what if you meet the love of your life one day, but your dumbass let your lips go all crusty. Fuck that.

3. Sunscreen - Duh. China is really hot, and the sun is intense.

4. Adapters & Chargers - Self explanatory.

5. Deodorant Stick - I used to love using Old Spice roll on deodorant but I can’t seem to find it anymore, so I’ve settled with whatever this is. I like that in the mornings roll on doesn’t give you the blizzardly cold sensation on your skin as does the spray on deodorant.

6. Nalgene Bottle - By far my favourite water bottle brand. Love being able to just clip it to my bag. I used to buy the wide mouth bottles but now I prefer the ones with the smaller mouths. Much easier to drink. There’s something so gorgeous about its simple yet functional design.

Hope everyone enjoys their week.

Love,

Jet Williams

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