A Special Announcement

Dear Wonderful Listeners,

After much deliberation, I have decided that I will put the Alternative CV podcast on pause for a short while. This is for a couple of reasons:

1. The COVID situation

These are definitely unique circumstances for all of us. At present, my base, Singapore, has gone into an effective lockdown – all non-essential services have stopped, all gatherings are banned and people have been told to stay indoors. Many other countries are in a similar (if not more severe) lockdown situation. Meanwhile, the number of infected cases in Singapore continue to rise – I remain hopeful that we will turn the corner soon, but I don’t think we are there yet.

Amidst all this, it’s become increasingly difficult for me to keep my promise to you to deliver high quality content every week. My focus is presently on my full-time day job, where I am treating COVID positive patients. The 12h shifts have been relentless and rather draining, and given that what’s most important to me is that each episode that I produce is educational and high quality, I have decided to put this podcast on pause until I can pick it up again in a meaningful way.

The lockdown from COVID has also had other severe implications – the economy has ground to a halt and many businesses are fighting for survival. Many of the guests whom I wanted to reach out to have far bigger problems to deal with right now, and I realise that it is not the best time to be approaching them for interviews at this point in time.

In addition, the responsible thing to do right now is to practice social distancing. That also translates to no meeting up with guests for podcast interviews for now.

2. An opportunity for growth

In the meantime, I’m going to use this time to spruce up the website and refocus this podcast. I still believe that there are many untold stories in Asia – and I want to continue interviewing people who have pursued unconventional paths. However, I think that this podcast could definitely be more intentionally educational. I believe that no matter what job or profession you might be involved in, it’s useful to develop other skills and to know at least a little about other fields out there. I don’t have all the answers right now, but I’m going to think about how to incorporate this into the podcast.

I know that there are far too many podcasts that take a break – that turns out to be indefinite. One of the great things about holding yourself to a weekly schedule is that after a while it becomes a habit, and once you get a streak going there’s a huge incentive to keep that going.

I intend to return to this podcast again – and my target is to start again on August the 6th, which is the first Thursday of August. I’m giving myself a specific date so that you can hold me to it. I do hope that some degree of normalcy will have returned by then – enough to restart this podcast.

If you haven’t signed up to the mailing list yet, do sign up below – that way you can be notified when we return with Season 2.

The coronavirus pandemic has drastically changed life as we know it. It’s made me thankful for a good family that I love spending time with – I know that there are sadly far too many broken families who don’t have this privilege. It’s also made me thankful for the simple liberties and luxuries that we enjoy in modern society – being able to hang out with friends or have a meal out. I’ve taken these things for granted in the past; but I’m determined to treasure them more from now on. I hope that wherever you are in the world, whilst you are self-isolating, you can use this time to reflect on all the things to be thankful for.

I’ll see you in August, but until then – hope you stay healthy and safe!

-Paul