Of late

I did not have the most accomplished weekend, but it was a very decent one nevertheless, and I feel rested and ready for a new week of battles. Some of my friends have asked me how I have been doing in my current job. I tell them I am doing well: I am not unhappy in my current position, neither am I exhibiting much angst as before. I wonder if one can be truly happy in one's profession, for in any type of work there is bound to be both good and bad, both things that you enjoy and do not enjoy doing. Ideally, the enjoyable bits should greatly outweigh the dislikable parts. 

Ironically, of late I have been just as busy, if not busier, at work. I am often wearied out during the week as I leave home when it's barely bright and return only when its deep into the night almost daily. Tired I may be, but I am not frustrated or upset to any degree that leaves me emotionally drained. This is a critical difference from what I was going through previously. In fact, I have started to enjoy what I am doing over the past two weeks. There is still a lot of annoying work that inevitably comes along with dealing with clients and managing multiple deadlines and requests. Yet there is also a sense of excitement in figuring out and managing tactical aspects of the work I am dealing with, while smart-talking colleagues and new learning areas have helped to keep my days interesting and fruitful.

Perhaps much has to do with the environment and nature of my work, which differs greatly from my previous job. Instead of writing endless minutes and polishing one draft after another, I now look at figures and try to decipher their meaning so as to tweak them further to achieve some magical results. I find that I actually don't abhor the idea of being a geek and quite like being one in fact. Working with a small team and having limited resources, I no longer have to contend with a stratified machinery; neither do I have to expand emotional energy to grapple with people issues and a thousand peripheral matters. Even more important, I realise, is that I have more weekends to myself than before. This has given me time to recuperate between one battle-weary week and the next, thereby helping to restore some degree of balance in a life that will never cease working. I can charge ahead and work my ass off during the week, but it is important that I have time to do other things in life, time which I can only afford during the weekend. 

Happily, I am starting to find myself living healthier weekends these days. That has also made me greedy and hungry for even more weekend time even as I try to have a productive weekend every week. For there is just so much that I want to do over Saturday and Sunday. It sounds like I have a lot to do, but the ingredients for a happy weekend for me are pretty simple: time for sleeping, time for coffee and food, time for exercise, and time for reading. I went for a jog on Saturday evening and felt so good after that, having tried, unsuccessfully, to catch up with a much older man whom I swear was running at a IPPT 2.4km Platinum pace (aka above Gold Standard pace!). Then on Sunday. I wanted to cycle and run and swim all at the same time, but needless to say I couldn't do it even if I were a triathlete. I swam in the end and made up my mind that I would not linger longer than the time needed to complete my laps, just so I can scoot off for a cuppa after that (it was already late evening then). I managed to do both, and you know how setting goals for yourself and achieving them gives a great deal of satisfaction. 

So now I am ready to plunge back into the depths of the work and I think I can handle all the crises that will be surfacing during the week. Just leave my weekend untouched and I will work hard over the next 5 days. Promise.

I hope you enjoy your work and weekends too. Gambate!


Late evening jog by the lake on Saturday


A heart gift from yesteryear


Aspiring to be owner of a chic van


Girl & Her Doggie


Coffee Grounder


Sunday Cuppacino


Sunday Cuppacino with Murakami's 1Q84


1Q84: Tengo visits his Dad & the Cat Story


Looking for its script writer


My trusty un-DSLR cammie


Potions in a wooden chemical holder


View in front of me


Hello Kitty.

Last Weekend

I spent a long and tiring week at work the week before, staying late in office on most days till past 10pm. So when Friday finally arrived, I was filled with tremendous relief and joy. The punishing week was bad, yet it was bad in such a way that made me eager and determined to enjoy a carefree weekend. That means getting a good dose of rest, taking things easy and slow, and doing things that I like. In fact, because the entire week had been so bad, it wasn't difficult at all for my weekend to be enjoyable. On Friday night, after clearing up the last hurdles and leaving the office, my mind drifted into the realm of silly thoughts as I waited at the bus-stop. It had made an effortless switch from work mode to a 'I'm done for the week and I care not for anything in the world' mode.

While waiting for the bus and during the short bus journey to the train station, I began to entertain thoughts of what a perfect weekend should be like after a harried week like this one: it would be kind of nice if my weary body ought to be delivered into a Sleep Chamber. Somehow, the idea just came to my mind. I can only guess that it's fueled by a deep craving for a good, long sleep. A sleep chamber sounds enticingly welcoming, for not only would it enforce a sleep regime, but it also allows for an uninterrupted period of rest. It's a bit ike how the top pugilists in the pugilist world would periodically retreat into some secluded cave so they can't be disturbed while they are harnessing some deep inner powers. (Of course, in every show these old worldly elders always ended up being disturbed, often right at the last day of their retreat whereupon they would emerge with new levels of powers.) But I digress. I just needed a lot, a lot of sleep to rejuvenate my tired body.

Saturday and Sunday came and gone by nevertheless. They were, however, a splendidly lovely pair of S-days that can be summed up by three things: favourite snacks, relaxing sport, charming places. I would have liked to have more time to catch up with reading and sleep even more, but a weekend is a weekend is only a two-day interlude. Often I thought about this: The irony of wishing to spend a quality weekend is that you need to do some advance planning so that precious in-between hours are not wasted and scheduling clashes are avoided. Because the weekend is so short, you feel like you need to squeeze every minute out of it and do something productive or fruitful. Otherwise come Monday you will feel a sense of betrayal and regret at having squandered precious free time. Yet the whole point of a weekend is not to be sucked back into a semblance of routine and planning. Yes, you need to have a sense of how you want to spend the time; yet you don't want to feel obliged to plan and then stick to it like how the weekdays are bound and run on a scheduled engine. My personal experience tells me that those who are highly disciplined, decisive and determined often have things planned out in advance and tend to adhere to the plan. Those who are more lackadaisical, accommodating and less forceful, on the other hand, are the ones who go with the flow. I like to think I always try to find a balance between over-planning and under-planning, though in the case of weekend I tend to not make plans in advance at all.

I managed to be a bit of a bum over the weekend, and I felt really relaxed at not having anything on my schedule. No more Chinese New Year gatherings, no more reports to worry about. I travelled to places that I always wanted to check out, ate some super yummy favourite food, and took photos of lots of nice things. In place of running and cycling, I managed to swim not just once but twice over the weekend. This was quite a record, since I've not swum during the weekend for a very long time. And as a result of this happy weekend, I find myself a pretty contented worker this week so far.


Dawn. Friday. 


Espresso Haus


A Bright Opening


I can keep on eating this. Dozens. Every day.


Kaya Butter Toast done the perfect way. Absolute delight.
 

Coffee is consistently good.


Leaves. Freely.


Imagination Expired


S-A-L-E


Doggie Trio. Hello!


Vacant


Cashier Chic


Red Against Blue


A Charming Fat Lady

stripes & crosses

Fourth Dragon Day

Thursday, the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, the second working day which I did not have to spend in office. (Before you envy me, I'm paid nothing for staying at home.)

Lucky me, I had company in the morning for a slow city jog. Newly minted Peasant Yap, who is having a sabbatical currently, picked me up from Redhill MRT station at 8 a.m. We started our run from Robertson Quay, and the journey took us through Clarke Quay to Marina Bay Sands. We even zipped through the mall at Shenton Way when going over from Collyer Quay to Raffles Place. That was enough to make us honourably proud of ourselves as we cast mocking glances at the corporate crowd.

Breakfast was decent at a cafe. Coffee was not up to scratch, but the subsequent watermelon-lychee freeze more than made up for it. I read papers while Mr Yap busied himself with preparations for his upcoming GMAT exam.

After we parted, I went for a swim just after noon, repeating the same routine the day before. Awesome.

Third Dragon Day

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, I woke up to a quiet neighbourhood and lovely morning. The kids have gone back to school, the adults have returned to their offices for work. Those who are still on holiday are probably either still in bed or enjoying breakfast at home.

I went for a jog by the lake. In the afternoon, I went for a swim at my favourite public swimming complex. These two activities alone would have defined my day, for it is next to impossible to do both on a weekday. So you can imagine how satisfied and happy I was with my accomplishments.

After the swim, I took a train to town. I wanted to visit Cat Socrates at Bras Basah, a lovely shop that I've heard much about but yet to visit. When I failed to get a response by call and find out from the website and Facebook Page whether the shop's open for business, I decided to still make the trip - and be disappointed. But it's a weekday and I'm a free man, so I'm cool about it.

I hopped over to Kiliney Kopitiam and had a late lunch/tea, paying an exorbitant $5.50 for eggs, toast bread and tea because the prices have not gone down (stall-holders typically raise the prices of food during the first few days of Chinese New Year). After the satisfying meal, I took a long walk in the city area and took pictures - something which I have not been able to do for a long time. Short of calling this a photo-shoot outing, I did try to spot interesting sights and snap shots. By the time I was done, it was past 7.30pm and I had crossed over the road from the Esplanade to the Fullerton Hotel.

Dinner was awaiting me at home. I felt I had spent a good day doing things that I fancy. Lovely Wednesday.