1st Quarter Report

It has been so long since my last entry.

The start of the year was crazy. I mean crazy busy, it was a riot – in my schedule, in my mind – whew, I’m glad that’s over.  For now.

So I am savouring the manageable days, schedules, and to-do lists.  I am savouring the fact that I can leave the office at 530PM. I am savouring the days when I don’t have 4 meetings in a day.  I love what I do, but sometimes, it gets out of control.  They say, when you love something or someone, you love not just the good bits, but also the bad ones. Those I mentioned were the bad ones.  Hmmm, I don’t think it’s also good that I spoke about love and work in one breath.

Speaking of love, Valentines passed by without any frills for me.  Sometimes, I feel I have forgotten how love feels, what love is or how it is to be in love.  I need to believe in love again.  Till that time comes, I will keep on going with my life – with all the good and the not so loveable.

Have You Done Something with Complete Abandon?

What have you done without utterly thinking, no logic, no analysis, no thinking of what people might say, think or feel about you, or better yet, without YOUR judgement on yourself.

 N o thinking if it’s right or wrong,  no editing yourself.  Just pure emotion, gut feel, in the moment.  Wild abandon.

Mine?  The usual —  love,  dancing like nobody’s watching, getting my tattoo, quitting a job and going sabbatical for a year, just for the heck of it.  I spent half a year in Los Angeles doing absolutely nothing. It was heaven.  I drove to the beach, to friends’ house, to the mall —  all with a google map, and without a license.  Just thought my being a tourist would be valid enough.

 I even drove 45 minutes to Disneyland to spend the entire day there.  I would spend my days driving my nephew and niece to their soccer practice or piano lessons.  Or I’d walk to the nearby park, lay a blanket under a tree, read a book, have a little something to eat, and take a nap!  It was so different from my life in Manila.  It was so simple. No fuss, no stress.

Have you thrown caution to the wind? What did you just throw yourself in irrationally?

My Life’s Simple Pleasures

Its the simplest things that bring me joy:

1.  Having a late night conversation while standing up by the kitchen counter, with a tub of ice cream.  Beautiful moment.

2. Giving someone a back rub.

3. A heartyy breakfast.

4. Mornings.

5. Freshly brewed coffee from the pot.

6. Reading the Sunday paper from cover to cover.

7. Sleeping in till 9 AM on Sundays.

8. Late afternoon walks.

9. Non-fat Yogurt

10. Mushrooms & Garlic.

11.  Watching movies.

12. Holding hands while sleeping.

13.  That corner on our big, comfy couch which holds my back perfectly. 

14. Quiet days in the house.

15. The art of doing nothing.

16. The smell of newly washed clothes that were dried under the sun.

17. Going to my kick-boxing class.

18. Laughing out loud.  I never let a day pass without laughing. I feel I’ve wasted the day if I didn’t laugh.

19.  Going for a 2-3 day leave from work.  I love what I do, but I also love the feeling of going shopping, watching movies and dining out when everybody is at work. It feels great to have the mall and restaurants all to myself.

20.  Reading a magazine or Reader’s Digest before I go to sleep.

21. A warm bath before going to bed.

22. A glass of red wine after a day’s work.

23. Champagne for no reason at all.  There shouldn’t be a need for an ocassion to have Champagne.

24. My very cold room and a thick blanket.

25. 8 hours of deep, uninterrupted sleep.

26. Singing while driving.