Carpe Diem

We mutter this often enough, every time something unexpected happens to rub the prospect of mortality in our faces.  But how often do we actually take heed and make that change?  To prioritise what's really important to the top of the list in our lives, to grab every opportunity when the doorbell rings?

Well, this year, a little chat with friends, and a little reflection on how I'd never gotten round to doing just a very small task when I had 365 days to get around to it, is pushing me to do this:  This year, I shall make that Nike motto mine - "Just do it".

I wouldn't go so far as to say "Impossible is nothing", but surely lots of things are possible, albeit with differing degrees of difficulty in achieving them. Very often, the hardest part is getting off your butt and starting it.  So this year, I'm going to remind myself, every time that Inner Queen Bitch of Procrastination rears her ugly head, that time and tide waits for no man (or woman).  If I don't get around to doing it when opportunity knocks or when there is a possibility of getting it done now, I will lose not only precious time, but maybe even the only opportunity of ever getting it done.

Just do it.  Just get off my butt and make a move on it.  Doesn't even matter if I should give up halfway if I lose interest.  At the very least, I would have done SOMETHING about something that piques my interest enough to put it down on my bucket list.

I've finally come to the realisation that I've arrived at the position I've hoped and worked a long time for.  That being the case, let's not put off what I had promised myself back then, when I first made that resolution to get here.  Even though I haven't quite settled on the "how", I think I should just get started, and work out the kinks along the way.  It doesn't have to be the perfect storm conditions before we embark on that journey.  We just have to get out of the house and wing it on the way.

Carpe diem.

Return to the Grind

Tomorrow marks what would, hopefully, be a soft landing for my return to the grind. Albeit a short one.

It's funny how life pans out, as always. One moment, I'm reading an interesting article about interesting and low-unemployment careers that most college-going kids don't know about (and hence, have not considered. Airport traffic controller - How does one get into such a job??). The next, I've found yet another job which I didn't know existed right before I sent in my application for the position.

After what was undoubtedly an unjustifably tedious battery of tests for such a lowly-paid position (Really? You think someone who has only gotten as far as their 'O' or 'N' Levels would be widely read enough to know the meaning of the word, "Abjure"??), I got the news that my waking hours are soon to be back in the shackles of "office hours".

When this blog started some years' back, I told myself to keep an open mind about where I might land after taking a flying leap off a ledge into the dark. Once again, I find myself whispering the same mantra again...

In preparation, I actually had to dig deep into the wardrobe for some "proper" work wear to last me a couple of days. I say "proper", because in my previous worklife, I was prone to wearing any old rubbish to work. There was "no government" in this respect, so to speak. My only nod to my past (and so no one mistakes me for the help and asks me to go make them a coffee) was to wear a black suit on board meeting days. That, along with most of that part of my wardrobe that resembled sombre board meeting-wear, had been vacuum-packed away 18 months ago. I have yet to face reality enough to climb a ladder to unpack that back into the wardrobe space. I shall leave that for another day when I feel less reluctant (or when necessity forces my hand).

Meanwhile, deep breath. Ready to step off the ledge.

Too Long

This blog has been neglected too long.

I blame a lack of inspiration, coupled with instant gratification through FaceBook and Instagram. Who has time to write prose when one picture would speak a thousand words?

It's month 18 of The Long Vacation, and the idling life is still going strong. In fact, I'm more prepared to let myself idle much of the time than I did before. There are hours of the day when I'm not doing anything fruitful at all, and not feeling too overwhelmed with guilt over it. :-P There were some plans to perhaps send some feelers out into the job market, see whether any opportunities knock. But a change in health situation means, I'd rather fill my life with quality memories if quantity might be affected. And being tied to a work desk, dealing with annoying people, stressed over meeting deadlines and KPIs, does not align with those life goals now.

Lunch with an old friend brought up the issue of working on that Bucket List. To be honest, I don't have one. Or at least, I can't think of anything overwhelming which I feel I would regret if I never got around to doing/seeing/feeling it. I feel pretty much happy with what I have, and apart from wanting MORE of what I have (which is basically greed), I don't really feel like I'm missing much.

So, what should I be spending my freedom on? That is an issue to give some serious pondering to. In the same vein as one would at work, one feels compelled to make a plan, have a to-do list, and work on executing that plan in order to be efficient, effective, and have some achievement at the end of this life. Even if that achievement is "happiness in life". An ephemeral goal.

How does one pin down steps to achieve an ephemeral goal?

The Circus Came to Town!

Permanent smile on my face. All night. Except for those moments when my jaw dropped...

I guess one never outgrows the awe and wonder of such athletic strength and agility.

Relack One Corner

 

I confess. I never thought I would enjoy it for as much, and as long, as I have. The freedom of not being trapped in an office during office hours, on a week day.

Sure, there are moments of guilt, for being so fortunate. And moments of doubt, over whether I am being a useful person. But I refuse to let those feelings overwhelm the privilege of freedom. Afterall, if you don't enjoy the moment, it'll be gone. And looking back on it is not quite the same, is it?

Little Leap of Faith

It is Month 5 of The Long Vacation, and I've been sitting at my work station, kicking up a dust storm in my wake, trying to get my new little business off the ground.

Back track to end of Month 3, when I started feeling a little lost and bored, and wondered if I'm cut out for this life of leisure... Without much thought (none of the usual "over-thinking"), I decided I'd give this little blogshop thing a go, just for the hell of it.

I'm one of "those people" - the ones who cannot sit still on their asses without plotting yet another project to be embarked on. This little project, had I given it more thought, would never have gotten off the ground. Seriously. It is WAY more work than I'd imagined. Especially when one is too cheap to pay someone else to do all the hard labour...

From research on the competition to sourcing for stock, from setting up the online shop interface to figuring out how to insert a code, from posing and taking (hopefully) flattering photos of stock to starting a usable inventory catalogue, from sourcing for packaging to figuring out and making a logo, from price tagging to fun fair display trial runs, it has been one helluva month of steep learning curves! And I was all ready to whine about how many lost hours of my life I was never getting back (FOUR hours just trying to insert a Facebook "Like" box???) when...

"But are you having fun??" , someone asked.

And you know what? I am!

I'm having a LOT of fun picking up skills I'd probably never have the opportunity to pick up, simply because I wouldn't need to. I'm finally rolling up my sleeves and experiencing the nitty-gritty of setting up a business, details which I'd been sitting comfortably in a meeting room listening to over the past 6 years. I'm learning way more about marketing strategies (both off- and online) than I would ever have the privilege to, had I not embarked on this adventure (sadly, a dear friend had to be forcibly started on her Long Vacation for me to benefit from her expertise...).

As I sat at my work station, daylight streaming through the patio doors, listening to the birds chirping outside, I'm thankful once again for the fortunate twists in my life. Another leap in the dark, another little prayer muttered under the breath.

Adventures of a Non-Gourmand

The fact is, I eat to live and not the other way around. Whatever works best with the least effort works best for me. Without an acutely discerning sense of taste, it hardly seems worth the effort of sweating over a hot stove for hours just to be able to replicate some favourite dish at home. But now that time is available in abundance, I've decided to get off my lazy arse and make more of an effort. Part of my "Get my act together" project is attempting some recipes which I have always been tempted by, but conveniently used the excuse of lack of time to escape from.

Years ago, I had witnessed Fourth Aunt making Char Siew in a wok. I've got that recipe down somewhere, but, with the huge amount of cookbooks I have (which don't get referred to much), I've lost it...Inspired one day by some delicious aroma coming from the neighbour's home, I googled and was tempted by the photos on a blog to try this.

This is my second attempt at making Char Siew. The first attempt failed because apparently, there IS such a thing as cooking your meat too long and getting it too soft...I had been too impatient and resorted to the pressure cooker in the first instance. The second time around, I decided to do it right, and use a non-stick pan at that (so Our Friend would not freak out at the prospect of cleaning out yet another sticky pan full of charred meat and sauce...).


Tadah!

The success of this effort has SO inspired and encouraged me to try out more things. Afterall, I had promised myself so many adventures - bread, cakes, cookies, simple home-cooked everyday dishes, tapas, extravagant champagne breakfasts (done and crossed off the list! Should definitely be repeated with various friends!), pizza with homemade dough, local and Indonesian dishes, dishes which are time-consuming and requires a bit more effort than a few quick chops and slices and stir fried or steamed very quickly on the stove-top or in the oven.

And I plan to chronicle them here, using my new toy...:)