Work has been crazy for the past month... Standard work hours is 9am-6pm, but lately its been 9am-10pm. Extended hours are mainly due to work volume rather than work complexity, because a lot of stuff needs to be fixed/configured/setup and there is no way to do it automatically. And so it was timely that I stumbled upon this quote: 


The Dalai Lama was asked what surprised him the most - he said:

"Man, because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. 

Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. 

And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; 

the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; 

he lives as if he is never going to die, and then he dies having never really lived.".

Suffice to say, it struck my heart and made me feel really bad. So i printed this quote, placed it on my work keyboard, and promised my self I will try to go home by 7pm everyday... I barely passed this week - left the office early 3 out of 5. :)

I think I need to occupy myself with something that really interests me, and maybe try to do things that I haven't done much of in the recent months. I tried to rekindle my love for cooking - that lasted one week when I went on night shift for 3 days (I haven't thought of anything to try afterwards that's why I haven't restocked). Other hobbies I wanted to continue are reading, manicuring, self-pampering (face masks, foot spa, etc). So in the recent Megamall sale (which I haven't missed since 2007), I bought a new shade of Orly nail polish. I was debating between Haute Red and Mandalay Ruby, and I chose the latter. I really love Orly nail polish because it lasts for a week on my nails and two weeks or more on my toes, which saves me time from redoing them. 

I also bought more books (I think I have 16 unread books and 2 currently reading), which I plan to read while on the bus or before going to sleep. Other hobbies I can think of is 

1. volunteer work - I joined a tree-planting activity earlier this day, and man it was tiring! But the thought that 10-15 years there will be another full-grown tree made the effort worthwhile. 

2. photography - maybe I can try the 30-day challenge which lots of my FB contacts are doing

3. driving - need I say more? This is definitely on my bucket list.

 I am still looking for other inspirations, hope it strikes me soon. :)