Having "Me" Time

This morning I went off to run before work as normal.  I push my lazy self off my comfy bed and whilst driving to the fitness, I wonder if there will ever come a day when the "lazy me" is gone and dead.  It's been almost two years since I've started running and every morning it's a battle to ward off the "lazy me."  Some days, it's quiet and weak and I can easily push it away, some days it has strength and wants to take over the "active me."  Nevertheless, as long as I keep my head, the "active me" remains in top place.  This battle, however, stops the minute I am in the car and once I start running it is as if I am transported into a different dimension. Another world. This morning's world was one of peace and tranquility.  I ran without my headphones. Usually I'd spend my runs catching up on the morning news, watching Haslinda Amin recap on Bloomberg or perhaps the BBC news, but today I wanted to try running without ...

If you were wondering about the title, "No my blog isn't having any "down time" anytime soon but please do have some "me" time :)  Everyone sooner or later needs to have "downtime" for themselves.  I was reading two lovely articles today shared by a good friend about how to be happy and how to have work-life balance.  I think what they say is definitely something we should take into account a bit more consciously.  Not just as a passing thought, but as an action.  Afterall, it's the action that counts. One of things they mentioned was "downtime."  It mentioned that we should schedule "downtime" for ourselves every week to ensure that we get the rest we need.  A little relaxation can go a long way and instead give you more focus, energy and a clearer mind. Sometimes when we are stuck in the everyday rut of "work, work, and more work" we can't seem to even find time for ourselves to take time for the bathroo...

After we eat at Tokyo, we go pray.  Somehow this sequence reminds me of the novel Eat, Pray, Love.  As a first time visitor to Tokyo, I had to go see Tokyo's oldest and most significant temple, the Sensoji-temple or also known as the Asakusa. The temple is dedicated to Guan Yin or the Goddess of Mercy and is supposed to have first been built in 645.  Although most buildings have been destroyed during the World War, they have all been rebuilt and it continues to be an important temple in Tokyo.  People still worship and pray at this temple.  While I was there, I witnessed a ceremony taking place with a few monks but I wasn't able to ascertain what the ceremony was about. It's a fun place to visit even if you've been to a dozen shrines already.  I particularly enjoyed seeing how this place of worship just suddenly appears to you walking down the street.  The entrance is dominated by an enormous "Thunder Gate" under which hangs an equally gig...

Thinking back to my trip in Kuala Lumpur, there are still a few things I have yet to write about so I thought I'd write a bit more on it for those who plan to take a visit there.  There is a street called Jalan Tun H.S. Lee not too far from Chinatown that is home to a few shops selling all the party goods you could possibly want and interestingly a Hindu temple.  The temple had just been renovated when I went there and the colours were bright and vibrant.  I must say its my first time inside a Hindu temple.  There is one in Bangkok, which I must admit I have still yet to visit.  It is on my "to-do" list. The entrance is uniquely hindu with all the sculptures of the hindu gods.  Many deities are depicted on the pyramidal shape above the front door and painted in a variety of colours.   I see Ganesh, the diety that takes shape of an elephant.  Others, I am not so sure of their names.  The colours are striking though and very unique. It ...