Having "Me" Time

Sometimes, happiness can be found in the littlest places.  You do not need much space to be happy as a friend of my discovered this past two months during the recent flooding in Bangkok.   Happiness is something that for different people comes from a number of reasons. Even though this flooding was disastrous it actually brought a little happiness to some people. Now, let me give you some background.  My friend is usually is a lady who is extremely house-proud and will spend most of her waking energy looking after the house, cleaning and putting things in order.  Yes, everything is top notch shining, bright and everything is set in its proper place.   Not an inch too far to the right or to the left.   She enjoys it and enjoys having a house that is always beautiful to look at.  No trash left lying around. No shoes or books left where they shouldn't be. Then the flood came.  Everything had to be moved to the second floor. Ev...

Tonight I write not about travels, good eats, nor exercise.  I write about a little activity that is great for relaxing and in the end you get something that also comes in handy, a little notebook or sketchbook.  Every since I can remember, I've always loved books and stationery.   I could spend hours on end in bookstores, browsing through the titles, flipping through titles and feeling the paper between my hands.  This love for books included a love for stationery.  Fine writing paper, beautifully crafted notebooks and calligraphy pens were my thing.  As I grow older, it now involves a love for books that have been handcrafted.  I have a sketchbook that I handmade in highschool and it still holds up find.  Everytime I use it, I remember sitting there making the cover and cutting up the paper. Drawings inside date from the 1990's, but each one holds a memory.   Happy memories.  It's not surprising my first drawing is o...

Today is my free Sunday and it is an especially special one for I have not an appointment in the world today.  There is no place I have to be, nothing I have to go out and get, no one I have to go meet, it's a totally free free Sunday.  I have no plans, and I don't want any. Not today anyways.  I think free days like this everyone should have every now and then.  It works wonders for the soul and mind. Most days I wake up and already have a list of things I have to get done.  In fact, I know what I have to do tomorrow before I go to bed the night before so I can plan my wake up time and sleep time.  I think about things I have to get done for work, deadlines, things to follow up on and etc...  Then there are personal things you have to get done, like running, bills to be paid before a certain date or reservations to be made.  If I have to go somewhere, I have to work backwards and plan the departure time and get ready time so I can get to t...

It's Sunday.  Sundays are times for relaxing and as I've written before in my post entitled "Lazy Sundays Wanted" its a day I want to just sit back, relax, and plan my week ahead.  Since my post exactly 9 months ago, I've been getting alot better at not running around on Sundays.  Still it's a work in progress and I will have to keep working at it, most probably for the rest of my life. I have recently realized that sometimes to stop myself from running around doing things on my "To Do List", I have to make myself go to a coffee shop and relax.  The place of choice is most often Starbucks as its convenient to find on almost any street corner.  Once there, I am away from all the things that distract me from having a good rest.  There's no messy room for me to keep feeling I have to clean it up.  No boxes left unopened that must be unpacked.  No old exams and bluebooks since college that are just gathering dust w...

I have lots of "To Do" lists. I think everyone does. And sometimes it gets a hold of me. I want to finish everything on that "To Do" list and when I do, I feel great. I feel like I've accomplished something but then all I did was cross off things on my list only to add more things to it. It becomes a vicious cycle that never ends. I delete then I add. I run around like a crazy girl on weekends driving here and there, doing this and that. When traffic is bad. I use the time to call up people and check on stuff I otherwise don't have time to. I plan my route so it is most efficient, but some days I can be out of the house by 8am and not be back till almost 9pm. I feel like a winded clock. I can't wait to get home. When I do, I rush up to my room and collapse on my bed like it was my saviour. I fall asleep thinking about what I have to do tomorrow and next week. My brain is on a perpetual "go." Some nights I dream of things I have to do. That...

"Stress" is a word that we are all too familiar with. It can arise from work, family, or even external factors... It is defined as "physical, mental, or emotional strain or tension," according to Dictionary.com Interestingly, stress also means "importance or significance attached to a thing" or to place "emphasis" on something such as a syllable or a melody. What causes "Stress"? We say "I'm stressed at work", "I'm stress about the interview" , "I'm stressed about the political situation," but in my opinion, what we are really saying is that these things have been bothering us. They have been bothering us because we have been thinking a lot about them and "emphasizing" them and it bothers us that we don't have the answer, or know what the outcome will be. We are stressed about the interview because we have spent our nights preparing for them, reading and filling our heads ...