A Day of Something Yet Nothing

I don't remember the last time I took leave to do nothing. Well, almost nothing. The last time I took leave was to cook during Christmas, so that didn't count as it was "hard labour", and before that, the trip to Italy. So today was a day I specially put aside to spend some time with, well, myself.

8.30am::

Opened my eyes from deep slumber and thought how good this felt, when all my friends were just about to start work, and here I was, just waking up.

9.30am::

Breakfast with The Boy at Jones The Grocer. There were quite a number of expat wives sitting around having scones and tea. I asked him if he could find a job that would allow me to do the same not just today, but everyday too.

10.30am:: Muddy murky stone massage. Not sure to what extent should the masseuse talk during therapy, but she did tell me alot about her life, her family back in China. I listened politely, but somehow, I didn't quite have the heart to tell her to shut up and continue with the massage. The bitch in me was on leave too.

Overall, the experience was definitely relaxing and the Hungarian mud left my skin soft and smooth. But maybe the aromatherapy massage would do the next time, as I didn't think the stones were that much to rave about. In fact, it was ticklish, sending shivers up my spine, when she glided the stones up and down my back.

The lounge area where I waited to go for my mani/pedi next was nice and cosy. Just sitting there, staring out at the greenery was enough to bring about a sense of calm and serenity within. One would just wish that every moment in life was like that - peaceful and knowing that you have nothing else to do next!




12.30am::

Mani/pedi by therapist who wasn't very thorough with the cleaning of the cuticles. Otherwise, I have nothing much to comment on.

On the whole, House definitely has a very arty, back-to-basics feel to the place. The raw pillars of exposed cement and bricks, the dangling naked bulbs - unfinished yet deliberate. I like the contrast. Will be back for more love-me sessions.


3.30pm::

After a bit of late lunch and reading (in a world of my own), I called back to the office, asked if everything was going well. I actually told @ndrea I was getting bored already. I didn't know what to do next.

I was starting to feel out of touch with the world!!! How ridiculous is that? Is that what working life does to you? It makes you work non-stop to a point where you don't know how to take time out and relax anymore? That there must be an agenda in place every day?

Gosh, think I better shelve that tai-tai dream, I'll probably rot. Or maybe I should take more of such days off to get the hang of it.

He Drives Fast, He Drives Me Crazy

I have been having butterflies in my tummy for the last few days. One from the fact that we'd be having a bunch of friends over for dinner this evening and that means "mass quantity food production" for 9 persons. Well, 3 more than what I usually can cope with, so good luck to me on that. The other would be THE Challenge.

I'm not a frequent driver, nor am I a "fast and furious" driver. And the thought of swerving through obstacles at high speed with sudden braking and sharp cornering, in the name of "testing the true capabilities of the car" made me nervous. So it was with some effort that I put these worries aside and went along "just to have some fun". Plus, The Boy said it would be added value in terms of learning about driving safely in precarious conditions.

So we, together with race queen @ndrea and a bunch of other friends, braced ourselves for an afternoon of stomach-churning high speed action. The instructors/drivers were cute, so that was a distraction from my wanting to puke, especially when they brought us through the course at THEIR speed and agility. WOW, it was truly impressive. And after that, we each had our turn to practise, before THE test later on.




The test involves going through all the courses and the one who does it in the fastest timing goes into the challenge for the overall winner, to be up against winners from the other sessions. Needless to say, me being the "kiasi" driver, made it through the course safely, flattening 2 cones along the way (penalty of added 1 second to timing per cone), and emerged proudly as a Participant for the Challenge.




Lo and behold, MY HUSBAND emerged the winner of that afternoon's challenge!!! Frankly, I wasn't expecting him to win, so it was a really happy moment for us. I was so proud of him.... till they handed him the prize. It was ANOTHER luggage bag!!

Ok, I need to digress, and explain about The Boy and his bags. Do you know that The Boy has a knack for bringing all kinds of premiums home? Premiums from Tiger Beer, Heineken, Guinness, etc. Those from his days of working at the brewery. And the premiums include ALL KINDS OF BAGS as well. Luggage bag, carry bag, sports bag, laptop bag, you name it. And I'm always nagging at him to stop bringing these things back to clutter up the house. But he says they are really "nice" and hold "sentimental values".

So, imagine how both of us were thinking of exactly the same thing when the lady handed him the luggage bag prize:

Me:: WTF!! *faintz*

Him:: This time die already (in hokkien)!

Anyhow, I'll deal with the bag when we get home. Meanwhile, it was picture-taking time - with the WINNER and the Cute drivers! By then, we were all worn out, from the adrenaline-pumping afternoon and the hot sweltering heat. But taking the Friday afternoon off to do all these was well worth it.