Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Some rain must fall
It has been quite sometime since I wrote anything for the website. It is interesting how a culmination of events could override your existing schedule. At the end of last year, I was offered a chance to pursue a Masters degree in Business Management at Exeter University. It was something I couldn’t resist because further education here in the UK is very expensive and since my office offered to pay for my tuition, I had no hesitation at all. I was determined to combine my studies with a full time job and very busy home life. No problems until…
Changes at work meant more responsibilities and staff, great for my career but it meant added stress. Then my home life wasn’t as stress free as before. People close to me fell ill. Currently, my father in law is in hospital. I now have to juggle work, housework, ferrying my mother in law to and from hospital for visits (good thing my husband does most of the driving), doing chores for her (banking and shopping) and rushing all the time. The pressure at work is increasing in preparation for the huge change and I haven’t written one word for my 5000-word assignment. To top it all, we are considering selling our property this summer so we could more further out in the country in bigger digs.
I feel I am doing something every single waking hour of my day. However, I also know from experience that I must follow a strategy in order to cope with the changes in my life.
I try to keep focussed. I follow a strict healthy diet. I even cancelled coffee, added sugar and salt! The temptation to eat that scrumptious chocolate croissant is a test on my self control. I eat a banana instead. When I feel a bit under the weather I take a cold and flu tablet, drink lots of juice and hit the sack early. I’ve been advised to add a drop of whiskey--for medicinal purposes you see.
(As I write this, the fire alarm went off and I had to ensure that people were out of their offices!)
It is starting to snow again. We’ve had a cold snap recently and the temperature plummeted to minus one degree Celsius. Scrapping off ice from a frosted windshield early in the morning is not my idea of fun.
There are days when I’ve almost forgotten how life is in Manila--the humidity and heat. In spite of the cold and frost, plants struggle to come back to life. Daffodils dot my front garden and in a few weeks time, cherry and magnolia trees will be in full splendour. I love this time of year, spring, it gives me hope to carry on. As the saying goes, in every life some rain must fall…and soon after the sun shines.
Changes at work meant more responsibilities and staff, great for my career but it meant added stress. Then my home life wasn’t as stress free as before. People close to me fell ill. Currently, my father in law is in hospital. I now have to juggle work, housework, ferrying my mother in law to and from hospital for visits (good thing my husband does most of the driving), doing chores for her (banking and shopping) and rushing all the time. The pressure at work is increasing in preparation for the huge change and I haven’t written one word for my 5000-word assignment. To top it all, we are considering selling our property this summer so we could more further out in the country in bigger digs.
I feel I am doing something every single waking hour of my day. However, I also know from experience that I must follow a strategy in order to cope with the changes in my life.
I try to keep focussed. I follow a strict healthy diet. I even cancelled coffee, added sugar and salt! The temptation to eat that scrumptious chocolate croissant is a test on my self control. I eat a banana instead. When I feel a bit under the weather I take a cold and flu tablet, drink lots of juice and hit the sack early. I’ve been advised to add a drop of whiskey--for medicinal purposes you see.
(As I write this, the fire alarm went off and I had to ensure that people were out of their offices!)
It is starting to snow again. We’ve had a cold snap recently and the temperature plummeted to minus one degree Celsius. Scrapping off ice from a frosted windshield early in the morning is not my idea of fun.
There are days when I’ve almost forgotten how life is in Manila--the humidity and heat. In spite of the cold and frost, plants struggle to come back to life. Daffodils dot my front garden and in a few weeks time, cherry and magnolia trees will be in full splendour. I love this time of year, spring, it gives me hope to carry on. As the saying goes, in every life some rain must fall…and soon after the sun shines.
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