I was so excited to find that Tori Kelly's Should've Been Us is now available on iTunes in Singapore so I knew I had to buy the song immediately, which I did, and now it's on a replay streak that possibly knows no end.
Anyway, it's been almost two weeks since I last updated and I suddenly got inspired to update because of the ongoing General Election. And no, I am not about to share my political opinion. It is, however, something my friends and I have been discussing.
As first-time voters, we're all interested in the policies the various parties have to offer us. One of the opposition parties briefly mentioned the long working hours and that's something that touched a soft spot.
During internship, I fully experienced the life of a desk-bound, 8-hour job but the nature of my job is one that does not allow me to be at my desk all day long. I had to run errands for the team and assist on shoots among the other miscellaneous assignments I was tasked with.
So you can imagine that even though I reach office at 830am and do not leave the office till 6pm, I sometimes don't even spend half the day at my desk.
But that was as an intern and obviously, my responsibilities will change as a full-time staff.
Thankfully, as a student, I have all the freedom to plan my schedule in a way that best fits the other aspects of life I want to incorporate. I have every intention of taking advantage of my remaining time as a student to do so.
It is the fifth week of school and I am finally settling down. But from here on, it'll only get busier.
The workload for our Final Year Project (FYP) is slowly building up - we've got interviews scheduled in the next couple of weeks - and assignments for my other modules are slowly but surely surfacing as well.
I'm not going to complain because, like I said, being a student is my first and foremost priority so I will commit all the time needed to fulfilling my responsibilities as a student. But after pulling an almost all-nighter on Sunday night, I decided that some things need to be changed.
I go to school 4 times a week and Wednesdays were originally meant to be my off days but my FYP group decided to meet every Wednesday, on top of Fridays so I don't have any off days per se. Since I absolutely hate the idea of being overwhelmed with work, I have devised a plan that allows me to do so.
I guess you could say this is my attempt at leading a balanced life.
For starters, I work out 6 times a week. Yes, 6 times a week.
This is something I've been wanting to do for a long time and after chancing upon POP Pilates, I knew it would be easily achievable.
My workouts are short, impactful and fun because that's what POP Pilates is all about. I follow a beginner's calendar right now but I've upped the intensity slightly by adding some form of cardio. So my workout begins with a little warm-up before I dive into cardio and finally end off with some targeted area workouts.
I aim for my entire workout to take no more than 45 minutes and I do this at about 5pm every evening, except on Tuesdays because I don't reach home till after 6pm, which also means every Tuesday is my cheat day.
I don't control my diet. (I think I've said this before but) I cannot say no to food. Instead, I try my best to eat at home. I do this religiously because I love, love, love home-cooked food. My helper is one hell of a cook that I cannot resist food, especially when she cooks Indian food.
My only snack for the day is one, or two at max, chocolates after dinner.
That comes before my bowl of fruits. I have requested my helper cut me a bowl of fruits every evening. It helps with clearing my bowels the next morning.
Now that I've included a regular exercising regime to my life, the next thing I must have is me-time.
Me-time is something I used to shy away from because it made me sound like I've no friends to hang out with. (Then again, if you have no friends but you're happy, what else matters?)
I never knew how to appreciate me-time until internship began. I was, literally, on my own for the first few months until Gordon came in. Before that, I was all on my own.
It was uncomfortable at first. I wasn't used to being on my own because I never had to but internship is like an uncomfortable reality I won't be able to escape in future and I knew I had to get used to it whatever it took. And I did.
Me-time is time I spend with myself and that happens every Thursday since school ends at 11am and there are no meetings on that day.
I would roll in bed, read a book, watch drama, listen to music; basically do anything and everything on my own apart from cooking (I leave that to the experts.) This is also the time for me to do self-reflection, update my physical diary (yes, I do have one!) and spend the rest of my time snuggling up to Shelty.
Shelty turns 10 this year and we all hate to admit but he has lived more than half his life already. If I don't spend time with him now while I still can, when will I? I don't want to wait till it's too late, till he can't walk or is overcome by old age. I want to do it now while I still have the time and opportunity to.
So there, I have successfully fitted my workout and me-time into my schedule. That's great but it doesn't stop there.
While me-time is important, so is socialising with actual people.
I take out one evening every week, excluding the weekends, to meet up with my friends and I meet a different group of friends every week.
It is through the encounters and conversations with others that I continue to grow as a person, that my perspectives continue to widen and that I learn more about myself and others. I believe there is no better way to understand oneself than to have conversations with others. It's strange but I've realise how much I've changed over the years recently and it is actually comforting to know I'm no longer whining about trivial matters and getting real matters done instead.
When I'm out with my friends, we don't necessarily engage in anything meaningful. It's usually a simple catch-up over a nice meal that takes no more than 4 hours. Because every one is busy with their respective lives, meet-ups are normally short but worth every single second.
I'm so glad to have friends from different walks of life. Some friends have been with me since before puberty while others join later but I can say with confidence that I am me thanks to all the people that have stayed with me till today. (Thank you my friends, I do love y'all very much!)
Apart from spending time with my friends and myself, I do belong to a family after all.
Every one in my family works a full-time job. Due to the nature of my sister's and brother's job, we don't always get a weekend together. When we do, we don't always make it a point to go out or anything but it's the time we spend together that matters.
We could all be at home in our own rooms doing our own thing but I'd still feel the need to be at home with them because I am with them and that's what matters to me.
Sundays are strictly for them.
Occasionally, we'd play mahjong together and the afternoon would go by so quickly. At other times, we'd make plans to go out to visit my grandparents or go for a meal at a place we've never been to before.
But it's being home with the people I love that makes me feel human.
~~~~~~~~~~
This is my promise to myself.
I know I probably won't get the luxury to do all of this the same when I start working full-time but for now, I am going to do it.
Irrelevant but I used the volcanic mask by Innisfree today! It feels super good and left a cool, minty feeling after I washed it off. Now my skin is super smooth.
Usually when I smack on all my Laneige products, my face feels slightly oily. But tonight it feels so smooth I can't believe it.
Now it's time to prep for a long day tomorrow!
Gonna catch a movie with Kat, Mel and Banana so yay!
Comments