Make weekends my own and not work, but also, do something with them and not lounge around for two days

is how to have a relaxing and regenerating weekend without either doing too much or beating myself up for not doing enough.

I am not very good at down days. I am going to try to relax today. There’s already a load of laundry in, but that’s one of those things where you’re doing something without DOing something.

We had our Easter dinner yesterday with family in Riverside County. Nice to give the whole day over to feasting and enjoying each other. Decided that we will switch holidays and we’ll host Christmas this year. Yay! We’ll enjoy it very much.

Saturday was spent celebrating my son’s birthday. Good food, good company, nice big chocolate cake and lotsa presents. It went much better than I expected! ;)

Sunday.. went out with S, watched 300.. which absolutely blew my mind. And S was happy that the movie turned out as well as he thought it would. Had so much to eat and drink afterwards, talked for hours and then we called it a day.

Sunday evening.. played around with some video converters. Watched an episode of Desperate Housewives while cycling to burn off everything I ate (as if!). Despite my exhaustion, I fell asleep around 1 AM. And no, I didn’t do a single thing work-wise!

I’ve had a great day. Lit a fire, made a pot of tea and settled down to cuddle my parrot while I finished reading Beloved, one of my favorite books.

Spent several hours searching for info about Paris, Le Havre, Mont St. Michel, train schedules, car rentals, etc. Called my mother to confirm which flight itinerary we think would be best for us.

Called Arturo to see if he’d like to go to dinner with Hydra and I before the reading tonight. Yes! We’ll have a leisurely meal at a restaurant he suggested, then go to my friend Noel’s publication party, buy his book, be happy and excited for him!

Feels like time well spent, on me. No checking work e-mail. No, no… no.

I went out to get my hair washed and cut, bought a few books for my son, browsed for shoes but didn’t buy any and went out with my dad to check out the speakers.. then took a detour to check out a few used cars (both my dad and I are big fans of Mercedes Benz).

Finally checked my email at 6PM, a few emails from the big boss. Nothing too urgent. Am gonna read a few more chapters of Archer’s False Impression, practice Trouble on the piano and watch another episode of Kyle XY while working out on the bike.

Bliss, absolute bliss..

and I’m nursing a nagging headache. I didn’t sleep very well, especially after getting a text message in the middle of the night. An excited pal had to convey his high after watching Boyz II Men in concert. OK.. good for him.

The night before, I only had 5 hours of sleep. So I spent half of Saturday pretty much zonked out. But I have stuff to do in the evening, performance appraisals.. clearing my Inbox.. sending out meeting minutes. I was doing alright until my head started pounding, it started really soft like it crept up on me from nowhere before launching itself into full throbs of numbing pain.

So I went to bed in such a state and woke up not much better. But I can’t sleep past 8 AM, out of habit I think. So I’m up although I wish I wasn’t. Gonna take it really s-l-o-w today, the headache is making me feel nauseous… :(

I’m exhausted! Had a busy day, spent outdoors mostly. But I have a few things to do before I call it a night. All in all, a pleasant weekend except for that freaky massage I endured.

and I am struck by lethargy!!! 2 hours til the weekend. Holding my breath…

It just occurred to me that how I spend my weekends have a direct impact on how I’d perceive my quality of life. Maybe it’s cause my weekends are mostly spent as how I see fit, the two days are almost sacred to me. So sometimes, when I do have to fulfill certain obligations, I have to consciously tune my head else I might begrudge those tasks and come Sunday evening, feels like the weekend was a total waste.

Anyway.. today I had a blissful Saturday. Woke up and rode my bike then worked outdoors for a bit. Cut off some dead branches, transfered my latest plant into a new pot. And the weather was perfect, it wasn’t too hot and there was a light breeze too. I had lunch right after that and it rained a bit, which was good cause I scattered some fertilizers, the rain will cool it down, else the soil gets too hot and the plants will soon wither and die.

Later this eve I’m meeting up my good friend and her hubby for an evening concert. The band is called Samsons, and Indonesian band, apparently a big hit but I have no idea who they are. But I’m game for anything musical plus I have nothing planned for the eve. And the ticket’s free, so I figured why not.

I have some work stuff to do, mostly documentation and a bit of planning for next week’s meeting. Nothing deathly urgent, so I’m not too bothered. I do need to catch up with some emails, but I don’t get too many to begin with.

So far the first weekend for the year is unfolding quite nicely. I could do with more leisurely Saturdays like this.

was a long stretch which lasted 5 days. A nice long break to get me ready for a brand new year.

I didn’t do much work, mainly coz the VPN was down and I couldn’t get online much. I could do other types of work, but spent most of my waking hours gardening and reading. Did a bit of shopping and hung out with my cousins. Ate quite a bit but also sweated out on the bike to make up for it.

I’m in the middle of finishing up my review for the past year. Hope to get that done today. I’m still relying a lot on my to-do list, it gives me comfort knowing I was productive. I feel a bit anal sometimes, knowing I get so much satisfaction from marking things done. But if that is what it takes to get me through the day with some peace of mind, then so be it.

Spent almost half the day visiting relatives and family friends. I ate so much during the day, but couldn’t bear to go to bed on an empty stomach. Had some soup for dinner, then attacked several things I had jotted down as my to-do list. I have two more things to do for today, but it’s already 12:19AM on 1st Jan, 2007. I’m tired and sleep seems such a wonderful idea.

So this is how I celebrate the dawn of the new year, exhausted after a long day, but looking forward to tomorrow knowing there’s still more to do.

I will not torment myself, as I muse between doing and being. For today, I accept they are one and the same. I can’t be who I need to be, until I do all I need to do. Tomorrow, I might change my mind. Such a fickle creature, I am.