take advantage of weekends to move forward in life

i am still at my parents’ helping babysitting phun while his parents are at work..

the flooding is getting intensive again in hatyai. many villages have been flooded and under water.. it’s been raining days and nights since friday. some schools are closing for a day or two for students who are in faraway areas. so, kla is still at home with his parents as his school is one of the schools that close..

as a result, i didn’t do many things during the weekend while being confinded at home. however, i managed to finished one book ‘long way down’ yesterday and i am thrilled to start a new one…

py is still on a roadtrip with her parents and will be arriving home tomorrow.. she seems to own a travelling bug like her auntie…

nontheless, kla and i are going to drive back to my shop in hatyai this afternoon to resume our weekday life…

i wish you guys have a great week..

Started on Friday evening by dropping off 3 matted prints to be exhibited in a local art sale (the same one I sold 2 prints at last year).

Saturday was very self-indulgent, with Pilates followed by a massage, then to the movies with friends.

Today I’ve been domestic and bought veges and done washing and ironing. Strawberries were really cheap today, so I’ve made some strawberry jam, plus I’ve got some left to eat for breakfast for the next couple of days. I did go to the gym too, so I’m feeling quite healthy.

saturday morning, i had to wake up and got ready earlier to accompany my sister to bring phun to hatyai for his monthly vaccination. he was a big boy, didn’t cry when the doctor jabbed the needle into his chubby left thigh. if anyone looked at me closely while he was jabbed, he/she could see my tears.. yeah, i cried (but managed to hide) while he was pierced.. hell.. it was good nobody noticed it!.. (however, i was better than my brother.. he cried and sobbed in the hospital toilet when py was vaccinated at the first time..)

saturday night, it was pouring hard outside all night long. i thought it was going to flood again. (if it flooded, i would be able to use it as an excuse to stay home one more day!) but no, it stopped before daylight broke in. it was a cold morning and i liked to stay under my thick blanket as long as possible. but you couldn’t do that if you live under the same roof as a baby. they always wake you up. my sis holding phun in one arm knocked on my door at 6.30 am. it was time for auntie to bring him out for a walk again. sleepily, i walked out of my room to check if it rained. the boy was lucky. it was just misty and not a drop of rain. the all night rain left fresh air and creamy fog around the house..

at 7 am, i gave phun back to my sister and laced up for a morning run. i left late this morning but lucky that the sun didn’t shine. the village was still thick with the fog when i left my home. i walked slowly through the village and started running from the temple and ran towards the market. i ran slowly along the hilly road for the whole 5k. it was a fresh and quiet morning and it felt good to run alone. as the road was hilly, i didn’t want to speed up. i wanted to save my legs for the next day for a long and quick run on the treadmill. since coming back from holiday, i felt that they hurted easily after a hard run, so i needed to take it easy and stretch more before starting running.. it took me 40 minutes this morning to complete my 5k run. i didn’t sweat much as the sun didn’t shine. but it felt good to run and managed to get it done. i felt a bit lazy before i left the house and unsure if i would run or not.. but i convinced myself that i would feel good if i went out.. that’s why i laced up and left my house..
in the afternoon, i had an appointment with dave but didn’t know what time. he told me he would call me when he left home for the airport. at 1.30 pm, he finally called me saying that he just woke 30 minutes ago and leaving for the airport.. and he flight was 3 pm… shit! he gave me such a short notice to drive to see him at the airport. still, i went. leaving home at 1.30 pm, i arrived at the airport and saw him at 2.10 pm. i asked him what time his boarding time was, he said 2.20 pm. so, i drove from home nearly 30 kms. just to see him for 10 mins! (dear god, boys are still boys, day and night!) ..

i joined him and martin at a coffee shop inside the terminal, had a quick chat for 10 mins and then parted. he gave me 2 books and i gave him one box of chocolate. martin asked dave why i gave it to him, he said it was just her.. yeah, it was just me. most of the time when meeting a friend i gave something to them, as a gift. it’s my tradition.. (except if i am the one who travel, as i try to travel light, i send them after instead..)

after seeing dave off, martin and i walked to our cars. as it was still hot and baking and i was lazy to drive to my shop and i still had few hours, i drove back home. my sis and her hubby were surprised seeing me again. i told them my mission was completed and i wanted to be home on the few hours left. they looked pleased and happy.. and so was i.

we ganged up in my sister’s room, taking turns playing with phun and surfing the net to pass the time before i drove back to hatyai again with kla at 5 pm.

it was a glorious weekend and i can’t wait to spend time with them again next weekend.. it was a pity that py was away to trang during the weekend and will be on the road to the north with her mom and dad for 8 days next week. so, our next weekend will be hugely quiet and peaceful. we will miss her loads.. hope you guys live life to the fullest..

I spent the weekend in Auckland, due to my service to others goal. It was a good opportunity to learn some new things, and to support others. We were also staying in a very pleasant coastal suburb, so I was able to go for walks along the beach in the morning and evening. I also did a little bit of shopping while I was there, which was fun.

As a result of being away, I haven’t done any domestic stuff, apart from a load of washing when I got back. A pretty good weekend actually!

The bathroom remodelling has thrown my life into disarray, but it’s over now. As a result this weekend I have done a lot of washing and ironing, now I have my new laundry appliances. I’ve also been shopping for fruit and veges, including strawberries and asparagus (yum!) and supermarket stuff. I pottered in the garden, weeded my little patch and watered the plants. I am happy to report that my strawberry plant has 3 tiny strawberries on it.

Yesterday I went to my usual Pilates lesson, and today I went for a long walk instead of going to the gym. It was a warm sunny day, so it was really great to get outside.

I’ve also bought a new camera, so I’ve been busy taking photos. Some of them are the fun sort, and others are the boring sort (stuff I want to sell on TradeMe).

Yesterday I went to the hairdresser and got some blonde streaks put in my hair for summer. This and the sunshine have improved my outlook on life a lot.

Major achievements this weekend were getting ready for the bathroom renovation starting tomorrow, and buying a vacuum cleaner.

I have emptied the bathroom cupboard, removed other objects such as the scales and the wind chimes, and done heaps of washing before the old washing machine disappears. I’ve also removed obstacles and potentially breakable items on the path from the front door to the bathroom.

I also braved the really bad weather yesterday (8 degrees or something – another 5 layers of clothing day) and bought a vacuum cleaner. Two lucky things happened. My mother sent me a cheque for $1000 because I’d sounded so miserable last weekend about the vacuum and the camera, and Briscoes had a half price sale on electrical goods this weekend. A fortuitous combination!

I’m beginning to think though, that it’s National Break Down Month, because my big heater died on Friday evening, we had a watermain repair on Saturday afternoon which meant they cut off water for about 2 hours, and we are still without street lighting after 10 days even though the council call centre assures me that an urgent job has been logged. The worst thing about the heater is that it’s impossible to replace it at this time of the year, because shops don’t stock heaters in spring – no market for them or something :(

On the positive side, Pilates yesterday really got me moving on a cold day, and I did cardio and weights at the gym this afternoon. Today has been a beautiful sunny day, and I have bought fruit and veges for the week, including asparagus.

Good stuff
Going to an ikebana lesson held as part of the Botanic Gardens spring festival. My moribana creation was a pretty creditable effort I thought. While I was in the gardens, I also looked at these guys competing in an arborist’s tree climbing competition. They raced up trees at alarming speeds.

The weather on Saturday was sunny and warm.

Continuing the Japanese theme, I went to see the movie Departures, which was an excellent movie.

I did weights and cardio at the gym yesterday, and a Pilates mat class today.

At Friday night’s AA meeting, 2 people celebrated their AA birthdays (6 and 7 years), and we went for dinner together before the meeting.

I did laundry and pottered in the garden. Weeded my little collection of pots thoroughly, did 5 minutes of pruning, and then planted the plants I bought last week. I have bought fruit and veges for the coming week, including asparagus!

I did not do any vacuuming.

Not so good stuff
I didn’t go to my Pilates studio class, because my mother was passing through Wellington on her way home, and was keen to catch up at the airport. I rescheduled the class for Monday evening, and then she rang and told me not to bother, she would only be there for half an hour so it wasn’t worth it. Families aaaargh!

My camera has malfunctioned (in between the tree climbing contest and the ikebana lesson), and I have a horrible feeling that I will need to get a new camera. I’ve been wanting to get a really good one for quite a while, but this is not a great time for this, due to the amount I’m spending on the bathroom.

I looked at vacuum cleaners. This is because my vacuum cleaner went kaput earlier this week. I do not like vacuuming, so you can imagine how I feel about shopping for vacuum cleaners when I’d much rather be buying a camera. However, I will probably need to vacuum up a lot of dust from the renovations in the next few weeks, so I’ve got to buy one.

Edit – have added a photo of my ikebana efforts!

mostly i was at home babysitting my nephew. i liked to bring him out for a walk in the morning. the air was refreshing and it was still quiet. i brought him back home again when he fell alseep 0n my shoulder. this way, he wouldn’t whine, nor make a fuss when he was about to sleep. this boy likes fresh air, a leisurely walk and looking around. when he slept, i either read or walk around taking some photos. i also brought home some translation works to do when i had spare time but they still remained in the car since friday night until sunday afternoon when i left home for songkhla. i barely touched it. py was away so i walked around alone to snap photos and had sometime for a cat nap too.

saturday morning, while phun was sleeping, i went out exercising with my sister. she biked while i ran. we did it 8k on the hilly road. it was tougher and took longer time than running on the treadmill. my legs got stiff and tired on the next day. so the next morning, i dared not running that far again, instead we played badminton.

it poured so hard on saturday night which made my sleep tighter and more comfy. i left the windows open, so i could feel the coldness from the rain and the fresh air seeping through the mosquito screen. i left home for songkhla at lunch time to visit my ex. he had an eye operation and was suffering from the pain. since the breakup, we talked and tried to make peace and finally become good friends. we’ve known one another too much and too long to let our friendship slip by. he wanted to get back and said he was so sorry for what he had done to me. i told him it was not that i wanted a new boyfriend after breaking up with him, but i want to enjoy being single and be just a friend to him. i don’t want to rush on a relationship and want to spend more time with my family and girlfriends… no more boy for now.. he keeps calling me more often but knows the limit. the visit was good. we talked about things that we hadn’t talked after the breakup which made us understand each other more. i bought him some food to stock in his room, as his eye was still painful and he was not so keen on riding out to buy food. the cloudy days between us has finally gone and it is pretty nice that we finally become good friends. the pleasant thing is that i managed to forgive and forget the hurtful part and move on…

before the visit when he called, sometimes i caught myself not wanting to talk to him and he asked why. i told him i was still angry when thinking of what he had done to me, but i was trying and learning to let it go.. as quickly as possible.. i’d never gone through a breakup before, so this was quite new and hard.. but i am glad i managed to work through it. i can say that my perspective in life has changed since then.. i’ve learned that my heart is stronger than i thought..

this week is starting to be a busy week again; with the translation works i got from last week and the day-to-day works. i need to get all the works done before i leave for a friend’s wedding in suratthani on this thursday morning. mod and i will drive there and leave home at 5 am to be there in time for the morning ceremony. the bride is a friend from uni and knowing that i go to her wedding too, she asked me to be her photographer. i am so thrilled and glad for the chance. i will do it for free but it’s a big chance for me to practice my photography.. after the wedding, on the next morning, my girlfriends and i will hit the road to samui island. we will be an islander for 2 nights. a bottle of red wine was bought and hopefully i don’t forget to bring it.. i really can’t wait!

This weekend the World of Wearable Art awards are on. Yesterday I went to a free half hour show, displaying some of the winning outfits from previous years (that’s one of them above). The also included some great local musicians.

Today I went to the garden centre with some friends and had a good catch-up. I bought chives, a strawberry plant, alyssum and petunias which I can plant over the next two days because I have annual leave.

I’ve also done the usual Pilates studio and mat classes, bought fruit and veges, went to an AA meeting and did some housework.

I gazed at paint colours and vinyl flooring some more, and I’ve now made decisions, with some help from my friends. I didn’t get around to looking at laundry appliances again, but I’ve still got some time for this.

Because I have 2 days annual leave, it feels like I’m only half way through the weekend – even better!

Exercise – Pilates lesson on Saturday, lots of walking and some weights at the gym on Sunday (plus a sauna!)

Bathroom – more gazing at vinyl samples. Bought paint testpots and painted patches on walls.
Edit – meant to say I spent ages looking at washing machines and dryers too. They’re a lot more complex than I thought.

Social – went to the movies with a friend.

Domestic – supermarket, fruit and veges, washing, killed weeds in courtyard

Other stuff
Took trophy to be engraved. One of my predecessors in office bought this special trophy that can’t be engraved by any old engraver, so I had to go to a somewhat distant suburb to get the thing done. While I was there I did also manage to pop into an Indian spice shop and buy some spices for far less than at the supermarket.

Read book

Avoided the rugby and its fans.