My daily routine for the past week consists of waking up obscenely late everyday between 8.30 to 10.00 in the morning, lounging around in shorts and t-shirts, taking hourly afternoon naps and watching TV all day without much worries.
So this is how it feels like to be unemployed.
Of course the carefree feeling only lasts a fleeting moment. My hiatus from work life coincides with the school holidays, so I have to content with Xian and her other 2 school-going cousins who love to create a ruckus, especially in the afternoons and during meal times. Plus I have my resident grumble bum i.e. my 9-month-old baby to entertain. Wen’s one demanding baby: wailing when she wakes up and doesn’t catch me in sight, yelling when she wants her milk/cereal/porridge/water/biscuit/snack, screaming when she’s wants to be carried, screeching when she’s wants to sleep…
Really, it isn’t as relaxing as I’d hoped. Was initially planning to unwind and chill out a little before I get cracking in my new job. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I definitely ain’t cut out to be a full-time homemaker.
Since my official last day at infohell on 31 May (Wednesday), I haven’t had much time to accomplish some tasks I’d set out to do during my 2 weeks of home rest. The next day, on my first day of “freedom” I brought Xian to watch the Hi-5 Live Action Heroes Show, a belated birthday gift. An extremely expensive present, as the tickets cost me $70 per person! Along with us were a gazillion other Hi-5 fans harassing their parents to buy official Hi-5 merchandise, all at rip-off prices. So there we were, at Singapore Expo on the first day of June, soaking up the atmosphere and in the spirit of the Great Singapore Sale, I parted with S$25 for a Hi-5 t-shirt and a ludicrous $10 for a helium balloon!
Xian and I both enjoyed the show: the singing, dancing and action segments were entertaining and Xian even ran to the front of the stage to dance with the rest of the other excited kids. When we got home, I was “reprimanded” for spoiling her. Admittedly, the S$10 helium balloon was a bad judgment call – in retrospect, I should have gotten the purple hand puppet jup jup which would have made me 30 bucks poorer (that costs S$40) but at least jup jup would have lasted longer in her hands. The balloon was so precious that she even wanted to hold it to sleep. Xian asked for it the minute she sprang out of bed the following morning and didn’t let it out of her sight for the next 2 days or so and the balloon became the object of attention and squabbles among the kids. And then of course, like most children, her interest waned. The deflated balloon – or what’s left of it – is now stuffed in the storeroom, a forgotten memento of the Hi-5 show.
Besides getting my unruly mane thinned and trimmed (didn’t realise how out of shape my hair was until I saw pictures of my farewell party), the only other activity I achieved was to sign up for a 2-year membership with True Yoga. Heh heh, your eyes ain’t tricking ya, friends. Decided to get off my lazy butt to whip myself back into shape. Most of you may not know this, but before I got pregnant, I was hitting the gym and attending rigorous aerobics workout sessions 3 times a week. After the kids, I kinda bummed out of an exercise routine. I’m also aware that my body’s weaker and childbirth has flabberised certain areas not worthy of mention. My joints are starting to creak, my stamina’s no longer at its peak and I’m not young anymore. Definitely not a good idea to embark on any strenuous exercises after an almost 5 year break – I have no intention to break any bones. Yoga seems a good alternative. My own mum’s been an avid yoga fan and her health seems to have improved ever since she started practicing it.
I started out with Pilates matwork for my first session (there weren’t yoga classes for beginners at the time slot I’d selected) and though it was thoroughly BORING I felt quite refreshed after a few simple stretches. Not quite the adrenaline rush, blood-pumping, fast-paced perspiration-driven workout I love…but I intend to stick to it, not just because of the money I’ve committed for the membership. More importantly, I want to embrace healthier lifestyle for myself and ultimately this will benefit my family
A new job, a new phase, a new lease of life. At least i hope so.
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