securing an income

My best friend lost her job on Monday. Restructuring - they say, and paid her one month's salary. I don't know how to begin helping her. Without a job, her home mortgage is in trouble - Banks aren't exactly sympathetic - plus she has 2 mouths to feed. I didn't have a solution - what can anyone say at a time like this? Although for years, we have talked about starting up something - it never materialised because we were all working and busy doing our own thing. Perhaps now is the right time to actually dive into this idea and kill two birds with one stone - get her started on some income and realise a 'dream'.
Then comes the financing bit. We need to start with a small 'dream' - something her one months' pay and the crumbs I have put aside could finance. I don't think looking for another admin job at her age would be long term and I'm sure she realises that too. Past 40, we might be better off just finding a more secure source of income. It's not that I'm jaded in how I view things, but that people are replaceable because the next person is always willing to do your job at a cheaper rate - which is savings for the company and disaster for you.

My theory on SleePing

Every morning, it takes me a whole load of psychological crap to wake up. I'm not a morning person. Circumstances have forced me to be up and about way before the sun peeps out from the horizon. After doing this for weeks on end, my system is just malfunctioning - sleeping has never been this easy for me. I heard of people wishing for more hours in a day but if I had a wish, it'll be for longer nights -
I'm all for efficiency in whatever that we set out to do - I wonder if that included sleep. We take sleeping as resting - it is important for us to sleep well. Gone are the days when I could stay up all night and still function the next working day with barely an hour of sleep.
I remember times when I said, 'I'll sleep on it', but right now, I'm more likely to say "Talk about it in the morning". Unknowingly, I have given my snooze time some priority. I no longer think about things before I fall asleep. I just fall asleep. I think I've come to this phrase in my life where I need some space to just rest - a desire for some peace, a little quiet and silence.
So for all the times I have driven myself to being a slave to my ambitions at the expense of sleep, let me admit that I was wrong. I should have slept a little more when I really could - then.

A Lifestyle

My work took me on a site visit to what I would call, a lifestyle. I was envious of the lush green landscape, fresh air, and acres of sprawling land. I wouldn't classify myself as a 'country' person, I'm more a city-freak, but then, having been a rat in a race with no finish line, perhaps I'm ready to say, I'm not opposed to an alternative lifestyle.
I have tried taking short breaks every two months, yet the breaks seem to be loosing their magic in giving me a fresh boost for the next lap. Yet lately, before the next break, my batteries go bleep bleep bleep - reminding me that a recharge is due. And so I take stock of circumstances that may be causing me this supersonic depletion. The range is limitless - work, work and work - what a joke - after all that deep thinking, soul searching sessions with myself, I realise that until I sort out my work, I will always be running to the 'shop' for a battery change! I need a less expensive solution, and there is none in view. Until then, I shall just keep searching for the battery that will self-charge, so that I never need to look at the alternative lifestyle and want that more than I can realistically have. Perhaps now, more than ever, I will finally give myself a dose of psychotherapy.

The lion dance

It was an exhilirating performance - if anyone needed a boost for the Lunar New Year, it was me - and the beating of drums, clashing of symbols did it. Lunar New Year or not, I'm not a moon child - I have no real ambition in my life - My goals move and change with the times. The only constant I hold true will be my desire to work hard, smart and lead my life with no regrets. Take the many moments in my hand, and make it work for me. Oddly, this didn't happen the past 4 weeks.
Thankfully, I had the solace of this traditional noise - it put a smile on my face - and lifted my sagging spirit. I was at the end where no maximiser could provide any kind of lift.
So, here is that beautiful yellow face - downtrodden or not, it drove away the load that was weighing me down!

Xmas vs CNY

It's a brand new year in the chinese calendar and with it comes new hope for most. When we celebrate christmas, we celebrate the gift of love, given so many years ago, for the salvation of man. We remember people who have no families, no home, basically, people not as fortunate as ourselves. Chinese New Year, on the other hand, focuses more on new hope for the coming year. At least that's how I view it. Perhaps it is just me, reacting according to what I picked up over the years. The celebration of this event has always been about looking forward. I never felt nostalgic over Chinese New Year - it was less dramatic than that. Chinese New Year provided me a fixed season to set my goals - I have never been a person who loves going from house to house, just to say hello. For me, a telephone call now and then more than suffices.
I wonder if I've grown to be a wannabe recluse because I prefer to be alone yet I do have friends, good friends. So, just to appease myself, I use this festive season to be like most regular people - check the current status of the inner circle of people, send them all good wishes and promise to meet again real soon.
Honestly, I'm a Christmas person at heart, with a Chinese New Year need to have a PLAN.
Gong Xi Fa Cai!