Living life to the fullest...hobbies
Friends,
You might be curious why I have taken up so many hobbies after I recovered from my ankle injury. If you know me long enough, as an ex-colleague, ex-schoolmate, you would probably have this impression that I am really a go-getter in school and a workaholic at work. The truth is I am still the same person. But I have adjusted my lifestyle such that I don't just concentrate all my efforts during my free time on reading up about economics and markets. I have learnt to segregate part of my time to doing things that I have always wanted to do but procrastinated.
Why did I make this change?
During the dreadful two months of MC I had to take because of my ankle injury, I was extremely bored. I was worried about work and did not have the chance to interact much with people. I became quite upset. In the end, I had constant headaches and felt really unhappy. But by blogging and keeping myself in touch with work through the remote access system, I felt a bit better. One day, I really had this headache and I went to the doctor with my brother.
This was the conversation I had with the doctor.
Doctor: What's wrong with you?
CC: I have a headache doctor. I have this ankle injury and it is very inconvenient for me to go to meet clients with crutches so I have to stay at home. I have nothing to do, I am so bored.
Doctor: Do you work very long hours when you are working?
CC: Yes, I work very long hours. And I do enjoy my work. Staying at home is so boring for me that I have headaches even though I watch TV serials and try to work from home.
Doctor: I think you should get a hobby.
CC: Huh? (Puzzled look) Okay, I will try.
The conversation ended like that...and I was thinking through what the doctor said. He is right, I actually have no hobbies. I mean after I started work, my priority was really work and passing all the papers necessary for me to do my job. I go for spa, manicure and pedicure, yoga etc. I love going on holidays but feel lethargic again when I go back to Singapore during my free time. I am fond of my dog and like to play with her....
But these are not exactly hobbies, these are just things that I do and enjoy doing. It's not something that I can really come out to say - yes, this is what I do during my free time and I like to do these things, I am good at them. I was thinking to myself...maybe I am too busy to have hobbies....but no no...even if I am super busy during weekdays, I still have time on weekends for hobbies....hmmm...
When I recovered, I What's Apps a friend of mine asking her if there are any recreational courses like cooking sessions or something that I can join because I am super bored during weekends (my husband always works on Saturdays and I wasn't confident enough to go for my yoga sessions then). My dear friend suggested that I go on a cake decoration class with her. I was thinking "Would I be good at that, I have no idea how to do any cake decoration?" but I was desperately bored and wanted to heed the advice of the doctor to find a hobby and I thought cake decoration won't require me to use my leg much and I can do it sitting down, so it should be a nice past time.
Never that I thought I would enjoy the class so much that it started me thinking about having multiple hobbies and start living life to the fullest rather than just living life to work. Then I thought through what I liked to do when I was young. Actually, there was quite a lot of things. I was always very participative in class and for those who know me well, I love to network and talk to people that I might not know well. I love to break the ice, find similarities and share experiences. Of course, there are days that I am more withdrawn and prefer to sit alone, but those days are far and few.
After enjoying the cake decoration class so much, I realised that there is really so much joy that one can have from having hobbies like this. Things that you can share with family, friends and colleagues. Even if you can't personally share the cupcakes with them, sharing with them the beauty of the cupcakes that I have decorated brings me joy.
Then I started many other hobbies...I started to paint-by-numbers and finished two paintings. Hey, it's not easy because the numbers are so small and the paint dries up easily so I have to do these paintings for many consecutive nights. I also finished a jigsaw puzzle (see below) that my sister-in-law bought for me.
Another hobby that I started was cooking...so far I tried Basil Chicken and Curry Puffs. But, I must say I have more talent in baking cupcakes and decorating them than cooking savoury food. But, I will continue trying till I succeed.
Another amazingly gratifying "hobby" is home organization. Home is where the heart is and I used to ignore the way things were organized. Maybe that's why we ended up have five nail clippers, six earphones and three phone chargers. When things are not organized properly and we cannot find things, we just tend to buy and buy repeatedly. And the secret is....Daiso.
It is an addiction. I keep going to Daiso every week. It started when my sister-in-law made a comment that my Aunt-in-law's small pink tissue basket was from Daiso and it looks nice. I went to Daiso every two weeks, then it became once a week, then it became thrice a week and last week I went there five times a week. I can skip going to the supermarket, to the local grocery store but not Daiso. But the good thing is now I am buying lesser and lesser stuff from there...so I think I will be less crazy about Daiso in time to come. On average I buy 11 items, which is about $22 - not a lot of money if you consider that if I shop at other places like Dorothy Perkins, Takashimaya or Cold Storage, I would spend a lot more.
With these hobbies, one friend commented that she loves to see my posts online...they look so colourful. And yes, she is right...with all the new hobbies I have taken up after I recovered, I feel so much more alive. Work is serious stuff during work time (weekdays and some week nights) but on weekends, I just feel so completely at ease doing things that I really like to do. And by sharing these online, on Facebook, getting comments from friends makes me feel that I am starting to slowly influence people to really post things other than their favourite food places, quotes from famous people and their dogs. Haha...but honestly I do still enjoy reading these sort of posts...
Post pictures of some of the hobbies that you have - for instance, I was inspired by a friend that posts pictures of where he goes for walks in the weekend mornings. Like myself, he is bigger and he is really making the first step to exercise by walking. That inspired me to do the same too.
What do you do during weekends as a hobby? Anything out-of-the-ordinary? Any dishes you cooked that you are happy with or a painting that you have just completed....I would love to share experiences...
Living life to the fullest...
CC
You might be curious why I have taken up so many hobbies after I recovered from my ankle injury. If you know me long enough, as an ex-colleague, ex-schoolmate, you would probably have this impression that I am really a go-getter in school and a workaholic at work. The truth is I am still the same person. But I have adjusted my lifestyle such that I don't just concentrate all my efforts during my free time on reading up about economics and markets. I have learnt to segregate part of my time to doing things that I have always wanted to do but procrastinated.
Why did I make this change?
During the dreadful two months of MC I had to take because of my ankle injury, I was extremely bored. I was worried about work and did not have the chance to interact much with people. I became quite upset. In the end, I had constant headaches and felt really unhappy. But by blogging and keeping myself in touch with work through the remote access system, I felt a bit better. One day, I really had this headache and I went to the doctor with my brother.
This was the conversation I had with the doctor.
Doctor: What's wrong with you?
CC: I have a headache doctor. I have this ankle injury and it is very inconvenient for me to go to meet clients with crutches so I have to stay at home. I have nothing to do, I am so bored.
Doctor: Do you work very long hours when you are working?
CC: Yes, I work very long hours. And I do enjoy my work. Staying at home is so boring for me that I have headaches even though I watch TV serials and try to work from home.
Doctor: I think you should get a hobby.
CC: Huh? (Puzzled look) Okay, I will try.
The conversation ended like that...and I was thinking through what the doctor said. He is right, I actually have no hobbies. I mean after I started work, my priority was really work and passing all the papers necessary for me to do my job. I go for spa, manicure and pedicure, yoga etc. I love going on holidays but feel lethargic again when I go back to Singapore during my free time. I am fond of my dog and like to play with her....
But these are not exactly hobbies, these are just things that I do and enjoy doing. It's not something that I can really come out to say - yes, this is what I do during my free time and I like to do these things, I am good at them. I was thinking to myself...maybe I am too busy to have hobbies....but no no...even if I am super busy during weekdays, I still have time on weekends for hobbies....hmmm...
When I recovered, I What's Apps a friend of mine asking her if there are any recreational courses like cooking sessions or something that I can join because I am super bored during weekends (my husband always works on Saturdays and I wasn't confident enough to go for my yoga sessions then). My dear friend suggested that I go on a cake decoration class with her. I was thinking "Would I be good at that, I have no idea how to do any cake decoration?" but I was desperately bored and wanted to heed the advice of the doctor to find a hobby and I thought cake decoration won't require me to use my leg much and I can do it sitting down, so it should be a nice past time.
Never that I thought I would enjoy the class so much that it started me thinking about having multiple hobbies and start living life to the fullest rather than just living life to work. Then I thought through what I liked to do when I was young. Actually, there was quite a lot of things. I was always very participative in class and for those who know me well, I love to network and talk to people that I might not know well. I love to break the ice, find similarities and share experiences. Of course, there are days that I am more withdrawn and prefer to sit alone, but those days are far and few.
After enjoying the cake decoration class so much, I realised that there is really so much joy that one can have from having hobbies like this. Things that you can share with family, friends and colleagues. Even if you can't personally share the cupcakes with them, sharing with them the beauty of the cupcakes that I have decorated brings me joy.
Then I started many other hobbies...I started to paint-by-numbers and finished two paintings. Hey, it's not easy because the numbers are so small and the paint dries up easily so I have to do these paintings for many consecutive nights. I also finished a jigsaw puzzle (see below) that my sister-in-law bought for me.
Another hobby that I started was cooking...so far I tried Basil Chicken and Curry Puffs. But, I must say I have more talent in baking cupcakes and decorating them than cooking savoury food. But, I will continue trying till I succeed.
Another amazingly gratifying "hobby" is home organization. Home is where the heart is and I used to ignore the way things were organized. Maybe that's why we ended up have five nail clippers, six earphones and three phone chargers. When things are not organized properly and we cannot find things, we just tend to buy and buy repeatedly. And the secret is....Daiso.
It is an addiction. I keep going to Daiso every week. It started when my sister-in-law made a comment that my Aunt-in-law's small pink tissue basket was from Daiso and it looks nice. I went to Daiso every two weeks, then it became once a week, then it became thrice a week and last week I went there five times a week. I can skip going to the supermarket, to the local grocery store but not Daiso. But the good thing is now I am buying lesser and lesser stuff from there...so I think I will be less crazy about Daiso in time to come. On average I buy 11 items, which is about $22 - not a lot of money if you consider that if I shop at other places like Dorothy Perkins, Takashimaya or Cold Storage, I would spend a lot more.
With these hobbies, one friend commented that she loves to see my posts online...they look so colourful. And yes, she is right...with all the new hobbies I have taken up after I recovered, I feel so much more alive. Work is serious stuff during work time (weekdays and some week nights) but on weekends, I just feel so completely at ease doing things that I really like to do. And by sharing these online, on Facebook, getting comments from friends makes me feel that I am starting to slowly influence people to really post things other than their favourite food places, quotes from famous people and their dogs. Haha...but honestly I do still enjoy reading these sort of posts...
Post pictures of some of the hobbies that you have - for instance, I was inspired by a friend that posts pictures of where he goes for walks in the weekend mornings. Like myself, he is bigger and he is really making the first step to exercise by walking. That inspired me to do the same too.
What do you do during weekends as a hobby? Anything out-of-the-ordinary? Any dishes you cooked that you are happy with or a painting that you have just completed....I would love to share experiences...
Living life to the fullest...
CC
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