A well-deserved rest

I just came back from a one-week leave. It couldn't have come at a better time. Prior to the leave, I was beginning to worry about my health. I was really stressed out at work. A little bit of stress is always healthy but the alarm bells rang when I started feeling a persistent something in the left part of my face.

For the record, I went straight back to work the very next day after my divorce and my last real leave was in April last year when I went to Makkah to perform the umrah.

So I decided to drop everything at the office and head home.

The one-week leave was, to sum things up, very productive:

1. I learnt to cook.

2. I vacuumed the house and washed the curtain.

3. I worked in the garden. I trimmed the lawn and sawed and hacked away at the bamboo and berry trees which were already reaching for the sky.

4. I organised my work space.

All in all, things that didn't require me to look at a monitor. In fact, I went offline completely and it was great for a change.

Now about the cooking. I made singgang daging. I don't know what you call it in English... beef stew maybe? Anyway, I only got it right the second time. The first time was a disaster. I went overboard with some of the ingredients. Not only that, I dozed off while waiting for the meat to cook and when I woke up, it was already burnt. I tried to salvage it by pouring more water but it was too late. The singgang, which was supposed to be clear, took on a yellowish hue. I decided to have it anyway becos I didn't want to waste it but couldn't bear the torture for long. Didn't have the heart to force my brother to finish it either. Imagine - even I couldn't stand my own cooking!

But when I did get it right after that, I was very proud of myself. I felt that you can throw me anywhere, because I can survive.