2023 Week 25: Accomplishments

Civet cat says hello

I wondered why I felt so tired until I tried to recall what I did all week and wrote it all down. It was a week full of Great Accomplishments, as follows.

On Monday we went to Katong to collect this 3x4 Kallax bookcase. Going to faraway places to buy or collect things on Carousell has been an erstwhile hobby for both of us. We did that a lot when we first moved in to our house (nearly 5 years ago!!!!) - but it's been a while since we collected anything big like this. We took the bookcase apart and carried it all on the bus/MRT. It doesn't make much sense since Lalamove delivery costs only $26 but it was just for the hell of it.

Jon finally had a place to display all the nonsense (Scooby Doo action figures, Shakespeare playing cards, a whole lot of plush toys...) we bought on our trip. Also, inspired by British toilets, we put up some Robert Burns poem postcards and a little bookshelf for inspiration. It includes the 2 Only Connect quiz books we found in a charity shop and a British Museum A to Z Companion for erudite poops.

Monday night was pub quiz night with Jon and friends. On Tuesday, after yoga, I met Joel for a walk along the southern bit of the Rail Corridor. Didn't realise the Rail Corridor would be completely unlit at night, which sounded pleasant but turned out to be annoying and dangerous because of the high cycling traffic along the route. Have to go back and complete the rest.

On Wednesday I met my ex-colleague who's now the editor of a magazine to talk about freelance writing. Also wanted to see if SPH was within walking distance (it is; 20 min) of my place in case I get a job there in the future. Jon and I have been thinking about going back to "real" work lately. However, I still can't bring myself to lose my freedom just yet... I should write about that in a separate post.

On work: I did 3 x 8-hour shifts at the bookstore this week, up from the regular 2. Wednesday, Friday, Sunday. I tried this work schedule for a fortnight just to see how it would affect me. Well, there's a subtle but powerful shift in perspective. Working 2 days a week, I feel most of my time is free. Working 3 days, I start perceiving days off as a limited commodity. I can't imagine how I would feel working 5 days a week.

After deducting the days given to labour, we're left with Thursday and Saturday. 

On Thursday I did the grocery shopping, went out for lunch with my dad, went to the library to tidy up my UK Diary blog posts, then went for Jon's family's Yuan Xiao dinner where we ate a lot of dumplings. 

On Saturday we went to a food rescue event to collect food - haven't done this in a while. Amazed at quality of produce being thrown away! - then went for yoga. We had a GrabMart voucher so spent it on sushi at DDDonki for dinner.

On top of all that I finished 2 books this week: Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey and Robert Louis Stevenson's An Inland Voyage. Both brilliant. I am trying to complete the Austen novels (2 down, 4 to go!) and RLS travelogues (3 down, 2 to go!) but I think I need a palate cleanser. To the library I will go.