STEPS TO BEATING JOBLESS DEPRESSION IN YOUR DAY

I quit my job months ago. I couldn't stand the company. It was full of untalented people running amok doing the job in the most inefficient way. It was weighing me down so much I had to get out. And quit I did before finding something else. Months down the road I still do not have anything remotely interesting on the plate. I have been traveling on and off, and I have been reading and writing and learning new skills. I am feeling awesome and I love how each day is slowing down and teaching me new things. My friend is unfortunately not feeling so well.

I catch up with T every now and then. T is married with a baby. The economy is slow and people like us are left jobless at the meantime. I am not worried as I have my reserves. I am sure T has his reserves too. After all, he is also in a marriage and he has his partner for income for now. T told me he has been feeling depressed because of the situation. He has let himself slide into the darkness and is unable to see the gift of time for now.

T is much older and there is only so much I can say and encourage. He is ok. But he is surprised by how positive I am with this hiatus. Our industry (advertising) is so stressful that we always work overtime and weekends when we do work. This hiatus is a blessing in disguise for me. I never had this luxury of time to do my own things, ponder, learn new things and indulge in my impromptu extended travels.

I believe everything happens for a reason, and we should see everything as a blessing even though it may seen dark. I want to share what I do everyday during this hiatus.

• Wake up naturally. I don't sleep well. I dream a lot and I sometimes wake up tired. My sleeps are always disturbed when I am stressed. So, reward yourself with rest. You are in no rush.
• Replenish your body in the morning. I don't drink coffee. It is usually a small glass of water in the morning, followed by my favourite herbal infusions. Depending on my mood, it could be chamomile, rooibos or something else. Why load your body with caffeine when you don't need it?
• Work out your day. I don't have plans unless I have errands to run or when I am traveling. Take time to do what you have always wanted to do. Go do the hike in the reservoir. Go to that restaurant not during the peak lunch hour. Go to the museums without the crowd. There are days I spend indulging in my tv series and movies. Yes, I do not go ape shit active everyday.
• Cook something. I love to cook. And I love going to the supermarket's produce bin to pick out reduced vegetables for my meals. If you are not earning, why not save a dollar or two cooking for yourself?
• Learn a new skill. I am a sucker for learning new skills. I have somewhat improved my bread making skills. I have learnt how to make noodles from scratch. I am going to make rice wine next. Oh, and of course this crazy one is learning how to forage.
• Read the titles you have neglected. I am not an avid reader. I find it difficult to read. It is a very intense activity for me, I visualise everything a read so I get tired quickly. This is the time to read and visualise as there is nothing else in your mind. I have read some good titles like 'The Time Keeper', 'The Lost Horizon'...etc. Don't pick nonsense to read. Read literature good for your soul.
• Travel, be it long or short distance. A lot of people want to save money when they are not working. I think this is a wrong move. You can curb your spendings. You will be surprise that I spend less when I am traveling in cheaper countries. When else will you get to spend a month somewhere? We usually have an average of 20 days of leave. There are also a lot of free things to do in your own city. And I am sure you have not explore every corner of your city too.
• Slow down. I was always rushing around when I was working. I needed to have my mobile phone or laptop next to me. I become a robot. Everything needed to be done as fast as possible just so that I can lay down for that couple of hours to relax before I retire to my stressful sleep. It is so important to slow down and be mindful. To appreciate everything you eat, breath or do.
• Back to nature. I don't get a lot of chances to be close to nature when I was working. Being overworked, I really only want to be indoors and near my bed over the weekend. This is the chance to breath in the fresh oxygen away from the city, and learn about a new plant or two.
• Add to your knowledge. I try to make sure I learn a new fact or two everyday. This does not only make you more knowledgable, you might even find a new hobby.
• Understand sustainability. It is the best time to learn about sustainability when you do not have income. You will be surprise how much more sustainable and resourceful you can be when you put yourself in the right mindset. Rearrange your wardrobe and discover new outfits, look into the depths of your drawers and you might just find some things you have forgotten.
• Re-access your finances. This is not something you should do on a daily basis. But it is definitely something you should have done way before. I have my reserves but it doesn't mean that they are working hard enough for me. Now that I have time to think about what I want my money to do for me, it is time to head to the bank for some adjustments. Do this and I promise you will not regret it. The interest can very well earn you a free lunch each month.

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SO MANY GOOD SERIES TO WATCH. I LOVE MY LIFE. EASY HOMEMADE NOODLES. AND I DIDN'T JUST LEARNT IT, I MADE IT. BASIL SEEDS DRINK. SLOWING AND TAKING MY TIME. SLOWING. WRITING AGAIN AND ENJOYING EVERY BIT OF IT. CHAMOMILE TEA AND MORE INFUSIONS. REDUCING MY NONSENSE ONE AT A TIME.

THE MAGIC OF MOTORCYCLING ON A DATE

Amidst the crowded forest, you saddle and mount onto your steed. You turn around and pull your lady up. You are both ready. An instant trust amounts. She puts her faith in you, and you take it like her valiant knight, her protector. And your iron steed blows fire to gallop away from the world of the mundanes. Amidst that of the rigmaroles of urbanites and their skyscrapers.

With your iron steed, you can turn the asphalt into a magic carpet that twists and winds. Travelling on the path that neither you nor your lady had ever laid eyes upon. The lake is now a mystical watering hole where your iron steed would stop, and you will deep your toes into. The horizon is nearer than before, and you speed towards it to hold the golden setting yolk in your hands.

The changing wind touches your lips and cheeks, and carries on to caress her hair. Her hair flowing in the changing colours, with the iron steed speeding through the light. She smells her valiant knight carried in the wind, as you feel her trust even not seeing her. A bond builds.

We often lose sight of the simplest joy. The feeling of being closer together. The feeling of trusting someone like riding on a motorcycle together. It is not just about trusting the rider. The rider needs to trust the pillion rider too. It takes synergy for two people to be on a motorcycle together. It is almost primal, being on a machine, as supposed to being in a machine like a car. You are almost 'naked', unprotected, and exposing yourselves to the elements. The beauty of the wind on your faces and your hair. The closeness of experiencing sights with your naked eyes, lights bouncing with the winds.

And with that touch of magic, you are free, free to explore. There are no paths less beaten, no alleys too small, no stops too abrupt. You just go with the flow, no plans, no maps. You stop at the edges to admire the horizon. You pull up at the side to pick the sweetest of berries. You turn in to discover an abandoned lighthouse, only to receive the most amazing view from above.

All these to experience with that someone who could be. And how about letting the imagination run wild with pure instinct, on a romantic motorcycle date?. The only thing that matters, is the person you are with on the trusty iron steed.

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BINGE WATCHING SERIES MAKES ME HAPPY. GOOD ACTING, GOOD EDITING, GOOD STORY TELLING. IT IS THAT EASY BUT SO MANY PEOPLE GET IT WRONG. TRAVEL BUG. I AM A LONE WOLF, AN OUTSIDER AND I AM NOT ALONE. HOME COOKING AND ALL SORTS OF FIBERS. CHAMOMILE TEA ALL DAY LONG FOR RELAXATION. HAPPY COMPOSTING.

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SLEEPY, LAZY, RAINY DAYS. SO RELAXING. THERE IS ALWAYS A SILVER LINING TO THE CLOUDY DAYS. RICK AND MORTY. SO FUNNY. TRAVEL COMING UP IN TWO DAYS, HOORAY. SLOWING DOWN, BREATHING, MINDFULNESS. UNDERSTANDING WASTES AND SUSTAINABILITY. HAVING BACKED UP YEARS OF DATA AND ORGANISED THEM. PIMPED MY BED AND HAVE BEEN HAVING AWESOME NIGHTS OF SLEEP. WELL, SOME WEIRD DREAMS THOUGH.

MY WEEKEND GUIDE TO MY MINIMISING JOURNEY

I woke up this morning. I woke up naturally without an alarm. I have nothing in the world to rush me. I have little commitments this weekend. I opened my eyes but the soft bedding pulled me back in. I snoozed another hour or so and jumped out of bed, full of energy. There is no inertia here. I slept late and I slept well. I am fully rested. The habit of waking up and pulling that mobile phone towards me hasn't changed yet. I want to know the time. But at the same time, there are messages from last night, from another country, another time zone.

I checked my emails. 2 emails this morning as supposed to the usual 20s. My minimising is working. I have been unsubscribing to the nonsense for the past few days and the declutter is happening now. I feel so free not to be bombarded by the various emails asking me to buy stuff. As much as I am trying to be minimalistic and sustainable, those emails are most enticing. They make me feel like I needed those things, that looking at those happy people in there make me feel like I am missing out on some things. But no, I should know better that those are tricks. I am ok. Many people want to be me. Just as I want to be them. But I know that being bombarded is not a good thing. Those emails, those ads are working on my subconscious. I don't need that. I need my energy for better things.

And so, I woke up and continued to backup my files on the computer. I erased files, hard disks, backed things up, overwrote things. It is never ending almost. It will end soon. I believe I have organised the folders and I just have to backup the files into different hard disks. I just need to let the computer run. I just have to do this. This will free me of the clutter in the work and leisure arena. My portfolio and my memories.

I went to the kitchen to prepare my lunch. I bought those eggplants and red peppers from the bargain bin at the supermarket a couple of days ago. I sauteed all of them and ended up with a big box of it for the next few meals. I took some and tossed them with noodles for my lunch. I continued to backup my files. I still have my music to backup. I have digitalised all my compact discs years ago. However with the few hard disks I have, and the confusing backing up system, all the files are not consolidated. I got music from myself and friends. There are so many duplicates and I do not need duplicates in my life.

I feel that I function better when I have a to-do for the day when I am on this minimising process. It is easy to sit in front of the clutter and be lost in it. Of course there is inertia and procrastination. There is always the, it is ok, there is tomorrow. So here is my list to help me today.

THE 2-MINUTE RULE
We all procrastinate. It is ok. That is life. Some things are more difficult to get started. But this is it, I read somewhere about this 2-minute rule. Some things are difficult because you know that once you start them, you would be there for hours to come. Other things are easier, they take minutes. Be if putting the laundry away, ironing that shirt, wiping that table. So the 2-minute rule is, if it takes just 2 minutes to do, just get off the butt and do it. That is one thing done.

THE SYSTEMS AND BACKUP
Once upon a time the hard disks are small. I am saying they are small because I used to deal with huge files at work and hence I need a lot of storage. It came to a point when one disk wasn't enough and I had to split the storage. I split the storage and then I still had to duplicate a backup just in case. I now have a huge disk of 2TB. This is my main storage now. The little ones are the duplicate backups. It is just so much easier to do it this way. But with years of storage, no wonder it is taking me days to sort the files out. Always have a system to store things, and if you can, one main disk for everything.

THE TRAVEL PACKING
I am into backpacking these days. And that means limited space, light packing. I am trying to identify light and thin clothes that will maximise my packing. I am also sorting out a pile of old clothes to bring to this upcoming trip. I am not going to look fashionable but who cares really. I will not come back with those old clothes. I will leave them in a bag at the accommodation and the cleaners can either take them or throw them out.

THE HALF BOTTLES
We are all guilty of having lotions, oils and creams that are half used and forgotten. Time to bring them out and finish them, or bring them along to your next travels. Finish them and toss them.

THE HALF BOOKS
The books you are procrastinating to finish. This is considered clutter too. I am making a point not to keep books. I am trying not to buy books anymore, as long as I can help it. A lot of novels come in pdfs or as ebooks now. I agree that it is missing the tactility when you read from an electronic device but it is greener. Besides, in this part of the world where humidity is high, books brown so easily and they start to look shitty after a few months. Finish that book and pass it on. Or as I plan to do, bring it with me to my travels, finish it and leave it for the next traveller.

THE MINIMALIST MEAL
I just cooked a big batch of veg. But I also used the condiments in the kitchen. All of us are always craving for specific tastes and hence we have way too many condiments and spices in the kitchen. I finished 2 bottles with a pinch left in each. Declutter, use and toss. Yes, it happens in the kitchen too. I didn't buy anything else, just used the dried noodles in pantry. 

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TRAVELS AGAIN TICK TOCK. THIS IS THE EYES TO LIFE. PONDEROUS, MORE AND MORE. IT ISN'T BAD TO PONDER. REUNITING WITH AN OLD FRIEND AND SHE IS SWEET. TAKING THINGS SLOW, A STEP OR EVEN TWO STEPS AT A TIME. IT IS OK. MINIMISING IN PROGRESS. UNDERSTANDING AND KNOWING YOURSELF IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN KEEPING SHIT PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE. REDUCING CARBON FOOTPRINT AND FOOD WASTE ONE DAY AND ONE STEP AT A TIME.

MY MINIMISING MOVE : UNSUBSCRIBE

Ever since I decided to minimise my life I have been thinking of ways to do it. As a lot of people said, it is not a sprint, it is a marathon. One cannot except minimalism to happen over night. Sure it cannot. I am conscious of how things are still in piles in my life and it needs time to be sorted. I am bringing old clothes to my upcoming travel and I am not bringing them back.

Just as minimising my wardrobe takes effort, minimising my life takes even more. I am slowly getting rid of spam people in my life. People who give me bad energy, people who are just nuisance and do not add to me feeling good, people who bring me down, people who talk nonsense, people who do not respect me and especially my time.

Minimising is maximising your time. So apart from quitting Facebook and consolidating my contacts to one or two social apps, I am also unsubscribing to a lot of mailing lists. Lists like Etsy and Ebay because I am not buying more things. Lists like restaurants, resorts and hotels. Lists like shit other mailing lists put you onto. Not only they are not adding value to my life, they are sucking the time of me. Every second I open those mails and take a glance, every second I dedicate to deleting them adds up to minutes and then hours...etc. I think of compounding seconds.

So, even if my minimising project is going slowly, it is going slowly but surely. I still get a lot of emails that are of no importance. I still open all of them. But this time, I give them more seconds or minutes of my life, to unsubscribe in exchange for more time in the future.

MINIMISING MY LIFE

I have been feeling bad. Bad in a sense my life seems to be stagnant. Bad in a sense that I am somehow made to chase something I do not want. I watched the documentary 'Minimalism'. The concept isn't new. It has been broadcast for years now and I first came across it when I was watching the tiny house movement. It is charming. It is freedom, it is a life without burden and baggages.

I wake up everyday in this room of mine from 2 decades ago. The family didn't fix the room, it is full of things I call junk. The mother is a hoarder and she has no concept of how things should be proper, that furnitures should be built-in and there should be book shelves and enough storage for everything. I don't have enough storage. I have boxes of nonsense. Nonsense because I am staying in the tropics and yet I have boxes of winter clothes. It doesn't make sense to get rid of them. They are expensive and I still go to climate countries every now and then.

So what now?

I look at the wardrobe and I feel sick. So many clothes from years ago. I still fit into them but maybe they are not my style anymore? Do I throw them away? Do I give them away? You kind of get into a fix because the stuff are still good and you think that there will still be use for them one day. But the days pass, and the months and then the years. And I find so many pieces that I have not worn for years. And they are accumulating.

I am getting so sick of the junk I see around and I think my unhappiness is largely because of this baggage. The little bit of things that I keep thinking will have use for one day. When is that one day coming? I don't know but I know I have to put my mind down to ridding stuff. And as hard as it may be, I need to have a new concept of sustainability and that is not hoarding.

IF YOU HAVE NOT WORN IT FOR 3 YEARS, IT NEEDS TO GO.
Ok, there are things I have not worn for years but I will still want to keep them because how often do you wear a formal dress? So formal clothes and winter jackets aside, tee shirts and stuff are coming out, going to the traveling pile.

THE TRAVELING PILE OF CLOTHES
I am putting a pile of clothes I will use for my next travel, that I will not launder and just leave behind in those developing countries so that someone else can launder it and find a second life for it. It might just relieve your bags of space and weight for more... clothes and souvenirs? Well, that is a very nice thought but no more nonsense. Food products I can allow, but no more clothes and accessories. I do not need more piling.

THE BOOKS THAT ARE SITTING THERE
I am not an avid reader. I have old books sitting around which I thought I might just read one day but it has been years. I am so selective in what I read that really if I want to read something, I would finish it in no time. So, I am making it a point to bring a book or two with me every time I travel. There is no point selling it to bookstores because even they do not want the old books. And be it purposely leaving the books at the airport or the hostels or hotels, someone else will find good use for them.

FOOD PRODUCTS
I am crazy about cooking and exotic food products. I also like to buy food products when I go traveling. So you can imagine I became a bit of a hoarder with that. In these days of my sabbatical, I am using as much of those stock as possible so that I save money on food. Of course, my diet still needs to be balanced and fresh ingredients still needs to be bought.

As much as there needs to be more done, these new rules will help to get me started.

WHY I QUIT FACEBOOK

I wasn't on Facebook from the beginning. It just wasn't my style to jump onto the bandwagon with the rest. As time passed, it seemed I really had to be on Facebook because all if not most of the apps are using Facebook to log in. I also wanted to get on it to understand how the platform works as part of work evolves around it. So a few years ago my Facebook adventure started.

I wasn't posting a lot, I wasn't most active on it. But as the number of friends increased and their activities increased with tagging me, my involvement seemed apt. It was fun to see the degree of separation and activities. What I enjoyed most were the articles from the liked pages. The content is good and I treated it as my daily dose of news and entertainment.

What really ruined that enjoyment was the bombardment of annoying posts from 'friends'. Sometimes one just cannot tell nor differentiate friends and acquaintances. Sure I know it. But what would you consider someone whom you have known for more than a decade or two? A friend? An acquaintance? How do you categorise them?

The annoying selfies that caption 'I look bad today', or 'I wish my hair looks this good everyday'...etc. All with filters from apps and retouching. But why do I need to look at unreal selfies and their narcissistic captions? And when you comment on those posts with something with black humour, they can actually delete those comments. So, how real is Facebook's portrayal of their lives? Anyone's life?

We keep seeing what people have ate for the day, beautiful flowers and things, outfit of the day, selfies, laughters with friends...etc. Some of them are interesting, many are what I call verbal or visual diarrhea. What is the significance of all of these? If there is any at all? We are all being portrayed by fake lives, the snippets of interesting facades, all filtered through photography apps and retouched to perfection. When will anything real come through Facebook? The real faces, the real stories, the real lives.

Hence, it is goodbye Facebook, at least for now before I have to get in touch with a long lost friend. Because, isn't that what it is supposed to be about? Not being a platform to portray unreal lives and ideals, and promote an unhealthy comparison between people.

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TRAVELS COMING UP SOON. PRETTY MUCH THE END OF THE WEEK FOR US. A NEW SURGE OF ENERGY ON ITS WAY. BREATHING AND LIVING AGAIN, GONE WITH THE BAD PEOPLE AND ENERGY. MY SPACE, FOR REAL, SOON. EMPOWERMENT. CLOSE MY EYES AND THE PERSON I REALLY WANT TO BE WITH IS LYING IN MY PLACE.

AND HE SAID THIS IS A SONG FOR AQUARIANS. WANDER OVER YONDER

CHOOSE YOURSELF BY JAMES ALTUCHER

QUOTE OF THE DAY : THEY DIDN"T KNOW WE WERE SEEDS

AQUARIUSES, OUR BIRTHDAYS ARE HERE SOON. HOW TRUE HAVE YOU BEEN TO YOURSELVES?

RESOLUTION FOR 2016

OF COURSE WE DO NOT NEED TO WAIT TILL THIS TIME OF THE YEAR TO WRITE OUR RESOLUTION BUT THIS IS TO REMIND OURSELVES WHAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING ALREADY AND TO CONTINUE DOING IT STRONG. 1. TO DOWNGRADE AND DOWNSIZE. WE HAVE WAY TOO MANY THINGS, WAY TOO MANY NONSENSE. WE HAVE TO DOWNGRADE MORE AND REMEMBER THAT WE ARE INSPIRED BY THE TINY HOUSE MOVEMENT. 2. TO CONTINUE COOKING AND LEARN NEW WAYS TO MAKE DELICIOUS AND QUICK MEALS. TO CONTINUE TO BRING OUR LUNCHES. 3. TO MAKE EVERYTHING WORTHWHILE. EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE EFFICIENT. WE ONLY LIVE ONCE, WHY WASTE TIME ON THINGS AND PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT WORTH IT. 4. TO BLOG AGAIN, AND MORE. WE HAVE NEGLECTED THIS PART OF OUR LIVES. 5. TO EXPAND OUR SOCIAL CIRCLE IN THE WAY THAT IT DOES NOT COMPROMISE NO.3. NOT EVERYONE DESERVE OUR TIME AND EFFORT. 6. TO NOT BUY THINGS THAT WE DO NOT NEED. THINGS ARE MATERIAL AND WE CANNOT BRING IT WITH US ANYWHERE. ALWAYS FOCUS ON BUYING EXPERIENCE. 7. EAT AND DRINK HEALTHIER. WE ARE ALREADY DOING WELL, WE JUST HAVE TO DO IT MORE. 8. TO UNPLUG OURSELVES FROM 'WORK', AND UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS LIFE BEYOND THAT AND THAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT. 9. LIVE LIFE AND DO WHAT WE DEEM FIT. PEOPLE MIGHT TALK NOW, BUT THEY ONLY CARE BECAUSE OF POLITICS. A FEW WEEKS AND MONTHS DOWN THE ROAD, WHO CARES. 10. NEVER GIVE UP ON OURSELVES, BECAUSE, NO ONE ELSE WILL CARE MORE THAN WE DO.

#2016RESOLUTION

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HOMEMADE CHILI SAUCE IS THE BEST. WE CAN EAT IT ALL DAY LONG. A SOBERING WEEKEND IN HOPE OF A NEW CHAPTER. RAINY, LAZY WEEKEND, MIGRAINE SATURDAY, LAZY SUNDAY. TICK TOCK, DECEMBER. JESSICA JONES MARATHON. SERATONIN & MELATONIN. LEARNING HOW TO HAVE RESERVES.

I JUST WANNA MEET SOMEONE WHO WILL NEVER GET TIRED OF MY MOODY BEHAVIOR

Mick sent us this saying it reminded him of us. Yeah. Rock on. Sickening you, Mick!

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THE SECOND LAST NIGHT IN BKK AND AGAIN, IT IS A SOBERING EXPERIENCE. THIS IS AGAIN PONDEROUS. I SHALL LOVE MYSELF ABOVE EVERYTHING ELSE. I SHALL BRING MYSELF OUT FOR DINNERS AND WINE AND AND DINE MYSELF. I SHALL BE OPEN TO CULTURES AND BLEND IN. I SHALL INDULGE IN PROJECTS AND WORK TOWARDS MY RETIREMENT. SHOULD I GIVE MYSELF ANOTHER YEAR? I SHALL RESTART MY PROJECT LUNCHBOX, ONLY THAT IT IS FOR ME THIS TIME. AND I SHALL INDULGE IN A FANCY LUNCHBOX TOMORROW. I SHALL BE LESS SCARED AND EMBRACE THE FACT THAT WE ONLY LIVE ONCE.

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WHOLESOME INFUSIONS AND VINO FOR THE LAST DAY. STAYING DOMESTIC AND USING SOLITUDE TO HEAL OUR EXHAUSTION AND SPIRIT. SEWING, MENDING, IRONING, CROCHETING, JUST ANOTHER WAY OF GETTING READY FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER. AROMATHERAPY, MOVIES, CLEANING, CLEANING OUR SOUL AS WELL, GETTING MENTALLY PREPARED FOR THIS COMING WEEK. WRITING, DUMPING, CLEARING, CLEANSING, OFFLOADING. FORGETTING, REMEMBERING, ARCHVING, MOVING ON. RECOVERING, RENEWING, ENERGIZING, JUMP STARTING.