it's recently become one of my favourite trends to have a full weekend, filled up with different activities. this usually entails heading out on friday nights for some after work drinks to shake off the shackles of the work week. it also usually involves not eating dinner which means getting nice and tipsy before stumbling home at a sensible time. saturday morning is my favourite moment of the week when i wake up around 8:00 a.m. and know that i have the whole day ahead of me to do whatever i want. i start off having a skyping with my parents, doing some housework, going for a run and then grabbing some starbucks all before noon. the rest of the day is spent having a nice lunch, maybe some photos, maybe some shopping and most definitely a nap. saturday nights as of late have been fairly low key....dinner with friends has been a major theme, or maybe chilling at home with beebs. this routine on sunday isn't all that different, but usually just hanging around the house and enjoying some hobbies.
this trend is a far cry from how i used to spent my weekends in taipei. after spending most of the evening in some smoky club and getting home around dawn, i might see the sun again around 3 or 4 in the afternoon. i would just start feeling well enough around 8, just in time to be able to do it all over again. this in turn would mess up my sleep patterns for the rest of the week and felt tired because work was 'getting in the way.' finally, i would be beyond thrilled that the weekend was here just so i could have a repeat of the same weekend again.
while i sometimes get nostalgic for those fun times, because they were fun, i'm well-pleased with the direction my weekends have been taking. they are just a lot more fulfilling this way and i get to do all the stuff i think about doing during the week. i feel more rested, sharper and more productive. i have even got my creative juices flowing once again and have some great ideas for some positive social outings. among my ideas was starting a cooking collective with some friends. one person acts as a host, chooses a theme and then delegates which dishes the other members should bring. we're going to meet about every 3 weeks or so to keep the pressure of a weekly event off. elisha and i hosted first meeting which was a greek theme and it went very well. have the date for the next one set and really looking forward to it. another one of my ideas was actually prompted by a friend who has recently gotten into photography. i've been a bit slack with photos over the last 6 months or so and have decided that it's time to get back on the horse. i realize that it's really just because i don't really have the technical expertise. so, i've decided to invite a few people and form a photography group. we're going to hold loosely-based meetings, choose an abstract theme or basis for the pictures, then go off together and shoot. want to try and keep the group small but hopefully we can get together and really start to learn.
aside from developing some new skills, i've also decided that it's time to develop some professional relationships. so, in the new year i am going to try and launch a group for professional networking here in taipei...the idea is going to be that people can meet, develop some business relationships, or speak with colleagues and contemporaries to grow and develop new skills. might start with a blog or a facebook page featuring a members directory, member/business/service of the month and also host in-person events like a mixer monthly or bi-monthly. i really feel like it would be a great way to meet some different people and also help to get my business off the ground.
so, that's what i've been up to lately and it feels great.
