Wishful…uh, writing?

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Monday. I take my bath at 4am. It’s quite cold the past few days, but me and my kettle full of hot water somehow managed. I bathe like the traditional Asian - hot water mixed with my bucket of bath water plus my trusty dipper. I like to start my day feeling fresh, with my cup of tea with some honey. This routine clears my mind and welcomes new ideas positively. I check my to-do list. Oooh, top priority is to make a couple outfits for two Etsy clients. These should be easy as I’ve been making these pieces for years – they were bestsellers as I recollect now. Then if I can sneak in an hour (after packaging those two), I’d probably start that commission one – a Monster High fantasy-ish outfit for a local collector. I plan to allocate about two hours of work every day for this commission, so I can still work on other orders. The commission had to finish before Friday though as I plan to start the illustration commission with a local health magazine by the weekend. This makes me smile. Nothing beats starting the day with good planning and a warm cup of tea.

4.30am, my house help starts making some breakfast. Subsequently, my son wakes up and calls, “Mommy, what’s for breakfast?”. The help and I look at each other, both surprised and decided at the same time, like conniving rascals ready to take on a sleazy job, answered, “bacon and scrambled eggs!”. No reply from upstairs, except for the gushing of water at the bathroom that probably meant, “Okay, that would be nice.” My son has learned to prepare himself for school at an earlier age. I remember mom dressing me up until I was like 8.

5am, bacon and scrambled eggs ready on the table, and on my hubby’s packed food containers . I prepare his packed food early even if he wakes up a little later as I like the food to cool naturally. My son, in his graceful school uniform, came down a little later looking for his shoes, and glances at the table. He likes to make sure I’m not bluffing. I have already made my way to the dining table minutes before he came down so we can have breakfast together. His school bus arrives at 5:30am, so we still have a good 30min time to chit-chat and watch the early morning show.

5.30am, the school bus arrives and my son throws away a hug and a big kiss to mummy. His school stuff had been prepared every before bedtime so I’m sure we didn’t miss anything. I check the school bus – same driver and assistant, same group of noisy kids from our village, same silent ones, everything’s good. The little boy looks excited as always, and I’m sure he’s going to have a good time today. I always remember either singing happily or laughing with my friends on my way to school.

I also had to wake hubby up, as he said last night he needs to be at work at 9am for an early conference call. I’d also prepare his lunch while he takes his shower. I like that the company he works in allows them to dress practically – he never wears anything fancy. So that means less intervention from me, right? :D

It was around 6am when hubby leaves for work and my work starts at the atelier. I trace my tiny patterns on the fabrics I have prepared yesterday and cut them away. I like that my work also affords me time to just trace my patterns and cut away without thinking too much. Then I start sewing and assembling the first outfit. After some time that sort of felt like only 20 minutes, I’m ready to put some snaps and prepare packaging. Though my mind tells me to continue and just get it over and done with so I can move on to the next outfit, I decided I probably need to grab that piece of banana on the table. Yup, need a change of view for a sec or two. I went outside and treated myself with some nice sunshine. It’s just 7am, and it feels so good to smell the flowers on my garden. I saw some leaves fall to the ground, and felt the need to sneak in a minute or two to broom them away to this special area where I place anything wilting. I like to believe that I still get vitamins and minerals from them, much like what we used to do with our compost pits back in the day. But no, I’d have to delegate or delay this time. I can always take care of the plants when all my work is done for the day. Gotta get back to finishing that first outfit.

11.40am, and I’m done with the second outfit. I decided to just continue with packaging after lunch as I already felt the need to rest a bit. My back aches a bit, and a short series of yoga stretches will ease them up in a bit. After a delightful lunch of fried fish and some sautĂ©ed green leafy vegetables, I’m off to packaging my two Etsy orders. I’ll be mailing them tomorrow, as I scheduled shipments only every Tuesdays.

After the packaging, and sneaking some work on that MH commission, I cleaned up my workspace and prepare for my son to arrive from school. He arrives at around 4pm, hungry and tired so it is imperative that the house is clean (you just don’t know how messy the house gets when I work!) and relaxing enough. Also, there’s got to be some easy to grab snacks on the table ready to fill him up just before dinner time.

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Ooops! Back to reality, I guess. It’s almost time to leave for home (as I type this on my laptop at work). I totally wish that was already my reality. Don’t worry, I may be wishing, but I’m working on it too. So, who knows? I might just get it sooner than expected? Wish me luck, okay?

Comments

  1. Hello from Spain: your work routine is very similar to mine. Having to work at home, caring for children, everything is clean and then the night comes again. Keep in touch.

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    1. Hi Marta --- it's my dream lifestyle. Currently, I'm still working a 9-5 job, sneaking in some "me" time to get the atelier running. Someday, someday, I'll get there :)

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    2. And congratulations on such a fulfilling job ever! :D Keep in touch!

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  2. i knew it that's why i skipped right off to the ending hahaha =P anyway, it's just a matter of time, Shan...A matter of time.

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    Replies
    1. Hey there, Lulu darling! Thanks for the inspiring words, dear :) See you some time soon, take care always!

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