Of a new month and a city experience

It's now the 7th of July. June is gone, so fast! Work in the office is so hectic and toxic so time flies so fast. Good thing and I thank God for the peace and quiet at home. There are just the two of us...the only sounds we can hear are the tv and our laughter! It's so nice to come home to peace and quiet, it is a luxury indeed. To be able to rest after the rush and stresses of work. I think the only stress at home is to decide on what to cook or eat for dinner...I know this is quite shallow. Of course there are other major issues related to life in general, you know, living in this world of political strife, climate change, animal extinction, hunger, poverty, etc. We have a choice on how to handle them, though. If we can do something to make things better, then let's do it. If we can't, then there is no use being depressed by it. Today in fact was a holiday but where was I? I was in the office. Working coz I just had to work. But it was something that did not really stress me. Just have to work and if things didn't work out, it's no big deal also. Just try better next time.

Last week I spent nearly the whole day in the big city. I went to the Embassy and I was there at 845 am, and waited outside (just standing) until it opened at 9. However, as a rule, the time to release any document is at 2 pm. So I was at a dilemma what to do coz by the time I submitted my papers it was nearly 930 am. It was not practical to go back to my office as it would take me maybe 1.5 hrs to reach it, then another 1.5 hrs to get back to the city. So I'd better hang around somewhere and wait out for the 2 pm releasing time. The question was where? I wanted to get to an internet cafe coz I was thinking of my work. With my upcoming trip overseas I really need to work on the contacts I need to meet. I walked back to a gas station I passed on the way to the Embassy. There was a coffee shop there and I saw a sign earlier that they had Internet. So I went to order my mocha coffee and bread coz I did not have breakfast yet. I was thinking that I could check my emails and reply to them while drinking my coffee. Alas, the staff said the server was down. So why did they not remove the sign saying that Internet service was available?

After my breakfast I took the sky train to go to the nearest mall. Then I remembered that near this mall there is a second hand bookshop. I have ordered books from this shop many times by mail. So it would be my first time to really go there and choose the books myself. So I walked to this bookstore and spent some time there browsing through the shelves. It was quite difficult to look for the books and I think it is better for me to just download their database in excel and browse the file to order the books. I finally settled on two books which I have just heard and read about before. So this time I could really read them. I had 2 more books added to my collection that day.

I went back to the mall and it was nearly noon. Lunch time but I did not eat coz I was still full from my breakfast at 10am. I went around to look for the internet section. Along the way I saw some shoes which were on sale. I found one which I liked but unfortunately they did not have my size. I was glad to find the internet section and was able to check my emails and respond to them. I was so engrossed with what I was doing that I almost forgot the time. When I looked at my watch it was already 145pm. It was time to go back to the Embassy. I just took a taxi coz I did not want to walk a long way from the sky train station as it was so hot. I reached the Embassy before 2pm anyway. When I got there, I did not immediately present my claim slip as the staff was adamant to serve claims at exactly 2pm. And since there were people who came before me, they had to be served first.

I finally was able to leave the Embassy at around 215pm. I immediately left to go back to my office. Coz of the sky train and special service from my dear husband who picked me up at the last sky train station, I arrived in the office at about 330 pm so I still had enough time to continue my work. I was at the office until 6 pm. I was glad that I was able to get the documents I needed from the Embassy that day. I also thank God for protection and for keeping me in good condition as usually I do not feel good going into the city using public transport, due to the heat, pollution and the general atmosphere in the city that us folks who live in a quiet and green environment could never get used to.