Life's Just Exciting!

Spending Idle Time

I have time to burn. Everyday since Thursday last week I have at least 2 hours of free time after dropping Luis in school. The past 2 days I spent mostly reading and writing. This sudden freedom is actually much awaited, considering that I was holed up for almost 3 months doing nothing but mommy-cum-housewifey chores. I had no one to talk to most hours of the day but my 3 yr old son. Good thing I had the internet or I'd lose my mind completely. Having this free time forces me to think of what interesting things to engage in. For starters I've taken a shot at vanity (yes, finally!) I got to visit the salon last Monday and had my first ever manicure and pedicure, Singapore-style. I still prefer David's in Manila, though, or the very special personal service by my Ate Melda. Hmmm....wonder when I'll have the courage to have a facial for the very first time?

Having time away from home has its pros and cons. The first good thing is that I am again able to do what I missed doing for a long, long time -- bum around at Starbucks. Do & I discovered Starbucks together during our dating days, when we'd have dinner together every night then head to Starbucks Rockwell after for some serious newspaper reading. We'd go there armed with PDI & Phil. Star and read from cover to cover, or until our eyes popped out of their sockets in tiredness. What we really like about Starbucks coffee shops is that you can stay in one the whole day with just a cup of coffee and no staff will give you the stare. No barista will make you feel you have to go after finishing your cup and vacate the seat pronto by dropping utensils, trays, and sometimes even chairs so you'd feel uncomfortable. When we moved to Korea, and now here in Singapore, it's the same Starbucks. As they say, you're really there for the ambiance. C'mon, I don't know anything about coffee. I can't tell one from the other unless the tastes really, really differs. So I will not claim to patronizing it because I am a coffee connoisseur. I am simply there to bum around, to hang out. These days I go to Starbucks armed with a bag full of this and that. Yesterday it was a booklet of raffle tickets we got for purchasing an LCD TV. It's a good thing no signatures are required because even I can't distinguish my handwriting anymore. My hands got so stiff and tired halfway through the booklet I felt my veins threatening to explode from the pressure of writing. Once you get used to using computers all the time sadly you lose the stamina to write long-hand. Today I finished sa wakas reading Life of Pi and started Jeffrey Eugenides' Middlesex right away. I said there are pros and cons, and here's one con. If you bum around at Starbucks between the unholy hour of 12:30pm and 3:00pm -- and you're pregnant -- there's no way you won't get lured to sleeping. Hahummm...

posted by lala @ 11:10 PM