Guess who's back?

I'm back! (As a friend of mine puts it - this sentence of mine sounds like what could have been Arnie's dialogue in T-2 after he finishes whatever he was supposed to be actually doing after saying "I'll be back...")

Well - what to do! After spending a month with a one and a half year old around the house, the last few days alone have been a mixture of sheer bliss mixed with some regret at not hearing little feet patter behind me all day or a little voice, as sweet as an angel's, say something like "Schokolade!" (chocolate in baby language, I'd say)...

The good news is I've been bitten by the writer's bug. There is something about writing that makes me feel full of life - unspoken thoughts, unsaid words and unexpressed feelings spring to life as one gets cracking at the keyboard.

Work's been hectic (nothing new in my team). I've been working on several responsibilities - but of late, I've been asking myself - is this ALL I want to do? I wake up in the morning, get ready for work, reach office where I'm caught in an unending stream of tasks and trudge back home too tired to spend any time with my family - or even pamper myself. I completed a year at work recently. To me it seems as though that's about the only thing I did fulltime for one whole year! (My mother observed recently that I could probably work more if I stayed in the office itself - I could visit home at weekends! :D)

That's when it hit me - I had to break out of this cycle - or else I would turn into a workaholic with no life of her own - who talked nothing but cars, reviews and project leaders all the time.

The first step out of this rut would be to get back to doing all the things I loved to do before I started working. Writing, for example. Maybe a little more of reading - I used to average 2 books a day - and now I notice I can barely keep my attention for more than 20-30 pages. I ought to take care of my health by simply listening to the signs my body gives - when my mind is tired with umrechnungs and pavast files, I really ought to take a walk around the office gardens, breath in some fresh air and admire the blossoming copper-pod trees against a backdrop of the blue, blue sky. There are so many more things I'd love to add to the list - and I know it will take me some time, a lot of changes in schedules - and a lot of cutting down on work - and maybe now, I will just enjoy life for a change - by being who I want to be rather than living upto someone's else's expectations!