2008: the year of mortality?

I just saw that I have 4 farewell posts for this year alone. I finally said farewell properly to my gram and I also wrote about the deaths of Chris's mum, Tan Sri Eric Chia and Prof Randy Pausch. I felt a little bit sad and I thought I'd ring my friend, Dr. Ng, to say hi. He was at his desk and we had a quick chat regarding our mixed feelings on 2008. He didn't sound too hot either; usually he'd be very happy to hear from me. One thing for sure though: he's still alive, and as per his reminder to me, so am I. The living must continue to live. That thought brought my first real smile to my face today. I must admit, waking up thinking that I NEED to be at my desk by 8:30am every weekday morning or else I have to sms the big boss does not make me jump out of bed in delight. I suppose I'm just not too happy with the fact that being at my desk at 8:30am does NOT guarantee that I leave at 6:00pm on the dot.

Wait a second - of course it does. With proper planning, I can make it happen. Now this is getting interesting.

I feel a bit more cheerful now. I'm not yet too thrilled about giving up my Friday to finish my work in the office. I used to have the option of working off site for Fridays. It was a different kind of freedom knowing that I had created that time-off option for myself for the last 6 months. In fact, my employer still owes me 2 Fridays. I'll send in my time sheets and plan for those days.

I'm dreaming of the seaside again. I'm going back to Bangkok next February, God-willing. Until I can plan a quick beach weekend, there's always Ramesh's beach birthday party in Attic this weekend, and there are always my flickr Pangkor photos and my post on the lovely weekend.

In the meantime, here are my toes in the sand. Nipah Bay, I will return.