感恩

My amazing looooooong weekend has come to an end - and it is a super unharried one, with lots of rest, sleep, and soul goodness. 

I realized my last entry was in February, and my goodness - how time flies. 

Since then, I had done a spartan race, gone back to Singapore, took on some newer responsibilities, explored countless good eats, built some deeper friendships, did some learnings and readings, continued with my exercises and runs, and also - slept better, laughed more, let go more. :)) I think, I can just say that life has been good. 

Spartan was one of a kind - the kind that you say you would never do, but when jio-ed, finally give in. I travelled quite some hours to and fro up north to Umm Al Quwain, to run 10km, and then back. :-D Amazing - running up and down the sands and slopes, and it was tough on the calf, and I was glad I had a first experience at Liwa. And, I said I won't do it again - but, who knows? :))
And, what a wonderful experience it was - to run with Neha and Leila!

And then, the trip back to Singapore - loved it so much. It was so good that when I returned, I felt I was ready to go home. The immediate pangs of homesickness - they hit hard. The first week when I came back, I really felt I wanted to go home. Too much to describe for the trip, too much to express, too much to write about - but every part of it was drenched with love, and more gratitude and thankfulness. Everything, from giving my mum and my parents in law a surprise, to meeting my closest friends, to meeting ex colleagues, to chilling with numerous ones, to even squeezing in a game of tennis and the runs at ECP, and to the local food and kopi and chai png. Too much good - as the locals here would say. 💓 

And then, whilst back in Abu Dhabi, our office was moved up due to the restructuring and reorg, and now, my unit is together with the larger Dir-Gen office - and it's really good that we are now surrounded by more teammates. There's so much more life. New responsibilities came on, and I had a chance to travel to Al Ain, to contribute to the larger workforce development agenda. As I come to a second year, may the new year also be fruitful and productive. :) 

And that way, March gave way to Ramadam Kareem, and that gave way to Eid Mubarak. How time flies. 

It was my first full Ramadan and Eid break here - and I went thru' the whole month of fasting - while working with the locals here. It was an interesting month for me. With revised shortened hours for the govt employees, I also had a taste of what it is like here. It was a good one month; for me, there's not much of a difference, and then the one month just flew by. And the Eid 9-day long weekend, just came and went too. 

Most friends I know have taken the chance to travel out during the 9 days, and it was wonderful to see their travel adventures and pictures. So beautiful - the places they went to, particularly for Jordan and Georgia. I wished I had also gone somewhere with Steve, though it was not to be for this season, as he was working. Nonetheless, I decided that this was still going to be an amazing break for me. And honestly, being in Abu Dhabi and the UAE itself - already means I am experiencing a new way of living. So I decided to do the following:
- Learn something
- Eat well
- Sleep well
- Exercise

- Take care of myself, basically. 

And - I think I have had a superb 9 days. Everyday, I start off with my exercises, including runs, cycling, F45, tennis sessions, swim, gym. I dunno how I did it, but starting off daily with a good workout makes me feel I am so ready for the day ahead. :))

And then, I decided to do a refresher course on Excel. Learnt some tips and tricks - and still, more to go. And caught up with different reads, including one excerpt from Murakami Haruki - the running novelist. 

And - then, all the different foods exploration. Wed night was most unforgettable. Decided that we would do something different, and we went to Raclette Mamsha - the atas stretch here for some French food. The food was good, but it was even a nicer experience to just chill out mid-week for a change. It was possibly the date night difference too. 💓 

And - taking care of myself means I spend enough time out to reflect, to take longer walks with Kenji, to write, to have me-time, to build deeper friendships, to watch NF, etc. It's such a good 9-day break, and also a wonderful March and April. 

And then, today is also Mother's Day. While I am not back in Singapore, the love remains. My mummy and may she forever stay beautiful and healthy. 💗

And 不知不觉, it's already dusk. I took this pic a week plus ago. When we were running along Eastern mangroves. Earlier, I think I must have felt the writing itch. It came, and I decided that I must finish this post. Next week onwards, I will be busier. Different ones are visiting weekly for the next month, and I'll play host. It's gonna be an amazing 2H 2022. 

Beautiful dusk - as always. 💗