9 May 2017

Today has been a super productive day so far.

I woke up at 5:20, got up around 5:30, drank coffee and chilled for half an hour, then did subtitles work for 2 hours straight.

And translated exactly 425 lines. You may not know how much that is, but it’s a massive amount. I usually average just above 100 lines per hour.

In minute terms, I was taking 4 minutes to translate each programme minute. That’s like a million light years away from my speed (as of Saturday) of 1 programme minute every 7 minutes.

That’s like… WOAH.

Then after that I prepped my class for tomorrow; I’m teaching two students at 7:30 and 10am. I finished prepping the first and outlined the steps for the second. Then I got tired of working so I stopped. It was about 10:47am. (Ok fine, it was exactly 10:47am.)

So I did one-third of my current subtitles project and finished more than 60% of my class planning in less than five hours, with a half-an-hour break in the middle watching Hannibal.

That’s an incredible improvement on the 4th of May, which I wrote about here. I blame George Lucas. The Dark Side must have been at work.

So yes, I had an amazingly productive morning, which I’m super happy with. Then I got ready and left for town.

I decided to take the bus the whole way today rather than the usually bus-purple line-MRT-BTS combination, and lo and behold, it was faster! At a fraction of the cost! I’m only taking the bus from now on outside rush hour.

And here I am now, one hour away from my “Amazing Service at Reception” training, blogging in a café. I wonder what they’ll train us today. I’m prepared to be amazed.

After the training my friends from school are having dinner to celebrate a friend’s birthday. I haven’t seen them in many months, so that should be nice too.

Today’s set to be a good day!

Time for me to go work on my second short story. It’s called “One Seventy-Two” courtesy of my friend.

Love,

Val

8 April 2016

Guess where I am right now.

Answer: hospital.

That seems to be the only place where I get some writing done these days. Which is not a bad thing.

I didn’t come to the hospital last month because the time clashed with training for my new job. Yes… new job! *applause*

But here I am, over two months after my last visit. And apart from the new blood pressure measuring machines everything is pretty much the same – the stale air, the smell of unwashed clothes and sweat, the interminable wait.

Good news is my doctor is coming on time these days. So in approximately thirty minutes I should be seeing my doctor. Note to self: ask doctor if I can drink decaf coffee (oh may the answer be yes…)

So about this new job, I am now working as a Coach (Educational Service Coach to be precise) at Wall Street English. It’s an English language school and it just opened a branch near where I live. And that’s why I applied. Happily I got the job and I’ve been working at the centre for almost a month now – that’s half the time I spent at my old job already.

So far so good. A lot of things to learn. A lot of students to meet and get to know. It’s nice going around and having students saying hi to you. The centre is in the mall so we bump into them everywhere.

The centre being in a mall is one thing I like about the job: coming to work feels like going shopping. Not that I particularly like shopping but you get the idea. It’s full of happy people, and being around happy people is uplifting.

Another thing I like is the working hours. We start at noon (finish at 9pm) which gives me a whole morning to enjoy/slave away doing translation work for an extra bit (big bit) of cash.

So yes, new job. New opportunities. Life seems to be looking up at last. We’ll see how this one goes!

Love, as always,

Val

8 September 2014

Today was one of those days where coffee didn’t work.

Having slept an average of 4-5 hours and walked an average of 12 the past few days (I’d been travelling), I fully expected my body to demand a lie-in and did not set an alarm last night.

So I was extremely surprised when I woke up at 7.30am and didn’t fall immediately back to sleep. I had slept 9 hours, far fewer than I’d expected to. And I felt nowhere near rested; my head was weighing down as heavily as it did yesterday

After half an hour shifting about in bed, however, I decided to get up. Normally, I would have tried to go back to sleep, but given that I had been sleeping very erratically lately, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to reinforce a healthy sleeping schedule. I’d feel better after coffee, I told myself.

I didn’t.

And I’d made my coffee extra strong and extra large.

So here I am, caffeine-injected and still as heavy-headed as ever. And let me tell you, writing has never been more of an effort.

I miss feeling normal. I hope I wake up more rested tomorrow.

I really do.

Wow. Writing this post is hurting my head, literally. Some post-vacation withdrawal effect, this is. I’d better go do something less mentally demanding.

Now, I can either read the Freud I picked out from my shelf this morning… or watch Big Bang Theory. Hmm…

*grabs headphones*

Have a good day everyone!

Val

29 March 2014

I don’t think I’ve ever had so many slices of bread in one day.

That’s what happens when you stay at home: you eat. Everything and anything you can find within a 5-metre radius.

Four slices for lunch. Then another one just now to soak up all the salad dressing. So much for having salad for dinner!

I love bread. I really do. I always have.

Even now I am struggling not to grab another slice from one of the two loaves (whole wheat and fluffy white) sitting very temptingly to my left.

Hmm… I can smell it, the buttery smell of bread. I can almost taste it.

Speaking of bread and breakfast, there is nothing I love more than the smell of fresh toast and coffee in the morning. I distinctly remember, one day in the summer of 2012, I was in London. I had got up super early to get to my work shift. I put a slice of bread (multi grain) in the toaster, and popped my moka pot on the stove. Then, as the smell of toast filled the kitchen and the coffee started bubbling, I realised how much I loved that moment.

How happy I was. I felt at peace. At one with my surroundings. Content with my life.

It’s a great feeling. It’s easily the most memorable breakfast I’ve ever had. I remember nothing of the day that followed, but that moment in the kitchen is as vivid in my mind as if it were yesterday.

Hmm… I’m already planning getting up early tomorrow morning to have a slice over coffee before I go for my morning run.

Yes. Let’s do that.

If I wake up early enough, I might even get some reading done before I leave the house.

So that’s it from me for today, short and sweet,

Good night,

Val

22 March 2014

It rained today. Proper, torrential, rain.

The rain took me by surprise. The sun had been out in full swing for the past month, maybe more. And I had come to expect nothing but blazing heat.

We had just been for a run in the park when the torrent fell. Luckily, we were by then indoors, snugly huddled around a table, coffee in hand. And I could not be happier that I had decided to bring my car to the café rather than walk the 500 metres.

Given my dislike of driving in Bangkok and my fondness for walking, me opting for the car was extremely unlikely.

So, this either suggests I was extremely lucky, or offers conclusive proof that I’m psychic.

I’ll let you choose.

After so many weeks of Summer heat, the rain was a welcome respite. The sight and sound of the storm raging outside provided a surprisingly relaxing backdrop to our coffee-fuelled conversation.

It was a perfect morning, to be followed by a perfect afternoon as I sat revising under the verandah. The sound of raindrops falling on the roof. The light touch of the cool breeze on my skin. The smell of wet grass. The coolness and freshness of it all.

Revision had never been more aesthetically pleasing.

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
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6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30	31

A Day in the Life of Val

For Want of a Better Title

coffee