Eclipse

I was reminded today, slightly more than a year from my last posting, that work has eclipses other aspects of my life that I enjoy, or used to enjoy. And what reminded me? The solar eclipse of 2010, supposedly the longest one of the decade. It occured, and almost became the past when a client of mine suddenly asked if I have seen it.

Except when he asked, it was in Mandarin, and for 3 minutes I could not respond because I did not know what it is. When I found out, I looked north and south and east but the building where I work was surrounded by even taller structures, so I could not see anything. Finally I was told which direction was west(duh), but I was again, blocked by taller buildings and the mountains.

The next thing I know, memories of the last solar eclipse I observed came to mind. It was when I was in high school, more than 10years ago, one evening, we were all told a solar eclipse was about to happen and the entire school went outside to the track field to line up and watch it.

I cannot believe the last solar eclipse I witnessed was more than 10 years ago. Time flies, indeed. And you can call it nostalgia, sentimentalism...anything. But the truth is, I have lost sight of certain simple little things, observations, in life that could make me so happy. The last 10 years of my life has been spent with a goal in mind - change. Changing the place I live in, changing what I was looking for, changing the circumstances of my life. As Henry David Thoreau say and I quote " Things do not change. We do" I believe that I had to make things happen.

But what have I done since college? I have been working. At times I have worked hard. I have been uncomfortable. I have been in difficult situations. I think I have survived pretty well so far. Yet I have lost sight of one thing - my interests. For the last few years, I did not realize that working 11 hours a day can drain you. It can drain you of energy - energy to do what you used to enjoy. And the biggest thing it drained me of was creativity. Inspirations.
I have forgotten how to write a poem. I have forgotten how to play the piano. I have forgotten how to be carefree. I have forgotten how to be free.

Perhaps I am just tired because I have an exam tomorrow and we all know how I hate exams. I was never a good test taker.

But one thing is for sure -- I need another change. I need to be free again.

And oh, welcome to Hong Kong. I am back here again. After 3.5years in New York.

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