1st Feb 2012

A month already in to the New Year and things has just been alright. It has started to get cold now after amazingly mild winters we had until now – a welcome surprise. It was so mild compared to previous decades that it had actually confused the plants, giving them a false early start. And now it is just one more month for the spring, officially at least, when the charming pansies start appearing all over the city.

I started a new job this year as well but sadly I am not enjoying the work-from-home arrangement this time. How I managed it for 3 years the first time around has become a mystery to me. It’s so hard to discipline myself to follow a proper 9-5 routine and I find myself bored to death at times. Maybe, I am at a point in my life where I don’t want to work just for money – the importance of money has somehow declined for me. My materialistic urges were never that strong; solitaires being the only exception to them.

In 2002, I had blown all the money that I had saved from a very young age to buy my first solitaire – a pair of studs. It was an amazing feeling to own something so precious for the first time in life! I got hooked on to them and bought myself a ring the very next year on my birthday with all the profits I made in the stock market. That day I decided that I will upgrade the solitaire every year on my birthday and did so with my salary for the next 2 years. That ring is one of my most cherished possessions - a sign of independence, despite having stopped buying solitaires after watching a gory documentary about blood diamonds.

Although I am not enjoying it, there could be nothing more perfect for me at this time. I am glad to have something to do to keep my mind busy for the coming two months, which are going to be tough. I am excited about the prospect but at the same time feeling a bit scared.