It’s Christmas-Eve Eve! Time isn’t slowing down. I’ve started to do flash-back for the past year, making notes on next year plan be it personal or business. Well, put that aside, I have other thought to ponder on. No, not related to st lucia weddings or honeymoon, but more to milestone.

Recently I’m in getting in touch with an ex-colleague and he’s just graduated, going to pursue his dream job. *gasp* This means it’s been 4 years since I resigned from my first and only job (as an employee). Saying that time flies is an understatement!

In other words, I’ve been self-employed for that long as well. From a freelance graphic designer to clueless web-designer wannabe to who I am now (no exact description ).

It’s a roller-coaster ride, there are times when we’re on top of the world *woohoo* and there were shitty times as well. Nothing’s stagnant. Always revolving and moving, it’s internet and web that we’re talking about after all.

Aside from the personal growth, what I love best from self-employment is the FREEDOM that it gives.

Quoted from the recent article of Corbett Barr, titled Cash Rich.. Lifestyle Poor -> “Money is nice, but freedom is priceless“.

Freedom to work on projects that I like and say no to the one that doesn’t fit us. Freedom to work anytime anywhere, although we have a certain working hour for ourselves. Freedom to take a break when the brain stuck instead of keep on sitting at the cubicle until the end of office hour.

We get to go for grocery shopping at wet market on Monday morning. We get to cook at home which leads to more saving. We get to spend more time with our parents when they came here for a visit, instead of just dinner at night. I get to work til midnight without worrying that it’s so late & will be dangerous to go home alone. I get to sleep in a little longer when it’s raining in the morning, just need to replace the working hour. We don’t need to face awful traffic jam everyday.

With the freedom, we get to create moment and experience more stuffs in our life, which lead to stories that we can pass on to our grandchildren in the future. Ok, where does this topic going to?

Bottom line, I find myself complaining less than when I was an employee. Instead of complaining about how the office politic is, we spend our coffee time brainstorming how to improve the business, what new venture to work on, new things in the industry, etc. Using the brain for good use.

Cheers to the FREEDOM that we have~!

Yes, we sort of skip Christmas shopping and jump forward to prepare for Chinese New Year (Jan 2012).

Learn the lesson from previous CNY where we did last minute shopping (around 3 days before actual day). It doesn’t work for me, the picky lady. I ended up with a few items which I never wear, Oops!

So this time we start earlier, one month before CNY, and because there is YES (Year End Sale) too. We’re making a teeny weeny progress today. I’m contemplating to make an online purchase this time, cause there is much choices online but I can’t try them on. Not like shopping for auto repair shop software alone.

Picture of us from December this year and last year, at the same atrium of the same shopping mall. Spot the difference between now and then! Hehe.

Lesson from today shopping: want to know whether you are getting fatter/thinner? Don’t use weight scale, it’s just numbers. Go shopping, try on clothes/pants that you adore and you’ll realize which part of your body is getting larger/smaller.

Not exactly a movie but rather a Taiwan idol drama – In Time with You / Wo Ke Neng Bu Hui Ai Ni, which I just finished watching it recently. Starring Ariel Lin, hitting 30 and in the field of work shoes for women, this drama has a more real life storyline, not the cartoonish or fairytale type where rich good-looking guy falls in love with a poor kind-hearted girl.

The shooting took place in Singapore as well and it showcased IKEA items here and there in the scene, mainly in Cheng You Qing’s room (Ariel Lin’s character). Of all IKEA items, what caught my eyes the most is her closet! Think it’s a hack of the GORM shelving unit turns into closet. I’m looking for a closet idea, that’s why this stuck in my mind.

The best anniversary gift is being able to spend time with the love one. Talk about movie date {Petaling Street Warriors} with a trip to IKEA, picking on house decor and discuss over it, check out trash pump on sale, ended with dinner at Pizza Hut Delivery kiosk.

Basically a NO WORK day on a regular weekday. Superwoman and superman need to take a break too!

Anyway, stepping into the third year of marriage. We have gone from staying with in-laws in the small town to moving back to the city and rent a room, and now renting an apartment. Just the two of us, no baby, still feel like newlywed.

Hubby’s friend was moving house on last weekend so we were there to help him. I thought that’s better than staying at home alone and watch drug detox clinics news.

I had my share of cleaning up two rooms’ floor that was covered by paint. When I was handed the broom and mop, I thought: “Ah, easy task! Cleaning is my middle name.”

But.. people says never underestimate something, which is true. The paint was so stubborn, hard to mop/wipe it away. Took me more than an hour to clean up two rooms, the longest record ever. -__-”

After that, I get to paint a part of the living room’s wall. It was fun, but at some point I was hoping that the wall is a canvas in Photoshop, where I just need to create a shape, click on color and voila! This is when you asked a web-designer to paint a wall.

The two tasks sounded easy peasy, but I woke up the next day with muscle pain on my leg and arm.