欣。雨。: Busy bee, I am

The pre-CNY week had been one mad rush.

Everyday, I operated on auto-pilot mode.

1. Wake up between 9-945am, most often in semi-fright, hoping that I didn't oversleep.

2. Call courier company to make booking.

If I'm late, I'm dead.

3. Reply emails/invoicing, while waiting for the courier guy to arrive

They have been coming later than usual, probably due to the peak period & rainy weather.

4. Pack parcels that stacked up to be taller than me, so that they can be rushed to the PO before 5pm.

If the courier guy doesn't arrive by the specified timing, panic calls are made.

5. Call cab & rush to PO, sacks & all.
Why isn't there a sheltered porch area beneath my block???
The rain is making things so challenging recently.

6. After posting, get KFC Cheese Fries, with no mayo.

I'm an addict, like it even more than Mac's fries.

7. Eat the fries (my late lunch) as I walk. Love that it comes with a fork.

Not enough time! Not enough time!

8. Buy dinner & other groceries.
This is the only time of the day I can relax.

9. Hop onto a cab home
Always being a street directory on the cab, because so many cab drivers do not know the way to my home.

10. Bathe

11. Read a Buddhist book/newspaper, as I eat my dinner.
My moment of learning in tranquility.

12. Brush my teeth & back to battling the mails, till late.

13. Conk out. Probably around 330-430am.

Going to bed would be a more graceful description.

But after such a laborious day, with aching arms & legs, & mentally exhausted, conk out just sound so apt.

Well, at least I have been lucky not to be seeing the sunrises nowadays.

It's sometimes scary how big a part Tian Fen Lan plays in my life.
So much it seems to be the only thing I blog about. I actually do have A LOT of inspirations for other blog topics, you know. =(

One look at my daily schedule will tell you that I do not have the time for anything else.

And I really mean ANYTHING.

No time to meet friends, do more housework (spring-cleaning!), tidy up the stocks, think more about what designs to manufacture, blog more, read my books, do more spiritual cultivation.

NO TIME!!

When I do get to go out, emails will be at the back of my mind.

Everywhere I look, my eyes would be zooming in onto the bags that other ladies are carrying, or the bags on display at the shops.

Occupational hazard, sigh.

You might have known that I am trying to get TFL's dotcom up for the longest time ever.

But I don't even have the time to really look through the web drafts. Their last email to me was 24 Jan.

I want to really scrutinise it and not just give a slip shod reply, to save time on the to-and-fro.

After all, it cost S$xxxx, you know.

Thank goodness the designers have been real patient with me all this while.

If only the drafts are love at first sight. =/

I wonder if my requirements have been too strange/bizzare/weird/out-of-the-world for the guys, hence the less-than-ideal drafts.

I do not like to be so busy that other parts of my life are severely neglected.

Don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm hating my TFL work.
I'm very happy when customers love their purchases & come back for more, trusting that TFL has what they need at affordable prices.
When I'm out and see a lady with a TFL bag or spot it in the pictures of a blog I stumbled upon, every single cell of mine would be grinning.

I just wish that the website is up & it's ravishing, there is a place for me to store my stocks, with 1 or 2 reliable assistants to help me out with admin work & packing, wonderful & hot-selling bag designs stream in without defects or mishaps, TFL to be a bigger name than now,
and that every part of my life is more balanced than now.
And these wishes cost $$$$, which I do not have so much of. Yet.

6-7 years ago, I was at a Johannesburg bookstore and stumbled onto this paperback.

I stood for hours at the store, shifting my weight from one leg to another, leaning here & there, just to read this insightful book.

The store doesn't allow sitting.

Now I wonder why I didn't just spend the money to buy it, so I can read in the comfort of my room.

Stingy me. =/

In this book, John Gray, the same author who wrote "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" says that there are 10 fuel tanks that we need to constantly refill, to stay happy & fulfilled in life.

He also teaches the 4 methods to personal success:

• Set Your Intention

• Get What You Need

• Get What You Want

• Remove the Blocks to Personal Success.

I have never thought about my life compartmentalised into fuel tanks, and how to fill them up & how vital it is to keep these tanks filled, till I read his book.

Eureka! How true it was!

Although the book is infused with Christianity concepts, I find it just as relevant if I apply the Dharma into it too.
Look past the religious aspect and it is all about loving yourself & the people around you & cherishing what you have, at the end of the day.

So often, I would be whining about this & ranting about that, never asking myself why am I behaving like this.

After the bookstore closed, I remembered going back to my hotel room and calling Jo, excitedly sharing with him what I have learnt.
We love reading self-help books!
The concepts enrich our lives and never fail to put things into perspective.

I think I should get down to grabbing a copy of it soon.

I hope Popular sells it. Jo has the Pop card.

Got 10% discount, you know. Hahaha!

Taking my A-Levels was so tough that I was so over the moon when I scraped through & not having to retake it.

I thought that would be the hardest thing in my whole life.

Now, that pales in comparison when compared with building up Tian Fen Lan.

It's a never-ending battle. Not something that is over in 2 years, like the 'A's.

No, I'm not deterred or demoralised. I live by the mantra "Never say die". Hahaha! =D

Because everyone needs to be reminded, I'm putting these here to motivate myself.