In a New York Minute

Now that some time has passed, I've finally gotten a timetable of sorts. I like it because it is a routine, but with chunks of time that I can still decide what to do with. So I thought I'd document my activities here as useful material for future scrapbooking projects!

Monday
9.00 - 12.15 - MBA Class: Private Sector and International Development
1.10 - 2.25 - Art History: East Asian Art

Tuesday
11.00 - 12.15 - Art History: The History of Modern Art
2.00 - 5.00 - Volunteer: World Vision New York Office

Wednesday
1.10 - 2.25 - Art History: East Asian Art

Thursday
11.00 - 12.15 - Art History: The History of Modern Art

Friday
School Holiday

In between, Wednesday is usually housework day and Saturday designated for laundry. Weekends are for completing my readings for the week. Most weekday nights are for cooking projects and making sure that I graduate from pure survival cooking to semi-gourmet cooking (I use the word gourmet very loosely!). Keeping my eyes and ears open on the non-profit job scene in London also makes sure that I know what's going on in the next continent I'll have to call home. Slide pound! Keep sliding!

Shopping is incredibly good in US, it's amazing the value you can get for your dollar. It's so easy to go on a shopping frenzy because you can get designer labels slashed by half everyday. Plus, there are ways to get discounts to almost every chain store here if you're careful enough to trawl websites for coupons before hitting the shops. It is really hard to stop comparing the prices and the selection here to the incredibly marked up prices and paltry choices at home unless you, through sheer force of will, clear your head and ask yourself, "do I really need another pair of shoes, even though they are less than $20 bucks?"

Reading "Three Cups of Tea" reminded me that when you're living for a purpose other than yourself, the pursuit of more and materialism doesn't have to be the overriding, hypnotic force that governs your life. It's so easy to go back home everyday, wishing you had that something that you stopped yourself from buying, or you had something that someone else bought and then think, "aiya...why I have no money ah?"

Gosh, now I'm even eyeing girls who come out holding their H&M plastic bags, wondering what they bought and whether there was a discount. That IS sad. But I guess it'll never end unless I put a stop to it.

Yes I know for a fact that when you deliberately keep life simple and focus on what is important, it doesn't need to be like this. And darn it if I don't make that happen here, even in the capital of materialism of the world. I remember again the wonderful thing about working in a non-profit is that you meet wonderful people with simple lives, but far from simple or simplistic goals.