Blogging While at Work Is Bad for Your Health

Finished

Ah at last, some sense of accomplishment! As 2006 opens on its final quarter, I have myself achieved some small victories, despite being holed up in the office and in the apartment for some time now.

1. I now have a diploma in Urban and Regional Planning! After five semesters and around five major researches and project developments, I can now close a chapter of my academic life and move on to other interests. I only have to work on my thesis, but at least I can still put "diploma" under Urban and Regional Planning. Our planning workshop has yet to be finished, since we have to move on to planning for the Municipality of Rodriguez now, having just finished the socio-economic profile of the LGU. But despite that, I already am mentally preparing myself for my thesis. I still hope to work on the topic I described earlier, on creating a University town for the Province of Pangasinan, since there already is a UP Bolinao there. This time around it would be more challenging, since thesis is a solo endeavor. I'm excited on the travel part of the thesis.

2. I just finished the online learning course on Disaster Management, sponsored by the World Bank, and am now ready to move on to the next course module on Safer Cities. The entire course is enlightening, as I am now appreciative of the power of Mother Nature, how we should adapt to her and how we can improve our use of her gifts.

3. This year would be the best year for my freelance efforts as an Architect, since I got the chance to really express my creativity, and not be hampered by client budgets and caprices.

Of course there are still clients who demand so much, such as cutting costs on employing a structural engineer, which I of course would not allow, in a polite manner. I gave this particular client a simple analogy of imagining if his intended three story house would cram in a lot of party goers and beer buddies and barkadas into his intended roof deck, and explaining the amount of weight being introduced into the house.

I hope to post pictures later on of my latest project, its a curvy curvy classroom setting, with the writing board being made of tempered glass, like the ones we see in the Pentagon and those submarine movies.

4. And of course I met someone who I can share myself and my accomplishments with. Yeah!

Of course along with these accomplishments there are sacrifices, such as missing out on sleep, gimmicks with friends and spending more down time. During the past month there were times when I would only sleep for less than 4 hours, working during the wee hours of the morning and coming to work late. This year would test the government provided 30 days worth of leaves, as I have almost used up half of my vacation and sick leaves for work on masters, sidelines and sick leaves.

This year would be the year with the most number of sick leaves for me, due to exhaustion and lack of sleep. I spent days in bed being sick, with a fever, cough, sheer exhaustion, and lately, food poisoning.

Some friends who reach out and invite me to movie gimmicks have already stopped inviting me.

I stopped spending my mornings for tennis. I hope to catch up with my tennis buddy, and hope to finally work on our proposed SURP Tennis group.

My biking days have also been put on hold. Due to lack of sleep, I dare not gamble crossing CP Garcia in UP Diliman with half my brain asleep, since I already had a near accident the last time I crossed that dang major roadway.

I have yet to enroll in the guitar lessons I mentioned a while ago. I don't want it to end up like my Spanish classes, where I missed out almost a quarter of the number of sessions.

So I guess working on your professional life would have its toll on your social life, but from hereon I am on the rebound! I hope to make it up to myself and to my friends and acquaintances. Now its on to a promising 2007!

posted by nap @ 12:12 PM