Something to look forward to

I've been very lax in writing recently; I’ve come down with a severe case of lazy-itis of late. I feel like I've aged a decade, I'm so damn tired. Work is completely kicking my arse. I’m either stressed out about not having enough work to do – one of the clients who pays for 50% of my time has been decimated by resignations and lay offs – or I have the opposite problem of being so overloaded I'm working a 14hour day, which has been the case this past week. I've been running around like my arse is on fire, although I suppose I should be thankful given the economy. The r word is on the tip of everyone’s tongue these days and clients are cutting budgets left right and centre.

The biggest problem I’m finding with being so busy at work is that come the weekend I have no interest in doing anything more taxing than laying on my couch. I'm enjoying my summer of sloth, but I’m also starting to feel guilty about being so inactive, especially since my muffin top seems to have taken on a life of its own recently. I'm making a concerted effort to get back to the gym on a regular basis, although that's a resolution I frequently make and then break. I manage to make working out a habit for about a week before I get caught up in work stuff and then I’m lucky if I go twice. I’m trying to make up for it by walking the 5mile round trip to and from the office as much as I can and even bought a pedometer to encourage myself to walk faster and more aerobically, to burn a few more calories – I draw the line at power walking. I was pleased to discover that 95% of the time I walk fast enough for it to be aerobic but disappointed to discover that I only burn 135 piffling calories each way. That’s not even a Walnut Whip’s worth!! Harumph!!

At least one benefit to all these weekends spent lying on the sofa, relaxing my life away, is that I’m not spending much money. A very good thing, because I’ve just booked flights for what is potentially likely to turn out to be a bloody expensive holiday to Hong Kong and Shanghai!!!!

Eeeeek!!

I’m sooooo excited, I cannot wait. I even found myself mentally packing my suitcase while trying to distract myself from the pain of Pilates class this morning. We’re – that’s Melissa and I - going at the end of October, which means avoiding typhoon season and the oppressive heat and humidity of summer. We’re spending 5days in Hong Kong – with a side trip to Macao planned – and then flying to Shanghai for a whirlwind 3day trip. I wish we could stay a bit longer in Shanghai, but vacation allowance doesn’t permit more than a taster trip this time. I walked down to the Barnes and Noble in Union Square on Saturday – I walked 5.28miles yesterday; or 13,947 steps and burned 298 calories (1¾ Walnut Whips) – to peruse through a few guide books and determine the best areas to focus our search for hotels. If you've any tips let me know!!

Anyway I’m going to go back to lying on my sofa; I’ve got episodes of Dexter to watch ;-)