La Habana, Cuba

A trip back to the 1950s...

Life happens. Creating, learning, attending meetings, traveling, working on side projects...oh I could go on and on. Sometimes...okay, most of the times I wish I had more than 24 hours a day to check out new music, answer endless emails, give myself more time to read and spend quality times with friends and family. But perhaps what I really need is not extra hours but to constantly remind myself when I feel overwhelmed, it's important to hit the brakes in order to move forward again. 

Take a pause before it's necessary. 

I wasn't feeling well last week, after long flights from Singapore to Cuba, continued with busy schedules from workshops to meeting to dinner to party, ended with few hours sleeping everyday...finally my body had to protest they just couldn't take it anymore and need a proper rest. I knew I was very exhausted, I started to lose my concentration but I didn't really listen. I thought I could handle it for few more days til weekend, so one night I feel very sick to the point I might have to see the doctor. I've been perfectly healthy and strong for my entire life, but I must admit my only nightmare is when I get sick. I know we all hate getting ill, but especially when you live overseas and you don't have any relatives or family stay close to you, it's just scary to feel numb in the middle of night and the only thing I could think of is I need my mom now but she's so far away so I need to be a big girl. But Thank God, nothing serious happened, after taking 2 days off I felt so much better and it was a lesson when life inevitably gets a little too much, know it's totally okay to press pause, take a break and rest. 

I recently visited Cuba for the first time for a work trip. It's funny to think about I had this conversation with my girl few months ago about places we've always wanted to experience and of course I mentioned Cuba on top of my list. I didn't know how and when, but I just knew I wanted to visit Cuba someday. And guess what ? Earlier January my company sent me to Cuba ! We were very lucky to stay at Hotel Nacional de Cuba and even though it's a work trip, our schedule was actually packed with activities and workshops, still it was nice to reunite with colleagues and exploring Old Havana, quick nap on the beach, experience cultural nights dancing with bunch of beautiful Cuban, dinner and party at La Guarida and Fabrica De Arte Cubano. I couldn't be more grateful to start fresh this year with two magical places Myanmar and Cuba and so much more to come...