Yesterday I did nothing. Well, that’s not entirely correct, of course I did some things, but I didn’t do the things that I have been doing on a daily basis like working on my thesis and re-developing the royby.com back end. What I did instead was very simple and immensely satisfying.

Thursdays I usually go to gym in the mornings and then work in my home office through until about 6 pm. But yesterday morning I felt tired from staying up too late trying to watch Kurosawa’s movie “Ran” through to the end so I decided to go to gym today instead. I had to go into the city centre early though and it was while I was heading back home that the idea of not going back to my desk struck me. At the moment the weather in Sai Gon is very mild and yesterday it was so relaxing being on the motorbike in the warm sun that I didn’t fancy the idea of being shut away indoors.

So what did I do that was so satisfying? Just this simple thing. I went to Bobby Brewers Coffee on Bui Vien St and sat out front, ordered a latte and a chocolate muffin and then bought 3 newspapers from a street vendor. I sat and read through 2 copies of the International Herald Tribune and 1 of The Bangkok Post.

There, I said it was a simple thing didn’t I? But for me it has been an age since I have done something as relaxing as leaf through a newspaper and I enjoyed it immensely. These days I get my news via the Internet, but I still prefer to read a newspaper in print form. It is just easier and somehow more satisfying to browse through the pages than to navigate around on a computer screen.

Later I sat and nearly completed a crossword in the Tribune and then went and had a new pair of reading glasses made. I watched the finish of the Kurosawa movie and answered a few e-mails. So I guess I should say that I did nothing that was very productive yesterday. However, breaking out of my normal routine was a good idea and I feel all the better for it today. I guess we all need to take a break occasionally and do something just for ourselves, no matter how simple.