work/life balance

I've been discussing with myself how to achieve balance in my life. It's hard to strike a balance in all my roles: a wife, a post-graduate student, a sister, a daughter, a daughter-in-law, a sister-in-law, a friend, an acquaintance, a law-abiding citizen (okay so that isn’t so difficult), a cousin, a niece, a niece-in-law, a thinker, a do-er, a consumer, a saver, someone who is sociable and interesting, someone who is polite, someone who is employable and a good employee. It’s hard work. And we don’t even have children.

I feel like there are so many things pulling me in all different directions: friends to e-mail, family to visit, essays to research, quality time to spend with Jeremy, visitors to host, houses to clean, food to be cooked, and a huge list of books to read before I can possibly call myself "well-read". How do I make time for all this? How do I make space for all this? I guess if I find the answer, I could write a book and make a lot of money from giving seminars on the "Work/Life Balance".

I’m getting all caught up in thoughts, so perhaps I’ll leave the ruminations for a long and hot bath later tonight, and go outside and enjoy some sun. I’m meeting Jeremy in an hour; we are going to a movie tonight. For Jeremy’s birthday, I bought him and I both “3-film sampler” tickets for the Wellington Film Society – I had to get one for myself because I didn’t imagine he’d want to go by himself. The tickets expire at the end of the year, so we have chosen our three movies, all of which are showing in the next two months. Tonight is “Manhattan” by Woody Allen. I know we could rent it from the video store, but I think I’d like to see NY in black and white splashed across the big screen. Oh how much I’d love to live there…

I’m also planning on attending another cultural event, on Wednesday night: the first of three lectures given by Professor David Crystal (UK) on the English language. Most students of English Literature have probably heard of him, or they should have; he is well-respected and extremely accomplished. I have a two of his reference books, which are accessible. One is “Shakespeare’s Words” (a dictionary of words in Shakespeare’s plays and poetry, with definitions and line references, a concordance if you will), the other a book called “Words on Words” (a sort of meta-book, with quotes and e/xtracts and other useful tidbits on language). However, he has also written many academic texts, and VUW has brought him over from the UK to give a series of three lectures. I will only be able to attend two of the three, but already I’m quite looking forward to them.