the route unknown.

14/365.

6/365 was my first working day for the year. I survived the day (and week) with flying colours and it most definitely turned out a whole lot better than I expected, which is wonderful Alhamdulillah!

This week though, has been a rather tough week, so with only 2 days (plus minus) to go until the weekends come, you can imagine the state of my excitement! Mengalahkan budak-budak sekolah, I kid you not! 

After taking a break from running (not really by choice) for the whole of December, I started running again when January came. And 11.15 miles later, I have come to realise one thing; 

I always do better when I'm out on a new route. 

They aren't really "new" as in "unknown" kind of new, in fact I pass by those routes almost daily, sometimes, twice daily but there's something mysteriously exciting about embarking on the path by foot so much so that I keep going and going without even realising that I'm done.

During my last run, which happens to be my first attempt at running 5k non-stop since November, which also happens to be one of those days when I decided not to take my normal route, I thought about the possibility of taking a route which I have never ever thought of taking; which is to leave the known. 

I don't think about this very often (though ironically, my opinion is always sought when someone thinks about leaving the known) but that day, I just thought of the many "what ifs". I asked myself the important questions I normally ask my "clients" when they seek for advice, which among others include, 

"Do you (at the moment) feel underpaid?"

"Is the subject matter one which you don't have any interest in?"

"Do you have a special medical condition which doesn't allow you to be in a stressful environment?" (this job generally is not for the faint-hearted, I assure you!)

"Does the offer out there have enough of a pulling factor?"

"Where are you going to send your kid while you're at work?"

etc., etc., etc..

And I answered "No", "It is extremely interesting", "Not yet", "I have never received an offer because well... I have never applied to anyone", and "I can't deal with him stressing out about changing schools again".

So...

Yeah.

Maybe all I really need is a break. 

(and to think that I said that just after 2 weeks entering the New Year!)

Hoping that next week would be a better one! Phew!