Zao-gao! This morning was already packed, with a lot of company earnings and a last-minute note to edit, when I found that the cover had come loose on my plastic container holding my breakfast and yogurt had spilled over everything in my purse. Out came my gym clothes, calculator, wallet, card case, and phone (yogurt dripping out of the contact holes for charger--thank God it still works). Lots of mopping up in between feverish editing and assembling. I was in quite a tizzy when I wanted my boss to review my product before sending it to Hong Kong and couldn't find him in his office, and so dialed his cell.

"Yes, I'm in the office," said Don. "I'm in the restroom, is that okay?"

Oh. Um. Why yes. Never let it be said that I keep my boss from going about his personal business.

Miserable weather today -- rain is just hurtling down to the ground. I put my vanity aside this morning and just wore my Tevas on my walk into work, and then changed into sandals that (obviously) better coordinate with my chic black dress. I love this dress -- I just pull it on over my head, like a dress, and it doesn't wrinkle and always flatter. Perfect for those days when I was in the office until 1am the night before (or would you say "day of"?) and when I feel like alien forces have taken over my body. I'm not sure if it's my job or the test, but my digestive and endocrine system have really been out-of-whack these past few months. I'm now super-sensitive to my diet -- I can't have just one unhealthy indulgence. On the plus side, this should mean I'll respond really well to good habits, so I'm going to be extra healthy in these weeks leading up to the exam. I'll see what abstaining from cakes, cookies, and other baked desserts does for my body.

My gosh, time just whizzes by. Last week I was never sure if the day was Tuesday or Thursday, as a Wednesday felt like it was Friday, and a Thursday like a Wednesday...that is, really long hours trying to coordinate a lot of things and get them done. I think I'm making definite progress in my "to do" list, although, of course, the list always grow.

But then, this is the same situation that everyone has, right?

I actually have a number of things I want to blog about -- too bad I couldn't just transmit my mental blogs onto the web. A technology that will be realized in the future, I'm sure...although that would be very dangerous in itself...a tangled hop scotch of Berta's thoughts unedited on the web, gah!

Okay, I'm going to make an effort to leave the office early. Earnings season is just getting under way, and I have my CFA class again this weekend, so ta ta for now!

Drats. It was raining again this morning. Moving on, last night on my way to pick up some items that Karen had brought back from the States to me, I was appropriately horrified last night to find a bus full of pre-teens at 10:30pm. At least, I thought they were pre-teens (my Lord! I just realized I've been out of high school for eight years!). Well, whether they were pre-teens or teenagers, they should've been already at home, not on the bus going home from cram school. This is a culture that puts too much focus on cramming and rote memorization.

Spring finally seems to have arrived in Taipei, albeit unusually late this year. The sun is shining, there's a light breeze, and I hope I can finally put away my sweaters. I've been taking them to the dry cleaners, only to have a cold front rapidly and stealthily move so that I have to take them out again.

I had my CFA test prep class again this past weekend. I sit more than is good for me Monday through Friday as it is, so these weekends are really killer. Physically, this past weekend wasn't as bad as usual because I really made sure to eat very lightly Saturday night.

Jen and I went to Hui Liu, this organic vegetarian restaurant. Afterwards, I went to the gym -- I wanted to do a low-intensity but long workout, so I combined my session on the arc trainer with flipping through my flashcards on financial statement analysis. I think I've figured out a way to study and get some exercise! Ha ha, I'm such a nerd; I went through about half the flashcards in 45 minutes. I'll have to start doing this more often. It's certainly better than listening to the same CD play over and over on the loudspeakers.

And yesterday, I went for another tuina acupressure session. My body was really aching after the second day of class, and I felt so much better after all my blocked qi was released, or whatever it is they do. I'll have to do this again at our next class session.