Work-Life Balance

People talk about work life balance all the time but what does it really mean?  I left the office tonight at 8pm and this has been a normal time for me since I started working in Manila.  I wake up at 6:30am and have my giant hotel breakfast around 7:30am, and arrive at the office around 8am or a little pass that.  I usually work non-stop until I remind myself that I need to take a break, or I will stop around lunch time.  After lunch, it's more work until at least 6pm.  Half of the time that I have been in Manila, the work hours stretch into 7pm and 8pm.  There were several 9pms and one night that almost ended at midnight in the office.  Today, when I left at 8pm, I felt balanced.

Not having Jim, cats, or parents in Manila has made working the focal point of my life.  Unlike the previous job, even though the work hours were shorter, it was definitely less balanced.  In the past, I had to rush to and from the office through traffic on highway 50, I had to make it to the happy hours, I had to run errands, and I had to deal with all the administrative issues on my own at work.  The shorter hours did not translate into a less stressful lifestyle, there was always a lot more waiting for me to do and never enough time.  Working in Manila with no commute, I don't have to worry about transportation and traffic. Food is so accessible and affordable that I can cook when I feel like it and eat out when I need to spice up my evenings.  With no family around, I have very little to worry about other than my tummy and my happiness.

When the focus of ones life changes from one to the another, can the concept of work-life balance also change?  Is it healthy now that I am spending so much time at work according to the work-life philosophy?  Does long hours during workweek coupled with exciting trips on the weekend qualify as balance?  Being content on a day-to-day basis with one's work and personal life, is this the definition of work-life balance?