Susan Hi Maria! It’s so good to see you! I’m trying to remember when the last time I saw you was.

Maria Oh, I don’t know. But every time I suggest meeting, you have some excuse. Are you trying to avoid me?

Susan You know I always look forward to meeting you! I’ve been meaning to pay you a visit, but I just couldn’t find the time. I love spending time with you. You’re my best friend. But I’ve been very busy with my job. I want to get promoted and earn more, but promotions take a lot of work. **Imagine having to **get up at 5 am every day and going to sleep at midnight! I aspire to be a CEO in the next five years and I will work towards making my dream a reality.

Maria If you continue to work so hard, you risk getting sick.

Susan I need to raise money to buy a bigger apartment…and a new car. I have a lots of plans and dreams that I need to achieve.

Maria You always need to raise money for something…and you neglect to live life to the fullest. You never get to spend enough time with the people you love and time passes by…

Susan That’s true. I don’t get to see my family as often as I’d like. I missing living with my parents. I remember sleeping in… and waking up to a home cooked breakfast. I miss seeing my parents out in the garden everyday looking after their vegetable plants. I also miss joking around with my brother. I plan to visit them next month. I have been so busy lately, that I struggle to stay in touch with them.

Maria That sounds tough. Try to slow your life down and even find a hobby.

Susan I prefer to focus on my career now and on my goals. I’ll have plenty of time for hobbies later.

Maria Don’t take time for granted. Don’t live as if there were unlimited time. When was the last time you went on vacation?

Susan I don’t even remember. Unfortunately, I can’t afford to go on vacation any time soon. That would mean saying goodbye to any chance of promotion.

Maria You are working too much. You should stop to enjoy life, too. Just imagine lying on the beach, away from all the clouds and rain…

Susan I’ve got my whole life ahead of me. Stop worrying about me. In life, you need to make sacrifices to achieve your goals.

Maria I regret to say that sacrificing your personal life is a pretty big price to pay. You forget to leave time for yourself and the things that make you happy. It’s important to have goals, but don’t stop living life while chasing them. You can wake up one day and feel that you have never truly lived.

Susan What about you? Do you manage to find time for hobbies and family?

Maria I strive to find time for everything that matters in life, like reading, traveling…family and friends. I want to make as many happy memories as possible. I also started to spin recently to stay in shape.

Susan You mean spinning on an indoor bicycle?

Maria Exactly.

Susan It’s really great that you started exercising.

Maria I also started working as a volunteer at the soup kitchen.

Susan Volunteer? How come?

Maria I realized that giving brings far more happiness than getting. So I’ve decided to volunteer to brighten other people’s lives.

Susan That’s very kind of you.

Maria I like working there. I enjoy meeting new people and talking to them. Helping those people makes me so happy.

Susan I really admire you for that.

Maria Thank you, Susan. I want to make the most of use somethings so that it gives the greatest benefit my life, so that when I look back, I can be satisfied with it. I don’t want one day to regret wasting my life on unimportant things. You can try volunteering at the soup kitchen, too, once in a while.

Susan Well, I like to help people, but I dislike cooking.

Maria You don’t actually have to cook soup! You can volunteer to serve. Why do you dislike cooking, anyway?

I can never get the recipe right. It’s always too salty, too sour, or too sweet. I’ll never forget making a fool of my self when I cooked dinner for some friends. It was so horrible, that they couldn’t eat it. That’s why I hate to cook. I prefer eating out.

Maria So, you stopped cooking because it didn’t taste good?

Yes, but I still love to eat the food that other people cook! I cherish our friendship and our time together. I **like chatting **with you. I promise to do my best to find time for my personal life too. I won’t let work take up all my time from now on.

Maria I’m glad to hear that. Keep working hard, but also remember to relax, have fun and live life along the way.

Verbs followed by a gerund or an infinitive with a change in meaning

Verbs followed by a gerund or an infinitive with little or no change in meaning

Common verbs followed by a gerund or an infinitive