I'm Back!

First of all, Happy New Year everyone! :)

Starting 2016 with a move back to Blogger. Wordpress was great and my own domain was cool and all, but I figured it's more economical for me to move back to Blogger since I don't really post much anymore. Imported all the posts I wrote in the 4 years I was away, and you can see it's not much.

Besides, I have likely lost most of my web skills to customize my own blog, so moving to a more simple platform is even more practical at this point. Granted, I still have dreams of becoming a famous blogger, but that dream can wait. And nothing's stopping me from posting regularly except for me anyway.

So, will 2016 translate to more posts for frustrated blogger me? We'll have to wait and see to find out.

Ending this post with what I wrote on my Facebook profile:

"2015 was a journey for me and brought about a lot of realizations, challenges and new opportunities. It was exciting, frustrating, liberating and even disappointing at times but I know I'm ending it twice as happy as when I started. Happy 2016!"
☺"

The Road to Fitness starts NOW

I've always been overweight. I love to eat and I could never commit to an exercise regimen. Back in 2013, a friend and I went on a diet and I successfully lost upto 25 pounds. Sadly, I've started gaining it back over the past few months, and now, albeit lighter than I was before I started the diet back then, significantly heavier {again}.

I started with a few activities, like going back into yoga, making my own meals, and I've seen "some" improvement. Nothing to celebrate about yet, but hopefully I can motivate myself enough to keep this up and really see progress in the next few months.

I said it, and now it's time to make it happen.

Five Years, Now What?

I celebrated a milestone last March 16, my 5th anniversary at the Happy Place. And now I find myself contemplating what's next for me?

It's interesting to note that those five years flew by, it was a tumultuous journey of ups and downs, challenges and opportunities that I, for the most part, deeply enjoyed. I was able to achieve my career goals and meet the most amazing people I know I'll stay friends with long after I've moved on from my current role, But don't get me wrong, my passion for the Happy Place, my role, and what I'm doing is burning as bright as ever. But still, 5 years is 5 years, and maybe I just need something new in my life right now.

Taipei Weekend!

I enjoy traveling. Granted, just a casual traveler, but a traveler just the same. A quick, weekend to enjoy a food trip in Taipei was right up my alley, especially since the weather would still be cool.

It was an affordable trip - we booked our tickets last July for P4,253.14 each. Hotel for 3,708 for two nights (twin sharing). Transportation costs were minimal, since trains were quite cheap, but most importantly, the food was very, very affordable, and very, very delicious.

We stayed at Delight Hotel, it's located near the Nanjing Fuxing station with access to both brown and green lines, making it an ideal base to explore Taipei. We were able to get around very easily. There was a 711 just around the corner, and several meal options around the area (KFC, Mcdonald's, Starbucks among them). There was also a nice sports bar called the Brass Monkey nearby, which serves really good cocktails. Rooms were of a good size, modern bathroom, and very clean. My only concern was the heat was centralized and we couldn't adjust the temperature, which was too hot in my opinion. We opened a window to help, but it still felt warm at times. Staff was very accommodating to our questions, and gave us tips on how to get around. We also arranged transfers with them and everything was prompt and hassle free. Will definitely book this hotel again on a return trip to Taipei.

We weren't able to explore all the sights of Taipei, just the main ones like the Chinag Kai Shek memorial, Taipei 101, Maokong Gondola, Shilin Night Market and Raohe night market. We tried to go to Shifen for the sky lanterns, but only got as far as Ruifang because of the limited time we had left in Taipei.

For the Maokong Gondola, I suggest getting the crystal cabins for a different experience. These are glass bottomed cable cars which give you a very clear view of what lay below. This attraction (and also mode of transportation) is worth checking out when in Taipei, Just 100 Taiwan dollars for a round trip ride across 3(or was it 4) cable car stations. There's a short food street at the end, so you can spend a few minutes checking it out while you wait for the car getting back.

And now for the food, we loved eating at the night markets. You should definitely come hungry! There's so much to try!  Favorites include the pork bun at the Raohe nighr market, grilled scallops, the blowtorched beef and the egg wrapped shrimps as well as the fried mushrooms from Shilin night market. Also enjoyed the pink guavas, very sweet and refreshing. I even tried the stinky tofu, it wasn't as bad as I thought, but still wouldn't be asking for seconds any time soon. Of course, you also need to eat at Din Tai Fung for the xiao long bao and drink all the milk tea you can which you can buy almost anywhere in Taipei.

For pasalubong, you can't go wrong with nougat from Sugar and Spice (at Taipei 101) or Milk House (at Taipei Railyway station). They're also known for pineapple cakes from Chia Te, but unfortunately, I wasn't able to try those.

Anyway, I can't wait to come back to Taipei, but it has to be during the cooler months, because I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it as much as I did if the weather was warmer. And since I'm too lazy to upload and layout pics, enjoy the flipagram I made below. :)

Taipei Weekend!

The Courtesy of a Reply

I have a lot of pet peeves, really I do. Maybe it's me, maybe my expectations are too high, but come on, if I text you, please do me the courtesy of a reply. Ignoring my texts, and then acting as if everything is normal when you finally deem it convenient to send me a message, just pisses me off.

And then you ignore me again?!

Ugh, not even sure why I'm all high strung about this, when I technically have no right to demand anything. Overactive hormones might be a factor, but nonetheless, I expect a reply when I text. Or at least an explanation that actually makes sense. But then again, maybe I don't. Whatever.

Edit: Soooo, there was a valid explanation. And I might have overreacted by ranting, but I'll still keep this post up, it's still a pet peeve anyway.

Getting Back Into the Flow

I've always loved yoga, started practicing when I first started working over a decade ago, but always ended up following this cycle: Attend a class -> get familiar with the poses -> stop paying for classes -> practice at home -> get lazy -> stop practicing.

Anyway, it's been years since I last did a full yoga sequence, and I always wanted to come back, but either felt too lazy, or unwilling to commit (yeah, I have commitment issues). Good thing Deal Grocer came out with a 15 day unlimited pass for P500. It was too good to pass up, given that most yoga studios have a P500 walk in rate per class. :)

So I went on my first class today, a Vinyasa Open Level class. The Urban Ashram yoga studio at BGC was gorgeous and spotless, and quiet, and practically empty, so in short, it seemed perfect. I was also lucky that there were only 3 of us in the class, so our instructor, Mel, was able to really focus on our form over the course of the class.

Let me tell you, it was challenging, tough but not frustrating. My focus, balance, and strength was pushed to the limit, but man did I enjoy it. And the shavasana at the end? I was ready to go back to sleep and just skip work altogether, LOL.

Schedule permitting, I'm taking a few more classes to make the most of my voucher.

Sharing some of my favorites from today's class. :)

Warrior Poses:

Planks, cobra and downward facing dog transitions:

In our class, the flow was different, moving from cobra to upward dog, plank to downward facing dog. Will try the sequence above tomorrow.

I really hope I don't get lazy with this, I completely enjoyed my last class, I just hope I can be consistent this time around. :)

Donate Blood, Save a Life

When I was a child, I was terrified of needles.

I guess every kid dreads getting vaccines, and maybe I was traumatized, but the thought of anything breaking my skin scared the shit out of me. My mind was so attuned to my fears that I once had a 40 degree fever for 3 days, but when my parents brought me to the hospital, it went down to a 37.5 because I was too scared they would hook me up to a dextrose.

Bringing down a fever that high because of a fear of needles? Yeah, I was that talented.

Eventually though, I had to learn to cope, with mandatory medical tests and all that, but every time I had to get my blood drawn, I still felt anxious. But in 2004, I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, which meant I had to get my blood drawn regularly to monitor my TSH levels. That forced me to overcome my fear, and although still not a pleasant experience, getting stuck by a needle seems routine by now.

Getting over a fear of needles meant I could also do something I always wanted to do, donate blood. Sadly though, because of my hypothyroidism, I'm not always allowed to give blood. So far, I've only been able to donate to Red Cross blood drives at the office, which doesn't happen as often as I would like.

So it was a good thing Red Cross came back to the office today, yay! I happily spent a few minutes of my time to offer up my arm for a good cause, and I can't really think of a better way to spend my morning.  I do hope they come by more often though.

For more details -> http://www.redcross.org.ph/get-involved/give-blood