Gym Progress 28 (And How To Handle Unfamiliar Situations)

Zoiks!

This week I had to put up with 2 instructors that I'm not really normally familiar with.

Normally I'm the type of person that doesn't like change. If I find something I like, I stick with it and don't look out for any further options anymore unless once in a blue moon I get an inkling to try out new things.. but that happens very infrequently.

But this time, I'm glad to say that I did.

I'm not sure what really prompted me to enjoy the classes. I guess its the challenge of learning someone else's style. I didn't have any problems with Angus, because I've been to his classes several times in the past, but that didn't stop me from enjoying last Thursday.

Additionally, I was initially irritated at Bibi. I guess that was a bias on my part. I hated the way her voice sounded (it is a bit shrieky and high pitched) and how she handled her classes (she wouldn't say what the next step was.. she would just "show" it to us), but after some time, I figured out it was my bias that was getting in the way of me having a good time. No one expects that we will always get conditions to our liking, and I don't think it was appropriate for me to not try my best just because I disliked her superficially.

She usually starts her class with some funny warm up steps.. mostly ones that I really hated because didn't immediately involve flying around the steps (unlike Suzette or Steve), but I figured out that she was just looking out for the safety of the people in the class. After a while, her choreography would get a bit more exciting and complicated. Honestly, during the first class last Saturday, I was a bit put off because I couldn't follow properly. But seeing as everyone was following with no problems, I put on more effort. It was exciting to learn new steps with a new instructor... I figured, its a good way to look at life.. accept changes that come, and not to be inflexible. I think I learned a bit more, not just about gym instructors, but how to handle and treat unfamiliar situations in life.

And that's why I ended up going to her second class last Saturday. Just to prove to myself that I could do better, even if I'm not that comfortable with her yet. And I'm happy to say I enjoyed, and did fairly well :)

Week 28
Thu(SM):Angus
Sat(ASM, ISM): Bibi, Bibi
Sun(ISM): Suzette

Fashion Show Canapes

First time I went to a really upscale fashion show last night.

Lots of nicely dressed people, a lot Caucasians, lots of canapes, booze and alcohol. A party-goer socialites dream, I suppose. Lots of white and red wine, champagne, cocktail drinks and canapes going about. For the non alcoholic people, you could get yourself some soda or orange juice.

I went to the fashion show by invitation through my half Spanish cousin's boss' Hong Kong contact. It seems he is one of the major people for the upscale Swank Shop in Hong Kong, catering to high profile designers from local and abroad. They have a wide range of western designs as well as eastern ones that were displayed in the catwalk. Needless to say, the models were gorgeous, particularly the men, who in one phase, had to display a set of outdoor swim wares that would probably drive women wild with their bare chests and finely sculpted bodies... Yes, there was no lack of six packs on the runway then. I think I could manage to watch them the whole evening, despite the throngs of shoulder to shoulder people hanging about the Zenses bar located in the Central district. (I'm slightly claustrophobic.)

Amazing thing was the logistics that was involved in that kind of show. Since the place was small, and not anyone can see the catwalk, they had makeshift LCD screens to display what was being strutted into the catwalk live. And since it was a live show, there were no time for any sort of brash last minute editing. But they showed the stuff perfectly on the LCD screens. The music backdrop was perfect... no indication of any unpreparedness for the show. How cool.

My cousin and I managed to drink a few glasses of white wine, but I mostly stuck to orange juice since I wasn't really a very good alcohol drinker, particularly polished drinks like white, red wine or champagne. I'm more used to be able to manage hard drinks like vodka in more quantities than stomaching these types. But she did manage to introduce me to champagne+orange juice combination, which I really liked. I think I'm going to try that combination again sometime.

Although I'm not the one to be at home for parties and nightlife, last night was something that I could quite get used to and enjoy, given the time. I didn't have a blast, but it was definitely something worth experiencing. Like my cousin said, we won't be able to enjoy things like this when we get older, so we should try as much to experience them while we're young.

And yes, we're both still considered young. :) Its nice thing to experience, all the same.

Its strange, that canapes and cannabis sound the same though. :P

What's The Wedding (Sponsor) Sequence?

One big question bugging me since my brother's wedding last week.

I was the candle sponsor, and both my partner and I were flabbergasted since we didn't know exactly WHEN we're supposed to light the candle. Someone did indicate that it was our turn to light it, so we did. But it was quite sometime after before the veil and the cord sponsors would take their turn.

I've always had the notion that all three secondary sponsors would be doing their jobs all at the same time. So to clarify this, I've searched about the web for some answers, and this is what I found, courtesy of a site called mybarong.com. It gives a good overview of the sequence of events and participants in a couple's wedding, quote:

The Principal Sponsors (aka Ninang and Ninong): These are women and men whom the bride and groom respect & admire. They are, as in the early days of the Church, sponsors of the couple attesting to their readiness for marriage and freedom to marry. These are often aunts and uncles or close friends of the family. In the Philippines, they are the official witnesses of the state and they sign the marriage license. Worldwide, their participation is symbolic of the wisdom & support they shall offer the new couple. The number of sponsors can vary from a single couple to many couples. The Principal sponsors are part of the bridal procession. At the nuptial blessing, they may also be invited to come up with the celebrant and to extend their right hands to join in the prayer of blessing. In doing so, they are fulfilling their roles as sponsors.

The Secondary Sponsors: These are women and men whom the couple chooses to involve in their ceremony because of their affinity or friendship with them. They are typically relatives or close friends.

The Coin Sponsors: those who will present the Wedding Coins / Arras. Often, they will also provide the Wedding Coins. Alternately, the coins may be brought to the altar by a coin bearer who is a child (relative or friend).

The Wedding Coins (also known as: Arras [ah-rahs] or Arrhae [ar-rah-heh]) have traditionally symbolized the prosperity that would be shared by the new couple, and the groom's promise to provide for the welfare of the new family.
*However, today's couples embrace life & face the world together in a more mutually supportive way than ever before. So, the Wedding Coins have come to symbolize the couple's commitment to mutually contributing to their relationship, their children, and their community.

The Veil Sponsors - those who will place a white veil over the shoulders of the couple.
The Couple's Veil (white) has come to be a symbol of purity. Its original meaning was the symbol of the presence of the Lord, as the cloud was a symbol of His presence. It is placed over the shoulders of the couple to symbolize their union and being "clothed as one" in unity.

The Cord Sponsors - those who will place a knotted cord over the heads of the couple, to lay on their shoulders.
The Cord is a symbol of the couple's bond; that indeed they are no longer two but one in their new life as a couple.

The Candle Sponsors - those who will light the candles on the altar.
The candles symbolize the Light of Christ, the same light they received at Baptism and now receive again to lead them in their new life as a couple. Some couples choose to have their mothers or fathers light the candles in this ritual.



Sequence of symbols in the Wedding Ceremony

Lighting of the candles usually takes place before the readings. The candles may also be lit at the beginning of the ceremony.

The sharing/exchange of the Wedding Coins / Arrhae takes place immediately after the exchange of rings. The Wedding Coins are blessed, and then the celebrant gives it to the couple to share or pass from one to the other.

The Couple's Veil is placed over the shoulders of the couple as they kneel side-by-side. This is usually done immediately after the exchange of arrhae and before the General Intercession.

The placing of the Cord follows after the veil is in place.

*If the bride and groom want to be part of the Offertory, either as gift bearers or as those receiving the gifts from the bearers and handing them to the celebrant, then the veil and cord are placed after that. Once the veil and cord are in place, they are to remain kneeling until after Communion. IF the bride and groom would like to participate in the Sign of Peace the veil and cord can be removed after the nuptial blessing.

Pretty much very complete. So I guess this explanation gives way to the light in my momentary darkness ;)

Suzette Says...

She's going to make the Sunday aero class an intermediate-advanced step class once Michelle (the head California Fitness Group X Manager) comes back from her break, and Suzette talks to her about it!

Actually I'm not quite sure if its ok... as I mentioned a few posts ago, there are still a big number of people who can't really follow the choreography during her Sunday class. I'm sure me and Mr. Zhang Yi Mou don't really mind... we DID raise our hands a few weeks ago when Suzette asked us whether we've attended any I-A (Intermediate to Advanced) step classes, and also said yes when asked if we wanted to change the class from the current Intermediate status to an I-A class.

But sometimes there's a reason why I don't want to answer any of Suzette's questions. I've admittedly been hanging about her class for a full half a year already (and that's not including several gym hiatuses in the past) and I'm perfectly acquainted with her style and tempo. For me, its no problem, I just need an additional effort if the tempo has to be pushed up a bit. Although I still have problems catching up at the start (as compared to say, Steve's intermediate class... wherein the steps are actually the same as his advanced level one.. the sly guy.) when the new choreography is introduced, but I pick it up fairly quickly.

On the other hand, a handful of other people doesn't seem so quick to pick up the steps ... admittedly because they've probably been doing this for a shorter time than I have. I would've been in the same shoes if someone suggested that the classes be vamped up to advanced level while I was still three months into Suzette's aerobics classes. I don't want to cramp anyone's style by being overly enthusiastic about a complexity level advancement for the class, and I don't want to reduce the number of participants for Suzette's class. If you were there at the beginning (?) when I first attended Suzette's classes, there weren't that much people last year. At the most maybe around 10-12 people. Compared to now, people actually line up for her class, and its very packed. Probably at least 20, maybe even 25 or 30. Don't know where they heard about Suzette, but I guess I don't have exclusive membership to her classes anymore :) If her income is dependent on the number of participants for each of her classes, then I'm really extremely glad for her :)

Hehe. Well, the first time I've attended and advanced level class was last October for Steve and Michelle's class, and I've been going to these advanced classes ever since.

It'd be swell to up to the stakes to Advanced level though. Suzette's one of those instructors where I can't seem to get the "feel" for her choreography because she changes styles each week. Comparatively, I can almost predict Steve's steps because although he changes the choreography each week, he almost never changes his style. So for Steve, despite the fact that the steps and choreography does change, you still can get the "feel" for his style, and its still as easy to follow accordingly.

On the other hand, although Suzette changes her choreography weekly, she also slightly changes her style from week to week, resulting in a slightly unpredictable set of choreography that you don't necessarily get. Sometimes its concentrating more on a cardio workout, sometimes its a dance or a jazz workout, so the styles are slightly different and more varied.

That makes it better, at least for me. Its a bit more challenging that way. And to think that she'll change the class to I-A would be loads better :)

Durn... I wish Michelle would hurry up and approve that request already.

Another Excuse To Celebrate

I barely noticed, but I've actually realized two things while reading back on my old posts.

First thing: This is my three hundred and one post. It seemed like its only been a month since I announced my two hundredth post last November.

I must have been averaging more posts per day for the past 4 to 5 months, as compared to since I started writing this blog. It didn't feel like I've already written 100 posts since November, but I guess the numbers don't lie. (Unless blogger has screwed up the number of posts along the way. I'm not about to attempt to count my posts, though, I'm too lazy for that.)

Second thing: I've already hit my 27th gym week! That's about half a year already! I've been going to the gym regularly for half a year already! How interesting!

That means, I'm one and a half year away (See section about my brother) from getting to the point where I can have the body that I want! How coool. I can't wait to fast forward to the future to see if something will come out of these gym sessions (Not that nothing's come out of it already... it has.) It would be really cool... of course, that's with the without-the-veins-and-nerves option.

Still cool nevertheless. Happy 301st post, and half a year continuous gym progress!

Gym Progress 27

What is it about aerobics classes and slightly effeminate men?

I was out and about minding my own business in my usual aerobics line last Saturday, and I finally get to hear Mr. Zhang Yi Mou look-alike talking... in action. He sounded squeaky, and soft spoken, and sounded... slightly effeminate. Of course, I should've expected something like this, but sometimes you can't judge a book by its cover, right?

(Incidentally, as you may have noticed, I've started labelling familiar people with names. That's in line with this post, if you're interested. More coming up soon, I suppose :P )

Not that I'm complaining, I'm judging him more by his ability to get through the class compared to his looks, his voice or his personality. Man, he's pretty good, actually. Would've liked to do a multistep against him... it seems that we're the only few handful ones in Sunday's class that can follow Suzette even when the rest of the class has stopped and standing there all confused. Heheh. Doing the steps as if there's no tomorrow. That would be awesome. Non stop continuous step aerobics. So cooooOOoool.

Strangely enough, I wasn't able to do weights this week, but my back is sore. I wonder what happened between the week before last, and yesterday. Oh, I didn't attend last week's class cause I had to go back home to attend my brother's wedding. Yes, weekly aerobics is sorely missed.

*sigh* too bad next week Steve wouldn't be around for the Saturday class. Bibi is replacing him, at least, only for next week I think. Bibi's fine, she's slightly slow to revv up for my tastes. I'm still trying to consider if I'm actually going to be attending. Ah well, beggars can't be chosers.

Week 27
Sat(ISM): Steve
Sun(ISM): Suzette

My "Ideal" Wedding

I've been talking about weddings with my girlfriends, and I figured, I might as well write a post about it. Its no secret a lot of girls have a "dream" wedding they'd like to realize when they get married.. and despite that I pride myself not being to "girly", I'm ashamed to say that I have my own version of my dream wedding.

Ah, well, fine. I am not really ashamed about it. Here's a nice description of mine:

I dont mind the church wedding, but I want it to be a fantasy/medieval themed one. Do you think that's ok?

I want a wedding dress much like how Galadriel or Arwen was dressed in Peter Jackson's Lord of The Rings. Without the cloak. And please. No trails, I dont want trails! I don't want the usual wedding dresses. Too bulky and troublesome. I just want it simple design, but with lots of details.

I dont know if its a good idea to dress up my fiancee as Celeborn though. Might not look as good. Dark chinese collared suit then?

The rest of the entourage can dress up as little hobbitesses.

No just joking. Any kind of entourage dress will do. Just as long as they keep a slight blue or orange/cream/brown theme or something. And yes, lots of flowers about.

I want them to play Pachebel Canon when the entourage and I walk down the church aisle.

During the reception, I want a hired quartet playing London Symphony Orchestra's version of Knockin on Heaven's Door and Hey Jude. I want a pair of my friends to host the party, (as opposed to the usual personalities for Filipino-Chinese weddings) to give it a personal touch, and I want my girlfriends to sing a chinese song for me... specifically Faye Wong and Tony Leung's "喜相逢" . That's the only allowed chinese song to be sung in my wedding. Just because I allowed one chinese song, does not mean that I'm allowing people who have thick skins to go up the stage and sing their own interpretation of those olden chinese songs. This is not a Chinese entertainment variety show.

I want Side A's "Only You" to be one of the songs in the montage , and I want mums instead roses for my bouquet and table setting. I love mums, they're very down to earth, basic and simple. That's how I want my wedding to be. Simple and down to earth.

I loved my new sis in law's idea for the table centerpiece... she added fruits about the centerpiece. I thought that was a perfect touch, it made the table seem homey and easy. The point is, I would like the motif to be as earthly and gardeny as possible! (Hmm... I wonder if I can make imitation lembas along with the way?)

Other songs I'd like to be played before the start of the reception... I want a bad ass sound system if I could get my way:

FF8 - Dance of the Balamb Fish
FF8 - Waltz For the Moon
FF9 - Melodies of Life
FF9 - Ending Song
FF10 - To Zanarkand
FF10 - Suteki Da Ne (Symphonic/Instrumental)
First Daughter - The Way You Look Tonight (Instrumental)
Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana
Van Morrison's Someone Like You
(and a couple on tons of songs...)

You can tell I've thought about this a lot, havent' you?

Egad, as long as all the songs I like are played and sung, its mums and not roses or lilies, I don't get to drag a heavy wedding dress, I get married and say I do, I dont care how the reception will be!!!! For all I care, we can have tokwa't baboy (fried tofu and pork bits flavored in sweet soy and vinegar sauce) and arroz caldo (gingered chicken congee) for dinner!

Mums

There's something about mums that's so hard for me to resist.

Valentines have just passed by a few weeks ago, and I hate seeing roses, tulips and lilies flooding the city. These flowers are loved for their beauty and picture perfect appearance. They come in overflowing huge buds, carefully packaged and transferred over the Atlantic to cater to those couples and would be couples. They cost a lot, and they die relatively quickly after they've been cut out of their roots.

Mums, on the other hand, are the most basic looking flowers you'll see around, and practically anywhere, in any season. But that doesn't make them any less than their more coveted counterparts; True, they look quite messy with all those leaves and branched off stalks, looking more like a bush rather than the prefectly prim and proper red rose, but they're beautiful because they look like they've been snipped fresh from the garden.

My first flower gift I bought was for my first boyfriend. I went to the a popular flower store in the Philippines called Hollands Tulips, but I never looked any longer than 5 seconds at the tulips they were selling. They were ridiculously overpriced, and so were the lilies and the roses. And besides, why in the world would you want to give a guy a rose or a lily or a tulip? Guys were practical, and something simple is adequate. So then that I looked about the so many selections of flowers, and my eyes immediately rested on a section where they were showing off these wild, stalky and earthy looking flowers that looked a bit like sunflowers, but none of that picturesque quality that huge sunflowers would have. A lot of them had multicolored petals, a dark brownish color fading to yellows and oranges. Some have a deep purples that faded into reds and yellows. Others had a bright solid blue hue, some had strong reds, others have delicate yellows. In a huge mix of colors, they looked bright, happy.. and strangely enough, perfect.

I eventually bought my first fresh bouquet flowers composed of blue malaysian mums to celebrate my first boyfriend's high school graduation. It was then that I started my affair with mums. Even after my first relationship disappeared, my affair with mums still persisted on.

I've received many flowers over the years. For my birthday, for Valentines, for Christmas. I've received humongously mutated looking white roses that had huge buds which seemed like they were cultivated from a radioactive laboratory. I've received white lilies that where equally as huge, and filling the room with fresh, sweet scent - of which my mom as very allegic to. I've received purple tulips that looked perfect against a backdrop of white accents, but they all didn't beat my affair with the average mum. I never wanted to look like I was perfect, and neither were my mums. They were hardy, they were down to earth, they were sturdy and they last for a very long time. When you wake up with a fresh stalk of mums, and you can't help but reach out and arrange them delicately against the warm, streaming sunlight coming from your window still. Other flowers don't do that.. they look so perfect, you end up just looking at their perfection. That's not what love is, that's not what life is.

Mums are the best.. and they can live through the seasons. That's why I love them so much, and so very indicative of my personality. Perfection in the mudane, beauty in the ordinary. And to live as long and flourish as beautifully as possible, despite the hardships or challenges that we face in our daily lives. Even an average off the road picked mum will look as perfect as the proudest, carefully cultivated red rose.

A mum is never always just a mum. Don't ever look down on this humble stalk... They're always the ones that will last the longest.

A Wedding To Remember

A handful of people knew about my 2 day trip for one of my brother's wedding last weekend.

Its a strange scenario for non resident Philippine-Chinese participants, when attending a Filipino-Chinese wedding in the Philippines. In some cultures, weddings are first and foremost, a close family and friend affair, and reception ends up with a small room of 6-10 tables composed of the bride and groom's closest friends and relatives. Small, close, short and sweet. Almost everyone will know everybody, and almost everyone will know the bride and groom very well.

On the other hand, for the Filipino-Chinese community in the Philippines, the wedding reception is a huge affair - normally comprising of huge extended families's friends and business partners, present, past or otherwise... So it is not a surprise that the bride and groom themselves will not exactly know the guests personally. In a sea of faces, only a handful of tables will have a direct relation with either bride or groom, and the rest are comprised of others - like grandparent's long time friends, parents business partners, one's sister's friends, one's brother's friends (never mind if they not personally met your soon-to-be-married sibling) .. the works. Its no surprise that wedding receptions can be slightly a bit cold and awkward. Besides, if you were the bride or groom, you would wonder how you are going to share your happiness with people who don't even care what you look like, or care less about how you met your soon-to-be lifelong partner. Sometimes it can even be viewed as a nasty, embarrassing affair.

Despite that, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that that didn't stop my brother and my new sister in law from enjoying their time, and doing their best to share their happiness to a sea of unfamiliar and unknown faces and names.

True, they pretty much had a format much like the rest of the Chinese Filipino community. A well prepared, extended entourage that accommodated a participant from each of the couples' extended families, a wedding at a Catholic church with the bride with at least a 6 feet trail, releasing a pair of white doves, the usual Chinese family tea welcoming ceremonies, a hotel reception, the standard variety show-like reception iterinary with matching host, sing and entertainment, the huge guest list, bouquet and garter pairing, picture taking and a great send off for the guests. It was the standard formula for a Filipino-Chinese wedding, no doubt about it.

What made me extremely happy and proud was the fact that many things that could've been just passed off as normal and standard, following the typical wedding equation, but in fact, despite that, my brother and sister in law did their best to make it as unique and as perfect as possible.

The reception area didn't go initially as planned. There were a couple of table arrangements that didn't exactly meet my new sister in law's expectations, and I could tell that she was disappointed. It is a special day for her, after all. But the whole thing ended up ok by the time the guests arrived. The hotel ballroom was wonderful, and it was still beautiful, despite the unforseen circumstances.

The entourage dresses were surprisingly nice. I never would've expected that lavender and strong, bright solid yellow would match, but the designer knew what he was doing and it really came off picturesque. Additionally, it seems that the couple made it a point to differentiate each and every entourage participant, despite that they were within the same classification: normally the secondary sponsors would have the same type of dresses, but they didn't. I had a halter gown, my half spanish cousin was in a spaghetti strapped dress, and the veil was wearing a simple sleeved dress.

As for my sister in law's wedding gown, a tube of silky white with slight adornments decorating the tips of the gown, it was nice, simple and elegant. I love things that are simple and elegant, everybody does. It's just like love: Its never complex or complicated by its very basic nature, except that in truth, simplicity is always the fundamental thing that makes things complex. Thats what makes simple things so beautiful.

They also hired an amazing video editor that edited the morning's church wedding into a beautiful montage of faces and events... not the usual set of pictures and videos showing exceptionally boring walkoff towards the altar of the church of the entourage, or a horrible timing of fade in and fade outs between clips and scenes, but a criss cross motley of clip that was transformed into a full length video that could be something to be remembered by for a very long time. Its difficult to put it into words, but trust me, the video was worthy of becoming a very entertaining MTV video being shown on tv.

The food was a very tasteful combination - delicately cooked salmon and tuna with wasabi and shoyu dressed salad accompaniment, mushroom based ragout with duck liver ravioli soup, very nicely cooked sea bass with leeks and seasoned mashed potatoes, a sorbet, slightly roasted chicken in gravy sauce, a serving of fruit tart. Frankly, I gobbled up the first three and ended up being too full to finish the others. The sea bass was extremely good, by the way (I'll stop here now, this is not a food editorial)... would've gone for second servings.

During the reception, I loved the way they set up the single's game, too. Normally the bride throws the bouquet, and the single girl who catches the bouquet will be paired off to the guy who will catch the garter that would be also thrown to a crowd of single men, and they'll be paired off and forced have a pictorial, and and even ghastly so, a smack on the cheek or lips. These people have got to be kidding to expect a pair of strangers to kiss in front of a crowd of 500. Instead, they had a set pairing of single girl and guy, paired to each other, and they would end up playing a multiple choice game that would test their knowledge on the wedding couple's history. It was fun, and they even get a set of Starbucks coupons upon winning. And if I remember right, no kisses :)

The most wonderful of the whole day was actually the kiss. Any one of their kisses. I loved the way my brother executed each and every single kiss by simply swooping down unabashedly towards my sister in law and giving a very romantic kiss in front of all these strangers. Not being coy or embarrassed about being uncomfortable displaying affection to the people around them, but just nice, sweet and truthful.

To be honest, all these wedding points I've just mentioned didn't really matter, except for the last one. Do away with everything else, and I believe that their kiss will still hold the whole reception together, by itself.

That's what the wedding is for, any way. Its not the singles game, its not the nice food, the great singers, the beautiful dresses, the bridal gifts, or the spectacular venue and backdrop. Its a celebration of a couple's joining and a life ahead together. It's their moment, and not ours. We're just there to share in their happiness and give them our blessings...

And I'm happy to say, they've shared the full extent of their happiness to us, sealed with a single, truthful kiss.

A very big congratulations to my brother and my sister in law... I'm proud and thankful to be both your sister and sister-in-law, and I'm glad to say that you've made your wedding day a memorable one for all of us, especially after all the toil and hardwork that you've put to preparing it. I hope that every day for the rest of your lives, you will be as happy as you were on that special day, and be as passionate towards each other as you were then, as you spend the rest of your lives together in marriage and in the eyes of God as your ultimate witness.

On Writing: Learning to Compress Ideas

I've been envious of people who seem to be able to convey a bagful of ideas in a very short, concise manner. These people use a variety of words to explain their ideas without sounding off too intellectual or cryptic. Their ideas, translated with key works, sound sharpened, and precise, as well as to the point. Unfortunately, not much can be said of my writing style these days. They're all conversational pieces, and as much as I like to try and make them compressed, they always come off sounding bookish and unnatural.

So, I'd like to write like that, and I would like to propose a breakdown of my writing style and see if I can edit it in such a way that I would be able to transform it into a more publication, editorial worthy entry.

Lets take this snippet of a recent post for example, describing the third type of response/action for people who have just hypothetically recently acquired one million dollars:

The third option is one that we learn when we're older and more "mature". This doesn't come out naturally at first, because it doesn't address the concept of money exchange in the way that we understood it when we were just first grade schoolers. There's a bit more background to put up before completely understanding how it works. There's the concept of devaluation, economics, inflation, government policies and tax laws... you know. All those boring stuff you avoided when you were probably in highschool. I know I did. Take compounding. Although I knew it was a sweet concept to begin with, I hated the idea of memorizing the formula ... if I could get away with it, I would steer clear. I would even get to the point of answering all the math questions... except the ones I knew were related to compounding (yes, I know, I was quite stubborn) But the third option, if there was really no urgent need to use the money, would be the best option to put your money into good use. Because it will likely generate more money for you, than compared to having to spend it immediately and losing everything, or leaving it in a savings account where the interest is absurdly low (or none at all).

I believe this section could still be compressed into a less wordy paragraph, and edited to bring out a well-thought out paragraph that would be formal and editorial-worthy. How about:

The third option is one that can be discerned only after understanding current financial concepts, which might involve comprehending devaluation, economics, inflation, government policies and tax laws - not something that would be normally understood by the average preschooler. Taking compounding as an example: The idea that compounding is a strong key to financial success, but complicated by standard algebra type knowledge in mathematics. In our scenario, it would be this third option that would be a more profitable path to pursue, particularly when money would not be needed in an urgent manner. This option would instead make money work for you, by taking advantage of compounding and generating income, instead of utilizing the money for short term needs and luxuries.

I think its good, but could still be better. How about this:

There is a third option, but this is only limited to those who are capable of understanding complex concepts such as devaluation, economics, government policies and tax laws - something that an average preschooler would not readily understand due to lack of experience and exposure to the real world. For example, compounding requires a basic understanding of algebra, which are normally taught only after a certain age. This limits the option to those who have an understanding over concepts. Employing this option would result in a money generating capital, rather than losing the capital on short term needs and luxuries.

Any criticique from my readers would be very welcome. I'm not a very good writer to begin with, and I'd appreciate any feedbacks whatsoever. See this as an exercise to improve my communication and writing skills. :)

Shedding Hair

Its been a while since I had problems of shedding hair, but it seems to have come about face recently. I've never been kind to my hair.. normally I wouldn't go for hot oils, treatments other girls get done regularly. I'm the type to pull my hair out of frustration, or when I'm just sitting idle. Either way, I've pulled out many threads of hair since the start of the year.

I mean, one or two for each pull should be reasonable, right? The past few weeks, I've been just dragging out clumps of 6,7,8 each time I do let my hands go through my hair. And that's only for pulling. I haven't gotten into normal shedding yet.

*sigh*

I hope I don't turn bald by the time I'm 30. Bad enough my mop has a natural tendency to grow out white hairs to a degree that I look older than my age. I don't want to end up being bald.

Hmmm... on the other hand, that might be a good excuse to shave the whole thing off. I did have some facination over that for the longest time. Lets see. There's one here, and another here.

Well, if I start going bald soon, at least it won't be a losing situation.

Small Apologies

My boyfriend has kindly pointed out that the tv network in charge of the recent disaster did in fact do something before the tragedy occured. A day or two before the actual event, the people were asked to sign their names up and then asked to go home and return on the day itself. At least that was a step in trying to alleviate the crowd (and situation) somewhat.

I was wrong in assuming that the television network did not entirely do anything, and for that, I do apologize. I guess the network may not be as unconcerned as I thought, at least, based on what my boyfriend said, they did try to quell the crowd a few days before the actual incident. Additionally, there were also police deployed in the site (at least that's what I understood) even before the day itself.

But still.. regardless, what went wrong then? All news and reports I've read point to mismanagement and no contingency, and personally, I haven't come across any reports on the web that do mention what was done pre-tragedy. I do believe my boyfriend (he doesn't have a reason to lie or make up stories) so I will take what he said as is. It sounds as if the tv network did do their job. How strange...

Are we being fed incomplete information for the media again? It sure seems that way from my end. Regardless, I honestly still think that the tv network has its faults despite what they've attempted to do before Saturday. I'm not as critical anymore as yesterday, but I honestly think there should've been something more that could've been done. I'll probably pick it up as I go along.

Anybody know if there is an available AM radio live feed on the web?

AMDG - Do Your Job, The Right Way

Yes, I'm still pissed.

Let's look at this whole disaster in a systematic sort of way, shall we? So far, I've seen blogs and editorials saying the following, basically amounting to finger pointing:

TV network exploiting the poor
Government and the poverty level in the country
Host saying he only wanted to entertain
ABS CBN doing very good damage control. Unbiasedly reporting on it.

Oh, I like this one. All well and good they very good at handling crisis management, the network is acting admirably to post-tragedy. I agree with the writer. But what irks me is that despite what they are now doing after the aftermath, there is such a thing as preparations to avoid and minimize crisis, in the first place.

*expletive* Bullsh*t.

I work in an environment where I learned how to handle crisis. In fact, I work and am responsible for the company's critical data for my current job. Its a financial company. Money flows through it, and I'm responsible for taking care of the data that holds our client's finances. Its the lifeblood of the company, wouldn't you think? If the data is lost, our client's money will be gone. Our company loses reputation, and all my colleagues would lose their jobs if the company shut down. The company wouldn't even know where to begin. Except that they know that I was responsible for the loss, ask me, nicely, to fix it, and fire me afterwards. And then after that, all my officemates will kill me for helping them lose their jobs.

That's just a microcosm of this whole thing of ABS CBN's responsibility.

Give me a break.

You don't just make a project up on a whip, without thinking, implement it, and don't make contingency plans. Whatever people may think, preparation and contingency plans are essential in any project. Don't think that problems and monkey wrenches are never going to happen; bad things do happen. Bad things do happen to good people. If in the beginning you didn't have any preparation, at least try to catch up by showing management some contingency plans. If ever you finish the whole project without needing to use the contingency plan, then fine and good. But if something chaos strikes, then its good that a contingency plan is on-hand and available to handle/minimize any ongoing problem. This is not just an IT standard. It's a standard for all projects. Projects are not labelled "successful" when you've started with the implementation phase.. projects are only successful when they reach the very end of the whole process and nothing goes awry.

*expletive* You don't sh*t and wait until after something bad happens.

For those IT aware: We have to move some servers to another site. Is it as easy as just making plans to move them physically? No. You have to take into account that:

(1) the service for that server will be unavailable.
(2) You have to inform affected parties.
(3) You make projections.
(4) You make estimates.
(5) If possible, you try to recreate a similar scenario to guage if your planning and timing are correct and precise.
(6) You have to take into account, when moving the server physically, if the harddrive will be screwed.
(7) If the network is screwed up at the alternate site, what is the course of action.
(8) You also have to take time to create backups in case that happens. So that in an event that the harddrives fail, you can replace the drive and its contents, and avoid losing any unnecessary data.

You have to consider that. Its not "just moving the servers", its a whole rigorous exercise in itself. That's what projects are... they're not supposed to be easy, otherwise, why employ a university, 4 year experienced graduate to do that?

Even if its just assembling a party event for a marketing campaign.. I mean, its just a party right? But even something like that would need to have careful planning.

First and foremost, I don't care if people say to stop blaming or pointing fingers at others. "Lets pray for those that are dead." You can't bring the dead back, just like I can't bring the lifeblood of a company back if I didn't have any contingency plans. Stop making excuses. Don't say that a human life is a small price to pay, or a network television's apologies will be sufficient, or that they are trying to be unbiased and truthful in their coverage of the tragedy. In the first place, it is their responsibility to be truthful. Don't tell me this is the first time they've been really truthful and honest and forthcoming, and that it shows integrity, because if they are, then they're very well not doing their job since they started reporting newscasts.

I don't point to the government. The government has its problems, and it will take a long while for the government to fix its own problems. The government created the environment, but the television network set up this ghastly no-contingency scenario for the people to come and join in the event. Never mind that they feed on the masses for their ratings. Never mind if they perpetuate bad habits and instilling a lottery-sense of imaginary safety net for the masses. It is still a company, and a company has to earn money to live, regardless of what slimy or charitable tactics they use.

But please, be professional. I point to all the intelligent, university graduate people out there who know better. The people who worked in this tv show, they're probably educated. Its a small price to pay to be prepared. Its not like you didn't expect this, or don't have the capacity to handle a large scale event. You guys did it for Pinoy Big Brother finale.. So at the very least I assume there is one competent person handling logistics and operations on a large scale. What kind of prank are you playing? Don't play with lives. On a short term, you can toy people of their emotions if you want, but please, don't play with their lives.

Lets take a sample real life scenario comparison, shall we?

(1) Hong Kong hosted last year's WTO Summit. Everyone kept on saying, they're not tough enough to handle the violence that insues in WTO Summit every year. That's because in Hong Kong people are generally obedient and law abiding citizens. The police force don't deal with bloody violence on a daily basis. They wouldn't know where to begin when handling such a high profile event. But the organizers knew what kind of people were coming. They had rough estimates. They made their preparations, they did their drills, they all made their safety measures. They would be working "against" people who would potentially be violent. In the end, they pushed through... they didn't do an astounding job, but they minimized the ruckus. They didn't have any experience with this, but because they made proper preparations, it turned out ok. Why? Because did their research. The had all the backdoors and backstreets where possibly all potential "violent" people would go through. At least they had that all planned out.

(2) I admit the Wowowee disaster is very different. The organizers weren't expecting farmers with stink bombs and back hoes and have a potential strong appetite for violence to fight their cause. But the organizers did know and had an estimate of the number of people coming to attend the event. They knew what kind of people would be coming. They knew their viewers - people who are cash strapped because the economy was so bad, who would like to take a chance to maybe get lucky and earn some money. They should've expected at least a bit of clash and grumbling at the start (or the end) of the event. They should've seen that the layout of the place was on an incline. At the very least they would have officers and ambulances standing by. Don't say that all was unexpected, because it isn't. The last time I came back to the Philippines, it was the final show/episode for Pinoy Big Brother, another of those reality tv shows. People flocked to the final show. Even after, people flocked to see the contestants along Roosevelt Avenue. Then there was another throng a couple of days after waiting right outside the winner's new house and lot, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Pinoy Big Brother winner. They knew their viewership market.. It wasn't the first time. Even then, there was this problem I read pertaining to an F4 concert in the Philippines a few years back. There were a small number of casualities there too. And it was affiliated with the same tv network, albeit they were not exactly the organizing party.

(3) Additionally, take a look at Hurricane Katrina. That's a horrible logistical nightmare in itself. They knew it was coming. They had the information. What did they do? Not as much as many Americans would've liked, I believe.

As a person of the younger generation who has been instilled with ideas of ideals, I've been made aware that I am responsible for my peers, and those who are in need and less fortunate. I have to be practical to achieve my own fulfillments, but I should never ever, EVER, EVER take advantage of those who are less fortunate than me. I should be taking care of them instead. At least until you teach them and they can get on their own two feet. The Philippines is a primarily Catholic country... you've been taught to take care of the less fortunate, you've been taught the precepts of Christianity and Catholicism, .. the best that you can do is live your life to protect those less fortunate than yourself and at the same time take care also of your well being. To heck if you don't go to church every Sunday... or if you don't go to church for a whole year, or your whole life. If you understood the essence of your beliefs, even if you never went to church, you can live your life as an example of Christian values. You don't have to walk around for alms, going to charity benefit events, helping the poor.

Please, for the less fortunate's sake, just darn do your job properly! That's the least (and the most) you can do to live a life of servitude according to the scriptures.

In this case, it means the lives of those who have lost them last Saturday. Please. If you're not from ABS CBN, at least take this example as a way to enrich your life... do your job properly like you're supposed to. Your life is intertwined with others, no matter how bored you are working at a call center or washing up the toilet bowl in a small fast food chain in goodness-knows-where. You will never know if you will hit upon a person who is about to kill himself over a faulty PC, or a person who will have epileptic seizures and drown in a clogged toilet bowl. Its not funny... Life is meant to be enjoyed, but not at the expense of others. Life is weird, life is strange, but if we can help it, and things are possibly under our control and we do the right things, life will also never be a tragedy.

It's as simple as it is as complex. Do your job the best you can, and Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam.*

*The owner of this blog is not in anyway affiliated with any one religion. She believes in the existence of a God, and will believe anything that will promote goodness in the world. She's not an expert on Bibical studies, so maybe she may get things wrong. BUT, she hates seeing people suffer, and even more so if they suffer unnecessarily. She may be naive, but you'll have to answer to her wrath if you try to even take advantage of people.

The Wowowee Disaster

I'm terribly disappointed at what happened.

For those of my readers who aren't in the know, a terrible tragedy occurred last Saturday, February 4, 2006, at my home country in Manila, Philippines. At least 70 people died, and at least 200 injured.

It wasn't a typhoon, flooding, hurricane, tornado, earthquake or even a terrorist bombing that caused all these casualties. It would've been easier to swallow that way. In some sense, it would've been better if those were the reasons for all these casualties. But its not: It was because people were STAMPEDED TO DEATH trying to enter a popular noontime game show, called Wowowee, that was offering more than its usual number of prizes because during that day - Saturday - it was the tv show's first year anniversary.

I don't know about you, but it pisses the heck out of me. Why?

The venue was reportedly able to contain 17,000 people. Counted, at most 30,000 people showed up. Many of them were already in line and camping out several days before the event. Couldn't the network people even tell or make projections based on that? These people lining up are probably the same ones who would wait outside a house won by a contestant in a "reality" based show a few months back called Big Brother from (I believe) the same tv network.. I had the chance to pass by the house the last time I went back to the Philippines, and a lot of people were waiting just to get a glimpse of the winning contestant. I mean, just a glimpse. These are people who live their lives entertained by tv shows. And to think that these same people will be victims of other people's irresponsibility is irritating me to the bone at the moment.

For one thing, the network people should be more responsible with these things. The educated people are fully aware that the economic standing of the country is not as good, and the people are jobless, or not earning enough money to satisfy their daily necessities. Petty violence and crime are rampant due to this. From the time I've left the country, the cheapest Mcdonalds meal cost an estimated 20 pesos, and now, 4-5 years after, I come back to discover that the same meal will range at an estimated 60 pesos. I'm not quite certain about the minimum wage, but I doubt that it has increased enough to support the inflation rate. The middle and higher class have an extremely large gap between them, and growing, and the masses are merely enjoying the simple things like watching television shows to alleviate their financial worries.

Give them a chance to become millionaires, and they will bite, no doubt about it.

The higher ups cannot fault these people being participants in a stampede - it is to an event that would give away money and a possibility of a new, short lived life of being outside of poverty, after all. Higher ups can't fault them, saying that it should be obvious that people line up properly otherwise a stampede will occur. A lot of these people could never have the same experience and education that a small percentage of us have had - a good education, a very comfortable upbringing, a worry free life - and its something that the small percentage of educated people should take responsible for. That is what my education and university taught me.. to be a man for others. To help out when you can, take care of those who possibly don't have the capacity of taking care of themselves. Teach them to fish, instead of giving them the fish. And if they're not ready to learn that, then at least give them a chance to live, and hopefully, in the future, they will be more willing and receptive to learn...

But no. I'm sickened by the thought that a tragedy like this could happen. I'm severely pissed at the network that was holding and organizing the tv show for not looking far enough to expect something like this. The network was one of the two front runners in local television... No doubt about it, they DO have the money. I'm sure they are all well educated, otherwise they wouldn't be in their jobs in the first place, and frankly, they didn't do their jobs as well as I've liked. They should be responsible for their actions - they ARE toying with the masses, with their various noontime shows and gossip columns. They know their market, they know how these people react, they probably spent quite a number of money researching on the finer points of their viewers psyche to make a show successful.. but couldn't they have at least used that same research to at least predict that a large number of people will turn up, and prepared for contingency for this?

I was willing to let go of the fact that I would see throngs of yuppies and well off people at local popular malls drinking and sipping their branded Starbucks - I would also enjoy this myself on occasion. I was willing to see that people would spend large amounts of money having a nice overpriced dinner at one of the many popular business districts, despite still being aware that the country's state is worsening every year. I was willing to look the other way when I see all the corruption reports I read in the local newspapers.

But I was not willing to see that these same people could be enjoying all the luxuries they earned, and yet they were not properly doing their jobs and effecting the other less well off people and at the cost of human lives.

When I go about Hong Kong, thinking of spending a bit more money than usual, I always do a double take nowadays. Do you know what holds me back? It was the thought of buying a cup of overpriced Starbucks, or purchasing a fancy looking coat, or attending a big concert by Oasis(I'm a big fan, and I like them a lot) for my own satisfaction... and yet there are families and people out there in Africa dying because of hunger, people being taken advantage of because they didn't have education, young kids in war torn countries that don't have enough government support and are kidnapped by rebels and be forced to kill their own relatives. I stop and think about what I spend things on, if I can help it. I'd rather set aside the same money to donate to charity than spend it on myself. I stop before I buy, and yes, I didn't buy any tickets to the Oasis concert, even though I'm a big fan. I'm first to admit that I'm not a religious monk or an angel; I do still splurge. But first and foremost, if I can, I always try keep a check in my head before I buy something. I refuse to become blind to other tragedies the rest of the world are desperately coping with, battling for their lives, and who are vastly incomparably worse state than I am - never mind I have big credit card bills to pay, dont you think?

Don't turn your back on what you can do. If this event were a catastrophe, and a natural disaster, it would be fine. There are things that are out of our hands.

But this is a human tragedy, and its as inexcusable as killing your own parents who loved you from the day you were in the womb.

Shame on you people. You should know better. You frustrate the hell out of me.

What Would You Do With A MILLION Dollars?

I just thought about it when I remembered watching Beauty and the Geek (Season 1) last week. One of them ended up paying for his student loans, and the other half wanted to buy boots and (if I caught it right) a trip to somewhere with her boyfriend. Its not a one million dollar cash prize, but its still money that came to your doorstep conveniently at (almost) a flash.

I suppose each of us has our own way of using our money. In my book, there are three types of people that can be classified according to this:
1. The ultimate consumer who will spend their money to buy/payoff for consumer goods (houses, cars, clothes, travel)
2. Hoard it into your savings account.
3. The shrewed money making investor who will invest his money into money earning ventures like stocks, bonds, equities and investments

Given the chance, each and every one of us is a combination of these three, in varying degrees.

The easiest and most popular one is the first option. We've lived our lives as children to teenagers to young adults being exposed to spending money when it reaches our hands: A weekly allowance is handed to you, and you spend it on lunch money. Occasionally you'd spend it on candies or junk foods, or ongoing fads or hobbies like comics, card games, etc. At an earlier age, you don't think much about the future.. you first think about what you need, NOW. And so that trait gets stuck to our perception of what money is, and by the time you're older, the habit would've stuck. You would usually end up using the money to buy things you need, and more often than not, also buy the things that you WANT.

The second option is also pretty popular, although for someone who's likely to have received a million dollars, there would also likely have a high profile media campaign. I mean, if not, than at least news of that would be going around the extended family... How to say no to an uncle who's badly in debt and will be evicted with the rest of the family by the end of the week? But lets just say its an idea world, and you end up placing your earnings into you savings account. Keep it safe from harm - just like when you were small and placing change into that little piggy bank. Good enough...

The third option is one that we learn when we're older and more "mature". This doesn't come out naturally at first, because it doesn't address the concept of money exchange in the way that we understood it when we were just first grade schoolers. There's a bit more background to put up before completely understanding how it works. There's the concept of devaluation, economics, inflation, government policies and tax laws... you know. All those boring stuff you avoided when you were probably in highschool. I know I did. Take compounding. Although I knew it was a sweet concept to begin with, I hated the idea of memorizing the formula ... if I could get away with it, I would steer clear. I would even get to the point of answering all the math questions... except the ones I knew were related to compounding (yes, I know, I was quite stubborn) But the third option, if there was really no urgent need to use the money, would be the best option to put your money into good use. Because it will likely generate more money for you, than compared to having to spend it immediately and losing everything, or leaving it in a savings account where the interest is absurdly low (or none at all).

Now, the question is, if it was me, what would be my course of action upon receiving the money?

After reading the first part, you might say, "Its pretty obvious that the most logical one is to choose the third option". But its not as easy as that. Life always gets in the way. What of the uncle who desperately needs money to pay off medical bills to continue medication for his wife or children who's suffering from cancer and ongoing chemotherapy treatments? Would you refuse to give them the money? What if it meant having to be nice enough to give them the WHOLE one million dollars?

So now we have a fourth factor/option that we have to consider: Values.

This final one would make a mess in an otherwise perfectly logical choice. It makes things very, very troublesome and complicated. Would you rather sacrifice your integrity (assuming you are a good person) by not giving any money to your uncle, and hope that your investments will earn more money so that you can help him for the next coming years in case if still needed them? Or would you rather sacrifice your own hope for building a future for yourself by handing over the whole wad to your uncle? I suppose you'd be a hero... but really. Heroes also need some money to eat... for now, and in the future.

I thought about this question, and I actually had a bit of dilemma. My family is relatively ok.. there's no shortage of money, but it doesn't mean we're filthy rich either. So I don't have to worry about family. But I do get soft hearted when it comes to hunger, poverty and oppression around the world. I'm idealistic, so I hate hearing news about people dying off because of government negligence. So given the chance that I had a million dollars to begin with, do I start investing the money, and start earning so I can make more money to help people in the future, or do I just dump it to charitable causes? (If I don't, I'd feel guilty for indirectly not helping out when I could've..)

Don't get me wrong, I won't be suckered into giving money to just anyone. If I had my way, I'd go ahead to do something charitable, instead of just providing the financial backing. I like hands on experience. But what to do when faced with something like that? I have been thinking about it occasionally. I mean, the problem isn't really there, and I'm probably making problems for myself than anything, but it is an interesting thought to consider. Just in case.

*sigh* Money certainly puts a heavy weight on your shoulders.

So, how about you? How would you handle YOUR million dollars?

Where In the World Is Me?

So, I have this really adorable picture for my profile:



Yes, its relative, isn't it? A lot of people said its really ugly, but I find it very adorable, and cute. Just goes to show that beauty is in the eyes of its beholder. Its a depiction of one of the minor characters for Neil Gaiman's Sandman: A baby gargoyle taken care of/living with Cain and Abel by the name of Goldie. So that's my profile picture. You won't be seeing anything else in the profile aside of the usual short descriptions.

I've also already established that my primary reason for writing this blog is mainly for friends and personal rant.. ok fine. Mainly for friends. Here is one of many posts that would explain this. So, in short, since I'm writing this for my friends, I don't really need a picture, innit? They know what I look like already. Unless I make a major surgery face change.. but no. I'd rather use the money for something else. That's another post entirely.

So what about those people that occasionally drop by from somewhere else? People who haven't personally seen or know me? Like, for example, people who would be coming from somewhere else that I've recently mentioned here. (I'm still gloating a bit, by the way) They wouldn't really know what I would look like, now would they?

Ah well, I suppose its for the desperate to go into searching for a picture of me. I don't like putting up my picture because I think looks don't really count for much. If we've going to end up as friends, you'll probably wait until the last minute before you actually try to seriously consider what I look like. That's usually what happened to me before.. I'd hold off asking for someone's picture until I get to know them pretty well. I simply abhor people who come up to me the first day and just ask for my photo. Excuse me? why the heck are you asking for my picture? Does it make a difference? I mean, if it does, then I'd rather not talk to you to begin with. I really hate people who ask for my photo. I try to tell them off.. I mean, sometimes I'd meet someone, and they'd directly ask for my picture. DUH. We're not even friends yet. What's the whole purpose of having a picture of me? going to show off and tell people I'm your gf? PUHLEEEAAASE. (you can tell how much I hate stuff like this, don't you?)

So back to what I was saying. The only time you'll be motivated to look for a picture of me is just for the sake of not making a mistake in case we do end up doing an eyeball (do kids these days still use the term "eyeball" to imply a face-to-face meeting?).

But I do have a picture of me somewhere in the blog, I think... if you get lucky. But the pictures are most likely pretty old, too... well, either that, or its pictures of parts of me anyway. As I recall, there was one which came out overexposed, one which had a shot of my foot (bruised), one very interesting one recently pertaining to being very "up close and personal"... a couple that included my fingers....

:)

But I do have a picture posted up somewhere. I'm just too lazy to look for it. And besides, why make it an easy time for new readers to find out what I look like? Wouldn't it be interesting to wade through the whole blog and also read the posts one by one?

My boyfriend tells me I'm a sadist. I enjoy seeing other people toil and suffer...

Hmmmm.....

Gym Progress 25 & 26 (And a short discourse on brown complexion)

Hmm.. it seems like I haven't posted my progress last week. Ah well, put the together, I suppose.

One of the many problematic things about going back to the gym is that its adding additional stress to my knee (they're starting to hurt again) but ... I don't think its the only cause. Its also partially because I have been going around walking and going here and there and wearing formal heels... for a sample result of this, see this post.

Disgusting, I know, but due to this, I haven't been sleeping very soundly lately for the past whole week. My feet are literally killing me and keeping me awake all night, and it doesn't help that my knees are also acting up. Grr.

Anyways, I've been to both Steve and Suzette's aero classes.. but that's just about the extent of my exercise.. haven't hit the weights for a while, so I picked them up today to test out my upper body (I can't work on my lower body, if my regular dear readers are interested.. you know why.) I finally got the name of one of the other regulars at the Central branch (meet him during Saturdays) seems like he's into finance, he's called Frank. He's always working late (everyone seems to be working late) during weekdays so he doesn't attend the weekday classes, only the weekend ones. He looks strangely brown skinned for someone Chinese.. initially I actually though he might be Malaysian or Filipino, but he seemed more comfortable with cantonese. So I suppose there are also chinese who are brown skinned (my boyfriend is a chinese brown-skinned... hmm.. not that's not a good example.. because he's actually burned. He used to be pretty pale but mandatory military training during college pretty much burned him brown.) There are a lot of chinese I've met over the years that have brown skin though.. not sure if they were burned or not, but the point is, they don't look like the standard pale, yellow complexion associated with Chinese.

I'm blabbering already. :) Anyways!

Week 25
Sat(ISM): Steve
Sun(ISM): Suzette

Week 26
Sat(ISM): Steve (Central), Steve(Causeway Bay)
Sun(ISM,FW): Suzette, myself

My Blog Titles

I was just browsing through my blog when a thought suddenly occured to me: My post titles are so, so, so boring.

I mean, really. Try to go through them and see what I mean. What's up with that? How come when I read other people's blogs, they have nice post headings and titles that sound perky and interesting?

darn it, am I losing my touch? (As if I had touch to begin with, in the first place)

Present Day Convenience

Will moving to resident countries change who you are fundamentally as a person?

This has been something that's been playing around in my mind for quite sometime. I was actually thinking of post ing something similar a few months ago, but I got lazy :) I was reminded again today after reading one of Tom Kyte's recent post.

We all know about learning new things, new cultures, new environment to expand your horizons when relocating to another place. Especially when you make a shift from moving from Manila to Hong Kong. The distance is short, but despite that, it will definitely make a huge difference. But in many ways there are other things afoot that you may not expect.

But one thing that bothered me after relocating to Hong Kong was the fact that I became more impatient and unplanned. You see, in Hong Kong, almost every corner will have a grocery. It will also have bookstores, convenience stores, gift shops, pharmacies, malls. Its a metropolis, and a small one at that, and since everything is densely packed together, there is a need to address the demand of a huge number of population situated in a small area. Being a small place, everything is always in reach, and if you needed something special, it will be just a 15 minute bus ride away to your destination. Additionally, shops close late, so most of the time, they're aConvenience.

What happened was that for every whim or urge for anything, I can just come down and get what I need. At the start, it was translated to freedom of movement and choice for me, as I could go anywhere I like nearby, whenever I liked it.

It was a vast difference from where I came from, Manila, where a trip to the supermarket will take 1 hour car ride, or if I wanted a book, I had to wait when I had the time because the nearest mall was also an hour away. I'd write up a list of the things I needed, prepared before hand, so that when the time came, I'll just grab them all up in one go. Similarly, shops close relatively early, so you can't really stay up until very late before you start heading back home. Quick trips weren't the thing. This was the norm, and when I came about to Hong Kong, it was a good release. Everything was easily within my reach, anytime, anywhere, anything.

But slowly, I started to change. Every whim was satisfied so easily. Every craving for a particular food, every need for a particular item, every urge to read a particular book. It was so easy and convenient, that at some point, I would go out of the house more than 5 times in a day just to satisfy something that I'd be craving for.

Good? or bad?

It did get to a point where I was spending more time going down the our apartment building than enjoying what I bought. Not very good.

I also got a bit impatient, and was likely to splurge or panic buy than usual. Things have to come immediately, otherwise I would be short tempered.

It wasn't just the craving for foodstuffs... even the way I would process a thought would get sloppy. Planning wasn't as essential anymore, and therefore I just went ahead to do certain things without thinking. Not very good sign for work particularly, when sometimes planning is especially essential, particularly when you are doing production deployments for company critical systems.

I was a good thing I noticed it, otherwise, I would be stuck at the same loop over and over again. Messing up plans, wasting time, not thinking and judging clearly before going ahead to do certain things. That's what convenience did for me. And yet, its such a wonderful thought, when you initially encounter it. Freedom of choice, freedom of movement. Without monitoring what I was doing or transforming into, I degraded to becoming a very disorganized and reactive individual.

So is convenience any good? I'm sure it is. But it doesn't help when you rely on it for everything and risk changing yourself for the worse. Younger generations seem to be more prone to this, as you can see them living in a world when psp, mobile phones, search engines are just a few steps away. They didn't live in a world where all the mail was delivered by the postman and had a turnaround time of 7 days before you can actually get a quick reply. Lets hope that they don't fall into the same trap... otherwise, we'll be in a bit of trouble with people in the next few years :)