Saturday End July

Another 1.6 kg to shed to get into the "normal" BMI range.

 Went to the Docs to get some Jet Lag pills in preparation for my long haul trip, just in case I get restless as I normally need a cool, dark and quiet environment to fall asleep.

As the queue at Genki Sushi was an hour long, we decided to walk around to find another eatery as we didn't wanna spend time waiting. Dancing Crab was quite empty, so we popped in. We had only the side dishes- truffles fries, crab cake & lemonade. The crab cake is made of real crab meat, hence they're tasty. We skipped the dessert because we were quite full already. It is always nice to sample food at different eateries, in Singapore, we're spoiled for choice although how you want to educate your taste buds will depend on how big or small your budget is.

 

Did you know that McDonald's business is not in its restaurants nor food related?
They're franchisers, realtors & supply chain managers.

Weighty

no change in weight for 2 months
oh ya, ran out of MCT oil already... better go buy a new bottle ya........
my sis says the Polyclinic issues MCT oil to people to help them with weight management.
maybe I should go see a doctor of that.
undecided.

Let's not talk about lbs

Let's not talk about pounds.

Let's just talk about general health.

Stiff joints, back pain, bloating stomach, gastric reflux-- are these enough for me to get my butt moving?

Actually, I've been putting up with bloatedness for a long time. But I didn't help myself out of it. Like I didn't stop coffee intake, I sit right back at my work desk right after lunch, I get stressed out at work over multiple work stuff, I didn't stop drinking coke, I didn't exercise, I didn't stop fatty meat.

Last year, my colleague gave me a book on numerology.
I marked out my charts and read the readings.
Everything that was on the books about my past, was accurate to a T.
So now let's just talk about the Health section. It showed 3 missing elements out of 5, and that is considered 'serious'. It warned about problems with my heart, spleen & lung, which are related mainly to the small intestines, stomach, and large intestines. This information is not new to me but I got really depressed over it last year. It kind of foretell ill health in my older years.

But I broke out of feeling sorry for myself. I said I have to do something.

So I decide to at least break a sweat once in a while. I asked if I could tag along to the gym.
My colleague says okay, not a problem, he also wants to have an exercise regime.
So we made a point to run once in a week over lunch hours.
With all the traveling time etc., we only have time for 30 mins at the treadmills and to warm down before a quick shower. 

All i want is to run 2.4km under 24mins. that's all.

sweat, i did. look terrible right? 

 never mind, it's all in the make up! LOL.

TCM

Last month, the TCM physician reviewed my X-ray with me. 

It was hard to look at the negatives of my own bones. So..... icky. I had to look at the X-rays from sideways, I can't even look straight at it. Eew.... my bones. She also showed me the tiny spike that grew from the left side of one particular vertebra on my lower back. I know that spot, it has the sharpest pain, but still I was shocked to see a spike, like a thorn sprouting from the side of my bone.

Still, that is not the physician's main concern.

The first twelve vertebrae of my spinal cord are so compressed till three or four of the vertebrae under by neck were "deformed", they were concaved at the sides. Healthy, normal vertebra do not have such pronounced concavity. She showed me the rest of my bones which are normal. I dare not ask the physician if my concaved bones would ever grow back into healthy shapes or not. I mean, if I drink more Anlene will my bones grow? I was afraid she might say that they will not go back to original shape. So I ran away from finding out and didn't ask. 

She says I will definitely need to treat my body, or else!

Today, it was a very painful session.
Oh the knobs in my calves!  Especially the left calf.

As for my arms, the right arm had an old, old injury  (I went down a water slide and hit my thumb against the edges of the pool), that was... 2005. I was with my cousin ZhiTing at Safra swimming pool. Telok Blangah. I remember how I got every of my injury. Every. They are imprinted in my head. Can I write the memory down on paper and burn it away?

 Left Arm - not much bruise

Right Arm - swollen!  One line leading to the thumb.

On Sunday, while travelling on the bus back home from swim lesson, I was surprised to see a huge patch of blue-black at the back of my calf. There must have been a aged blood clot, dispersed now.

I see Beauty on the Floor

 I was going to my acupuncture and cupping session on Sunday morning when I observed that the shadows cast from the gates I pass are kind of nice. I've always found reflections and shadows more interesting than the object itself as shadows, imperfect reflections leave you some room for interpretation. So, I wrote a poem that goes:-

I see beauty on the floor

I see beauty in everyday things;

look no further, shadows giving hints. 

I see passerby trotting down the street, 

missing intricate designs under their feet. 

Hey, wait up! Don't walk too fast, 

look at what the gates have cast. 

Check it out, look on the floor, 

patterns next door, look! There's more. 

I see beauty on the floor. 

Now that my tummy fat is loose, the cupping did not hurt as much as the first two times. 

Also, the dark, violet marks have lightened and I experience less "bloated" feelings at the stomach these days. I guess maintaining good health is a lifelong project.

Warning: Ugly Scene

 So, I've managed to shed 3 kg in about 6 weeks. Hurray. 

2 more kg to go. 

I must tell you, it is painful. 

NDP 2015

 This year, we successfully balloted for the NDP tickets and I chose to ballot for the Preview (1st August) because firstly, I think the actual date would be over-subscribed, and secondly, there will be an additional public holiday on 7th August as declared. That means there would be a block of four days (7th to 10th August) where everyone could have a longer break. So maybe I can go Batam. Haha. No lah, kidding. But why not huh? So anyway, we've got two tickets and I will bring Kiki there. I hope in the next couple of years, if we could win the ballot again, I would want to bring Colin then. Fingers crossed.

 Our allocated location is at the Padang. 

 So anyway, I was just loitering around the arcade at Marina Square where I had collected my tickets. One young chap gave me a postcard and recommended that I explore the booths, so I entertained him.

Look at that POSB uniform! Gosh, that's so retro. And what's with that hat? LOL.

 Matar wears bermuda

What you'd have to to is go around the exhibits, check-out what they have, participate a little to collect an ink stamp, and receive a lucky draw entry form and a goodie bag. 

So after that "Beginnings" booth with a showcase of Uniforms, I went to the "Progress" booth where you sketch or scribble something along the theme of "Progress".

 At the "Identity" booth, we are to copy the words (in four languages). The Indian boy at that booth showed me a sample that was stuck on the table. I noticed that the strokes for 实 is incorrect. The last stroke is a long dot 长点, not a "Na" 捺, so I corrected it in case other people copied the wrong stroke. -_-"

 other stations

 Funpack at the Parade 

 Funpack for every household

 After all the stations, I collected the goodie bag consisting some stickers, car decal,

 and one EZ Link card (no stored value, in case you're wondering). 

Anyway, the EZ link card is out-of-stock now. 

 @ BK

 My decade old badminton rackets still have their tags on, but the grip tapes disintegrated. 

We replaced them with new tapes and I tasked Maricar to play badminton with me. 

Not bad lah, loose all the water in the body, that's almost 500g shaved from my overall weight. 

I hope to maintain the 2 kgs that had shed and I aim to shed 500g a week. 

It will get tougher but I hope I can persist. Fingers crossed.