Just a few more days towards the end of April, and I cannot wait for it to pass me by. This has been a month of chaos, a soupy mess of events both good and bad and everything in-between... I sure am looking forward to the chaos settling down so that I may reflect upon them with a clearer mind and, especially, get a breather. A much needed breather, too.
Work has been real hectic, to the point I wished I could clone two copies of myself 'cause that's what it felt like I needed. It is the typical peak period within a product lifecycle, and adding to it a sprinkle of wrinkles (hehe, rhymed~) makes for days that make me find more paperwork at the end of the day than when I started. Pile on a slew of other tangent tasks running in parallel and it starts to feel like I'm in washing machine in rinse mode. I do believe it is time for me to put my time management under the microscope as it feels I have strayed/breached some of my rules that have kept me effective all these years.
On the personal front, it has thankfully been a wild and fulfilling month. Have gone on a hike almost every weekend and that really helped me keep my mental focus in check. I know it will sound ridiculous, but hiking or most outdoor activities do help me relax. I don't know if it is because of the green, or the deep sleep that comes after, or just the anticipation and joy of playing in the water... assuming there was a waterfall/river spot for a given hike. Either way, each hike has been a fun-filled experience that I wouldn't trade for anything else, and I do look forward for more in the months ahead.
Now, the hikes being fun and all, they did not come without their share of problems. The last hike we had involved a short road trip North. Probably from something we ate that day, it led to the lot of us getting well acquainted with the lavatory for the next few days. I think I lost almost 3 kgs in 2 days... mostly from dehydration. To this day, appetite has not quite returned to its normal levels, but at least the body has been recovering well. Still kind of worried for a friend who has not quite recovered as much as the rest of us... but I suppose it only needs time.
On a separate note, I had to cancel a dive trip to the east coast due to work commitments. Really sucks to have to make that call, but it has always been an occupational hazard where my job role is concerned. I just never had to call off a trip this big (relative to its cost) and I am more disappointed of the investment lost rather than the opportunity. I can always plan the trip again, but the non-refundable amount also means that its not a simple task of channeling the funds for another activity. I need to budget again for a future trip, and I sure could use a good relaxing trip after the heavyweight experience April is proving to be. Another positive side to it; it was a good call. I sure needed the time to be in office to monitor things in the most crucial of moments and the trip would have been for naught if I were to return to be greeted by an amalgamation of outstanding tasks that will pile-up on an already ridiculous pile.
To compensate though... there were some really nice casual activities. I did my first, mini-round of shopping to restore the state of my wardrobe. I now officially have a regular for playing pool/darts/etc. There are always fun wagers associated to each game, and the sessions have been amazingly fun. Haven't been playing the games regularly enough in recent years, so playing them now is both a realization of that (embarrassing?) fact and an exercise in improving (albeit, with the occasional hilarious outcome). I foresee this as a potentially recurring activity... and do hope it heads that way. I see potential for it to trigger interest in exploring new activities, and that is something I always welcome =)
Hrm... all-in-all, April doesn't sound all too bad now that I sprawled all that on this post. I still look forward to it ending, but I wouldn't trade the chaos that it was for anything else. I was fatigued, exhilarated, happy, occasionally confused, etc. but it was a good month to reflect upon.
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Sunday, April 06, 2014
Reboot
The months of recent memory have been vastly different experiences than I am typically accustomed to. This is not a comment based on things that happen around me, but more about how I've been reevaluating things about me...
I don't know what sparked the change, but the past 6-8 months have indeed marked a change in how I reflect upon my surrounding, upon the lifestyle I wanted to live and even the kinds of choices I am making on the personal front. Thankfully, they've all been relatively positive though I'm not sure if it is a phase, or its a natural evolution of my personality.
For starters, I have been slowly and gradually cleaning up my expenses. Trimming the unnecessary and investing (not the literal investment, sorry.. at least not much) in productive channels. It is work in progress, and though I have not seen the kind of savings growth I was hoping for, it has been growing better compared to the year before. More gratifying is the notion that I still have plenty of areas to trim and optimize, and I want to keep at it. Surprisingly, it hasn't affected my lifestyle much... another indicator that I have indeed been tackling the 'fluff' in my life throughout this endeavor. I like it!
Physical activities have become a more consistent part of my life too. I've always been active throughout my childhood and education years, even right up to the early days of my career. Somewhere along the line, the frequency or intensity (or both!) tapered off. Strange as it may seem, living a life fueled by an engine running on overdrive (aka high-metabolism) makes it very easy to spot when your body is 'adjusting' to the reduced activity. Age does affect metabolism, hence all the more reason to stay active. The body has a way to remind you in less subtle ways. Reaction time reduces, appetite decreases and even cold tolerance drops. Got me worried when I first noticed it about 2.5 years ago, so I vowed to get active again when I joined my current job.
In many ways, I have kept to that vow, just with a lot more consistency and vigor in the past few months. I do regular workouts at home now. Though not the intense 30-minutes, 3 times a week regime that most people preach, I'm doing the minimum every other day to at least gradually pump up my stamina and more importantly maintain whatever I have gained. Muscle memory is NOT programmed into my genes, so doing simple workouts is just a way to keep the engine running... though I am looking into making this a stricter regime. I sprinkle a dose of badminton, a dash of Ping-Pong, some jogging, and the occasional hikes to top off my activity list. Been working wonders and, as an added bonus, I've also been discovering more places to have simple good times in Malaysia.
Then there's the random stuff. I've actually not been that comfortable with my wardrobe for some time now... yes, my wardrobe! Maybe its the times, or maybe I'm just finally getting comfortable with my physique. I regularly coin the term that I am now at an ideal weight, just a minor issue with the distribution of it =Þ I've been skinny (REAL skinny) my entire life and my frame is still small, though I sure have a lot more substance now than I did 5 years (or more) ago. I look back at myself in years past, and I look at my wardrobe... and I clearly see someone who was taking all the wrong decisions in projecting his self image. Odd to hear someone admit to that? Well, being honest about it has done nothing but help me respect myself that much more.
Which, naturally, brought me to my activity this weekend. I did some much needed cleaning up of the ol' wardrobe. I sifted through ALL my clothes and kept the necessary for now, dumped the useless and packed up the rest for charity. Want to know the results? I trimmed my wardrobe to 1/3rd of what it was! O M G... I either had a lot of junk, or I seriously changed a hell of a lot more than I bargained for, haha.
It also means that I will need to go shopping soon; it has been long overdue... Just in time too as my budget confirms I am ready for it =D First, I need to hunt down a good tailor for making bespoked shirts... Mission begins!
I don't know what sparked the change, but the past 6-8 months have indeed marked a change in how I reflect upon my surrounding, upon the lifestyle I wanted to live and even the kinds of choices I am making on the personal front. Thankfully, they've all been relatively positive though I'm not sure if it is a phase, or its a natural evolution of my personality.
For starters, I have been slowly and gradually cleaning up my expenses. Trimming the unnecessary and investing (not the literal investment, sorry.. at least not much) in productive channels. It is work in progress, and though I have not seen the kind of savings growth I was hoping for, it has been growing better compared to the year before. More gratifying is the notion that I still have plenty of areas to trim and optimize, and I want to keep at it. Surprisingly, it hasn't affected my lifestyle much... another indicator that I have indeed been tackling the 'fluff' in my life throughout this endeavor. I like it!
Physical activities have become a more consistent part of my life too. I've always been active throughout my childhood and education years, even right up to the early days of my career. Somewhere along the line, the frequency or intensity (or both!) tapered off. Strange as it may seem, living a life fueled by an engine running on overdrive (aka high-metabolism) makes it very easy to spot when your body is 'adjusting' to the reduced activity. Age does affect metabolism, hence all the more reason to stay active. The body has a way to remind you in less subtle ways. Reaction time reduces, appetite decreases and even cold tolerance drops. Got me worried when I first noticed it about 2.5 years ago, so I vowed to get active again when I joined my current job.
In many ways, I have kept to that vow, just with a lot more consistency and vigor in the past few months. I do regular workouts at home now. Though not the intense 30-minutes, 3 times a week regime that most people preach, I'm doing the minimum every other day to at least gradually pump up my stamina and more importantly maintain whatever I have gained. Muscle memory is NOT programmed into my genes, so doing simple workouts is just a way to keep the engine running... though I am looking into making this a stricter regime. I sprinkle a dose of badminton, a dash of Ping-Pong, some jogging, and the occasional hikes to top off my activity list. Been working wonders and, as an added bonus, I've also been discovering more places to have simple good times in Malaysia.
Then there's the random stuff. I've actually not been that comfortable with my wardrobe for some time now... yes, my wardrobe! Maybe its the times, or maybe I'm just finally getting comfortable with my physique. I regularly coin the term that I am now at an ideal weight, just a minor issue with the distribution of it =Þ I've been skinny (REAL skinny) my entire life and my frame is still small, though I sure have a lot more substance now than I did 5 years (or more) ago. I look back at myself in years past, and I look at my wardrobe... and I clearly see someone who was taking all the wrong decisions in projecting his self image. Odd to hear someone admit to that? Well, being honest about it has done nothing but help me respect myself that much more.
Which, naturally, brought me to my activity this weekend. I did some much needed cleaning up of the ol' wardrobe. I sifted through ALL my clothes and kept the necessary for now, dumped the useless and packed up the rest for charity. Want to know the results? I trimmed my wardrobe to 1/3rd of what it was! O M G... I either had a lot of junk, or I seriously changed a hell of a lot more than I bargained for, haha.
It also means that I will need to go shopping soon; it has been long overdue... Just in time too as my budget confirms I am ready for it =D First, I need to hunt down a good tailor for making bespoked shirts... Mission begins!
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