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!