Here we go

Once again, my credit card will pay the price of another attempt--I better stop calling it that--at weight loss. This time, it's in the form of the $4/week plan from Jillian M. And yes, I watched The Biggest Loser right before signing in, hence the motivation.

A few things on my list this week for this purpose:
1. Go to the gym at least once by Friday. Bring workout clothes everyday.
2. More H2O!
3. See if following the recipes in the plan is feasible. For this week, counting calories on my own will do.
4. Follow the workouts from the site.

Game!

It's in human's nature to find another entity to hold accountable for one's misfortunes. And tonight I almost blamed Him.

Mahirap maging mabait, nasusubukan ka. Minutes before I write this, it came to a point when my thoughts wondered if religion, eternal life, and being saved are but spiritual fairy tales that some of our underblessed ancestors desperately came up with to justify this unfair mess that is life.

And then my eyes were closed and for the rarest of times, I genuinely felt the need to pray. And then all is well.

Master of my own effin puppet

I shall regain control. Wait for it.

January Tracks

1:44 am at gising na gising pa ko. Nakakawala ng antok ang pinakinig na sounds ni Tim. :o Astig. Eto at eto. Salamat, kaibigan. =)

Dahil nasimulan ko narin naman sa music ang post na to, ma-ishare na nga rin ang laman ng "planner" ko. Meron kasi akong mini planner at isang tunay na planner. Yung tunay na planner ay hindi mini. At ginagamit ko sya para sa mga boring na bagay kaya tunay na planner sya.

Etong mini planner ko ay isina-alang-alang ko sa musika. Parang talaan ng theme song ko per day. Di naman pala theme song. Ay, minsan oo. Pero minsan kung ano lang ang madalas kong pakinggan for that day. Kung ano ang naka-repeat kumbaga. O kung ano ang pinaka naisa-puso kong kanta sa araw na yun.

May mga araw rin na wala akong nasulat. Maaaring nalimutan ko icharge ang iPod ko, or pwede ring masyadong naka-shuffle ang songs kaya walang tumatak. O dahil Harry Potter audiobook ang pinakinggan ko nun.

Teka, ang haba ng intro. May mahiwagang kabute ata tong Coco Pops cereals ko.

Dahil tapos na ang January, eto na sila:

-January-

1. Hiwaga - Up Dharma Down
2. Talullah - Jamiroquai
3. Science - System of a Down
4. Toxicity - System of a Down
5. Stellar - Incubus
6. Lovefool - The Cardigans
7. Super Proxy - Eraserheads

10. Take a Picture - Filter
11. Cupid de Locke - Smashing Pumpkins
12. Where Boys Fear to Tread - Smashing Pumpkins
13. Edge of Desire - John Mayer
14. My Bus - Jang Geun Suk
15. Ang Huling Yakap ng Mundo - Imago
16. Wag Ka Nang Umiyak - Sugarfree
17. All the Way Down - Glen Hansard

19. Alright - Jamiroquai
20. Flicker - Up Dharma Down

22. Take a Picture - Filter

24. Wakewalking - Sleepwalk Circus
25. Camera Talk - Local Natives
26. June - Up Dharma Down
27. Echo - Incubus
28. Pictures of People Taking Pictures - Jack Johnson
29. Accelerate - R.E.M.
30. Every First Second - Up Dharma Down
31. Dramachine - Sugarfree

Ang dami ko na natype di pa ko antok. Naknangtilapia.

Yun lang po. Bow.

tut tut

Just when I thought I have everything under control, I hit 'shuffle' on my player and heard the song that was probably written to melt frozen tears.

On Self-Portraits

Photo taken from this blog.

Hindi ko pa nga kaya mabuhay mag-isa.

(YM conversation with my younger bro)

rach licarte: gusto mo ng hot choco?
paul Licarte: anong hot choco
paul Licarte: pagkain gusto ko e
paul Licarte: haha
rach licarte: haha
rach licarte: ok
rach licarte: luto ka
paul Licarte: tingin ka sa ref
paul Licarte: kung ano meron pede lutuin
rach licarte: marunong ka ba mag init tubig
paul Licarte: malamang
rach licarte: painit
rach licarte: haha
paul Licarte: thermos lang yun e
paul Licarte: asa
paul Licarte: nagaaral ako e
paul Licarte: iinit pa kita

- - -

(conversation with youngest bro)

me: Jerick, gawa mo ko cookies at pancake
jerick: ako nalang lagi nagluluto nun sayo
me: kaya nga ko bumili ng oven para gawa mo ko cookies eh
jerick: sige na nga..

Semi-insomnia

Ayaw ko nang makinig ng music pag gabi.
Ayaw ko nang mag-muni-muni.
Ayaw ko na ng ganito.

Sana magka-amnesia ko parang si Gu Junpyo.
Sana wala akong pake.
Sana wala akong sipon pag gising sa umaga.

Asa.

On Colors and Brushes

It's Sunday, and I finally got around to making a few designs for the pendants I'm planning to sell this Friday. We're having a small bazaar at work come end of week in time for our scheduled bonuses, and my hands naturally itched for the job.

Here are a few that I've come up with:




Hopefully I won't be lazy enough to not post the pendant pictures once I actually put these images on them.

Oh, and Happy Birthday Daddy!

Tara inom.

Project Eskapo

Objective: to have intensive muni-muni time.

Things to bring:
1. iPod
2. Extra clothes
3. Passport
4. Money
5. No one.

Escape to: Maya Bay, though it really isn't as deserted as in The Beach.



And I will go there soon. I have to. Everyone needs a happy place.

Current tune: Good Vibrations - The Beach Boys

1200 calories/day -- Day 1

Breakfast:
-3 pcs Marie Biscuit (approx. 35 calories)

Lunch:
-1/4 cup rice
-Chicken adobo with potatoes (drumstick)
-1 Banana
-Pancit (tikim tikim)

Snack Part 1:
-1 serving Lychee jellies (120 calories)

Snack Part 2:
-biko and kakanin

Snack Part 3:
-variety of chips and choco biscuits c/o Glenn

Dinner:
-Large White Hat frozen yogurt (plain)

*********************************************
Above is an example of how NOT to achieve your goals.

Mid-year Evaluation

Though mid-year was a month and a half ago, it's sad to realize that I haven't ticked that much items in my 2010 checklist. Early in the year, an officemate (Micah) shared to me this list of things to accomplish in 2010. It came from her Belle de Jour Power Planner and I just photocopied the checklist pages because I was and am poooorrr to get myself a copy.

To date, I've highlighted 17 out of 110 items.

Done:
23. Fall in love.
24. Buy one gadget I really covet. [A new laptop - Samsung N150 in pink]
34. Do something new with my hair. [Had it curled after New Year and had subtle red highlights about a month ago]
43. Vote.
46. Get drunk.
47. Let yourself go crazy for a night.
49. Sing your heart out with some friends.
50. Buy yourself new shoes.
55. Live in the moment. [Still is.]
63. Cook a meal for a special someone.
65. Talk to your stuffed animal. [I hope my duck speakers count.]
66. Cry your heart out.
71. Update your resume.
82. Swim in the beach. [Tampisaw in the beach, more like.]
86. Get a sexy new dress. [..which I've yet to wear.]
92. Know your weaknesses.
97. Go home early from work.

And I have 4.5 months left for the others. Here are some that I would like to prioritize:

17. Be more serious about my savings and finances.
37. Work out every other day for one month. [And then I can start wearing item (86) above]
39. Get lost and explore a new place.
44. Isolate yourself from the rest of the world for one day. [Any suggestions where?]

/study time now../

August na...

At wala palang naidulot na mabuti sa aking pisikal na katayuan ang blog na ito..

All In

Indeed, the new backpack did wonders. I went jogging/walking with Enz yesterday @ AAV, then stayed for hours at Cuenca Park and pigged out on junk goodies. Not enough to make me feel guilty. Not even 1/3 of Cheese Steak sandwich from Brothers Burger ruined my "reward" day. ^_^

2 pounds. I've forgotten the joy of dropping two, glorious pounds! (This is after last night's junk food session)

No time to waste, then. I learned a new gym routine (for free) today from a trainer and signed up for personal training for 10 sessions (not free). Let's see what a P6,270-investment will do..

2 days' worth

Healthy food = boring. Apparently not, if you're a creative health-conscious wannabe.

Yesterday's good eats: Enzo's Italian-style pasta, frozen yogurt, and lumpiang ubod. Now dieting is getting interesting..

I was supposed to jog around Merville with Enz last night, but that didn't happen sooo, I bought a pampaganang backback from R.O.X. before he picked me up. Perhaps spending more than a thousand bucks on a fitness gear would rid me of more excuses.

And alas, I went to the gym after work today! What. Up.

Gym session includes:
- 15 minutes on the Step Master
- 30 minutes on the elliptical
- some floor excercise

That's it for now. Will --hopefully-- go to the gym again tomorrow morning.

Making up for yesterday's brownies

Because it's the nasty time of the month and the pain made me slouch for hours after lunch, I was only able to jog 3 rounds (High Street) tonight. I need to go back to the gym ASAP. I'm not sure if jogging alone will work for me, having gained more than 10 lbs during my work-out-less, sitting-down-full, and food-abundant year in Watson Wyatt.

Ang sumpa ng office job. Must disprove that theory.

Today's meals were semi-healthy. I followed idol Kevin's advice on not eating rice:

Breakfast:
- fish (Bangus tail from my baon)
- coffee
- 3 Marie biscuits

Lunch:
- Smoked Bangus (sans tail)
- 4 pcs siomai (loaded with extenders, according to enzo. I did say "semi-healthy")

Snack:
- 1 banana (with an exceptionally large "girth." hehe)

Dinner:
- Crabstick n' Mangos sandwich from The Sandwich Guy. No Mayo, with lots of cucumber and green leaves. Bongga!

Thank God It's Thursday. Ngek.

Breakfast
- about 1/3 cup of rice
- a small serving of pork adobo
- hard-boiled egg

Lunch
- chopseuy, beybeh!
- half cup of rice
- pomelo
- 4 pcs siomai

Merienda
- 1 banana

Dinner
- Fillet-o-Fish

Ahuh, it's sorta okay... But I jogged around High Street for 4 rounds with Grace, James, Jam, Tiff, and Trisha. I brought my iPod this time and Jam was right, music increases stamina. You somewhat forget you're tired and if you find a certain song that is perfect for your jogging/breathing pace, man, you gotta put it on repeat! Young Jeezy's Put On (feat Kanye West), for some reason, kept me putting one foot after another, beat after beat.

So far that's all I have for the week. The last three days have no place in this blog. BLAH.

Trial Muna

Friday: Jamaican Pie and a few bites from Enzo's Subway wrap for dinner. Plus sour cream popcorn while watching Avatar in 3D. Not bad.

Saturday: Ate She's wedding. Jeg's advanced birthday dinner. Indeed, no diet on a saturday. (with a few choco almonds on the side. whew.) Good thing I used my stationary bike for about 15 mins and did a couple of sets of triceps exercise in the morning.

Sunday: Tamang kain, tamang tulog. And thank God for Shawn T! Hip Hop Abs (Disc 3's Hips, Buns, and Thighs) left me sweating as I type. Good job, weysyel.

Statistics: Apparently still in the 120+ range, but I wasn't expected something better after all my "cheating." It was a fairly okay first week, at least. Patikim palang 'to ng healthy lifestyle. (See title)

High Streeting

To make up for yesterday's inexcusable food-tripping, I squeezed an hour (roughly) of jogging with Grace, Jam, and James after work.

We jogged along the outer perimeter of Bonifacio High Street and I managed to go for 3 rounds which BTW, if you're not in the inner lane seeing all the burgis shops, can be particularly exhausting. By "jogging," I meant 1 full round of jogging, 1.5 round brisk walking, and jogged/sprinted the final half.


Top view of track (in red)

Bonus: I had pinakbet for lunch! McSpaghetti for dinner...The Fort does not offer you that many cheap choices at night...

No Chocolates

But lots of other mini fatty snacks:

1. Tiny hotdogs that fool you into thinking you're not eating enough before you realize that all the oil lurking beneath the stupid red meaty foreskin has already traveled down your throat (ay parang ambastos)
2. Bread pan (and I mean lots of it) + cheesy dip = excessive saturated fat
3. Ho-Mi pancit noodles sans Ho-Mi sauce and was mixed with rich, cheesy, Pesto dip instead
4. Fried Over-cooked Roti Prata with curry sauce.

I did promise baby steps. :p