The One With Random Updates On Married Life

I had just finished typing my last email with 33% battery life left on my laptop and thought of posting a quick one on my blog, which, upon checking the last update, might as well be a quarterly journal of heaping nonsense. My kind of nonsense.

If I could encompass these past few months that I have been sort of away, I could only think of a word: Wife. Married for four months now, I would have to say the new role suits me just fine – in a way that a person can never go wrong with a tailored suit or dress. It’s like playing house with a carefully-chosen housemate, only better, because you actually get to share a lot of intimate stuff and find delight in each and every moment. Of course there would be the occasional fights, mostly when I would lose my marbles for no reason (and let me tell you, I am pretty adept at that), but what’s marriage without excitement, right? I cannot be in a state of perpetual bliss 24/7. I need to lose it every now and then to feel alive. Thankfully, my husband loves me enough to understand and embrace my weirdness. But perhaps I shouldn’t push the envelope too far, ya?

So in between work and constant travel, I try to spend as much time learning how to fit into this wifey role – which I must admit, was perplexing at the beginning because I had been so used to just looking after myself and my own needs and now, I have a husband to cherish and look after. Suddenly, it is no longer just me or about me. I am now 50% of a life partnership and the more emotionally, mentally, and spiritually prepared I am, the better the journey will be.

A husband and these…

… horticulture type of things, which I might be getting a little too obsessed with these days. You know how old folks would say you gotta try your hand at caring for a plant or a pet first before you even make an attempt to bring forth a child in this big, bad world? I guess it’s safe to say that I’m presently at that stage. Oh, have you met Perpetua my perpetually sleeping petit chat, yet?

So there you go, big fat checks on both plants and a pet. I am sooo ready to become a Mom, yey! hahaha.

And then there’s also this…

I have been spending some time in the kitchen on weekends (when I’m not downward dog-ging on the yoga mat or cycling and running around SG, that is) and I would sometimes surprise myself – and C – with the delightful dishes I would come up with in quick minutes. I’m no Nigella that’s for sure, but I don’t think I am entirely useless around the kitchen either. Ask C and I bet you he’d say without a hint or sliver of bias that my sinigang, adobo, and four cheese pasta are the best he’s ever tasted! Haha.

All things considered, I would actually recommend marriage. But make sure to pick the right partner or life could be a lot more complicated than you would have cared to prepare for. But don’t tell anyone I said that — I (still) have a reputation to protect. LOL.

Goodnight Loves!

I’m Getting Really Good At Falling Off The Grid It Seems

For the first time since my last post, I remembered to visit my blog and I noticed that I haven’t posted anything by way of an update since November – and now, I don’t even know what to say anymore!  One thing I can assure you, though, is that while I had gotten unabashedly lazy blogging, I had never been more serious about life .

A lot of things happened in the last quarter of 2012 and they’re mostly great, that if one were to cut open my heart now, I will be bleeding gratitude and joy. And yes, love.

First, I moved to Singapore to finally join Mr. A. We’ve talked about my moving for quite sometime, only to find me getting cold feet once or twice. Until finally, last October, I had found the chutzpah to just pack up and go.

Then I ran and completed the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM) 2012, after defaulting in the last two years on account of injury and a trip abroad. I was awfully slow at 40 minutes past my last marathon in Manila, but I didn’t care. The route was amazing, the race was wonderfully organized, and I was happy to hug my then-fiance at the finish line. Marathon number 5, check! Now let’s find me number 6, shall we?

While it’s good to count mileage, counting moments is way better.:)

Two days later, I traveled to Pune in India for work and it was such a lovely experience seeing everyone so involved and invested in the training tour. It was also my second time to visit India and just like the first time, I was held captive by the heat and the cacophony of colors and noise of this very interesting nation.

Pune, India

And then I became Mrs. A, officially, on 12.12.12. No, I don’t think the choice of date for the civil marriage thingy was cheesy at all. And if you ask the 500+ couples who also got married in Singapore on that day, I’m sure they will say the same thing. Haha. Now we have to prepare for the wedding ceremony happening soon in Bali.

Mr. and Mrs. A

Me, a married woman? I know, I know. Sometimes, I have to pinch myself and sneak a glance at my ring finger to double-check. And you know what? It’s a beautiful thing. Being married, that is. And I think Mr. C and I have a great love story. One that I can’t wait to share with our future child – or two.

And then we went to Phuket for our Christmas holiday and it was just perfect. We were in the one place we both worship – the beach. We went on a tour of the famed Phi Phi island (something we didn’t get to do the first time we went to Phuket in 2010), lazed around Karon, Kamala and Surin beaches for days, went trekking with Dodo the Elephant, watched a few sunsets, had Thai massages, and put on a lot of weight eating rich Thai food and wine-ing whenever we can.

Phi Phi Island tour

Trekking with Dodo the Elephant

Sunset at Patong Beach.

God had been quite generous with me last year. Always have been, even when I thought I deserve much less.

Life is truly beautiful. Don’t ever let anyone convince you otherwise.

TOTAL FITNESS: Workout Wardrobe Essentials

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Check the online version here.

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Us girls fancy looking fierce and sexy whenever we have to make that trip to the gym or yoga and dance studio. Hence, our discriminating taste in workout wardrobe, which we invest heavily in. Lululemon, Moving Comfort, Nike, Adidas, or Reebok are some of the brand heavyweights we look for when out shopping for workout tops and capris or shorts.

While all these make us look good, there are other workout essentials we must never compromise on not only because of their value-added comfort, but most especially because they keep us away from embarrassing fashion disasters at the gym. Here are some of the essentials:

• Underwear: In choosing underwear for your workout, it is important to take note of the fabric. Usually, we go for a soft, stretchy microfiber blend of nylon and spandex that helps wick away moisture to keep us cool and dry. As to the type of underwear, thongs or boyleg panties with seamless technology are more popular with the ladies because they don’t get VPLs (visible panty lines) even when wearing the tightest of leggings or capris.
• Running socks: Wearing the wrong pair of socks can cause your feet to feel worn, blistered, sweaty and stinky. When going for a workout, choose a pair that’s padded but not too thick — so your feet don’t feel too tight in your shoes — and wicks away sweat while also offering breathability. For running, you may check out specialized running socks to avoid running-related injuries.
• Sports bra: No matter what your cup size is, intense workout calls for the right sports bra. Ill-fitting sports bra can lead to discomfort, pain, and chafing. And did you know that neglecting to wear a snug sports bra can lead to stretch marks and in the long run, very saggy breasts? So let’s fix that, shall we?
• Hair bands or sturdy clips: When working out, we wouldn’t want our hair to be all over our face, causing major distraction for us – especially when we’re doing the circuit or those complex yoga poses. Therefore, large hair bands or clips to keep your hair in place during a workout are a must.
• Face towels and or wristbands: Very important in wiping sweat dripping from our hairline and keeping them away from our face and neck. Wristbands come in handy when wiping sweat off our brows, especially if we don’t really like the idea of carrying towels on our person at every workout routine or when moving from one equipment to another.

In choosing our workout wardrobe, we must keep in mind the following: Comfort, Protection, Safety, and Quality. Always try on the item to ensure that you are getting the right fit, size, and fabric material for your specific workout requirements. If you sweat a lot, for example, it would be good to invest in dri-fit clothing. All in all, don’t treat these essentials lightly because they could be the only thing standing between you and a fantastic workout!

TRAVEL: SEOUL Asylum (Part I)

15 October 2012 — So, after months of waiting, Emperor Eric and I finally arrived in Seoul, South Korea for our third international (budget) travel together.  From Incheon Airport, we took the airport taxi to take us to our hostel somewhere in the heart of Seoul. When we got to the area, our airport cab driver could not point us to the exact location of our very posh and very expensive hostel (it was on stealth mode, apparently) – so he called for Police assistance. There we were by the side of the main road, looking every inch the turistas that we were, trying to figure out how to dial in on Eric’s phone so we can ask the hostel staff to give us clearer instructions on how to get to Elm Tree Guest House. The Police came and took us in for questioning, errr, I meant, helped us find the hostel which turned out to be on the corner right next to where we were standing.

Help, we’re lost!

We went to a lot of places in Seoul starting with Seoul City Hall and Seoul National Library which were both VERY IMPRESSIVE, architecture-wise! The City Hall ground was where PSY had the concert the night before and when we passed it, they were still dismantling the stage.

Seoul City Hall on my right; National Library on my left

Then we went to Gyeongbokgung Palace which was quite similar to the Forbidden City in Beijing, except that Gyeonbokgung looks ‘refurbished to perfection’ it no longer has that truly ancient feel to it, you know? The paint was all very fresh, but I guess keeping the whole palace well-maintained will guarantee longevity for more tourists to enjoy and appreciate in time.

Gyeongbuk Palace

You can actually borrow these traditional costumes for free! Eric and I wanted to but the waiting time that afternoon was 120 minutes. uh-oh.

One of the palaces of Gyeongbuk

At night, we quickly freshened up and had a quick dinner at this quaint lil’ noodle place just outside our hostel street and I enjoyed my dimsum to bits but Eric wasn’t too pleased with his very cold noodles. From there, we went to Myung Dong for some shopping and I walked away with some nice stuff from Uniqlo and H&M. It was a beautiful night for walking around and appreciating the sights, sounds, and taste of that part of Seoul.

‘Sale’ shopper!

Follow the sign.

On Day Two, we found ourselves in standing in awe of EVERLAND! Not much of a theme park person myself (only because I am absolutely terrified of rides that go over 3ft above the ground – I’m lame like that), I had only ever been to Enchanted Kingdom (Phils.) and Universal Studios in Singapore in all 33 years of my life. So when Eric mentioned that we will be checking out EVERLAND on our second day in South Korea, I must admit I had my own reservations. I know for certain there’s no way I’m going to do any of the rides there but if there’s enough sights and people to take photos of, then surely it can’t be that bad.We took the train to Gangnam (Oppa Gangnam style!) where bus 5002 bound for Everland picks up passengers/tourists.

Allow me to digress a little here: Gangnam, apparently, is their version of Paris’ Champs Elysses where high-end brands are lined up on either side of the avenue. People here are visibly more fashionable and I suppose, affluent, than in some parts of Seoul.

Welcome to Gangnam!

So anyway, there we were, still nursing residual exhaustion from the activities of the previous day, sleeping soundly during the entire one-hour journey to Everland Theme Park at Yongin. Everland is HUGE! It’s a sprawling property featuring rides for both kids and adults, food parks, zoo, lush gardens with flowers which were almost blinding in their vibrance! What more, entrance fee of 40,000 KRW (one day pass) is a lot cheaper than that of Universal Studios or Disneyland.

PORORO in 3D!

Food is also reasonably priced at an average of 10,000 KRW which is about 370 pesos for a full meal.My favorite, aside from taking photos and gushing about how nice and sweet the Koreans are, was the 3D show of PORORO, this cute animated character who’s all the rage among Korean kids as we were wont to learn within a few seconds of the pre-show.

And yes, I love, love, love the gardens with all the October flora in full bloom!

Autumn flowers a-bloomin’!

Who’s up for some Columbus’ Adventure?

Colors of autumn!

Aesop’s Village

To be continued…

TOTAL FITNESS: Trick Your Brain Into Loving Your Workout

TF September 2012

Truth is, not everyone loves (to) workout. Otherwise, we would all be looking very fit and healthy and the word obesity may not even be found in the dictionary.  For most of us, the problem is not the absence of desire to get fit. Secretly, we all want to fit into our sexy pants and tops and still breathe normally; or reach for that last piece of muffin not worrying about our clothes suddenly bursting at the seams. The problem is embracing the paradigm shift that it is within our capacity to reach new level of excellence each time we do our workout. And the key to taking this paradigm shift to heart and making it happen is to trick our mind into loving our workout.

How successful we are in making our exercise a big part of our routine has a lot to do with our mindset. Meaning, we have to change the way we see ourselves. If we keep thinking fat and resign ourselves to our overweight state, the more that it will become a reality.

Having a defeatist mindset is counterproductive and not just in keeping fit. So the first thing that you must do is to see yourself as a healthy person and affirm it! Instead of obsessing about how fat and sluggish you are, picture yourself fit and healthy. Same thing goes for your workout. Let your mind tell your body that workouts are a fun challenge that can give you that body you want and not a tedious chore that you can keep putting off.

Here are some more tricks you can employ to finally get you on the road to a passionate love affair with your workout:

1. No more excuses! We all make excuses to try to justify our behavior – eating too much and working out less – but these kinds of excuses are not going to bring us any closer to our ideal weight and form. Break the cycle and work on improving our eating and exercising habits.
2. Decide to be thinner, fitter, and healthier. Sometimes all it takes is a firm resolution to make a change in your life. If you want to lose weight, make the choice to do so and let your actions follow suit.
3. Avoid being emotional when it comes to your weight and diet. For many people, food is a convenient coping mechanism for things that aren’t right in their lives, that’s why we have such a thing as emotional eating. When faced with such situations, the wise thing to do would be to think clearly. Try to separate your emotions and employ a logical approach as far as your diet is concerned.
4. Be positive. There is no benefit to negative thinking when it comes to weight loss. Staying positive will help you feel better about yourself, keep you motivated and reduce stress — all of which will help you lose more weight.
5. Think in your best interest. Direct your thoughts to gradually replacing your unhealthy thoughts and habits with healthy ones. Keep revisiting your health and fitness goals and you’ll be one step ahead of the game.

IMMUVIT Fearless Challenge: I think, therefore, I AM fearless.

I haven’t done that many trail races (as of writing, I have only done five trail adventure races: the 2009 Men’s Health All-Terrain Race at Sta. Elena, the first Merrell Trail Adventure in 2010, Mt. Pinatubo 50k Trail Ultramarathon in 2010, 65k Frontrunner Valley Trail Challenge in which I DNF’d much to my chagrin, and the 3rd Merrell Adventure Run last June) but there is no denying that I love trail running more than I could ever love road races mainly because of the amount of air and noise pollution I get exposed to when running in the Metro. Besides that, I don’t think road races can and will ever be able to give me the peace and, at the same time, the exhilaration I feel out there in the woods. Make that a muddy, slippery trail and I have just gone way above the happiest mark in the happy-o-meter!

I like filth. No, not that kind of filth but the mud-caking-on-my-face-and-body-oh-my-god-I-look-like-a-homeless-person-with-my-lifeless-hair-plastered-all-over-my-face-like-that kind. Never mind if I get bruises and scrapes, too, as bonus. I like my scars. I think they give me some sort of character. I have accumulated tons of them over the years – from falling down mango trees; falling off bikes; getting scratched by cats or getting bitten by dogs (I was bitten twice when I was a kid) and all sorts of accidents I always seem to conveniently get into.

It’s no wonder then that I fell mighty in love with yesterday’s IMMUVIT Fearless Challenge where I got to do all sorts of stunts including but, of course, not limited to getting sticky and squishy mud on my person.

Before this, I was pretty convinced Merrell Trail Adventure held at Timberland last June would be tough to beat in my all-time favorite races category. But now, I am sorry to say that IMMUVIT Fearless Challenge has officially taken over the top spot.

Without Limits certainly pulled all the stops in bringing 500 runners (number of runners was only kept at a maximum of 500, by the way) all the obstacle fun their adventurous hearts can handle. If you ask me, they had me at the first obstacle – the fire wall.

Fight fire with fire…

Obstacle course no. 1: Check!

From there, it was soaring, muddy hills challenging my legs, until I reached the second obstacle – the mud pit, where I had to crawl real low before hitting the trail running, again. By this time, I was already on fire – totally unperturbed by my state of disarray (hair ugly, face muddy, etc)!

Then came the log walls where I had to leap over logs of varying height – some of them as high as my chest, making it almost impossible for my short legs to jump over! For this, I had to step on the proffered hand by the marshall, haul my body off the ground, hug the log like a friggin’ monkey and jump over to the other side. That, too, was a lot of fun!

After covering more ground – or mud – I finally reached the military wall where I caught up with a few more runners from Wave 5, of which I was part of. It was here that my gloves first found its purpose because I had to climb up the nylon rope to get to the platform on top before sliding on my backside down to the other side of the wall. I could not have been more G.I. Jane-ish than this!

Slip sliding away… Also, I don’t think G.I. Jane ever looked this ugly!

In which my flat backside got flattened on impact again, they might as well be called pancakes! LOL.

From there, it was all running again until I reached the next obstacle course which involved  running across tire set – supposed to be good in testing one’s balance and agility – and it scared me a little bit because I’m usually very clumsy and uncoordinated with these things! Thankfully, I didn’t misstep and fall flat on my face or that would have been extremely painful and embarrassing.

Trees and mud — what’s not to love?

And then came my most favorite part of the obstacle series, the mud wall! To get to the mud wall, I had to go down the stream and wade in knee-deep waters. But alas, I slipped on the rocks and I ended up getting submerged chest-deep! Have I mentioned I’m clumsy?! At the foot of the wall, there were already a few men standing in line, waiting for the helmets to be passed to them and for the nylon ropes to be lowered so they can start with their ascent. Finally it was my turn and surprisingly, I kind of just breezed through it!

There was one more log crossing – and again, I looked like a drenched monkey clinging on to the highest of the logs – and one more fire wall before I finally crossed the finish line with the broadest smile ever seen on my face!

Sometimes I fancy myself a superhero.

I wonder how much fun I will have in the next leg of the IMMUVIT Fearless Challenge series? Can’t wait!

Thank you Benj Termulo for my compression sleeves! Finally got to wear them!

Here are more photos post-race. Enjoy!

Fearless Team REEBOK

With WITHOUT LIMITS PHILS. Race Director Ian Alacar

Team REEBOK With Jay Em of Pro Active Sports

Fearless, fierce, and all-female.

Race Event: IMMUVIT Fearless Challenge

Team Without Limits is certainly keen on showing us how limitless its ideas can be when it comes to running-related adventures. On 26 August, the much-awaited IMMUVIT Fearless Challenge will kick-off with NO SURRENDER, an obstacle run at the La Mesa Nature Reserve. This will be followed by Leg 2 dubbed  NO EXCUSES on 15 September, and finally, Leg 3 aptly dubbed NO TURNING BACK, which will feature extreme obstacle run.

Registration is ongoing and if I’m lucky to get registered for Leg 1, I just might see you there.

Good vibes, Loves, only good vibes.

Check out the crimson and black singlet and finisher’s medal, too! I heard, though, that they are limiting the slots to only 500 for Leg 1 so chances are, it may already be closed by now. Boo-hoo. Well, then, make sure you don’t miss Legs 2 and 3. Happy trail running dolls!