27 December 2019

Last post of the year!

I hope you have had a lovely Christmas with your loved ones. Mine surely was.

This year was the first time I’m spending Christmas with my partner. And it felt blissfully warm and domestic.

On Christmas day, a lunch hosted by his close friends that stretched into evening (always a good sign). Pigeon and suckling pig and vegetables galore. And lots of wine.

It was one of those afternoons where you just sit back and soak up the atmosphere. Conversation flowing among friends, warmth in the air. Good vibes which rub off on you. And the food was divine, as always.

Boxing Day we spent lazily at home. Watching Star Wars VII and VIII back to back in preparation for IX. And snacking and ordering in. Nothing exciting. A day of rest and recuperation in comfortable company of a loved one.

Add present opening in the morning of 25th December and that was my Christmas! Exchanging presents (which I love) and time with friends and my chosen family.

How did you spend your Christmas? Did you have a good time?

And how was your 2019? I haven’t fully reflected on the year, so some time in January you may hear from me again with my reflections on 2019.

Love,

Val

p.s. I did make it to the gym.

9 December 2019

It’s December! a.k.a. the most wonderful time… of the year!

I love Christmas. Don’t you love Christmas? Okay, maybe not. I know it’s not everyone’s favourite holiday. But I love it.

As soon as those Christmas decorations go up, the jingles start playing, my heart lifts off into another plane of existence. One where everything is fuzzy and warm and cuddly.

I probably experience something akin to putting on rose-tinted glasses. I’m walking on rose petals every day. Everything is just wonderful.

One wonderful thing, out of all the many wonderful things, in my life this month is my new app as of Sunday 24 November: Lose It!

(Caveat: calorie counting can sometimes be taken too far, which is counter-productive and potentially harmful to your health – so get informed and be moderate!)

Anyhow (and here is where I gush about the app), the app has worked wonderfully for me in the past 2 weeks. Yes, I’ve lost a little weight, but it’s not that. It’s my shift in perspective.

Only after a week counting calories did I realise why I never lost weight before despite exercising more: somehow, in my twisted mind, I was associating how “bad” a food is for diet with its size.

So for example, I would be eating small cakes all the time and thinking: ah, this is so light, it won’t add to my weight! Same goes with grilled pork skewers and sticky rice, etc. You get the idea… I know, twisted indeed!

Since the days of calorie counting, I’m now aware of how calorific different foods are. Oh the horror of realising that small does not equal not fat! It’s a big shift in perspective for me, and I think a good one.

So yes, that’s the wonderful thing about Lose It! The app has also encouraged me to walk more to counter the food I’m eating. On top of that I’m more aware of keeping a good balance of protein, carbs, and fat.

So far I think the approach is working. I haven’t had to cut all calorific foods. Only a few days ago I had a heavenly seafood risotto with buttered baguette pieces for dinner, and remained under my calorie budget!

Another wonderful thing that’s happening this month of Christmas: my laptop died. Yup. After over 6 years, it finally kicked the bucket.

The funny thing is: it showed no signs of dying before going. And the funnier thing is: only a few days before it died, I was talking about it with a co-worker. We were comparing how old our laptops were and she mentioned that hers had a battery that won’t charge anymore.

Then, a few days later, guess what happened…

You guessed it, my battery wouldn’t charge! No matter how many times I plug it in. I even took the battery out and put it back in (a method that solves many electrical issues). Nothing worked. So, inevitably, my laptop ran out of juice and died.

When I said it’s a wonderful thing, I’m not being sarcastic. For several months up until the fateful day, I’d been waiting for this to happen. I’d already acclimatised myself to the idea of getting a new laptop once my aged and faithful Dell died.

And now it’s actually happened. And not while I was doing something important. Nothing was damaged in the process. So yes, the wait is finally over. It’s nice when something you mildly dread actually happens and it turns out not to be that big a deal.

So sometime this week I’m going to hit the computer stores at the mall and see whether I can a) replace the battery or b) buy a new laptop. And I work in the mall! So that should be easy like a piece of cake. (That I’m not going to eat).

(In fact, now that I think about it: I haven’t had a single piece of cake since beginning calorie counting. I just can’t bring myself to it…)

Alright. I had planned to run on the treadmill this morning in lieu of my evening cycling class as I’m going out for Jamaican food! But I got lazy and decided to write instead. I know, lame excuse. Ah well, I’ll just… walk a lot today.

In any case, it was good to write. I do enjoy writing. It’s nice as a creative and reflective activity. Do you write too?

And with this question, I shall leave you.

Love,

Val

26 December 2017

I’m writing this post from my condo. I’m not sure how to call it yet – room, condo, home. It feels like a bit of everything. Home is still a bit of a stretch, but we’re getting there.

I’m very happy with myself for choosing this room. Of all the rooms I went to view, this wasn’t the best-looking, the most well-decorated, or the most well-situated, but probably the most “homey” room. I didn’t even think it was the most functional room, but it has turned out to be. This was one of the only rooms where the table isn’t in the kitchen, and now I’m very glad that this is the case. It’s so much nicer to work in the wide space of the living room, with light streaming in through the large bedroom windows, rather than in the cramped and not well-ventilated kitchen.

I was initially a bit skeptical because the table is right next to the shoe cabinet, but smell hasn’t been an issue at all. In fact, the room smells very nice thanks to the scent I bought from Bath & Body Works (where I properly splashed a considerable chunk of my money on my first visit – sure to be the first of many).

In short, life at the condo – at least the beginning of it – has been very nice. There have been spells of loneliness in between work and in the evenings when I come home and no one is there. But I’m sure that will change soon as I get used to the solitude of living on my own. So far I’m loving having the space all to myself.

I mentioned in my last post that a visit to IKEA was in order. And visited IKEA I did. 6,602 baht later, my room is now equipped for living. I didn’t feel like I picked up that many items while browsing, so when the cashier lady announced the sum I had to ask her to repeat it one more time. I’m particularly happy with my cushion (I have a big thing for soft, cushy cushions) which I’m now using as a bum-support (I don’t have a better word to describe it) for my work chair which is super hard.

I had my first visitors yesterday. My closest friend and his girlfriend came by and we celebrated Christmas together over (almost) a bottle of wine. We spent half the afternoon catching up (we hadn’t seen each other for a while), then went for dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant at the community mall. Oh boy was the food good. My beef stew served with a fresh, warm baguette was delicacy to a T (I looked up how to write that).

I’m looking forward to the New Year when I’ll start working full-time. I’m slightly dreading it too because I’m not 100% certain of my ability to master time management. I’m going to be working at DKSH, doing subtitles work for two companies, teaching my private students, and on top of that I’ll have to find time to spend with myself and (ahem) my significant other (this is another new development), and my family and my friends. Now that I see it in writing, I’m dreading it indeed. It’s going to be a crunch but mankind has accomplished much more!

Did I mention my condo has a garden at the back that opens onto the canal? It’s a great space for relaxing, and possibly jump-roping in the mornings/evenings. (Yes, I bought a jump rope in the (hopefully not misguided) belief that I’ll dedicate a significant portion of my day to regular exercise – yet another thing to add to the list…)

Speaking of the list, I’ve got to get back to subtitles. I’m translating a documentary on African wildlife now. Not the most entertaining project I’ve had so far, but the process itself is fun.

I hope you’re all well.

Happy Boxing Day!

Love,

Val