orgasmic icons 11:17 PM

No, this isn't a porn blog entry.

I love the icons on my Mac so much that I consider them, erm, orgasmic. A few weeks back, I spent an entire day just surfing for cute desktop icons. Most of the freeware icons I got are from Apple's Downloads section. The best things in life are free!

I now have a collection of fruit icons, cupcake icons, doughtnut icons (obviously, i love food), Lego icons, creature icons, and even a Starbucks coffee cup icon which I promptly used for my personal pics folder. But my absolute favorite set are the Lord of the Rings icons which Ryan allowed me to copy from his own PowerBook G4.

My desktop now looks like this:


If you've noticed, my desktop wallpaper displays the exact time (and also the date). It's called a wallpaper clock, which refreshes every minute to keep the date and time precise. Geeky cool.

Happiness is looking at a snazzy desktop every single day.

Power Run at SM MOA, Manila Bay (Feb 15) 9:03 PM

Yesterday, I woke up at 4:21 am, feeling light-headed from lack of sleep. No matter how early I sleep the night before a run, I never get enough rest. I toss and turn in bed, very much awake and consumed by worries that I won't be able to wake up in time, that I'll miss the run, that I'll trip and scratch my knee in the middle of the race and get my first DNF. I am a chronic worrier with a very active imagination.

But if there was one thing I wasn't worried about, it was the amount of time i spent training for Power Run. I had four previous practice runs and I knew I was prepared enough to do a decent PR for this particular race.

So anyway, I dressed up quickly and had a hurried pre-run meal consisting of yoghurt and graham crackers. So far, this pre-run energy formula works for me and doesn't give me that awful heavy feeling when I'm running.

The singlet that the Power Run race organizers came up with was pretty cool. It's black and orange, with a little pocket at the back that can fit a small beverage bottle. This is quite useful; you can hydrate yourself during a run without having to stop for a drink at the water station. I've run enough races to realize that water stations don't work for me because it ruins the running momentum and my pace, of course. So this singlet gets plus plus points for me. And the free beverage loader that came with the singlet can be used in future races. Very, very thoughtful of the organizers.

Arrived at the race assembly site with my sister at 5:30 am, said hello to some people I knew, and then did my warm-ups.

By 6:22 am (17 minutes behind schedule), the 5K runners started pounding the pavement. I was in Happy Land, maintaining a steady pace that was comfortable enough for me and thoroughly enjoying the wide, even concrete road and the company of other runners. I wasn't elite-runner fast, obviously, but I wasn't slow either.

After 30 minutes of nonstop running (the small beverage loader really helped!), I was starting to worry. Big time. I knew I was running well at a decent pace--so how come it was taking long for me to reach the finish line?? My goal was to achieve a sub 7 pace (or accomplish 5K in less than 35 minutes). When I crossed the finish line, I clocked in 40 minutes.

I was truly upset. WTF, right??? No way was I going to accept an 8-minute pace for this 5K because I knew, I just knew that I had run at a faster rate than that. And besides, my legs and feet were telling me that I had just run more than 5K. After undergoing several fun runs since October of last year, I certainly knew what a 5K race felt like. I guess you could call it muscle memory in that sense.

So there I was, morosely looking down at the free post-run Activade drink in my hand as my younger sister (who did 47 minutes or so) tried to console me. And then, I suddenly overheard a bunch of runners nearby complaining about the race distance. One guy, in his fifties I think, looked irritated and said that he had just completed around 16K instead of the 15K that he signed up for. Well, he looked like a seasoned runner and I'm sure the extra 1K was not really the problem; I think he was annoyed with the fact that a PATAFA-sanctioned event seemed to have messed up in measuring the actual distance. And his buddy, who had one of those fancy GPS watches, ran in the 5K category but noted that his watch measured a distance of 6K.

I immediately approached them to confirm the actual race distances. The 5K race was really 6K! I was right! So my pace was indeed better. How could it not be? The running path was completely flat and therefore friendly on the legs and feet. I had just achieved a sub 7 pace! (6:40 is the nearest approximate, if I consider the guy's measurement of 6K on his watch.)

I was elated. Always listen to your muscles, folks. If it felt longer than a 5K, or a 10K, then your muscles must be telling the truth.

Because there were so many runners airing their complaints about the race distance measurement to the organizers (and I was one of them), the host had to publicly announce that they would look into the matter. I think they should also look into improving their route maps next time: the Power Run route was confusing and had no markers (no markers at all!!!) and as such, many 10K and 15K runners got lost. This is such a terrible thing to happen, especially for running enthusiasts who are religious in monitoring their paces.

But terrible routing or not, I was no longer in a bad mood. I felt encouraged by my performance, and totally excited for the upcoming RUNew race this Sunday. McKinley Hill, I'm seeing you once more!

a different kind of Valentine's 9:14 PM

Got back from my 4-day trip to Camarines Norte just last Thursday. It was a good site visit, and I'm psyched to share my photos and notes on this experience. Currently, I'm editing the pics on Photoshop (just for color enhancement purposes) and I'll post everything soon. =)

For now, I would just like to say that it's good to be back in Manila. I miss the city, my books, my workouts...and my coffee! Now I know how a drug addict feels like when one is in withdrawal mode. I was hoping there would be good native brewed coffee in Cam Norte; sadly, the only decent coffee available was in the sole Jollibee branch of Daet, Camarines Norte. But then, that's all part of the site visit experience, and I will tell the whole Cam Norte story soon!


Thursday, Feb 12

Arrived in Makati last Thursday at 6:30 pm. It took me some time to lug all the food and other pasalubong up to my place and unpack my bags. Then I met up with A because he wanted to buy something from Nike before running that same night.

Believe it or not, even if that 9-hour road trip back to Manila was exhausting, I was dying to run. All that seafood and that coconut milk found in Bicol cuisine could not possibly cause zero impact on my weight. And I was right: I gained 2 pounds from that trip. Moreover, I would have wanted to run while I was in Daet, but there was no good place for running there. So aside from coffee withdrawal, this Ms. Kick Galvanic was seriously suffering from running/workout withdrawal syndrome as well.

A needed new running socks so we checked out Nike. It took a lot of willpower to refrain myself from buying this pretty purple training jacket; I decided to purchase instead, as a sort of Valentine's gift, two pairs of Nike Dri-Fit Lightweight running socks for A.

Socks. It was all very romantic.

Then we ran in Legaspi Park at around 11:30 pm. A warned me not to overexert myself (as I was wont to do) because I was tired from the trip.

As fate would have it for obstinate people like me, Fatigue eventually reared its ugly head. I ran at a moderate pace for only 24 minutes straight, and I had to stop right after because I was just so damn tired. When I slowed down to walk, I cursed out of frustration. I'm supposed to be conditioning myself to run at 5K for tomorrow's Power Run by the Manila Bay, and my semi-run that Thursday night felt like a DNF on race day.

Sometimes I wish had formal training on running just so I'd be able to mentally handle exhaustion better. So far, all I do are just practice runs at the park without even having an exact idea of my pace per kilometer. Thank God I at least have A for a running buddy (among other things, hehe).

Kidding aside though, I need to invest on one of those watches that can track my pace, distance and calories burned. And if I religiously follow a 16-week training program recommended in Runner's World, I can at least informally train on an individual capacity.


Friday, Feb 13

Friday the 13th. Luckily, it was a good, good day for me. Left the office at 5:45 pm to run some "running" errands before having dinner with A. I first went to NBC Tent at the Fort to register for Sunday's Power Run and then walked towards Nike Bonifacio High Street to register for a 5K slot in the Feb 22 RUNew race in McKinley Hill. (I haven't "tasted" McKinley Hill since UNICEF Walk on the Child's Side 2008, and I'm torn between anticipation and dread just thinking about the uphill portions. Haha.)

When I emerged from Nike, happily clutching all my race kits, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Coach Rio's Nike Running Training Clinic session that night was taking place right in front of the Nike High Street branch. Said a quick hello to Rio, who insisted I sign up for at least updates on the training clinic. And then I immediately checked to see if my friend Lara was there. Yup, she was right in front, doing warm-ups with the rest of the session participants. Mouthed a hello and goodbye to her before I left High Street. Wow, I really wish I could join the clinic. High Street would have been an ideal venue, but most of the sessions take place in ULTRA Pasig, which isn't convenient for me on week nights.

Next on the agenda was socks. Again.

If A had new socks, damn, I wanted new socks too (this is the brat in me talking). I've been wanting a pair of women's Nike Elite Running socks with footstrike cushioning for the longest time and now that I've recently acquired a Nike Women VIP card, I'm entitled to a 10% discount on all regular-priced Nike products--and a 20% discount on my birthday month! Hooray! I canNOT wait for June. =)

I really enjoy shopping for sportswear and gear, so buying running socks for myself is actually a real treat. So I went to my favorite Nike Women branch in Greenbelt 4 to get the socks (and resisted once more the urge to buy the pretty purple training jacket) and then window shopped at Bratpack and Columbia in Greenbelt 5 to see if they had any interesting sportswear.

By the time A and I had dinner, it was already 9:30 pm. We had a nice and filling dinner in Cibo. Despite our efforts to trim down, we couldn't resist having a 3-course meal: minestrone soup, tuna salad and a light seafood pasta each. The food in itself was healthy but we felt ridiculously stuffed by 10:30 pm and wanted the heavy feeling to go away. FAST. Well, there was only one recourse for us.


Saturday, Feb 14

At 12:41 am, we found ourselves running in Legaspi Park. Never mind that we were running at an ungodly hour. We just needed to burn the calories from that dinner. And we wanted to run, period.

A and I ran side by side at an easy pace for 30 minutes. I was so happy, I was bobbing my head to the beat of the music on my iPod. Because it was just a maintenance run, we didn't go over 30 minutes. I felt like I could do more than 30 but because the race was tomorrow, I didn't want to tire myself too much. So we stopped running at 1:11 am, and walked around the park twice to cool down.

In a way, it was the best Valentine's Day I've had in years. We don't normally celebrate Valentine's on the day itself because it's cheesy to do so, and you have to deal with the stress of eating dinner in a crowded restaurant. So I'm glad A and I were still able to avoid the whole V Day cheesiness factor and spend the weekend the way we really wanted to.

Enough writing at this point. Will need to rest as race day is tomorrow. Good luck to all Power Run participants!

from my officemates, with love 4:00 PM

I have very sweet officemates. Work indeed becomes easier if you have great rapport with the people you see everyday.

While I generally like most of the people in the office, I am close to a selected few (naks). They are my friends, my ka-chika, and--because I think every person in UNICEF is incredibly talented and dedicated in his/her own way in our work for children--they are a source of inspiration to me.

Naturally, it also feels good to be at the receiving end of praise. I shared my blog with these close colleagues of mine, and some of them wrote back (via the office email, haha) to say that they like this little blog. *blush blush*

Writing is not an easy process, and it can be pretty frustrating at times. And even if I think that some of my writing is just mindless drivel, it feels nice to know that others appreciate the random stuff I put in here.

From Marge: gins, why am i checking mail on a sunday at 3am? i dont know either. i love your blog. here's mine. margeee.blogspot.com. love you!

From Tin: Thanks for sharing this, Gins! Really good writing! It makes me want to return to writing myself.

From Cecil: interesting blog gins. my running playlist in my nano is simply called "run". hehehe. i am such a dork. (Cecilia Masagca, I'm grateful to you because you got me into running. And you are definitely no dork when you run. Hope you run a 15K race very soon!)

From Reggie: oist. i read your blog. i loved it haha. you are an amazing, creative writer. true talent comes in raw form--not from some overzealous editor! galing. keep writing, keep rocking!!!

Thank you for the encouraging words, you guys! =) And please feel free to post comments and, er, violent reactions any time.

Ran tonight with A in Legaspi Park. I was excited to run because I wanted to burn the calories gained from eating that yummy hot fudge sundae at my goddaughter Ashley's 1st birthday party this afternoon. Haha. Good thing I could only finish half of that evil, evil sundae.

I was able to run 31 minutes non-stop, and although I have no idea about my exact pace, I've estimated (conservatively) that I covered more than 4K.

This time, I didn't forget to bring my Belkin Sport Armband Plus. I use it sometimes when I do practice runs. It's actually pretty helpful, if you don't want your iPod touch bouncing inside your pocket. However, it looks better on men, to be honest, because it's just the right fit for them. When I put the sport armband on, it looks like some large, alien contraption that covers almost half of my arm.

Although it may look large, it's convenient and pretty weightless (Belkin comes up with the most amazing quality accessories) and helps me feel light on my feet. I just don't use it on race days since it's so attention-getting, and I don't want to look like some newbie runner with a lot of gadgets on her.

Anyway, on to other things. I just finished packing for my 4-day UNICEF site visit to Camarines Norte. I'm pretty psyched about this field mission, and I hope I get to pick up a lot of valuable insights and stories on our early childhood care and development (ECCD) programs. I intend to bring the office camera as well to do some photo documentation, although I wouldn't consider myself as a good photographer. I just literally point and shoot, period.

But aside from the mission proper, I hope to squeeze in a little running in the evenings while we're based in Daet. I have no idea if the small hotel we're staying in has a gym (and I wouldn't even expect them to have one at all), but I hope I'll be able to find a place there that's conducive to running.

back to running 10:19 PM

In a manner so typical of A, he showed up at my place this evening and asked me, last minute, to prepare my things and run with him. Because I boxed already this morning and I had just recovered from a bout of sickness, I didn't want to run at first. After all, I promised not to push myself too hard.

Well, that resolve lasted for a total of two minutes.

My last run was weeks ago, and I was raring to run again. So I hurriedly got dressed and prepared my things--and in my haste, I even forgot my watch and the thin rubber Belkin skin that I use for my iPod touch when running.

Twenty minutes later, we were in Legaspi Park, and I was semi-bouncing in delight because the air was so cool, there were just a few people running / jogging / walking, and it just seemed like a great evening for running!

To take it easy, I only had a 25-minute run/jog. It was relaxing, just whooshing past benches and people at a regular, easy pace. No hard running here. After a 3-week hiatus from this sport, I felt it best to simply condition my body again to running in a gradual manner. Tomorrow, I will run for 25-30 minutes and see how it goes.

Into each life, a little coffee must fall 2:02 PM

After boxing this morning, I treated myself to a nice cup of Starbucks coffee.

I cannot survive without coffee. Anyone who knows me can pretty much say that coffee is in my bloodstream. I have it everyday after lunch. My body literally slumps when I go without caffeine--but this happens only on exceptional occasions (like when I'm traveling for hours or when my hyperacidity is really acting up).

Most of the time, Starbucks is the coffee of my choice, but on days when I'm making tipid, I am content to buy a large cup of cappuccino from the nearest 7-Eleven (which costs an amazing 55 bucks only and came highly recommended by officemates).

Every day during the Christmas season, I get my favorite: grande hot Toffee Nut Latte, nonfat, still with whip. While the presence of whipped cream may negate the effects of choosing the healthier option that is nonfat milk, I can at least enjoy my coffee with less guilt. Besides, I've tried a nonfat, no whip version of Toffee Nut Latte, and it wasn't that great.

But because Toffee Nut Latte is a seasonal drink, this is what I usually have for the rest of the year:


Isn't this chart thing-y cool? (Of course it won't be so cool for some people to discover the actual calorie content of their grande mocha frappuccino with whole milk and whipped cream.)

I go to Starbucks' website to check out the nutrional info of the beverages whenever I'm in the mood to try something new. Depending on the supplies used to create the beverages, the calorie count may differ slightly from country to country--but at least you have a general idea how many calories you're packing in for every drink of Starbucks coffee you take. This nifty little calculation tool helps eliminate the guesswork while you're customizing your beverage.

And it also helps that Starbucks baristas are willing to supply you with the nutrional information of the in-store food they serve. I guess some people might think I'm being anal for calorie counting, but, well, that's my thing.

Just to put a little variety in my coffee drinking, I trade the usual Caffe Mocha for either of these two:


Interestingly enough, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf's vanilla latte concoction is really yummy and--I have to say--much better than Starbucks' version. (Aside: So when you're in Coffee Bean, try the vanilla latte with the chocolate muffin. Oh. My. God. Heaven.)

I can't imagine life before espresso coffee. Of course, in my younger years, before Starbucks and other cafe stores took the country by storm, people drank 3-in-1 if there wasn't brewed coffee available. Never liked 3-in-1 even back then--I think my taste buds were developed at an early stage to savor only real coffee. Hahaha.

Just so you know, I have a gag reflex when it comes to 3-in-1. So if anyone wants to torture me, just tie me up and force 3-in-1 coffee down my throat. It'll work! I'll confess to anything!

Run Gina Run 11:03 PM

For lack of a better, more creative name for my running playlist in iTunes, I simply call it "Run Gina Run." My friend Randy's is so cute--RUNdy. Haha.

I am completely dependent on my iPod touch to keep me entertained during a race or practice run. It's the only thing that can distract me from the upper body ache and the weird scar pain in my pelvic area. And when my legs feel heavy in a race, it's a really upbeat track on my iPod that motivates me to move on.

I love listening to music whenever I'm running or on the go because I don't get to do that at all in boxing. Can't have my music player with me in the ring or on the training floor because I won't be able to hear Kuya Mong's rapid-fire punch combo instructions.

There are elite runners (especially the purists) who probably don't need a running playlist--but as I am no professional runner, I prefer having my iPod with me. Sharing with you now a list of my top favorite running songs. I customize the list depending on the race distance or duration of my practice run. Like other runners with iPods, I divide my playlist into various race "phases":

1) warm-ups songs (while stretching and for setting the mood before gun start)
2) the picking-up-the-pace set (catchy, cheerful songs mixed with rock / electronic music to keep me alert as much as possible for the first 15 minutes)
3) the tough stretch set (the most crucial part of my amateur run; these are the songs that motivate me to continue and NOT walk during this difficult period). In other words, "mental power" music, baby. Haha.
4) wind-down, you're-almost-at-the-finish-line-Gina! set (calming songs that give me that happy feeling of surviving another run)


Songs 1 to 4 are for warming up. Daft Punk's "Da Funk" totally wakes me up before the 6 am gun start. And yes, I like the song "Fame", so shut up.

Songs 5 to 10 comprise the first set of the run proper. There's a great comfort in hearing something so familiar as A-ha's "Take on Me" as I join the throng of runners in the first few minutes of the run . I grew up listening to my elder siblings' collection of New Wave / synth-pop tunes, and it's music like A-ha--cheesy 80s pop music and all--that triggers child-like happy thoughts as I pound the pavement. Weird, but A-ha works.

"All the Small Things" and "Here It Goes Again" are such sell-out tracks, but the beats of these songs keep me alive so I'm not taking them out of my playlist. Rooney's "I'm Shakin'" gets points for being the happy-pappy song that gives me a little bounce while I run. How corny but true.

When I'm starting to feel extra tired already, I immediately switch to the remix version of the (in)famous Rocky theme song "Gonna Fly Now." Go ahead and laugh. It's probably the corniest track on my list, but I swear, it works for me. And because I box, I have a certain affinity with that song. I swear, when I visit Philadelphia one day, I'll run up those museum steps and do a victory pose just to recreate that scene in Rocky. Of course, my younger sisters would die of embarrassment if I did that.

New Order's "Temptation" is a track that I can listen to day in, day out. Beautiful, upbeat tune. I'm totally addicted to it.

Of course, what's a playlist without U2 in it? (Well, at least in my own little world, I can't imagine a U2-less playlist. They have a song for everything.) "Where the Streets Have No Name" is, without question, my favorite running song. If each person had to identify his/her own Nike power song, this would be mine. During my 10K run at the UNICEF Walk on the Child's Side 2008, this song was playing as I underwent the 5K-7K mark in Heritage Park. The place looked so beautiful and serene, and I was smiling stupidly to myself while singing (hopefully without other people noticing).

My other U2 song in the list is "Yahweh." This is such an uplifting song, and incidentally, it's my friend and officemate Cecil's power song. We watched U23D together with Randy in IMAX back in 2008, and "Yahweh" served as a fitting end to the concert. When I run, I sometimes find myself singing "Yahweh" out loud as well, because the lyrics are so nice:

Take these shoes
Click clacking down some dead end street
Take these shoes
And make them fit
Take this shirt
Polyester white trash made in nowhere
Take this shirt
And make it clean, clean
Take this soul
Stranded in some skin and bones
Take this soul
And make it sing

It's usually "Yahweh", "Digital Love", Starlight" and "Under Pressure" that are my wind-down songs. Songs 21-25 are back-up tracks if I need to cover a longer distance.

As you can see, I'm so fussy when it comes to my running playlist. No wonder my pace isn't improving as fast as it should. I'm too busy singing along to the music while I race. Haha. Oh well.

To end this blog entry on a baduy yet euphoric note, here's the training scene in Rocky. (Of course, I can't do push-ups like Stallone, and I don't have the luxury of punching frozen slabs of meat hung from the ceiling.)

Have a nice run, people!

The benefits of getting sick?

I get to lose weight. I am now at 93 pounds.

Which means I can binge more than the usual and have Yellow Cab pizza (with its oily, garlicky, buttery sauce) and chocolate this week. Because it's relatively easy for me to lose and gain a few pounds, I can afford to binge. I'm burning those extra calories anyway in my next workout. Don't think I'll ever have killer abs in the near future, but at least I get to have my precious snacks.

The downside to getting sick? (Aside from, well, getting sick.)

I am forced to stay home, chewing my nails in agitation, because of the haunting certainty that there's a ton of work to be done. I've been like this since Wednesday. Even checked my office mail while in bed with fever. Heck, I even wrote on this blog.

When I had to go on a forced one-month leave in 2007 for my ovarian cyst operation, I couldn't stop calling the office a week after the surgery, checking on the progress of my direct mail campaign.

So what if I'm a workaholic?

Just found out this morning that my site visit to Camarines Norte is pushing through this Monday to Thursday. Being the obsessive-compulsive, guilt-ridden person that I am, I couldn't simply stay at home (in spite of my weakened state) and let my officemate Tintin do all the travel arrangements in my behalf. So when I felt somewhat better, I ran out of the house at 5 pm and was in UNICEF in fifteen minutes. Worked--happily, I must say--until 10:30 pm.

I am a complete failure in the work-life balance department.

Death of the Letter 'F' 7:25 PM

On one particular Thursday night, I was in Starbucks The Columns editing an essay that my officemate JinSoon had written. I was holding up my cup of Toffee Nut Latte, cracking a joke at the expense of JinSoon, when it happened.

Because I was laughing so hard at my own brand of wit (served me right for making fun of JinSoon), my hand shook, and I didn't put down my coffee properly on the table. The cup sort of toppled over but I managed to catch it before its contents totally spilled out onto my Mac.

But still, it was too late; there was already a small, small glob of latte (thankfully not all 16 fl. oz. of the drink) that was rapidly seeping into the innards of the keyboard. I could only stare down at my laptop in shock and horror, while my friend, who had his wits about him, immediately reached out for a napkin and started inserting it below the keys to absorb the liquid. I think the wild look on my face alarmed him, and he hastened to reassure me that keyboard spills happen to people many times, that they don't damage the hard drive, and that I could have the keyboard cleaned by my Mac service provider.

When I finally un-froze myself from that petrified state, I did a general testing of my keyboard. On the surface, everything seemed to be fine, and I could type. Idiot that I was, I should have checked each key. Because I only noticed the next evening that the letter 'F' wasn't working anymore.

I was editing another of JinSoon's essays (which are part of his application to Harvard Kennedy School of Government) that Friday, and I was furious to discover that the 'F' key was totally dead. It shouldn't have surprised me; that letter was the epicenter of the coffee spill.

I was in an ugly mood, of course, and I kept saying fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck it. And JinSoon chose to crack a joke at MY expense at that moment by saying, "You mean 'uck', right? Instead of 'fuck.' Your letter 'F' is dead."

If I hadn't been rendered speechless by his untimely smart-alecky comment, I would have thrown a left hook to his ear. But my officemate was the type to go to mass every day, and God was probably on his side that night, so I left JinSoon unharmed.

The next morning, I went to Senco Link to have my Mac assessed and told the whole sad story to Carlos, the senior engineer who handles my unit. He immediately pried out the 'F' key, ran a couple of tests, gave me an apologetic look, and proclaimed the key officially dead. Then he proceeded to tell me that the entire keyboard had to be replaced (because there were no spare individual key parts for Mac), and that Senco Link could order the keyboard from the U.S. upon my go signal.

Me: Okay, I'll have it replaced. So, um, how much would the entire thing cost?

Carlos: Cost of the replacement keyboard is Php 3,500. Plus-- (and he throws me an embarrassed look, like it's his fault pa that the stupid key died)--Php 2,000 charge for the labor.

Gawd.

What could I do then, but swallow and place the order? Besides, I trusted Senco; there were times when I had the Mac assessed and upgraded with new software, and Carlos didn't even charge anything for that. So while waiting for the new keyboard to arrive, I had to contend with the annoying situation of having an 'F'-less keyboard.

As I write now this blog entry, I'm still forced to copy the said letter from old documents and paste it every time I need an 'f.' A hassle indeed. But it could have been worse. Can you imagine if the letter 'E' was the one not working instead?

By next week, I'm taking the Mac to Senco to have the keyboard replaced. After which, I can happily type all the 'f' words I can think of.

not so "Alive!" 2:43 PM

I knew it. I knew I'd get sick.

Stuck at home right now with a slight fever and aching bones. I get anxious, just thinking of the workload I've left behind in the office. (As a disclaimer, I'm not the only workaholic in UNICEF. A lot more of my colleagues are worse, with more than 60 unused leaves to their name. I'm in the 40+ range in terms of unused leaves, and I haven't even managed to come up with a leave plan for the year. It's so stressful.)

Because I'm such a delinquent when it comes to taking vitamins and supplements, I don't have a very good immune system. If someone I'm with has a cough or cold, I'm 95% likely to get it as well. I'm prone to fever and I feel fatigued a lot (but the latter I can attribute to lack of sleep). It's actually a miracle that I haven't collapsed during a boxing session or a run.

So when my officemate Winston was urging me (oh well, alright, "selling to me" would be the more exact term) to take Alive! Mega-Nutrionals Whole Food Energizer, I was intrigued. I need meds that would boost my immune system and keep me energized. As much as I love, love, love coffee, I also have to have a healthier alternative to staying, erm, alive and sprightly enough for my sports activities.

These energy supplements, which are produced by Nature's Way in the U.S. and distributed locally by AIM Global, contain this mega-impressive list of vitamins and minerals and what-not blends: green food/spirulina, digestive enzyme, myco defense mushroom, garden veggies, etc. Golly gee, each capsule must be a meal in itself!

Winston, who has the natural charisma and tactics of a true salesman, was able to secure a sale from me. So I got meself a box of 30 capsules, which wasn't exactly cheap by the way (Php 1,125 per box, or Php 37.50 per capsule a day). It better work. Oh, the price of staying Alive! (okay, bad joke)

To his credit, Winston vigorously attests to the health benefits of taking these supplements, as he was cured from five of his ailments. Moreover, the doctors in our office have given their seal of approval on this product (Doc Marths even bought 3 boxes), so there's no harm in trying. Besides, Alive! might actually give me that extra boost when running. And they're not steroids, ha!!

I'll start taking the meds this month, and will observe for any signs of progress.

I couldn't help but laugh though at the site's blurb on Alive!:

Alive Mega-nutritionals is the God of all supplements - The World’s First Whole food energizer and dietary supplement - The Most Nutritionally Dense Food Concentrate in the world market today. - The Most number of Anti-oxidants with approximately 16,000 Phytonutrients in one product - The Most potent Anti-aging Product in the history of supplementation. - The First Mega-Nutritionals whose ingredients work in “synergy” to produce maximum result for your body.

boxing vs. running 11:56 PM

I checked my weight this morning and was deliriously happy to see that I've gone down from 96 pounds to 94. Yes! (two punches in the air)

Before the inevitable food binge last Christmas, I was at 93/94. Then Christmas came, and I totally forgot there was such a thing as exercise. I started snacking on a lot of chocolate every day during the break. Well, the chocolate didn't mercifully disappear, and instead, decidedly announced its presence through a weight gain of 2 pounds.

I should be grateful. Other people put in more pounds than that during the holiday season. But after two 5K races and Pilates now and then, those crummy 2 pounds simply didn't want to go away, damnit.

But after a dry spell in running for the past few weeks, I decided to put my energy into boxing once more--and lost the 2 pounds.


Boxing

I have this theory. My weight loss isn't as dramatic and effortless as it used to be because for medical, post cyst-removal reasons, I've been advised by my ob gyne to cut down on boxing (and even reduce my 10K running back to 5K). *sob* It must be the scar tissue. I exercised way too soon after the operation, and the scar didn't heal as quickly as it should have.

Anyway, my theory is that running doesn't give me that much-needed weight loss as compared to boxing. Don't get me wrong. I love running, but boxing lets me sweat buckets and lose pounds faster. It's useless to prettify yourself before stepping out into the ring or training floor because you end up looking like a heavily sweating Coke bottle under the noonday sun afterwards. Or like a human condom, to be more exact. Nobody can sweat and still manage to look passably attractive inside a boxing gym that has only one ceiling fan and open windows for ventilation. A person has better chances of hooking up with someone in uber slick, uber air-conditioned Fitness First.

After several rounds of struggling to deliver the dizzying number of punch combinations I am required to make (with my trainer Kuya Mong in angry-face mode, screaming out the combos and throwing a soft punch to my rib now and then as a warning for me to keep up), I am usually made to position myself on a mat to begin the cool-down exercises.

Which is a ridiculous term, really.

There's nothing so 'cool-down' about 100-150 crunches after a hard boxing session. Boxing is so old school: the trainer works you up into a sweat in the ring, and then tells you to get down on the floor and counts matter-of-factly as you deliver--humbly and minion-like--all those crunches. And that's that. None of those extra fancy Pilates movements which Mong dismisses with a snort.

By the time I'm done with my morning boxing workout, I am ready to hit the sack. While I'm allowed to eat anything I like after boxing (Kuya Mong even recommends, in a very businesslike tone, the inclusion of both rice and beans in my post-workout meal), I usually don't have the energy to eat. I just stagger home, grunt a hello to my mom, shower, and collapse onto my bed. When I wake up several hours later, I am happy to have a light-to-medium sized meal and my afternoon cup of coffee.

This twice-a-week exercise routine can certainly explain the loss of 16 pounds and shrinking of my tummy. Boxing really works, and I'd encourage anyone to try it. At the risk of sounding like an infomercial for slimming products, I can pretty much attest that in a few months' time, you'll get the results you want, and you won't gain back easily the weight you worked so hard to lose. I've been boxing for more than a year now, and I have the freedom to eat whatever I want without worrying about gaining 5 or more pounds. Gaining 2 or 3 pounds, in my case (without being smug or boastful), is as extreme as it can get.


Running

While boxing lets you expel energy in, er, spurts, as you punch, running is just one continuous stretch of torture. Which makes it exciting and terrifying at the same time.

I don't box to compete because the vain part of me doesn't want to get all bloody and beaten up (a bruised rib for two weeks was enough to convince me that I had no career as a boxing athlete). But in running, well, one is forced to compete--whether it's against one's last personal record, or PR (your best time at a given distance) or against the rest of the crowd in an organized race.

Personally, running is a pride thing. I certainly don't want to end up last in a race. And the scary possibility of being the last is enough to push me to continue running--lungs bursting and all--and finish decently. I got hooked into running, thanks to my officemate Cecil, just last October and I've joined a couple of fun runs (5K and 10K) since then. I wouldn't consider myself fast because, well, I currently run at a trailblazing speed of 7:26 per km--harhar. Obviously, I'm a beginner at this sport, and I just need to work on improving my pace. If I could attain a sub 7 pace this February, I'd be really, really pleased.

Like boxing, running is a humbling exercise. There is a great pride in finishing the race, certainly, but it's the feeling of humility that's dominant within me during a run. As I go through that agonizing stretch of road and forcing, ALWAYS forcing myself not to stop running--I can really feel how utterly human I am: the pools of sweat rolling down my back and arms, each expelled breath coming out as a measured gasp, the constant physical upper body ache (never the legs, strangely enough), and worst of all, the uncomfortable slight throbbing of my scar in the pelvic area (how very Harry Potter-like but not as glorious).

With nothing but the road before you and the playlist on your iPod to keep you going, you spend a good 30 minutes to an hour (depending on your race distance) keenly undergoing a masochistic immersion into physical pain. But the bad feeling disappears when you see the finish line in sight, and you hear people cheering, and then you suddenly obtain that extra rush of adrenalin that gets you to the end of the race. And it's all natural euphoria after that.

No wonder some people liken running to a love-hate relationship.

There are bad running days sometimes--days when I honestly can't reach the finish line without stopping to walk in some parts (and I curse myself vehemently for stopping). Everyone has days like those. But there are also blissful race days when I just run and run--mentally willing myself to ignore the side stitches, the dry throat, the perennial throbbing of the scar--and keep on running until I cross the finish line. Some people talk to their injured knees or shins while they run; I talk to my scar and ask it to let me finish the race without stopping to walk.

It's an insane sport in that sense, luring stubborn people like me to run even when the doctors advise against it. The scar pain IS troublesome, I admit, and as a means of meeting my ob gyne halfway and appeasing her wrath, I've demoted myself back to 5K. Which I'm perfectly happy to do, because 10K is simply grueling and I honestly think I'm not good enough for that race distance. Yet.

You would think, after my description of the pain and sweat encountered in running, that one 5K race would at least make you lose, like, 5 pounds immediately. Sadly, this isn't the case (unless you have incredible superhuman metabolism), and just like boxing, there are no shortcuts. One has to run regularly to eventually lose pounds and achieve toned muscles.

But in my case, I've noticed that I don't lose as much weight in running as compared to boxing. Oops.

I'm pretty sure it's because of the delicious meal that awaits me after each and every race. You can't help it; you NEED to eat after all that continuous running. I'm not a breakfast person at all, but after every race, that plate of garlic rice with beef tapa and/or fish that the waiter places in front of me is wiped clean in 7 minutes.

So in order to offset all that carbo loading, I gotta run more regularly. If my work schedule would have allowed me, I'd attend proper (and free!) running lessons at Coach Rio's Nike Running Training Clinic in ULTRA every night. Unfortunately, ULTRA's too far and I always do overtime at the office. Sigh. My newfound friend and fellow race runner Lara (who's a runner since high school) is a participant in that clinic though, and the training is totally boosting her running performance these days. I'm sure she'll place in the top three in a 5K run this 2009.

As I have no ambitions in winning a medal for running, recreational running is just fine with me, thank you. It's a great complementary training activity to my boxing and Pilates, and an excellent sport for increasing endurance and mental willpower.

But being the restless creature that I am, I'm not going to stick to just three sports activities. I want to take up--very soon, I hope--spinning. Spinning! Whee! I haven't even started, and I'm excited already.


PS. After reading through what I've just written, I just thought, mehn, this blog entry's long. Hope I didn't bore anyone who happened to chance upon this blog with my lengthy descriptions of pain. Whoever you may be, kind reader, feel free to stop reading whenever you see the words "sweat" or "throbbing scar" in this little blog.

Legaspi Park 8:34 PM

A picked me up from work earlier this evening (yes, we still see each other regularly), and invited me at the last minute to run tonight.

Drat. I've been wanting to run for the past few days, but work has kept me busy. Now that I'm able to get out of the office early (8 pm is already early by my standards), my body isn't conditioned to run. Woke up this morning with aching bones and a generally unwell feeling. Oh no. Hope i don't come down with the flu or something.

So here I am, sitting inside A's parked car, typing this entry while he does a 25-minute jog/run around Legaspi Park. I haven't run in this place before, and to my surprise, it's full of people at this hour. I suppose it's a convenient park for running and walking after office hours since it's situated in the middle of office buildings.

Legaspi Park is bigger compared to Salcedo Park (where I do practice runs at night during weekdays), with the former having a nice little uphill path for a bit of running challenge. But the path in Legaspi Park is narrow, and one has to overtake and weave his way through the little groups of people leisurely walking so as not to break the running momentum. But I'll definitely give the place a try one of these days.

While I'm currently doing weight maintenance and improving my pace, A is trying to lose weight in a major way. He intends to lose 20 pounds, and I'm helping him with his diet (Actually, it's not a diet, as I honestly, honestly don't believe in crash diets. It's simply all about proper eating habits and nutrition. I'm not a nutrition expert, and all I'm saying is that if people researched more about good dieting, they'd be able to slim down AND learn how to eat properly without feeling deprived. But I should stop ranting now.)

My next planned run is on February 15 at SM Mall of Asia, by the bay (if I manage to register on time). The route consists of a fairly even path--unlike Fort Bonifacio's gently sloping terrain--so it should be a relaxing run. Here's hoping my PR gets better!

A city made entirely out of books! Gasp! 12:58 AM

Well, of course there isn't really one in real life.

But it's certainly a place I would like to live in.


This Is Where We Live from 4th Estate on Vimeo.

While I was snacking on a can of spicy tuna, I saw this video on my friend Danna's blog. Needless to say, I was agog with amazement and utter book lust; my mouth hung open as I watched the video, and if I hadn't had enough presence of mind, chunks of tuna would have fallen from my mouth and onto my Mac's keyboard.

According to the producers of this film, the whole thing was made up of 4th Estate books (both in original hardback formats, and their later paperbacks), and bits of those books. It was shot in full Hi Definition, using stop-motion animation, all done in camera. Over 1,000 books were, sadly, harmed in the production of this film.

I grieve over the death of those 1,000 books--but it must have been a glorious death!

Anyway, I've been watching this video again and again, and my eyeballs hurt from swivelling this way and that, trying to take it all in. So many beautiful books to look at! And I actually cheered when I saw Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.

Lovely, lovely video. Can't get enough of it.

So what's your resolution? 9:04 PM

Sent this in an email to my officemates last January 13. Hopefully, I'll stick to completing this list by the end of the year. I swear, there's something so satisfying about having a list of goals to accomplish.

What can I say? I'm a list freak.

Dear Friends,

Before leaving the office tonight, I decided to take out my little Moleskine notebook and finally put into writing that much-abused, much-dreaded, and ignored-as-much-as-possible list.

THE. LIST.

In other words, my list of New Year's Resolutions. It's a bit corny and trite, but I think writing down my resolutions for 2009 helps put things in perspective and gets me excited (at least for now). And I realize, if one is going to accomplish a list of New Year's resolutions, these things have to have the following characteristics:
1. must be very exact (read: not as vague as "lose weight")
2. must be realistic (para naman may wonderful sense of accomplishment)
3. must be fun to accomplish!

As you can see, I've had too much coffee, and I'm very much awake, but the caffeine is keeping me all shiny and happy and positive. O diba, para na rin ako nagsulat ng blog entry (which I haven't done in years, and my blog is sadly abandoned and floating somewhere in cyberspace)

I'm sharing my list---and hopefully, one of these days, you can share me yours as well (so that we can check on each other during the year??? harhar)


GINA'S LIST OF 2009 RESOLUTIONS

1. Clean office desk and work area. (This is something I'm really excited about. If I can get my hands on the office paper shredder, this task gets even better.)
2. Maintain weight of at least 95 pounds and below. (O diba, something exact and realistic and fun to accomplish!)
3. Complete my audio French 1 lessons ("Poo-voh-noo noo-sahsz-swa doo-wah?"). So that I can finally move on to Intermediate French after all these years of learning to speak basic French during sporadic fits of diligence. Good God, nakakahiya.
4. Shorten my reading backlog!!!!
5. Buy any or all of the following this year:
- simpler mobile phone unit
- portable external hard drive for my Mac
- point-and-shoot (Maybe a Canon Ixus? At some point in my life, I have to start toting my own little camera instead of asking for copies of those Kodak moments from other people. Basta ganun.)
- keyboard protector for my Mac (to avoid crying over spilt coffee--er, milk--in the future)
6. Regular check-ups with the ob gyne and dentist. For a healthier new me. Anlupeht.
7. Do not sweat the small stuff. I will not kill myself over the things that are not worth worrying about. The Lord will always provide.
8. Get the latest edition of 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. And then, from that list of 1001 books, do the following:
- count how many I've read
- identify and enumerate the books I haven't read and REALLY NEED to read before I die
9. Be guided by the Donor Communication Plan--even if it's a running plan.


I didn't put "fall in love" or "be nicer to the people I don't like" in this list. Because unlike getting an A in a history test, you can't force these things to happen. Hahaha. =P


Gina
1:33 am
Time remaining for Rakrakan DVD burning process to be completed: 4 hours & 21 minutes (I will not sweat the small stuff, I will not sweat the small stuff)

Well, as of today, I've managed to complete Resolution #1. Meet my shiny, newly-cleaned desk:

I am SO proud. A few months' back, that desk looked like a rat hole. And the way the books used to be piled up on the table was such a deplorable sight.

For someone who works at her desk 10-12 hours a weekday, that table has to contain all the creature comforts that will make the job more enjoyable. In my case, it's a tiny corner of books, a 1997 Manuel Baldemor painting, my Mac and Moleskine notebook which are with me everywhere I go, my daily after-lunch grande cup of Starbucks Coffee, and a nice bottle of wine (which is currently the recipient of many greedy looks from my male officemates).

I have big plans for that bottle of wine. There's this scenario in my head: in case of a major earthquake, and I happen to be stuck in the office, that bottle of wine will keep me alive for days--and weeks perhaps--while I wait to be extracted from the rubble.

Provided that the bottle doesn't shatter of course when the earthquake occurs.

Resolution #2: Working on this. I currently weigh 96 pounds and I need to bring it down to 95 or less. Of course, I get the usual withering looks and rolling-of-eyes from friends and officemates who think I'm being anorexic because of such "unnecessary" weight obsession--but if you have reached 110 pounds (and I DID look fat at 110 pounds, I SWEAR), you would NEVER want to return to that kind of weight status again. Just to let you know, my height is 5'0", so 110 pounds isn't exactly proportional to that height.

Resolution #8: I bought a copy of the book, but I haven't gotten around to identifying which books to read.

Resolution #5b: The geek in me is so excited to buy a portable HD for Carlos (that's the name of my Mac; I named him after the guy in Senco Link who does an excellent job in repairing and upgrading my Mac). Senco has really good service, by the way. Highly recommended Mac service provider.

So anyway, back to the thrilling notion of purchasing a portable back-up drive: upon the recommendation of the IT guys in my office, I have decided to get a Western Digital My Passport Studio 320GB Portable Hard Drive.

My God, doesn't it absolutely make you pant in desire?

Alas, the price of a 500GB model of WD My Passport Studio is too steep for me, so I will just settle for the 320GB option (approximately Php 7,600--not altogether bad!). I prefer this to the Seagate Free Agent Go 500GB, which doesn't have a FireWire port. Yup, WD My Passport Studio is the way to go.

back after a 2-year hiatus 7:45 PM

Well, I've been lazy, I admit.

I've pretty much abandoned this blog for 2 years. A lot has happened since then: breaking up with two boyfriends (ugh, 2007 totally sucked), a major operation involving the removal of a dermoid cyst in my right ovary, my dad's death (so many things I should have said and done for him, and I feel grieved, just thinking how I wasn't really that good a daughter), very stressful fundraising goals in UNICEF, cross-training exercises to lose weight and feel healthy once more, casual dating, etc. I'd like to gloss over the details for now and start again with a clean slate.

Basically, i just want to go back to writing. At least, as a sort of cathartic exercise to ensure that I'm maintaining a good command of the English language, which I love to pieces. Haha. I'm not pretentious; I've never considered myself to be a good writer even though other people think otherwise. I gotta love them for thinking that way. But I've always felt that those who can't write, just read--and I honestly believe I fall solidly under that category.

And the most appropriate thing for me to do, as my way of returning from this dreadful no-writing state, is to come up with a list of books to read/finish this 2009.

It's a running list by the way. I'm an impulsive book buyer, and I tend to buy books that aren't on the original list, so this list isn't really carved in stone:

1. My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk. I've been so silly. Started this book 2 years ago and I haven't gotten around to finishing it.
2. Atlas Shrugged: Centennial Edition by Ayn Rand. Read a dog-eared mass market paperback copy of this back in college and didn't really appreciate it. I bought this edition in KL last year, and it's been sitting on my office desk, screaming to be read.
3. Patience and Fortitude by Nicholas Basbanes. Okay, I'm a complete nerd for wanting to read this. But honestly, any bibliophile would have read any of Basbanes' works on the printed word.
4. Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler. Not done with this book yet, and I probably won't finish anytime soon. The book is as mad and as excruciatingly long as Frodo's journey to Mordor, but necessary for me to accomplish as well.
5. The History of The Hobbit: Part One: Mr. Baggins by John D. Rateliff. If you've managed to read J.R.R. Tolkien's numerous drafts of The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings (and his son Christopher's dry commentaries on the said drafts) like I have, you can basically read anything. Harhar.
6. The History of The Hobbit: Part Two: Return to Bag-End by John D. Rateliff.
7. The Masks of God: Occidental Mythology by Joseph Campbell. Joseph Campbell rocks. Joseph Campbell is the bees' knees--next to J.R.R. Tolkien, of course.
8. The Final Solution: A Story of Detection by Michael Chabon. Saw a copy of this in Borders, KL and I totally regret not buying it. Now I can't seem to find a copy here in Manila. Drat.
9. Natural Flights of the Human Mind by Clare Norall
10. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. I bought an amazingly good secondhand copy in RCBC Plaza's Books for Less branch at a really cheap price. A good book find always counts as a small victory.

This list actually constitutes my backlog. Some of these books are on my office desk to remind me that I gotta finish them before I even have the right to buy new ones. Obviously, I plan to read more than 10 books this year, but the ones mentioned above are my priority reads.

A good friend once told me that the mark of a serious reader is that he/she will always have a decidedly huge backlog of books (that pretty much cheered me up and made me feel less guilty about the pile-up of books on my desk). And according to Philip Roth, a reader is not one that just reads a lot, but obsesses over what he/she is going to read.

Yup, that's me alright.

life in agonizing slow-mo 6:47 PM

Shame on you for giving me this much grief. I've been half-dead these past weeks, trying to figure out the reasons for your heartless actions. And the strange thing is, I still have enough energy to love you and absorb the hurt as much as I can. But don't expect me to readily obliterate all thoughts on what you've done and how you've failed me.

a new lease in life 5:14 PM

Last November 2006, I resigned from my post as PR account manager (a job I've been handling for five years) and entered UNICEF as a fundraising assistant in the private sector fundraising unit, specifically handling direct mail campaigns.

Finally, I've achieved one of my life-long dreams. (Okay, maybe it's not a life-long dream, but working for UNICEF Philippines is something that I've always wanted to do when I became old enough to work.)

Needless to say, life becomes more significant when one is working to improve the living conditions of underprivileged Filipino children. Work keeps me very busy and at times stressed, but at the end of the day, I know I'm loads happier raising funds for children than slaving away at some corporation.

And the icing on the cake, really, is being able to work with a wonderful group of people.



For every child
Health, Education, Equality, Protection
ADVANCE HUMANITY

Happy Birthday to the Lord of the Rings 8:50 AM

It's J. R. R. Tolkien's eleventy-fifth birthday!

Let's raise a glass to the Professor, who now dwells past 'white shores and beyond them, a far green country under a swift sunrise.'

new year, new books! 7:34 PM

It's another great year for buying and reading books. Am slowly but surely heading towards my short-term goal of owning 1,000 books (er, by 2010, perhaps?).

So here, in no particular order, is an initial list of books I plan to read this first half of 2007:

1. My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk
2. Understanding The Lord of the Rings: The Best of Tolkien Criticism edited by Neil Isaacs and Rose Zimbardo
3. The Masks of God: Occidental Mythology by Joseph Campbell
4. A Gentle Madness by Nicholas Basbanes
5. Patience and Fortitude by Nicholas Basbanes
6. The Road to Middle-Earth (Revised and Expanded Edition) by Tom Shippey
7. Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien's World by Verlyn Flieger
8. Black Swan Green by David Mitchell
9. Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes
10. On Literature by Umberto Eco

Ideally, I should be reading around 12-24 books during the first six months of the year. But life is so hectic nowadays (I contemplate on my work action items for the day while I'm in the toilet just to maximize my time) that I'd be surprised and pleased as punch if I could finish a 400-page book in five days' time.

Of course, it's possible for me to read more than 10 books from January to June 2007. Will see, will see.

Anyway, just to look back at the year that was in terms of books, here are my top favorite reads in 2006 (once more, in no particular order):

1. Arthur and George by Julian Barnes
2. The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch
3. Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz
4. The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann
5. Birds Without Wings by Louis De Bernieres
6. Misfortune by Wesley Stace
7. The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien (Okay, I've read this book at least once a year for the past decade but who cares? It's still in my annual list of favorite books of the year.)