Saturday, February 28, 2009

Lent

It is now the last day of February. My last posting was 14 February, 2009. There is nothing much to write about since. I am stressed out due to domestic problems. Got to find an outlet somewhere.

I am still trying to shed my extra weight. This week, I have not been able to go to the track due to the afternoon rain. Last week was good and I went three times.

Venturing on the track, I ended up in Jurong, the Ayer Raja Expressway near the Business Centre. It took me about 20 minutes of brisk walk. I felt good after that which relieved some of my stress.

Yesterday (27/2), I took Emma to the new playground by the bridge. She enjoyed herself so much and told me it was indeed a fun day. We walked across the bridge and Emma saw the river, the Herons and experienced the echo effect, when we were under the metal roof. Due to the acoustics, it gave off an echo, and Emma was thrilled to hear her voice coming off the echo. So she jumped and screamed.

Across the bridge, she stepped off to play with the 'shy grass', the ones that closes when touched. Running around the tall grass, she was so happy. Pity I did not have my camera with me. Nevertheless, there were two very happy people out there yesterday.

Getting home, Emma was very tired and threw a tantrum over some trivial matter when she had her shower. She finally took her nap, and later in the evening, was her usual self again. Having Emma with me certainly relieved me of some of my stress and depression.

I was supposed to have roasted a duck, and cooked a seafood concoction of my own, for dinner today, but with the rumbling and grumbling from the wife, I gave that up.

Last Saturday, we had a very nice impromptu family dinner. My son was away. Fortunately the wife did not grumble, when I went and bought three dishes back from the Ji Char stall. I had often told the wife that this is a good alternative to cooking at home, but she does not agree with me.

And so we come to a new month and the first quarter of 2009. Time is passing and the financial crisis weighs heavily on us. What comes next, nobody knows.

Till then....

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Got to lose it!

Chinese New Year has come and gone but my weight has stayed. I have put on something like 3 kg. So I now have to lose all that and return to my pre-Christmas and Chinese New Year weight of 64 kg.

When I looked at the mirror in my bathroom, I looked terribly awful. My son has just as big a girth, and he plays tennis. Little Emma has developed a rounded belly. Whenever I tickled her, she breaks out into giggles. She is actually quite proud of it, and often makes fun of herself showing it off, distending it more.

For the past week, I have returned to my brisk walk on the jogging track. The last time I did that was June last year, before my house move. After my house move, I was happy that my weight had dropped to 64 kg.

The new jogging track here is nice. It is perhaps a little longer than my previous track. It is not flat but undulating having to make that extra effort in coping with the gradient. There are more trees here, with the track leading into the fitness corner, tucked away in an open space. The trees provide a nice and cool shade. It is possible to even have a picnic under the trees, for there are stools and benches provided.

And so with the pleasant surrounding, I ventured out last Monday afternoon. In one hour, I completed four and a half laps. I felt very relieved after that and all my stiffness went away driving away my depressive mood. The workout made me perspire and although I was tired, I felt high. I was to repeat all that on Wednesday and Thursday. I feel that with this new regime, I should be able to lose that extra kg. Now I can tell my doctor that I have resumed my walking exercise.

My appetite is still good and I am trying to control my snacking which contributes to my weight gain.

On the cooking front, my roast pork has improved and last Saturday, my roast pork was crunchy and nice. The pork was roasted on the rotisserie, which seem to make the difference. I have several ideas in mind and hope to roast a duck when I can find people to eat it. This evening I have to roast a chicken.

Till then....