New update: The love for routine

Pretty much since I've had a conscientious presence of mind, I've abhorred routine and organisation. I don't know why nor how, but I've always detested it, preferring to be spontaneous, reactive and living my best life when I feel like I don't know what's around the corner, or the next day. 

I took pride in being a "free spirit" and thrived on "adaptability". Predictability was a dirty, dirty word in my dictionary in four decades of existence. 

So imagine my horror to realise sometime last year, that I was actually starting to appreciate, and dare I say, love routine. *gasp* 

Me. This person I knew intimately, who used to happily bring all her textbooks and worksheets to school daily rather than pack her bag the previous night, way back since primary school years. 

Nowadays, I actually derive satisfaction from preparing my outfit for the next day and my work/workout bag each evening before bed. I have my specific morning routines down pat, depending on whether it's a weekday that I work from home or the office, or a weekend - workouts, morning walks, and the default kopi-o and eggs for breakfast. Who am I?! 

Perhaps it comes from finally becoming an adult, and grudgingly acknowledging that being organised and prepared is really not a bad thing after all. It also stems from my self-awareness that I am really, really NOT a morning person, so anything I can do the night before that makes it less painful and arduous to start my day, is an act of kindness from present me to future me. 

After so long, I finally understood why my mum nagged and nagged me to always prepare for the next day before I go to bed. :p Hurhurhur.

Whatever it is, after a few weeks of feeling a twinge of guilt for betraying that younger me, I learnt to appreciate and embrace this newfound habit of being predictable and organised. After all, it still serves my innate laziness, and that freedom of not having to expend more braincells because I've already done the preparation, is a pretty freeing and pleasing feeling. Do what's best for me, yada yada. 

In essence, I'm still me, lah. Just with a significant update in my OS, which has proven to improve efficiency and minimised some glitches. Heh.

Gym time, me time

Stole away for a couple of hours to get the muscles moving after a week away on vacation. We walked loads, but I missed my machines and dumbbells. Heehee. :p

As much as I relish the days when I make it for a lunchtime workout during the week, I love the rare peacefulness of the gym whenever I manage to fit in a weekend session. I don't need to worry about the time, and can just focus on my workout plan for the day, with the trusty iPod streaming pumpy or groovy beats while I pump away at the machines, or stretch out the muscles on the mat. That time to myself, to recharge, to think of nothing but the breathing and the reps. Bliss. 

recipe for a lovely weekend arvo

Back to the greens

While I've thoroughly enjoyed the fine foods during the stay in Luxembourg, it felt equally refreshing to come back to my regular staples of salads and soups when we returned to Singapore.

Don't get me wrong though, while there were quite a number of rich meals on my trip, we didn't pig out at every meal, and one thing I really appreciated from the dining/cooking habits of AB's family was that it was as much about enjoying your food, as it is about balance. There were some meals that were just light and refreshing, and plenty of use of what's in season. It was an amazing education and an extremely delightful one too - the art of taking pleasure in your food and making sure you listen to your body too in planning the meals.

Back to what I was saying - my usual lunch options tend to be quite green, mainly because I actually really enjoy them - one of my many awesome quirks, heh. I am also blessed that having the office in the CBD area meant I have more than a handful of selections for these. More often than not, you will find me chomping on these at my desk - I view lunchtime as my own mini-break, and at least a few times a week, it's handy for me to grab on the way back from the gym.

For this collage I've actually included a few that were not from the weekday lunches, one was a dinner and another was my weekend brunch. Guess I really did miss my greens, not because I didn't have any, but just shows how much I have them on a regular basis.

Green, brown, red, yellow and white - Happy medleys.

dream came true

except that it wasn't a good dream. :p

On Sunday morning, I woke up at 7.15am. Early it may be, but still way too late, considering that flag0ff for Shape Run was 7.30am!?!

*silent scream*

I was strangely calm though, perhaps cos it was really too late to do anything about it, and also cos while I was a tinge disappointed that I missed it, it's not life and death. But yes, it's always been a fear that I will oversleep and miss a race, and it's finally come true. Gaah.

Well, seeing that I crashed back into sleep after weighing all options, to awaken only after noon, I reckon that the body must really have been too tired, and I would not have performed well anyways. So best to listen to the voice of reason and rest up.

Just need to note that this doesn't happen come December. Or I guess I will really scream. =P

thank you

Just thanking some individuals who have been motivating me, knowingly and unknowingly, in my fitness journey.

To you..
Your resilience and all-out enthusiasm has been infectious. That, coupled with your encouraging messages, have saved me from a number of times when the resolve weakened and temptation beckons to jus head home rather than fulfill the workout plan. Not to mention a fantastic wheely-date kaki. Thanks to you, I'm slowly rebuilding that much-needed momentum, and enjoying it too!

To you..
I used to admire your fitness levels and how you're just naturally more inclined towards sports than I am. I used to be that lazybones whom you could never get to play badminton with, and it's amazing how much we have evolved. You may not be as strong or active as you once were, but you never lost that love and passion for sports. I'm just glad that we share that now. I love running and swimming with you cos we have similar pacing, and it's quality time too during and after that. I also tell myself that with enough work, I might just have those trim slim legs of yours too. Heehee.

And last but definitely not least..
To you..
It's incredible how we uncannily find ourselves in the same situations more than once. I'm so glad that we have grown out of envying each other for what we can never have, and having that slight sour note in our voices even when we really want the best for each other. I'm loving the sms-es we have been sending frequently and spontaneously to report progress and give that needed nudge. It feels so much better knowing we are working hard towards a common goal, genuinely wanting the other to fulfil her goal too.

You know who you are. Thank you. :)

the real fake cough

Always thought that dry coughs sound fake, compared to.. eh, the phlegm-plagued ones. Maybe cos it's also used by people who don't really have a cough to make a point sometimes.

And so an itchy throat for the past two days, which I failed to soothe even with gallons of h2o and lozenges, made me feel like laughing when coughing sometimes, at how fake it sounds.. especially since it's mild bouts so far. But I was really coughing! Bleahh.

Well, dry cough or wet cough, i hate them all. Always been prone to all these respiratory illnesses, and they are never fun. Argh. Go away virus.. Shoo.