Sweat Like a Pig to Look Like a Fox: How to Hold on to the Lifestyle

Target: Core and Glutes. I still have to work for it but you know I try very, very hard. Haha. 

For the past four months, I have been so obsessed with working out. A week cannot pass without shedding some sweat through running around the track, killing the treadmill or doing circuits at home. Working out has been my escape and therapy for the stress that I get from research.

I wasn't always like this. I used to be one of those people who stay away from physical activities to recover from stress and fatigue. But now it's the other way around: I exercise to cure it. After a good workout, my body is energized and all the stress on my neck and shoulders instantly disappears.

However, the main challenge is how to drag my tired body to exercise. I won't lie, those days are the worst. But you know what they say "Most people workout when they feel like it. Disciplined people workout even if they don't." I always remember this whenever I couldn't open my eyes for a cold morning run or when I just wanna rest my ass after a hard day's work. Haha. 

It requires a lot of discipline and commitment and one must have a motivation to start and stick to the lifestyle. I want to share some of my solid reasons that I hope to last me for a long, long time.  

1) Aesthetics. Coz duh, that's why I started all of this. 

2) Physical strength. My experiment requires a lot of manual labor and heavy lifting so I really need to train for strength. And if I don't want to get bedridden every weekend, I really need to improve my physical endurance. Bottom line is I am training my body to not get tired easily. 

3) Respiratory and cardiovascular health. I used to have asthma when I was a kid and my family has a history of stroke and high blood pressure. I have to be more responsible for my health especially now as I approach the age of motherhood (yeah I think about this grown-up stuff) 

4) It's a habit that I cannot stop. 

There were times when I stopped living healthily and gained few pounds but nevertheless I remained conscious and guilty about it. Some of my friends pick on me and say, "Girl you're so health-conscious! You're not fat!" and all that. Yeah I know I'm not but aesthetics is not the point. Staying fit and being healthy is a lifestyle. And I don't know why a lot of people talk about being health-conscious as if it's a laughable thing but that has to stop. We should encourage each other to do our part to live longer and spare ourselves from all the sickness that a sedentary lifestyle might bring.

P.S. I'm still thinking about how in the world will I shed some sweat when winter comes. Haha. 

Dad in Seoul

I thank the Lord for giving me a father who supported my dream even if that meant that he had to let me go. For a very selfless father who is willing to give everything that I need even if I am already an adult. For a very strict father who raised me with such morals and principles. For a very smart dad who taught me everything that I am now. For a very loving daddy who crossed the ocean just to visit me.

All those times that my dad and I were walking down the streets of Seoul, I was silently and sincerely thanking the heavens for my family. Four days with my dad is a very short time but it's enough to refresh my soul on the feeling when someone is taking care of me. I have been looking out for myself for quite some time so I tend to forget what it’s like to have someone who got my back.

However, the trip has allowed me to realize how good it is for me to live away from my family. Don’t get me wrong; our vacation was one of the best weekends of my life but I realized that it’s not good for me to come back to that kind of comfort and dependence again. From time to time, I will always need their help and support but I will never be the spoiled daddy’s girl anymore.

Every single day, I thank the Lord for all these learnings.

Adding Life to My Years

Nowadays I've been spending my free time either trekking a mountain, running, exercising, meeting precious friends, exploring a new place or taking my time alone. My free time has never been this limited so I need to spend it wisely. I finally stopped sulking on weekends, being with people that I don't like and spending a day on making a one-page report just because I don't feel productive. Life is too short for that. I need to give my time to people and things that will add life to my years. 

The End of First Quarter.

It was Monday morning and I was drinking coffee, browsing journal articles, and skimming for possible explanations for the result of my last week's experiment. I was busy making my lab report that contains unexplained data and silently praying that my professor will not have any bizarre idea for my next week's task. I was supposed to write a rant post about the never-ending failures of my experiment. 

But then I looked at my calendar that says "August 25" and realized that hey, it's my 6th month in Korea! I've lived for exactly half a year, two seasons, twenty four weeks in the Land of the Morning Calm. 

And in that span of time I have experienced many first times:

- my first snowfall. It was almost two in the morning and I was on my way home when that first drop of snow hit my face. I had fever that time but I spared a minute to enjoy my first ever snowfall. 

- first spring. Cherry blossoms are beautiful. I have no words for it! Pink trees all over the pavement, flowers blooming everywhere.. thank God for all of it. 

- cooked my first Adobo and Chopsuey! I never knew how to cook anything when I was in the Philippines. My recent weight gain due to excessive frying motivated me to cook healthier and more delicious food other than fried eggs. 

- bought a phone entirely on my own money. And it felt five times more expensive. 

- got lost in a city and had to get my way back by... taxi. Of course.

- cried in the subway. Hey I was lonely, stressed, frustrated, and emotional so I was very fragile. Cut me some slack haha. 

- cried involuntary in the lab. With my labmates with me. Good news: I wiped the girly tears right away. Sad news: They saw the red eyes. 

- became good friends with students from different parts of the world. And boy have I learned a lot of things. 

So many things have happened to me and surely more things will continue to happen. Whenever I think that I have lived this length of time away from home, it motivates me to go on and live more. To bear more. To learn more. My story goes on. Six months done, eighteen precious months to go. 

My dream abs

Is so hard to get. And when I finally got some, it stays only for a short while. But nevertheless I'm not giving up on it.