Health and Fitness

I was just reading the newspapers a few ago. A few old men were featured. Not for the usual old folks’ news, but these old men (average age 70+) were still running marathons! One of them got hooked on running at 50+ when he retired. He ran his first marathon soon after.

I must take this as an inspiration to continue with my health and fitness regime as a top priority. It does feel good to have a regularly oiled system. But yeah, a friend also commented that as people start to live longer, there is this “what do you do in your old age” thought before we finally go home. The irony is, your life is prolonged because of your “healthy and fit lifestyle”. But do you really want to live that long….?

Here is my running chart for the last 3 months. Average about 7-10KM a week.

Check the utilities bill!

Many of us have received utilities bills in the past month that have skyrocketed! The utilities company gave the usual reasons like hot weather (this one is a perennial favourite), school holidays hence increased usage, and the best scrapegoat: escalating fuel prices!!

I was actually resigned into the fact that inflation is indeed taking a toll on living when someone called a talkshow this morning(93.8FM) and said he didn't understand why the utility company sent such huge bill increases, when the power generation in Singapore is actually (mostly?) using natural gas from Indonesia! Hmmm... something is just not right.

Look where now?

So this time, we are supposed to look to Sweden. The island is not making enough babies to continue with its planned growth.

Not too many years ago, it was Switzerland and its standards of living. Have we reached there? Don't know. But seems like whichever country we look to, the level of social graces and behaviour here is still embarrassing.

Maybe we should look down next at the little toes down there with a little more humility; instead of looking up with noses in the air.

High Inflation's first victim

Dropped my planet fitness membership today. They quoted me a "special" renewal price of $748 before GST for 1 year which worked out to be about $69.55 a month. This is more than my current $61 monthly. Since they do not want to bulge or give even a small discount for an existing customer, I just decided not to renew my membership with them.

At least during these bad times of ridiculously high oil prices and inflation, a $70 monthly saving can go a long way. Besides, Planet Fitness hasn't got anything so special that it makes joining them irresistible; the branches especially in suntec are getting very crowded! the changing rooms are very lousy/low quality and they stink especially in suntec, and the machines are getting old. Of course, I will miss the classes.

So I'd stick to my $30 a month SAFRA gym and perhaps try to do more outdoor running.

The pleasure of eating

We went on an eating spree last weekend. On saturday evening, we went to the Bukit Timah Food Centre and ordered a table full of food! The stares from other diners were obvious; how could these 2 persons (whom are on the slim side) be eating all these!!?? We had satay, fishsoup, fried oysters, glutinous rice balls, rojak, poppiah. OK, the excuse was that we were hungry after walking up Bukit Timah Hill.

Then on sunday evening, we went to Bedok Food Centre (opposite Bedok Camp) and gorged ourselves with more satay (ordered 40 sticks!!), fried omelette with oysters, pizza, fried vegetables, watercress soup, rootbeer float. I could feel the food in the esophagus when we finally finished.

I think I'm going to punish myself in the gym this evening. (Easier said than done)

Life on this tiny red dot

What a start to mid week. Was preparing breakfast - trying to heat up a piece of bread in the microwave. 2 mins medium-high. 1 min later, smoke billowing from the microwave! Yucky choking smoke that filled the kitchen's still air. There goes breakfast.

Then it started to rain. Thunderstorm with fierce bolts of lightning. Road traffic started to build up; the traffic lights at the intersection were brought down by the electrical storm, so I just had to drive like how one would walk on a busy pavement through deftly avoiding other cars. Luckily there was no gridlock.

Reached office today with no proper breakfast. Going to sit through some silly audit.

When it starts to get dim

What was once the body that exudes virility and strength
Is now a frail wobbly frame
Where smooth youthful skin once covered your face
Age spots and moles and wrinkles have taken their place
Where the eyes once shone with a radiant confident gleam
A lifeless set of milky globes...

You once had your own life
You made important decisions when needed.
Now you had to be taken around to places you don't want to go.
You lose your hold and command on life.

Old man, as we look at you, we are reminded that age will come upon all of us. The reality of mortality. And we will soon pass from this place. We do not know whether your spirit is still as before as in your youth, for we are not at this stage of life yet. But we do know that there is an eternal place prepared for us, where we go to after the journey here ends. A place prepared by the heavenly Father, that all who go there would no longer remember the imperfections that are in this world. Therefore Lord, continue to ignite in us the flame so that even when we are in the twilight years, we can have your grace to face each day courageously.

Church Calendar

A few of us who are from different church denominations have extended invitations to visit each other's churches. We have amongst us, an Anglican, Presbyterians, Methodist, and Reformed.

The Anglican was sharing the schedules for the church calendar. Trinity Sunday, Pentecost.. many of these don't ring a bell for the other protestant denominations. I guess other than Anglicans, Methodists and other Episcopal form of churches, most other protestant churches don't really observe strictly these church events. My Anglican friend said that observing these events have an effect of the passage of time, just like the seasons; so that every sunday won't feel the same.

The methodist church in Singapore has a lecture this saturday on worship. With scriptures taken from Revelation (worship in Heaven). Would be interesting.

FM93.8

Currently listening to this radio channel on the way to work. A talkshow which invites feedback and opinion from listeners. The hosts are good, but the local listeners talk crap when they open their mouths and they top it all up with their jarring bad English. Listening to them is like sucking on a sour lemon.

Furnace

The mercury has been climbing these couple of weeks. The humidity is high and there is hardly a breeze. Early morning at 8am, the thermometer reads 31C! By afternoo, the sun is blazing brightly in the cloudless skies and temperatures read 36C.

The nights are equally torturous; how can one get any rest or sleep with 26-27C?!!

To escape the heat, I seeked respite in the airconditioned gym. Spoke to the counter girl. "Outside so so hot!!". She said, "Oh really?!! I am shivering inside here!". DUH.

Food and Photography

Another 2 major tasks have been accomplished. Thank God for his leading. We have appointed the church tea reception caterer and the actual day photographer. These are not cheap especially for the photography services, but I felt that if we can afford it, then we should just go for it.

Oh yes, and I have just splurged on some very expensive face care products for myself! Almost a 100 bucks! but well, still cheaper compared to the protein powders I used to buy.