Nov 19, 2010

Daily thoughts - running, eating and relaxing

Ive been running for over a decade now. I started way back when I was 16 years old on my 2nd year in College. My last competitive run was 12 years ago though. After graduating from College, I started working right away but I still jogged every time I had the chance. 

But its sometimes boring to run alone. It may be an individual sport but there are also times you want to have someone to talk to and share that same interest.

I didnt find anyone who shared the same passion in running when I enrolled in Medical school. It was only when I was in 3rd year medical proper after I joined the women's soccer team that I met Jenny, our team's sweeper. She loved to run too. I would run with her for an 1 hour every other day. Unfortunately, our running affair was shortlived. She moved to another school after one year. 4th year in Medical school was too hectic for me to squeeze in any other activity.  After I quit medical school in 2004, I would jog occasionally. My work was on graveyard shift and it was just hard to find the right time to run.

Moving to Singapore in 2007 was a great chance for me to go back to running. The country had nice running paths and also there were a bunch of enthusiasts to run with. I didnt really join any specific group but I did run almost everyday for 30 minutes to one hour at the Bedok Reservoir.

I also joined one of their fun runs the same year called Run for Hope. 

I have been consistently running for a few months earlier this year and even joined a run organized by my employer. It was so much fun but again, I stopped running after I moved back to the Philippines.

I've planned on joining a marathon for the longest time but something always came up and my training always gets interrupted. I wrote in my post a few months ago about it. But again, I had to put off my plans because I had to take care of some family business.


I looked after my ailing Dad for four months. It is odd that I resumed jogging the day before he passed away. He has always encouraged me to keep on doing what I have been doing. He was sick and he needed me but he was adamant that I continue living.


Im slowly picking up my life again.

Going back to running is not really that easy even if Ive been running for many years. The first few minutes is just terrible. I am always tempted to just walk and give up and put it off another day. But I ask myself, when?? Im glad the interest hasnt waned. 


It hasnt been more than a month that I have began jogging up and down the street where I live. but Ive decided to get ahead of myself. I signed up for Animo 8th annual fun run this coming Sunday.



I dont remember that there were a lot of organized fun runs like this during my track heyday and even after graduation. Its kinda neat that now there is a weekly run. The list of races can be found at Takbo.ph website. This is the first one Im joining.




Yeah its kinda ambitious but its interesting to join this one especially since most of the participants are from the same University I graduated from. The registration fee was unbelievably cheap too and proceeds will go to some scholarship fund. So, in a way Im also running for a good cause. I really hope I can consistently do this before I leave the country next year. 


The registration was easy. I just had to show up at Mizuno sports outlet at Megamall. They ran out of registration forms and I was supposed to get one printed at the internet cafe at the mall's basement. Its a good thing I took down the organizer's handphone number prior to going to the mall. at first I thought the guy  was aloof and not accomodating. Later however, he gave me instructions to just write on a piece of paper the basic information like name, age, sex, run category and sign the waiver of liability. He also gave me contact numbers of other outlets in case I cant find the size Im looking for. 

I signed the handwritten registration form, paid the fee and I was set! I was excited with my cute singlet and race bib!





Now all I have to do is show up on Sunday=)


I had lunch at my favorite restaurant before I went home.




Saw Jason Stackhouse on one of the ads at the mall





Took the fx to go home. I saw a guy on a motorcyle with his dog (donned in a shirt)sitting behind him. I wasnt too quick in taking the photo.




When I got home, I tried on the singlet and went for a 30minute run to test it. 



I think it wasnt bad at all. the material was light and I didnt chafe.

I also opened my store for a few hours and people came by to get rice, cigarettes, canned tuna, oil, candies and noodles. My new cat Piolo kept me company.



I also have a new shimmering eyeliner which I got for only 60 pesos=) something to add to my beauty loot.
 
It was a tiring but great day!

Nov 17, 2010

Daily thoughts - Leslie's Party Pack

Last Sunday I took a trip to the market to replenish my supplies at the store. I found this huge Leslie's party pack and it has 12 bags of chips inside.


Supposedly there should be 12 different kinds of chips. However, I discovered that some of the chips were not in the bag. There were 2 chips of the same kind. So I will be reviewing only the 11 instead of 12. this is going to be exciting! I cant wait to eat all of em though.













Ill have to write the review after 11 days. I cant eat all of these in one sitting! Now I have an excuse to be greedy=)

Nov 15, 2010

Daily thoughts - Bingo and a trip to the market

I slept in today and almost missed the BINGO affair at Ultra Mega shopping mart. You see over the past few weeks Ive been buying groceries, they give out Bingo cards if you reach a certain amount. The scheduled game was today. There were 4 games and for each game the word SUKI was the pattern. So for game 1 it was the letter S, game 2 it was U, K for game 3 then I for game 4. I didnt win but it was an amusing experience. I kinda felt bad for being late. I had more than 10 bingo cards for game 1. For game 2 I had 8 cards, 1 bingo card for game 3 and 4 for game 4. The prize was a 10K PHP gift certificate where you can buy any grocery for that amount. I was in line paying for my grocery today when I saw the girl behind me with the certificate. So I asked her if she won, she said her mom did. Boy I was green with envy. Imagine how much that could mean to my little store! Well my bad, I slept too late yesterday. The area outside the supermarket was packed with people. It was chaotic! There were stalls that gave out freebies like drinks, food and even alcoholic beverage! wth. Later that afternoon the place was still swarming with people because I heard some young actor was a guest. It was an interesting day and there were girls screaming and giggling when they saw the actor. Hahaha

I went around town today looking around for stuff to add to my store. I found something that made me nostalgic. Its these little things that look like a baby bottle with confectioner's sugar in it. I used to love these when I was 6 years old up until I was in highschool.Also these local candy bars called Lala which has been around for more than 2 decades.





I got myself two new notebooks to keep track of sales and also inventory of what items i have.


I also went to the market to buy fish and some veggies for my dinner and lunch for Monday. I took these interesting photos:




there is this stall where i see cats hanging out everytime i go by that area of the market. i think its cute.

when i got home, i opened the store for a few hours. even with the bad weather some people still came by to get stuff like vinegar, soy sauce, candies, cigarettes and diaper. I had fun today although it was really tiring.

Now time to join my baby girls and hit the sack.