I Wanna Sleep Some More!

Recently I read in a Yahoo article that the ideal number of sleep hours is 7. Too little is obviously not good, but I didn’t know that too much of it is also not good and can cause strokes.

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/heart/articles/2008/07/17/too-much-too-little-sleep-linked-to-stroke-risk.html

I am forcing myself to sleep early every night, but seems like I don’t succeed in doing so. Thanks to all the bad influences that have made this a chronic and unbreakable habit for me lol. I seem to be struggling everyday in the morning. (these were the days before the doomsday project)

Extreme case: I was in the office pantry, half-awake. Normally we have this reflex to turn a mug upside down to make sure there’s no water in it before dispensing coffee or any drink. I did the same, guess what, I forget I had just placed oatmeal on it. Viola, I spilled all the oats into the floor. Luckily no one is around, I silently tiptoed back to my seat like a quiet mouse. :p

Actually my previous job requires to be in office at 10am. Present job is a bit earlier, we should be in at 9:30am. Both are already considered late, normal standards are usually 9am or even 830am here. But hey sleeping 5 extra minutes in the morning feels actually like heaven!

If drowsiness can kill, I guess I would have been dead decades ago.

The biggest accomplishment on my July vacation was that I was able to wake up at 11am for four straight mornings. Thanks to the fantastic weather: no doubt it was raining every single day that added more to my laziness.

After starting to work from graduation, this is the only time I was able to do it again. I’ve always dreamt of a stint of bumming period, but seems like I am meant for a busy life :( Spot the common denominator in the number series...
1st job: May 17 to Apr 5
2nd job: Mar 26 to Dec 22
3rd job: Dec 5 to present

Job start dates…my last day of work is always overlapping with the next job! Pathetic! Loser! I cant seem to negotiate well. Or to be frank, all were unplanned job changes and career shifts, I am not confident people will wait for me :(

My mom used to say, ‘ndi ka pa naman sobrang naghihirap sa pera, you can afford a few days off before starting’. Huhu I also don’t know why I always mess up.

And I wonder when I sleep, can I dream inside a dream and how many layers are possible? Inception mode? I’m afraid to fall into limbo.

Ok ok this has gone way too far as an entry for sleeping.

Don’t take me wrong. I just want to sleep, not die. I still want to wake up!

What Sh*t is This?

This is probably the first time you would see people blogging about ‘sh*t’ and I mean literally.

I was quite enthusiastic when I learned that it is a medical benefit of my current company to go for an Executive Health Screening package, maximum capped at 500sgd. (15k php). I looked at the packages, the screening center is situated inside a hotel, my first impression is wow. And since fasting is required for blood test, there is a complimentary hotel breakfast afterwards. Perhaps any free food rings a bell. :) What more can I ask?

I took the basic package of 300+, thinking that it may be good to be budget-conservative since it is my first time. To be fair, the basic package doesn’t look like it’s worth 10k php to me! Quickly browsing through, it’s just some basic tests: blood test, chest x-ray and some physical examination. Well I guess in sg, everything is more expensive and thou shall never compare.

After making the appointment, the screening center sent two empty vials to my office for collecting ‘specimens’. The vials here are a bit different, with the stool specimen bottle having even a narrower opening than the urine specimen bottle, I really wonder why. But it does come with a stick in it, you know what I mean… Ok here starts the dreaded part.

I have no idea how some people can manage to fast for 8hours+ and then wake up the next morning and collect stool specimen??? Where did the urge come from?! It has always been a difficult challenge for me to do this. Worst case, I will have to go back on another separate day, uggh.

That morning came, and true, despite shedding efforts, it has been futile. I walked into the screening center, completed all the tests. I told the staff that I am done except for the stool specimen and that I will submit that on another day. She then issued me the breakfast voucher. I came down for my breakfast. It was not buffet breakfast btw, just a simple local breakfast but good (I chose fish beehon). Still, it was fun, I feel like a feeling-executive haha.


Then came the long-awaited urge. I know I just have to swallow some food for it to come. I am on a valid sick leave for rest of the day. To minimize the hassle of taking another leave again to resubmit my specimen bottle, a brilliant plan came into mind. I brought the empty bottle, went back to the screening center and in a ladies room there, thinking how to manage to complete the task. Of course, the rest is history. I don’t want to dwell into gross details. All I can say is that it was yuck, grrh.

The climax: I went to the front desk, ready to submit the pending task. And to my surprise, this is what the receptionist said after like checking my profile for a long 5minutes.

‘I’m sorry ma’am. After double checking, you don’t need to submit anything anymore. The package that you have chosen is the basic one, and it only requires urine sample. You can leave for the day and we will call you after 2 weeks to claim your results’.

I’ve never felt so embarrassing in a long time. I said ‘ok thanks’, threw the specimen bottle in the trash can and rushed out to disappear quickly, all in about 30 seconds.

#$#!!!!#$#$ 'Takte! After everything, you now told me it’s not required, why didn’t you correct me earlier?? I wanna cry haha! And In the first place, why did you send 2 empty bottles to mislead me???? Back in Phil, urine and stool specimen are like too basic tests and are considered part of any screening package isn’t it. It’s your fault!

And after coming back to my senses, I felt that rushing out is actually too stupid. I actually should have asked how much additional do I need to pay and submit those darn stuff! I guess it’s another 20 or 30sgd. But who cares, I should be able to reimburse it! Grrh! I was carried away.

Just for laughs. I’m not going back to you again. Bitter mode! :D

Of Pilates and Yoga

Last year I joined Pilates. Currently I'm taking Yoga. For me, both are almost similar. Pilates has more stretching to do, sometimes you have some pulling to do with a partner which is quite relaxing. Yoga, on the other hand, has soo many positions to assume and sometimes some of the movements are really extremes, funny-looking, with the instructor shouting 'HOLD IT RIGHT THERE... 10.. 9... 8... and by the time you reach 1, your body is shaking like hell hehe. Balance, focus, sounds easy but not that easy to execute. And oh yoga's positions are fun to recall, mostly related to objects and animals: bow, locust, butterfly (flap), downward dog, cobra, warrior, etc.

Pilates

From the net: Pilates exercises teach awareness of breath and alignment of the spine, and aim to strengthen the deep torso muscles.

Yoga

Some of the positions that I can recall:

Bow

Cobra

Downward Dog (or is it Sun Salutation)