Category #3: Papers

One of N’s bosses, her husband has tested positive 😔 So now her and the kids have been shipped off to quarantine. This is exactly what I was talking about yesterday and how I didn’t want this to happen to us! 😩 So now their whole team has been asked to work from home for the next few weeks. Greeeat. N doesn’t like working from home. The connection isn’t very fast, and he only has one monitor at home. Plus he’s in a lot of meetings, so if I want to film any videos, I have to go set up in the bedroom and close all the doors so that his voice doesn’t get picked up in the audio. Plus he just makes noise, like any person does, which, again, isn’t great when all the noise is picked up by the mic! And then sometimes I’m teaching while he’s in a meeting, so he has to walk off to take his call in a different room. So yeah, it’s not the ideal work situation for both of us. But given all the cases at the moment in the area, I’d still rather that he stay home.

N started cleaning out his closet today, which inspired me to start cleaning out all the papers in the study! I got through some, but there is still quite a fair bit to get through. I’m guessing I’m about halfway through – and that’s after tidying up for around 3.5 hours today! 😱 And that’s just papers. I still have other miscellaneous items to sort through. Not just in the study but everywhere in the house. Sighhh… I don’t know if I’m going to get through it all in 8 weeks! That seems really ambitious… But I’ll just keep pushing through and just do whatever I can in that timeframe. Much like my 30-day splits challenge, I never actually made it to the full splits at the end of the 30 days, but I ended up with a new daily habit. And maybe this 8-week challenge will be similar. If that’s the case, then I’ll be happy 😊

Taking it easy

I walked a LOT today. 9km, according to my Apple watch 😱 And coupled with the jogging and the star jumps that I did yesterday (trying to reach my exercise goals for my watch 😂) and the daily stretches that I’m still doing for my splits goal, my legs are now SORE 😝 And my body was just generally tired. I’m no spring chicken anymore, these things are now tiring!

So I took it pretty easy tonight, and just resumed watching my current Korean drama, Secret Garden. Oh, that link is to IMDb! I’m glad to see that Asian shows are now showing up on IMDb 👍 I guess a lot of these are available on Netflix, so they’re getting seen by more people outside of Asia, which is cool. And Korea makes the best dramas hehehe It’s just a shame that I’m not learning Korean! 😆

N had karate today. It was the first time that he’d been to karate since the restrictions were imposed back in December, so it’s nice to see things open again. There are a few places that are still closed, but they are places that I don’t really go to (eg karaoke venues, mahjong parlours and swimming pools) so it doesn’t really bother me. So I’m good 😄 But summer is just around the corner, and I’d like to be able to go to the beach when the weather starts warming up. I hope they’ll open the beaches sometime in the next few months… 🤞 🏖

Working on my goals

I went to Causeway Bay with the intention of going to IKEA to buy some storage containers. After clearing out so much of my wardrobe on the weekend, I now know exactly what storage containers I need to put into the wardrobe.

But I never made it to IKEA. I took so long to eat lunch that by the time I had finished, I didn’t have any more time to go shopping! 😔 Not that I really wanted to go anyway LOL If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, then you probably already know that I’m not a fan of going shopping – even when I actually need to because I’ve actually run out of something! 😆 So I’m not at all disappointed. I’ll just go another day 😊

Oh, and just an update on my splits: my right leg splits (where my right leg is in front) is getting pretty close! My left leg splits need a bit more work. But that leg is the one that I strained during my 30-day challenge, so I think subconsciously, I’m still a little more cautious when I do stretches on that leg. But my right leg splits is looking promising! 👏 It’s still not comfortable, and I’m still groaning every time I get out of them – on either side! So there is still a lot of work for me to do. But I think I can actually get all the way down to the floor by the 3-month mark, if not beforehand. That is seriously insane! I could possibly get there before the 3-month mark, but I won’t be comfortable. Maybe I could be somewhat comfortable at the 3-month mark? Maybe??

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. One step at a time! One milestone comes before the other, so let’s focus on the first milestone first and get all the way down to the floor first! 💪 hahaha can I use the word ‘first’ any more times?!? 🤣

His crazy 400% goal

N has been doing this crazy 400% goal for one day each month, and he chose to do it today. Basically he tries and achieves 4x whatever his ‘burn calories’ goal is on his Apple watch. He goes crazy hard and exercises regularly throughout the day. And because he has to exercise so much in order to achieve this goal, he usually starts this first thing in the morning, and is still going until late at night.

When he set this challenge for himself, the gyms were still closed here, thanks to 🦠, so he had to go find ways to exercise throughout the day. Today was the first time he had to achieve his goal and the gyms were open. He said it was easier to do when he had whatever resources he wanted at the gym. It’s still by no means an easy feat, but he managed to do it with much more time to recuperate and relax today 😅 And even better for him, massage parlours are also back open, so his muscles could get some much needed rest – so that they could keep going for the second half of the day! 🙄

And because he worked so hard today, I let him go crazy at Crazy Food Hall, my favourite supermarket here in HK 😆 We bought too much food for dinner, but I figured he needed it, since he exercised so much today. It turned out that it was indeed a teeny bit too much food for him 😆 And we bought sushi as well, which doesn’t keep too well, so we sorta forced ourselves to finish it all. Not good for either of us!

And today marks the end of rectangular February. Man I loved that so much, it was just so perfect #geekingout 🤓🤣

My new challenge

I didn’t have the most productive day today. I just wasn’t in the right headspace 😔 I really wanted to do more stuff, but I just didn’t have the willpower. Sighhh…

N and I were also hearing negativity around us, which didn’t help matters. Sighhh… This is one of many reasons why I don’t like giving out negativity into the universe. If someone is already down, you’re just going to compound that feeling and make them feel worse. I don’t want to be a source of negativity. I want to be a source of inspiration, of motivation. But I, too, have down days, so it’s not always easy. But I try 😊

I’m thinking of doing this 8-week decluttering challenge set by Marie Kondo. It’s a tad longer than my 30-day splits challenge, but I’m sure she made the daily tasks bite-size and totally doable. Plus week one sounds really fun and easy 😆 I totally go into these decluttering sessions with guns blazing, but then six months later, I fall back into my old habits, and the house looks almost exactly the same as it did before I did the decluttering session 😔 I say ‘almost’ because I do improve incrementally each time. But it’s never as neat and tidy as straight after the decluttering session. So if I do a full-on 8-week deep dive, then maybe I can actually change my habits during those 8 weeks and actually see long-lasting results. Maybe… 🤞

And as per my one-word theme for the year, you may as well just do it and see what happens! Much like my 30-day splits challenge, sure I didn’t get all the way down to the floor, but I’m so much closer to the floor now than I’ve ever been my entire life. And now that I have a new daily stretching habit, I may actually eventually reach this goal too! But I won’t know unless I keep stretching every day and keep pushing myself. I’m definitely going to keep tracking this goal and see where I am at the end of 90 days, and then after 180 days – a whole half year of stretching! 😱 Much like so many things in life, if you just keep working at it consistently, more often than not, you will see progress. That’s what I’m hoping for with these stretches and with this 8-week challenge 😊

A whole range of states

I was feeling all keen bean this morning, listing out 13 – thirteen! – items on my to-do list 😱 I managed to tick off 7; got halfway through 2; and I started another item. Not bad! I might’ve been able to finish one of the halfway-done items if I wasn’t having tech issues. Nonethless, I was happy with my effort today!

I did my usual stretches today, but I think I over-stretched one of my muscles because now it hurts if I move my leg in certain angles. Sighhh… I hope I haven’t done anything too serious to it. I’ll definitely have my rest day tomorrow and then see how it’s feeling on Sunday before I resume my stretches. Sighhh… I hope this doesn’t ruin my momentum. I’ve been doing so well! 😔

One of N’s mates told him about how he had stage 4 cancer ten years ago. He’s obviously in remission, since he’s still around to tell N the story. But I was like what the f*##kkkkk?!?? That is insane. He was relatively healthy too, and he was only in his early 30s. And the only thing that got him to go see a doctor was this niggling cough that wouldn’t go away. That was it. OMG. I still can’t believe it. It’s just so random. This is another reason why I try and appreciate each day. You never know when your time will be up.

So I went from being productive to being in pain to being grateful today. A whole range of states there! 😆

My 30-day splits challenge: day 16

My legs are sooo sore!! 😩 Maybe I’ve been pushing the splits thing a bit too hard the past few days 😇 Every time I bend down to pick something up, I feel my legs and I groan 😂 I feel like I need a rest day already! Although I have done five days in a row now, I think last Saturday was my rest day. So yeah, a rest day is due very, very soon! 😆

But I do feel like I’m getting sooo damn close. I still can’t believe just how far I am from the ground now – or rather, how close I am to it! Don’t get me wrong, I’m still aaaages away, but what I think has changed the most is my expectation. When I first started this whole 30-day challenge, I was like, yeah righhht, as if I’m going to get anywhere near the ground! But halfway in, now I’m thinking that this my may actually indeed be possible! Not sure if it’ll happen within the 30 days, but I feel like it can actually happen, rather than just being a pipe dream. And that’s totally amazing.

And I think that’s what’s spurring me on to keep going. During the first 10 or so days, I was just going through the motions, not thinking that my flexibility could actually improve in such a short period of time. Then somewhere around the 2-week mark, something turned. Now I actually feel like there’s real progress and that there is an actual chance that I can achieve this crazy goal. It’s pretty insane, and I keep saying that at the end of each day. I am really tempted to start another 30-day challenge after I finish this one! 😆

The hunt for my Australia Day pav

I ticked off sooo many things on my to-do list today 😱 I am now so freaking exhausted as a result! 😅

Firstly, I did some research, wrote the script AND filmed my next YouTube video – all in the one day. Normally I space all of this out, but I managed to do them all today. Total amazeballs. Now I just have to do the editing tomorrow, the step that always takes the longest time for me.

I also walked heaps today: according to my watch, I took 16,500 steps and walked 10.5km. OMG. And then once I got home, I did my stretches again: today was Day 14 of my 30-day splits challenge.

It’s Australia Day today (Happy Australia Day! 🇦🇺🐨🦘) and I decided to revive the tradition that I started when we first moved to Asia: have a pavlova on Australia Day every year. That was fine in SG, it was relatively ok finding a pav there. Here, however, it was hard work! I went to all the possible places that I could think of that could possibly sell pavs, but each time I went there, I left disappointed. I was ready to go home when I decided to try one more thing: the Deliveroo app. I put in ‘pavlova’ in the search field, and lo and behold, one search result came up! And it was only like 200 metres away from me. Despite being so mega-tired by this point, I figured I should walk over there and just order it! I’m so glad I did. I had revived my Australia Day tradition ☺️

I also filmed my hunt for my Australia Day pav, so I should have enough footage to make a blog out of my expedition today 😆

And as a result of all my hunting today, I discovered what could potentially be my favourite supermarket in HK so far: Great Food Hall at Admiralty 😆 Yes, I was wowed by a supermarket 😂 But it was seriously good! There was another supermarket out near the airport that was pretty impressive too, but that’s out in woop woop (it’s near the airport – enough said! 😆). Admiralty is way closer to home. So I think I’ll have to go visit it again soon!

Needless to say, it was a wonderful Australia Day ☺️

Klutziness and exercises

I was a bit of a klutz today: I spilled a little bit of oil on myself when I was cooking lunch; and then I dropped one of our portable speakers on my ankle 😱 As for how one does the latter, I have no idea 🤣 So now, I’m expecting a bruise to form on that ankle. Isn’t that lovely.

I also felt a bit anxious today, my heart was racing. I don’t know why. So I did some mindfulness breathing, which helped a little bit, believe it or not. It helped me focus just on my breathing and staying in the present. Have you ever tried these breathing exercises? It’s haaard. Your mind constantly wanders all over the place. It’s hard to make yourself just focus on your breathing. I have to constantly bring my focus back on to my breathing. But it is quite good, though. I did feel calmer after just ten minutes of this. This is something else that I should do more often!

The other thing that I’ve been doing lately are my stretching exercises for my splits. I’m up to Day 10! Day 10 baby! I’m 1/3 of the way there. It feels like it’s been aaages since I started doing these stretches, when in fact it’s only been 10 days – well, 11, if you count my rest day; 12, if you count my actual start day 😆 But 10 official days of stretching. It’s not getting any easier 😔 I wonder if it ever will!

Productive as + a rant

Yesterday I was unproductive; today, I was on speed. OMG I couldn’t stop working. WTH 🤣 I was so productive, it more than made up for yesterday’s lacklustre effort 😱

I even went shopping, shock horror. I don’t know if you’ve ever shopped at those cosmetics counters at department stores, but going there is just one of those things that I really dread. I wish that I could just choose whatever I needed and not have to talk to the sales assistants. More often than not, they’re just so pushy. I really don’t like it. I don’t like shopping at the best of times, and they just add to my dislike of the whole experience 😒 I know they’re probably just trying to reach their sales targets and I shouldn’t feel so guilty saying no to them each time, but I can’t help it. Maybe I should try and find a different place to go, maybe somewhere where they’re less pushy.

Anyway, rant over 😊 I don’t buy cosmetics too often, so my next whinge will be in at least a few months’ time 😆

And when I got home, I did my stretches. Day 8. I seriously still don’t feel that different compared to Day 1. I have probably moved maybe half a centimetre closer to the floor in the past week 😆 So I’m still wondering if I’m going to get even close to the splits by the end of 30 days. But I’m still going, that’s the main thing. 22 more days to go!