Blur

Today was just a blur. I drove at 6:45 am and it was surprisingly smooth and traffic jam-free. I really love Skyway 3 since it allowed me to reach Laguna under 2 hrs without having to traverse EDSA or C5.

Skyway 3 on a Friday morning ❤️. Photo by Twin I.

It could have been just 1.5 hrs but we stopped at McDonald’s drive through for breakfast plus I needed coffee. We also stopped at my regular flower shop to buy my mom roses (as is my habit) and arranged Malaysian mums for my dad’s niche at the columbarium since it was his 17th death anniversary last month.

The Ogawa massage chair that my mom loves. Photo by Twin A.

I had a quick turn on that massage chair that had a lot of customers today. 🤣

Werk werk werk! I used my nephew’s Lightning McQueen table that he outgrew.

Then I edited some stories, published my own story I co-wrote with out Manila reporter, and I slept for the rest of the day. My girls didn’t have classes today because it was QC Day—the birthday of Manuel L. Quezon. The father of the National Language. The holiday only applies to schools in QC.

In lieu of regular classes, I had Kuya H tackle the girls’ supplemental review sessions for their upcoming mock entrance exam. THREE hours today. He told me the girls do not have major problems because they understand the math concepts; Twin A is good at complex math problems but panics/is overcome with carelessness when solving the basic ones. Twin I, on the other hand, is good at the basics but panics at the more complex ones.

Review session with Kuya H.

He said they need to solve more Math problems. The issue, however, is we already ran out of practice exams. So I asked him if he could bring his old manuals and practice problem sets for the girls to work on. Tomorrow they will have more review sessions with Kuya H. And my nephew is happy he has more money on his GCash account. Win-win.

UPDATE: The review center announced tonight that the mock entrance exam is moved to next week. 😶

Meanwhile, my sisters told me I ballooned in the last two weeks since they last saw me. Ah, being locked up for two weeks at home with no exercise will really make me a blimp. Imagine, I was expending a minimum of 400kcal (on some days it’s 700+ kcal) in Singapore for 10 days because of all the walking that I did. Then it came to an abrupt halt when I came back to Manila. My body compensated for the lost calories by craving breakfast or dinner, which I normally didn’t have. I had minimal exercise because I didn’t bike or walk since I was just holed up in my room. Tadaaa! I gained all the weight I had shed off.

So tomorrow morning I will be walking around the campus, in my old stomping grounds, so I will be inspired again to get back in shape. 🤸

Mmm… It’s surprisingly cooler here. We only have a stand fan now but I find myself needing a thin blanket. Ah well, I have a forest as my backyard so it’s at least several degrees lower where we are right now, about 25 C.

I lost weight

I now have somewhat sunken cheeks or my cheekbones became more prominent and my face more pointed. I did not weigh myself because it’s too exhausting to excavate my weighing scale under my bed. Not being able to eat well for two weeks will do that to you.

I call it the Covid weight-loss program.

But then–kapoof! I celebrated today with food because I was able to publish again today and edit three stories. It got out of hand though…

No meat. Vegetable salad, pinangat (taro leaves in coconut milk and chilis), noodles and a bit of omurice. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

To celebrate the fact that I can already taste some food, I wanted something spicy and so I had pinangat that some Bicolano friends of mine sent me when I was in the middle of my Covid-induced sleep marathon. I ate a lot tonight so I have to refrain from doing that if I want to keep my current post-Covid weight.

I am now used to not having breakfast and only a shot of Berocca to start my day. I should keep my Covid appetite.

Maybe tomorrow I’ll try some crunches, if I am not going to chase my breath. But fixing my dinner tonight took a lot of effort on my part and it kind of left me breathless so let’s see.