On Board

(By the time you read this, I’ll be on the flight. Hurray!)

It is Europe’s largest city, spanning more than six hundred and twenty square miles from its heart on the River Thames. It is Europe’s most diverse metropolises: there are around two hundred languages spoken within its confines, and more than thirty percent of the population is made up of first, second and third generation immigrants.

This city boasts four World Heritage Sites, 238 attractions that are free to enter (so there’s nowhere else in the world where you can see so much for so little).

As everybody attests, it is one of the finest capital cities to be found anywhere. I could say therefore, that one will have absolutely no chance of getting disappointed when he or she comes to visit the city.

I’m so excited to go around this city. It’s gonna be a great adventure and I’m gonna enjoy every bit of it. Mik-mik, get ready to rock the city! Be sure to connect the dots from A to B on the map ;-).

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The One-Armed Swimmer

I went swimming in the nearby pool last Friday. As I was taking a break after swimming a few laps, some swimmers from the other side of the pool were gazing at me, I just thought. Wrong. Their eyes were not upon me; they were gazing at this tall, blue-eyed, white as a sheet, preggy woman. As I turned my head towards her, we smiled at each other. I tried not to stare at her because I’ve been taught that it’s impolite. But curiosity forced me to steal a second look at what should not be but is, what you are not.

When she plunged into the water, I was amazed by her speed and graceful aquatic moves as she tracked the pool lane. Boy! How I admired her knack with water. She swam the pool exceptionally well. I could tell by her silicone flag swim cap and by her swimming skills that she was a big shot swimmer. While she was cooling down by the poolside, with all guts, I candidly complimented “You’re such a good swimmer.” She just smiled at me and said that she lost her right arm in an accident. I was right; she was a competent swimmer and still is! She told me a bit of her story of her own accord. She wowed me by the things she shared. She, despite having just one arm, didn’t let the injury stop her from swimming. It’s one of her passions and she never gets tired of it. What’s more, she still does pretty much whatever else she decides she wants to do.

I am always inspired by stories like hers and use them to stay motivated with my own fitness goals. Whenever my body aches from gym-ing, I am grateful that I have the complete pack of it- from head to toe. When my legs hurt due to vein/muscle cramps, I just think that I can still walk and jog because I have both of them. Whenever I see my hands with lots of cat’s bites and scratches that left scars on my skin, I just think about how lucky I am to be able to grumble about having two arms and two hands.

There are a lot of things we can learn from people who got disabled from a terrible accident or misfortune. I’ve learned with disability in a situation there is ability. Meeting the one-armed swimmer in the pool is a short-time encounter but I will always cherish it. She’s one of the disabled people I’ve known who have a will and determination that put a lot of us to shame. Instead of dwelling on their conditions and feeling sorry for themselves, they’re out achieving their goals proving that just because they’re disabled, it doesn’t mean they can’t play a part and make a difference. Essentially, they are no different than anyone else. So next time we don’t wanna do something because we are crippled perceptually and emotionally by our painful or awful experiences, think about the handicapped and the disabled whose strengths are great enough to withstand the hard- hitting winds because they have the power to bend but not break.

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A Wise Spender Looks Twice

It has been a while since my last post, again… Time just slipped away, again and again… I wonder where I’ve gone aside from tripping around Sweden and blowing pretty bubbles in the air. The clock runs a little fast that make days go really past and it’s SPRING already- flowers to bloom, the sun zooms in and my gear is on the brooom brooom brooom!

It was a beautiful sunny day. The clear blue sky just made my day. And since I was grinning like the sun today, I hit the mall and treated myself to this soft, lightweight Wool-Cashmere Coat (Italy Made). It made my face even much sunnier. After trying it on, inspecting its fabrics, verifying the buttons and buttonholes and examining the hems, I fell in love with the coat, eventually. You’ve got to pay a good chunk of change for this original coat. Questions weighed up: Do I really need this or I just want it?! Both. To redundantly express how ‘big time’ I wanted the coat- over and above, I ought to give myself a fresh SPRING look (chuckles!). Hence, no teeny doubt, I splashed out on it. (Woolicious & CASHmore coat, so to alter.)

Look Twice: “Buy the best you can and buy less. Good quality coats and clothes cost money, but you won’t regret it.” It may sound vain but it’s worth buying things that make you look amazing and that will keep you up with your poise. But wait a minute, as I claim myself a ‘wise spender’, I ask as I scribble this down- did my impulse beat me today? I just bought a leather jacket last month plus my not-so-old coats are just hanging in the closet, unused. If they could only talk, they would scream out loud “Please use and wear us!”

Let’s face it, most people think (as I used to think and still do sometimes) that splurging their hard- earned money into something cheap is a great idea to save up but it’s not. It’s actually a false economy. I’m not saying that you go making impulsive purchases just because you see everyone else decking out in the latest styles. That isn’t a green light for you to let loose of the “Living Beyond Your Means” cliché. But unless you have your own moneymaking machine, you go ahead and have fun at buying ALL the stuff you wish to have ;-). But just remember to implement your plans of spending wisely before ending up like a spendthrift- Manhattan shopaholic.

Chew on this for a moment: Personal Money Management. I totally understand that it is not easy to drop a penny into a piggy bank especially when you live in a material world nowadays. However, if you possess a sound financial planning and an incredible, practical judgement, it will help you put on the brakes before you jump into a spend-pen, and wisely gauge just how much fashion you can afford.  Blah! Blah! Blah! GUCCI, CK, LV, PRADA, CARTIER, etc., BURBERRY coat, ANYONE?

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A Grip of Double R&R

So much going on, so little time to write. This time of year is tough to get things done.

The past few weeks have been so extreme and exhausting: Having accomplished my target at work driven by mundaneness, busting gym and then being able to attend a university orientation, and being inspired by the passionate sharers and speakers, made me humbly alive again. I could feel the energy of students in the hall. That’s where I get my vigor- attentive, listening crowd.

This week however, I’m taking a double R&R. Of Army, R&R stands for Rest and Relaxation. I’m a soldier of life (not in uniform) who needs R&R- so here I am, having a good time resting and relaxing from stressing list of appointments and commitments, afterwhich, I’ll get back on the move when I feel my fuel has levelled up. And even though I managed to spank myself just to pull up a seat right now, still, part of me is craving a little action that’s why I’m getting a grip on the other R&R- Responsibility and Realization. I’ve been denying the immediacy of my responsibility to realize my dismissed and coveted goals. I guess it’s time to dig a hole and put my excuses in it. Lame excuses- I have a lot. And I’ve been constantly using them to keep my aims on hold. Rationalizing, is it because it takes an overwhelming amount of effort to achieve a race’s end? Not as it should be. Looking back, what the heck was I thinking then? I’ve been goofing off.

So, I’m taking a double R&R (Rest and Relaxation) to kick back then, bounce back to take in hand my personal Responsibility & make my missions into Realization. Oh, it just made me smile 🙂 that I’ve taken a small step and I hope, and I hope and I hope that I become hard as nails that no matter how tough the hammers of life are, I stay calm, cool, focused and collected.

That, my friends, is the sermon for the day, not for you, but for me.

🙂

Get a life-get a grip
Get away somewhere, take a trip
Take a break-take control
Take advice from someone you know

CHORUS:
Come on over-come on in
Pull up a seat-take a load off your feet
Come on over-come on in
You can unwind-take a load off your mind

Make a wish-make a move
Make up your mind-you can choose
When you’re up-when you’re down
When you need a laugh come around

Repeat CHORUS

Oh, oh, oh…

Be a winner-be a star
Be happy to be who you are
Gotta be yourself-gotta make a plan
Gotta go for it while you can

Repeat CHORUS

Get a life-get a grip
Get away somewhere, take a trip
Take a break-take control
Take advice from someone you know

Repeat CHORUS

Oh, oh, oh…

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