Taekwondo Class: Day 1

I've signed up for Taekwondo classes 3 days ago (as part of my current project, which is 30 things to do before I turn 30 -- which I'll elaborate more on a different post) and I'm happy to announce that I finally had my first taste of it today! I'm quite proud of myself for mustering enough courage to do this, because years ago, I didn't have the courage at all. I don't know, maybe I must've felt really intimidated then.

Today was different, though. I felt like a little kid getting ready to attend the first day of school -- giddy, excited, and nervous all at the same time. I was quite nervous because I seriously didn't know what to expect and how the class is going to be. Glad I overcame my nervousness when I got to the class. 

As soon as I got there, the earlier class was just getting ready to finish, so I had a bit of time to compose myself. And whilst I was finishing all the paper work that I needed to sign, take a picture for my class ID, the master started lining the students up. There were all different kinds of belt who've attended - white, yellow, and blue (the highest level thus far of all attendees).

Tired is an understatement of how I felt after the class. I was more like dying! Mind you, it was only a 45-minute class, but after all that stretching (including splits!), kicking, and punching, boy was I glad I came home in one piece! I haven't done any form of exercise in ages, that's why! Hehe. I know tomorrow I will wake up with very sore muscles and I'm not so looking forward to that. Oh, well... at least I've taken the first step to a healthier and more fun living, don't ya think? *winks* Overall, I had a fun first day of class and I'm definitely excited to come back for more. 

Here's a picture of me trying to strike a pose after I got home from the class :P trying to kick-a$$ but hand movements were just blah. hahaha. epic fail.

Stay tuned for more stories and pics to come! My body's aching for the comfort of my bed now ;-) See yah!

let's get the creative juices flowing

I've stopped by the bookstore a few days ago to pick-up some new books to read, wandered in every corner in the hopes of finding an unusual find. And to my surpise, I did! I definitely didn't leave empty-handed.

Looksie!! Here's what I found...

This is called "Scribbles," a giant drawing and coloring book by Taro Gomi, which I found in the children's section. It's for children of all ages. Teehee :) I really like it because it's simple yet it stimulates creativity. It has simple instructions like "these children need some clothes..." and leaves everything up to your imagination. This has been a lot of fun...it's good for long plane rides and times when you just want to de-stress.

Taro Gomi has other version of this too, like...Squiggles, Doodles, etc. Go check it out!

Happiness Tip #1

INDULGE IN GUILTY PLEASURES! :) 

Hehe, this is what I do when I have days that I feel so stressed out from work, or when I'm just simply having a bad one. 

Let me share my list of...well...*ahermm* not-so-guilty pleasures ;-)

• browsing through fmylife.com - gives me a good laugh, hehe
• indulging in some retail therapy (meaning indulging in some unplanned and impulsive shopping :P)
• watching Filipino movies whilst eating my favorite comfort food
• reading romance novels 
• listening to Kpop/Jpop music ~ yeah, i can be fobby like that! :P

How 'bout you, do you have any guilty pleasure or do you ever indulge in one? I wanna know! :)

~~K~~

story of a good samaritan

With everything that's going on in the world, I can honestly say that there are still good people out there. Last week at my work, as I was slowly driving out of the parking lot, I noticed a lady who was jogging and waving her hands towards me.  Not knowing what she wanted, I put my car on park and rolled down my window.  As she approached, I could see that she was a little out of breath trying to catch me before I drove off.  After catching her breath for a few seconds, she stated "Hi, my name is Cathy,  and I wanted to apologize for hitting your car. Did you see the note that I left in your car?" ....hmmm... at this point, I didn't know what to say exactly, especially when I didn't even know that someone had hit my car.  All I could think of was to go along with the conversation so I mustered, "Yes, I saw your note, but was too busy to call and I was gonna call you tomorrow." At this point, I was still sitting in my car with my seat belt on thinking to myself "wow, did someone hit my car?"  I tried to hide the puzzled look in my face so I just opened my door and acknowledged Cathy's presence.  She started to point out the dent as we walked towards the left rear of my truck.  She explained to me that when she was trying to park her car, she accidentally nudged mine.  She said that she just wanted to do the honest deed and inform me that it was her who hit my car.  She explained to me that if it happened to her, she would appreciate it if people would do the same and let her know rather than just walking away since there was no witness(es).  And since Cathy felt so bad, she asked me to get quotes on how much it will cost to get my car fixed. 


A few days later, I started to go through different body shops and got quotes to have my car fixed at a reasonable price. Unfortunately, most body shops declined to do the work because it is too small of a job for them. Luckily, when I finally succumbed and accepted defeat that I wouldn't find a decent body shop that will take care of my car, I was able to find one just a few blocks away from my work place. But I haven't seen Cathy after that so I wasn't really sure on what to do next. 


Earlier today, Cathy spotted me at the lot, and so we talked again about the car. She finally agreed to settle to pay me a reasonable amount to get it repaired, instead of her having to go through the hassle of insurance.  I really appreciated her honesty so I've accepted her offer. I didn't want to give her any hard time because I know that she runs a children's tutoring business, and that alone, is very stressful. My respect goes out to her.


So, yeah, today's been a good day.  There are still good people out there. I respect Cathy's honesty and courage. I'm not sure if I can do the same if it's the other way around.


cheers,
will

Yay!

...just really glad to be able to blog again. I know that Will and I have barely started this blog, but I actually had..errrr...still have my other one, which is a beauty blog. I'm just not too sure on what I should do with it, whether I should continue blogging on that one and link it up to this blog, or just keep this one to avoid any hassles and make it more manageable for me... *scratches head* Well, I know I'll figure something out later on. I'll just savor this moment now that I'm blogging again, and hope that life doesn't swallow me up (again) =/ I've really missed the blogosphere and it feels good to be quite back, hehe.

Cheers to many more posts (hopefully!). *wink wink*

K

Earth Day 2010

Happy Earth Day, everyone!

Have you done anything special today in lieu of Earth Day? I know I have! ;-) I've actually saved some papers and other resources by opting to send my physicians their daily reminders through e-mail. I have around 80 physicians that I handle at work and I usually give each one of them about 5 reminders a day, so you do the math -- that's actually 400 sheets of paper that I've saved today! And I wish I could do this everyday, but sadly, NO. The physicians don't have the time to check their e-mails most of the time, hence the paper reminders. Today's the only exception, and if it doesn't kill them, then it's not that bad. ;-)

And since there were also people collecting recyclables at work, I've also brought my empty ink cartridges from home to recycle. LET'S GO GREEN!!! ...yeah? :)

xoxo,

K

happiness in a tin can

Look what I've found today!

Blah? Okay, look closer.

Suh-weeeet deal baby! It's a buy 1 get 1 free ticket at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Yeah, I'm cheap like that! I love bargains! *wide grin* (Ok, I lied. Will, hunnie, stop rolling your eyes. I admit I'm not really of a bargain shopper, except on few occasions :P).

Will and I have been talking about going to Six Flags since December, but since we didn't want to go during winter, we opted to wait 'til summer time when it's warmer and more beautiful outside, so we can enjoy the rides more. Plus summer time means kids are on vacation, so more people at the park, which is the more, the merrier! I enjoy the rides even better when there are more people screaming, hehe. So this is something to look forward to later on this year. I'm quite excited to ride Tatsu (again), where you'll fly at speeds in excess of 62 mph through deep plunges, huge spirals and sharp dives that'll send you flying through the Park's mountainous terrain. I just love the rush that it gives me!


And while I'm still on the topic of theme parks, here's a few snaps from our last Disneyland (Anaheim, California) trip.

click to enlarge

that's Will right at the very front and his brother-in-law next to him

We're on a theme park kick as of late so we might go to California Adventure sometime this month. We scored a free ticket there when we bought our Disney tickets (we actually got a park-hopper ticket). I haven't been to California Adventure yet so I'm quite thrilled to see it.


P.S.
While I'm writing this post, Will's sister is on labor at the hospital. We're very excited to meet the newest addition to the family! Welcome to the world very soon, baby Emma. 


'til our next adventure,
K

pensive and touchy...

“Death is terrifying because it is so ordinary. It happens all the time.”

3:30 AM
Hits the snooze button and goes back to sleep…

15 minutes later and the alarm clock goes off for the second time…and then hits snooze again…

4:00 AM
That’s what it says on the alarm clock display. Finally gets up to take a shower and get ready for work.

5:15 AM
Makes a toast and a cup of coffee.

5:25 AM
Walks out the door and starts to chime in in the humdrum, morning rush-hour traffic.

And that’s how my morning goes, usually. I get in the office around 6:00-6:05am, depending on the traffic. Past 6am and you’ll catch me scrambling off the garage elevator doors to the main hospital lobby, trying to be at my desk at the earliest time possible (even though we, as part of the management team, do not have a time card to punch in the clock. I don’t know, maybe it’s the OCPD in me.) As I get to my desk, I start my computer, open my work e-mail, log on to Epic and start auditing charts and move on to my day.

Yesterday turned out to be quite different for me, though. It was a bleak and rainy Monday to start off with… what a perfect way to jumpstart the work week, right? And not even half-way through my morning tasks and my desk phone was ringing…


Me: Hi, this is K…
Asia: Hey K, it’s Asia! Have you heard?
Me: Heard what??
Asia: …that E passed away…
Me: What??! Are you serious? How? When?


So many questions raced through my brain and then I felt numb that I didn’t even hear the rest of the things that Asia said. E's death was just so sudden and unexpected (only for me though, as I learned later on). I still remember our last conversation at the lab hallway from when we saw each other last. He was telling me how he had so much fun in Vegas that past weekend and won some money from the slots. To me, he always seemed like a happy-go-lucky guy. He loved to blow off money at the casinos and took vacation everywhere, whilst I secretly wished I could do the same. But little did I know that he had cancer. Liver cancer.


We were never really friends outside of work so I never really knew the story of his life. We just had some common denominators that started us talking and chit-chatting down the hallways. We're both from the province in the Philippines (him from Ilocos and I from Isabela); we had common physician friends at work; and most importantly, we're both Filipino.


Hearing this sad news have had put me in a pensive mood. It just reminded me that life is too short and that I need to live my life to the fullest and just enjoy every second of it. Even though life oftentimes gets so hectic and we get caught in a rat race, we need to stop and take a breather -- 'stop and smell the roses'.


This is kind of a wake up call for me, because truly, my life gets busy and I get stuck in the hustle and bustle of everything.

So off I go to have some fun now!!

P.S.
To you my friend, E, may your soul rest in peace.

tata,
K