#a0k

HIGHLIGHTS [+] / LOWLIGHTS [-] / LESSONS [0] :

[-] Dawn insomnia ~ resulted in sleeping late; but with

[+] Good sleep ~ long & deep, waking up naturally;

[+] Better BP ~ starting the day than yesterday;

[+] Journal writing ~ caught up monthly entries;

[+] Gut release ~ couple of quality discharges;

[0] Body call ~ listen to it & act naturally;

[+] Movie magic ~ couple of good films (The Last Samurai & John Wick) while exercising;

[0] Warrior way ~ life in every breath;

[+] Wifey workout ~ second time 300K challenge done with Wifey Kai;

[+] Good steps ~ from indoor walk despite weather;

[+] Life Goals ~ rebooted & developed further;

[+/-] Trials & difficulty ~ Wind Breathing action;

HIGHLIGHTS [+] / LOWLIGHTS [-] / LESSONS [0] :

[+] Okay sleep ~ of 7 hours, with call interruption (Anytime Fitness about transferrer membership);

[+] Clean routine ~ upon waking up from morning prayer, making bed, to cleaning windows, etc.;

[-] Slightly elevated BP ~ 128 systolic even after multiple rests & retries (cold chilly day);

[+/-] Hearty breakfast ~ palapa, humba, & rice breakfast (meal of the day) with Wifey Kai;

[+] Palapa assist ~ onion peel & mince;

[+] Good chat ~ with Ate, Wifey Kai, Kyu & Steph on updates to South Island Weekend Escapade;

[0] Trip priority ~ more on happiness & time spent together, rather than the plan & details;

[+] Ube pastries ~ ube donut (snack of the day) & spanish bread bought at Filipino Panaderia;

[+] China town shop ~ for rice, tofu, etc.;

[+] Countdown deals ~ siomai, dumplings, coke zero;

[+] KFC Zing ~ er double stacker & boneless shared with Ate & whole family for fast-food dinner;

[-] Failed Compliance ~ Partners office visit by Ate for printing errand (keys left with Macey at home);

[+] Rainy drive ~ home with Ghibli background music;

[0] Piano playlist ~ to be made for rainy day drives;

[+] Pack Palapa ~ home made by Wifey;

[+] Indoor walk ~ to complete & exceed daily steps target & finish Mercury rewards challenge;

ARTHUR 1'23 #5 ~ Rosary Background

To improve my commitment on maintaining the Rosary Aura throughout the duties of every day, I have created mental visuals of imaginary countdowns and backgrounds to help me better monitor at which part of the rosary I am currently at.

This is because I have noticed that without something to focus onto or remind me, I usually carry on with the rosary on auto-pilot while doing stuff and I end up losing track where in the rosary I currently am, especially within the 10 Hail Mary's of each mystery.

And so I would like to share the rosary background I have devised, but please keep in my mind that these have no direct religious (or malicious) connotations (especially with dark & seemingly unholy themes) since it is purely a visual aesthetic on the back of my mind.

Apostle's Creed

Opening Prayer

Mysteries - Our Father

Mysteries - 1st Hail Mary

Mysteries - 2nd Hail Mary

Mysteries - 3rd Hail Mary

Mysteries - 4th Hail Mary

Mysteries - 5th Hail Mary

Mysteries - 6th Hail Mary

Mysteries - 7th Hail Mary

Mysteries - 8th Hail Mary

Mysteries - 9th Hail Mary

Mysteries - 10th Hail Mary

Mysteries - Glory Be

Mysteries - Fatima Prayer

Hail Holy Queen

GAMON 1'23 #5 ~ Packing Minimal Essentials

With about a week left before we depart for New Zealand, it's time to put more effort and focus on the mock packing to finalize what to prepare and bring. And with the 30-kg check-in and 7-kg cabin luggage limit per person, there is going to be a lot of thinking and decisions to be made especially considering our long term plans. Which is going to be the challenge for this week: to finalize packing minimal essentials under the limit. (Under the limit to cover possible measurement discrepancies and/or incidental increase in values)

The goal for the following days will be as follows:

Tuesday ~ no packing targets to give way to scheduled errands;

Wednesday ~ Backwater Station/Antioch Lockdown & update list;

Thursday ~ Shakuras Shadow Warp/Mock Packing (continued);

Friday ~ free day as allowance for delays or early actions;

Saturday ~ purchase additional items (if needed) & pack;

Sunday ~ prep last additional items & finalize packing list; i.e. Sunday mass attire & accessories;

Monday ~ last additional items & final check with packing list

The guiding principles for minimal essentials are as follows:

Class 100 Personals for identification (IDs, Passport), travel (Plane tickets, VISA), finances (PHP, SGD, USD to NZD), notes (journal, notebook), valuable accessories (religious & sentimental jewelry personal care (Wifey's menstrual cup):

PRIORITIZE: ID & official documents for travel AVOID: books & heavy/bulky papers

Class 300 Electronics, 400 Electronics Accessories, 500 Electrical for professional and personal purposes to be used currently and/or indefinitely; i.e. laptop, phones, hard drives:

PRIORITIZE: phone/laptop for work & hard drives for family AVOID: dysfunctional/inefficient stuff,

Class 600 Containers & 900 Bags to secure items for travel (travel case/secure packaging) and for specified future use only:

PRIORITIZE: travel (compliant) containers & bags AVOID: items for hypothetical use,

Class 700 Consumables that cannot be bought at New Zealand for better/cheaper (GT products, alcohol, cosmetics, medicine);

PRIORITIZE: need and/or requested by family & friends AVOID: may be (or alternative) available

Class 800 Apparel for everyday & intended use;

PRIORITIZE: active, work, & winter wear AVOID: not in good condition, do not fit

TL;DR ~ pack only what is confirmed and what you KNOW you need, not what you THINK you will or might possibly need

TUE DO 1'23 #5 ~ Pace music

Music has always been a big part of my life, especially when it comes to my mental health and emotional disposition. But as of late, it has also been playing a significant part in my physical capacity by helping to pace me during my runs. And this is is how to do it:

Pick warm up music to hype yourself up but also help focus solely on the run and not on the other people that may be around;

Search for or build an initial playlist filled with songs that have a significant beat that you can listen and keep in rhythm to;

Avoid random playlists / songs with varying beats and rhythm;

Test actual rhythm of each song (don't base on the BPM measurement) and find ones that match your cadence at difference levels ~ brisk walk, slow jog, regular run, final sprint;

Don't be afraid to play one song over and over again if it helps you focus more and be "zoned in" on your run. This music is not intended to help you look cool, it's to help you run better.

These are my pace music for 2022 and 2023:

2022

warm-up / slow jog

regular run

fast pace / final sprint

2023 (additions to 2022)

warm-up / brisk walk / slow jog

hype-up / fast pace / final sprint

Here's the playlist to the latest version of my Running Pace Music:

REVIEWED 1'23 #5 ~ Temple Run

I am happy to report that I have completed the Running Per/Total Distance target for the month of June per Temple of the Form with good findings and a few days of scheduled running to spare.

In review of the past month of running regularly I have realized a few things that I would like to share and keep in mind moving forward:

After a few days into the month, I realized that the 1.0-km per run and 10-km total running distance I set was playing too safe and I was just using the excuse that I had not run regularly in a long while. I was too afraid of embarrassing myself by setting too "lofty" goals at the get go or gassing myself out during actual runs just trying to meet the targets. But after building up momentum, I found myself back in the rhythm as when I was running regularly, minus the tip top shape form. The lesson is ~ Don't underestimate what you are capable of as long as you are disciplined and focused enough to do the work, and not on what you think or what you think other people may think about what you can do;

At the later part of the month, when I was starting to build up strength and endurance, I seem to notice that I have an easier time when I pick up the pace and include deeper non-interval breathing, than with my usual slow to moderate pacing and regular breathing. It may also be because my body is getting used to running but I have also tried my usual before that and there seems to be a non-insignificant improvement in my performance. And so moving forward, as long as I keep up proper rest and energy intake ~ Focus on sustaining a good pace and be mindful to include deep non-interval breaths in between regular breathing.

And a good thing about all this is that the month has not ended yet and I still have a few more running days scheduled, which bodes well for the incoming increase of target levels for the next month. But the best part is that my fatigue (and fear) levels are starting to dwindle and I find myself eager rather than dreading nights of walking and running. So let's keep it up and let's gooo!