Thursday, December 31, 2009
Another Year Past, Another Year Forward
It's that time again...time to reflect back on the year behind us and see what it meant to me.
I'm ending this year in a very different place than last year, at least geographically: back in DC. My return from Singapore in March was bittersweet; I came back to people who are important to me but left behind a life that I enjoyed. I had a fantastic time teaching and my time there ended on a high note. While I was there I really enjoyed the way I lived my life, it was a very social place with people doing stuff together every night. I resolved to live that way after coming home and to a large extent I've succeeded, though I can do a better job of balancing that! I miss Singapore, which is the main reason I headed back that way in September and would love to go back there again. At the time, living there permanently was a possibility, but with some changes in my career plans that option is on hold for now.
Those career changes have been interesting so far, and I'm curious to see what happens in 2010. Though I was planning on retiring from my current career and shifting gears to try something brand new, I was unexpectedly selected for promotion, and that has changed everything. Though I considered turning down the promotion -- after all, I'd already made the mental adjustments I needed to be ready to retire -- I realized there might be some interesting things I could do with this increased rank. As it turns out I've been interviewing for a teaching position here in town, and I think I have a good shot at it. If for some reason that doesn't work out then I'll have some decisions to make...there's a good chance I'll end up turning down the promotion if the assignment doesn't work out like I want. But it's still nice to be selected, because for someone like me who's done a lot of unusual things and who hasn't followed anything like a normal career path, getting promoted was a big surprise indeed.
Career-wise, by the way, my current job hasn't changed at all. It still sucks, and has all year. The saving grace has been that it's given me the chance to do different things outside my regular job because what I do day-to-day isn't very demanding.
Academically, I didn't do much after returning from Singapore. I didn't publish any papers this year, though I did finish a study that I think the State Department is using in crafting their Asia policy, and I presented a paper at a conference, so those are good things. I've still kept up with my writing, not only with my professional blog (which went over 200 entries this year) but also by writing a monthly column for a business newspaper here. Fun!
As is always the case in my life, the most important thing this year has been time with friends. I made some great new friends in Singapore...meeting Joshua at the end of 2008 turned out to be a great thing as our friendship took off and turned into something wonderful. At first I was happy to know him because I thought it was cool that a straight guy in Singapore was so open-minded, but I later I was happy just because he's a great guy. Immediately after the New Year I met Ed, who turned out to be one of my best friends there and to whom I still feel very close (in fact, we talked just this morning). A traveler like me, he managed to arrange his autumn vacation so we could spend about a week together in Singapore when I went back that way in September. It was during that trip that I finally got to know Ben in Singapore, a friend of Linh's whom I'd tried to get to know when I lived there but it just never worked out. In terms of meeting new people here at home, I'd have to say meeting Kevin was the highlight of my year. A doctor from Singapore here on a 2-year fellowship, he was on our dragon boat team and we ended up becoming good friends...during the summer it wasn't uncommon to see him, Stan, Linh and I running around town. I'm sorry he'll be leaving for home soon, but happy to know him. There are a few other folks I've met here whom I'd like to know better, but so far that's been moving slowly...people seem a little too busy to be making new friends, I guess.
Stan and I enjoyed the year together, up to and including his return to DC over Christmas. We had a wonderful relationship as boyfriends which has gone through some changes with his move to Denver and grad school, but that hasn't stopped him from being one of the most important people in my life. I'm very proud of him...he knew what he wanted, he overcame early frustrations to get it, and he's made the shift from full-time worker to full-time student with more ease than I think he realizes. I treasure what we had this year and I treasure what we still have...despite the change in his life, some things won't change.
Linh is my other close friend who went through a big transition this year, as he finished his graduate work and entered the "real" world (fortunately, staying in DC). We knew each other within about 6 weeks of his starting grad school so I got to see that entire process and was really pleased with the growth I saw in him, academically and personally, over those 2 years. I had a feeling that once he left school and had a more normal life we'd have a chance for our already great friendship to grow, and indeed it has. This is one of those friendships that I think will endure no matter what happens in the future.
Since Stan's departure in August I've pretty much avoided dating. I realized that since August 2000 I've either been in a relationship or living with my ex in a weird sort of limbo (Adrian, by the way, moved into his own place in July, leaving me in sole possession of the condo). Having spent all that time with people I decided I needed to make sure I'm OK on my own, that I haven't fallen into that trap of needing to be in a relationship. It's been a bit rocky at times but I'm getting a better handle on who I am as an individual, which had gotten a bit fuzzy at times over the years. Frankly, at this point, I'm waiting to see if someone asks ME out, rather than the other way around.
It's been a year for travel, as every year is for me. While living in Singapore I visited Bangkok and Hong Kong, and stopped in Tokyo for a few days on the way home, my first time there. Stan and I visited San Francisco, New York, and Denver, in addition to our 3-day road trip when we moved him out there. Kevin and I got to go to New York for the US Open, and I also made a later visit there on my own. I also got in a quick trip to Chicago for an academic conference, and that was good, even though it was COLD!! (and I finally got to meet David C on that trip!) In September I managed a 3-week trip back to KL to see my friends there (hi William, David, Azhan, Eddie, Janvier, DanielHenry, Froggy, and all the boys and girls) (and hi Nase, who I finally met!), to Singapore for the same reason, to Hong Kong for exactly the same reason (and to see the Big Buddha and finally go up Victoria Peak), and to Bintan Island for a couple days on the beach with Ed and one more ASEAN stamp in my passport. After going with Stan to Denver in August I headed to Vancouver to check out that city and also see my uncle in Victoria. Good times, eh.
Fitness-wise things only got better this year. I continued to improve my race times, missing my goal of breaking 80 minutes in the 10-miler but still running faster (and missing my goal by mere seconds) while shaving 14 minutes off my previous best marathon time. I ran the Hong Kong Marathon in February (my third) and set a personal record in that, with Tony and Max meeting me at the Finish with cupcakes and a Cathay Pacific flight crew who thought it was the greatest thing that I'd flown in just for the race. The next month Stan and I ran an 8K race in DC, the first race he's ever run, and I was so proud of him for doing that. I later ran two 10-milers and capped off the year with the Marine Corps Marathon, where I absolutely ripped up my old record and set a new standard of performance for myself. Much of my success has been due, I think, to a big improvement in my overall fitness. I've kept up with my gym routines from Singapore and have seen continuing improvement in my body, so much so that I was excited to be photographed for a friend's swimsuit calendar with Linh (and yes, we look hot!). Still not where I want it to be, but definitely getting there.
My health is still good, knock on wood. After 2008's cancer scare I had to have a follow-up colonoscopy this summer, and it came back OK. In Canada I had a sudden kidney stone attack, something that's never happened to me before and it scared me because I didn't know what it was, but after a few hours in the emergency room and some good meds over the next two days, I was fine. A couple of friends and family members have had tragic health problems this year, and those have reinforced my desire to live life as fully as I can now, for you never know when this precious gift can be taken from you.
As I reflect on the year gone by, I don't see much that's new. I had some great times, some great experiences, but mostly they came from the continuation of things I was already doing, or maybe some improvements...nothing really new. I can't think of too many new challenges that I took on, not much new that I studied and learned. That's unusual for me, and I'm not really sure why that happened. Did I just need a rest from change at the end of the decade? Do I have so many great things in my life that I didn't feel the need to add a lot of new stuff? I'm not sure. I guess it's OK, since part of the reason for not doing some new things I expected was the dramatic shift in career plans this year, but if I had to put my finger on what 2009 meant to me, it's kind of elusive. Next year, I have some new things lined up, and some emerging interests I want to explore...we'll see where those go!
When I look back at last year's end of the year post, I realize there are a couple things i said I hoped to do in 2009 that I didn't accomplish. First, I wanted to get back to Hawaii this year, but that didn't happen. I was planning to go in December to run the Honolulu Marathon and then stay for a vacation, but I realized a few things. First, I knew that I needed to save my legs rather than running a race only 7 weeks after the Marine Corps Marathon (a lesson I learned last year). Plus, I should save my money and my vacation days...one reason for not going was because of the big trip to Asia in September and I should be saving up after that for some travel coming early next year. And finally, I wasn't really in the mood to travel alone on this one...Linh had mentioned in July the possibility of going out there with me, but like me he had some big travel later in the year that didn't allow for a Hawaiian vacation in December. So, that one's on hold. I also didn't go to Thailand for massage school or kickboxing camp, mostly because I couldn't fit it into the September trip. But I'm planning to be back there in March and have already registered with the massage school (after seeing kickboxing in Bangkok last January I realized I probably don't need to go to kickboxing camp!). The other thing I wanted to do but don't feel I did was work on strengthening some friendships here, but I think I'll save that discussion for another time.
And yes, I'm looking forward to the future as well...to things I have planned for next year, to things I would like to do in the next year, and to things I still need to do at some point in my life. But I'll cover those next time.
For now, I'll just wish everyone a Happy New Year!!!!!
I'm ending this year in a very different place than last year, at least geographically: back in DC. My return from Singapore in March was bittersweet; I came back to people who are important to me but left behind a life that I enjoyed. I had a fantastic time teaching and my time there ended on a high note. While I was there I really enjoyed the way I lived my life, it was a very social place with people doing stuff together every night. I resolved to live that way after coming home and to a large extent I've succeeded, though I can do a better job of balancing that! I miss Singapore, which is the main reason I headed back that way in September and would love to go back there again. At the time, living there permanently was a possibility, but with some changes in my career plans that option is on hold for now.
Those career changes have been interesting so far, and I'm curious to see what happens in 2010. Though I was planning on retiring from my current career and shifting gears to try something brand new, I was unexpectedly selected for promotion, and that has changed everything. Though I considered turning down the promotion -- after all, I'd already made the mental adjustments I needed to be ready to retire -- I realized there might be some interesting things I could do with this increased rank. As it turns out I've been interviewing for a teaching position here in town, and I think I have a good shot at it. If for some reason that doesn't work out then I'll have some decisions to make...there's a good chance I'll end up turning down the promotion if the assignment doesn't work out like I want. But it's still nice to be selected, because for someone like me who's done a lot of unusual things and who hasn't followed anything like a normal career path, getting promoted was a big surprise indeed.
Career-wise, by the way, my current job hasn't changed at all. It still sucks, and has all year. The saving grace has been that it's given me the chance to do different things outside my regular job because what I do day-to-day isn't very demanding.
Academically, I didn't do much after returning from Singapore. I didn't publish any papers this year, though I did finish a study that I think the State Department is using in crafting their Asia policy, and I presented a paper at a conference, so those are good things. I've still kept up with my writing, not only with my professional blog (which went over 200 entries this year) but also by writing a monthly column for a business newspaper here. Fun!
As is always the case in my life, the most important thing this year has been time with friends. I made some great new friends in Singapore...meeting Joshua at the end of 2008 turned out to be a great thing as our friendship took off and turned into something wonderful. At first I was happy to know him because I thought it was cool that a straight guy in Singapore was so open-minded, but I later I was happy just because he's a great guy. Immediately after the New Year I met Ed, who turned out to be one of my best friends there and to whom I still feel very close (in fact, we talked just this morning). A traveler like me, he managed to arrange his autumn vacation so we could spend about a week together in Singapore when I went back that way in September. It was during that trip that I finally got to know Ben in Singapore, a friend of Linh's whom I'd tried to get to know when I lived there but it just never worked out. In terms of meeting new people here at home, I'd have to say meeting Kevin was the highlight of my year. A doctor from Singapore here on a 2-year fellowship, he was on our dragon boat team and we ended up becoming good friends...during the summer it wasn't uncommon to see him, Stan, Linh and I running around town. I'm sorry he'll be leaving for home soon, but happy to know him. There are a few other folks I've met here whom I'd like to know better, but so far that's been moving slowly...people seem a little too busy to be making new friends, I guess.
Stan and I enjoyed the year together, up to and including his return to DC over Christmas. We had a wonderful relationship as boyfriends which has gone through some changes with his move to Denver and grad school, but that hasn't stopped him from being one of the most important people in my life. I'm very proud of him...he knew what he wanted, he overcame early frustrations to get it, and he's made the shift from full-time worker to full-time student with more ease than I think he realizes. I treasure what we had this year and I treasure what we still have...despite the change in his life, some things won't change.
Linh is my other close friend who went through a big transition this year, as he finished his graduate work and entered the "real" world (fortunately, staying in DC). We knew each other within about 6 weeks of his starting grad school so I got to see that entire process and was really pleased with the growth I saw in him, academically and personally, over those 2 years. I had a feeling that once he left school and had a more normal life we'd have a chance for our already great friendship to grow, and indeed it has. This is one of those friendships that I think will endure no matter what happens in the future.
Since Stan's departure in August I've pretty much avoided dating. I realized that since August 2000 I've either been in a relationship or living with my ex in a weird sort of limbo (Adrian, by the way, moved into his own place in July, leaving me in sole possession of the condo). Having spent all that time with people I decided I needed to make sure I'm OK on my own, that I haven't fallen into that trap of needing to be in a relationship. It's been a bit rocky at times but I'm getting a better handle on who I am as an individual, which had gotten a bit fuzzy at times over the years. Frankly, at this point, I'm waiting to see if someone asks ME out, rather than the other way around.
It's been a year for travel, as every year is for me. While living in Singapore I visited Bangkok and Hong Kong, and stopped in Tokyo for a few days on the way home, my first time there. Stan and I visited San Francisco, New York, and Denver, in addition to our 3-day road trip when we moved him out there. Kevin and I got to go to New York for the US Open, and I also made a later visit there on my own. I also got in a quick trip to Chicago for an academic conference, and that was good, even though it was COLD!! (and I finally got to meet David C on that trip!) In September I managed a 3-week trip back to KL to see my friends there (hi William, David, Azhan, Eddie, Janvier, DanielHenry, Froggy, and all the boys and girls) (and hi Nase, who I finally met!), to Singapore for the same reason, to Hong Kong for exactly the same reason (and to see the Big Buddha and finally go up Victoria Peak), and to Bintan Island for a couple days on the beach with Ed and one more ASEAN stamp in my passport. After going with Stan to Denver in August I headed to Vancouver to check out that city and also see my uncle in Victoria. Good times, eh.
Fitness-wise things only got better this year. I continued to improve my race times, missing my goal of breaking 80 minutes in the 10-miler but still running faster (and missing my goal by mere seconds) while shaving 14 minutes off my previous best marathon time. I ran the Hong Kong Marathon in February (my third) and set a personal record in that, with Tony and Max meeting me at the Finish with cupcakes and a Cathay Pacific flight crew who thought it was the greatest thing that I'd flown in just for the race. The next month Stan and I ran an 8K race in DC, the first race he's ever run, and I was so proud of him for doing that. I later ran two 10-milers and capped off the year with the Marine Corps Marathon, where I absolutely ripped up my old record and set a new standard of performance for myself. Much of my success has been due, I think, to a big improvement in my overall fitness. I've kept up with my gym routines from Singapore and have seen continuing improvement in my body, so much so that I was excited to be photographed for a friend's swimsuit calendar with Linh (and yes, we look hot!). Still not where I want it to be, but definitely getting there.
My health is still good, knock on wood. After 2008's cancer scare I had to have a follow-up colonoscopy this summer, and it came back OK. In Canada I had a sudden kidney stone attack, something that's never happened to me before and it scared me because I didn't know what it was, but after a few hours in the emergency room and some good meds over the next two days, I was fine. A couple of friends and family members have had tragic health problems this year, and those have reinforced my desire to live life as fully as I can now, for you never know when this precious gift can be taken from you.
As I reflect on the year gone by, I don't see much that's new. I had some great times, some great experiences, but mostly they came from the continuation of things I was already doing, or maybe some improvements...nothing really new. I can't think of too many new challenges that I took on, not much new that I studied and learned. That's unusual for me, and I'm not really sure why that happened. Did I just need a rest from change at the end of the decade? Do I have so many great things in my life that I didn't feel the need to add a lot of new stuff? I'm not sure. I guess it's OK, since part of the reason for not doing some new things I expected was the dramatic shift in career plans this year, but if I had to put my finger on what 2009 meant to me, it's kind of elusive. Next year, I have some new things lined up, and some emerging interests I want to explore...we'll see where those go!
When I look back at last year's end of the year post, I realize there are a couple things i said I hoped to do in 2009 that I didn't accomplish. First, I wanted to get back to Hawaii this year, but that didn't happen. I was planning to go in December to run the Honolulu Marathon and then stay for a vacation, but I realized a few things. First, I knew that I needed to save my legs rather than running a race only 7 weeks after the Marine Corps Marathon (a lesson I learned last year). Plus, I should save my money and my vacation days...one reason for not going was because of the big trip to Asia in September and I should be saving up after that for some travel coming early next year. And finally, I wasn't really in the mood to travel alone on this one...Linh had mentioned in July the possibility of going out there with me, but like me he had some big travel later in the year that didn't allow for a Hawaiian vacation in December. So, that one's on hold. I also didn't go to Thailand for massage school or kickboxing camp, mostly because I couldn't fit it into the September trip. But I'm planning to be back there in March and have already registered with the massage school (after seeing kickboxing in Bangkok last January I realized I probably don't need to go to kickboxing camp!). The other thing I wanted to do but don't feel I did was work on strengthening some friendships here, but I think I'll save that discussion for another time.
And yes, I'm looking forward to the future as well...to things I have planned for next year, to things I would like to do in the next year, and to things I still need to do at some point in my life. But I'll cover those next time.
For now, I'll just wish everyone a Happy New Year!!!!!
Labels: Friends, Health, Life, Living in SG, Running, Teaching, Travel
Monday, October 19, 2009
Getting Into the Proper Zen-like State of Mind, Day 2
It's all about water and sleep.
I need to be hydrated for the marathon, a lesson that hit home in the Singapore marathon last year when I had trouble running toward the end and felt the first signs of heatstroke as i crossed the finish line. While Sunday promises to be cooler and less humid, I still need to be watered up. Rather than waiting until the day before the race, I'm drinking up now.
Sure, I should be drinking more water every day anyway. I know I don't drink enough, and that's bad for me. My hope is that, as with other fitness and health habits I've picked up in the last year, maybe I'll get into the habit of drinking more water and less coffee during this week and the pattern will continue on.
And sleep...that's key. I need to be well-rested Sunday, and I've learned from some of my training runs that it isn't just the sleep I get the night before that matters. You know how after a few nights of only 5 hours of sleep per night (which is actually a pretty normal week for me) your body often shuts down and says "I'm going to sleep now, and I don't care if you ARE driving a car."? Well, that affects your running too, and I don't need the hassle. Not that I'll fall asleep on the course, but fatigue is a bad thing and I don't need it hitting me at Mile 20. I'll be tired enough as it is.
Speaking of sleep, I need to go to bed soon.
The news of the three runners who died in Sunday's Detroit Marathon is very sobering, but it's not affecting me. I know I'm in good shape; if there's anything wrong with my heart, it's something that's never been detected despite all my physical exams, so I have to assume I'm all good there. I've done this before so I know I can do it without dying. I'll stay hydrated, and I know there's good medical support all along the course, so I'm not freaked out by the horrible events there.
In fact, I'm feeling so good about this weekend's race that today I registered for the 2010 Hong Kong Marathon next February. Now THAT'S optimism!!!!
I need to be hydrated for the marathon, a lesson that hit home in the Singapore marathon last year when I had trouble running toward the end and felt the first signs of heatstroke as i crossed the finish line. While Sunday promises to be cooler and less humid, I still need to be watered up. Rather than waiting until the day before the race, I'm drinking up now.
Sure, I should be drinking more water every day anyway. I know I don't drink enough, and that's bad for me. My hope is that, as with other fitness and health habits I've picked up in the last year, maybe I'll get into the habit of drinking more water and less coffee during this week and the pattern will continue on.
And sleep...that's key. I need to be well-rested Sunday, and I've learned from some of my training runs that it isn't just the sleep I get the night before that matters. You know how after a few nights of only 5 hours of sleep per night (which is actually a pretty normal week for me) your body often shuts down and says "I'm going to sleep now, and I don't care if you ARE driving a car."? Well, that affects your running too, and I don't need the hassle. Not that I'll fall asleep on the course, but fatigue is a bad thing and I don't need it hitting me at Mile 20. I'll be tired enough as it is.
Speaking of sleep, I need to go to bed soon.
The news of the three runners who died in Sunday's Detroit Marathon is very sobering, but it's not affecting me. I know I'm in good shape; if there's anything wrong with my heart, it's something that's never been detected despite all my physical exams, so I have to assume I'm all good there. I've done this before so I know I can do it without dying. I'll stay hydrated, and I know there's good medical support all along the course, so I'm not freaked out by the horrible events there.
In fact, I'm feeling so good about this weekend's race that today I registered for the 2010 Hong Kong Marathon next February. Now THAT'S optimism!!!!
Friday, August 14, 2009
No Big C for Me
It's been a year, so time for another colonoscopy.
After last year's cancer scare, which turned out to be just a few polyps, it was time for a 1-year follow up. The procedure itself isn't so bad -- I'm asleep for it mostly, and even when I'm not, I've got some good meds keeping me calm -- but the prep for it the day before is no fun. For the doctor to see what all is inside, the colon has to be empty. Completely empty. I'll spare the details.
Like last year, Stan was there with me, since I can't drive afterwards because of the sedatives. The nurse aked hm, "you look so young...do you mind if I ask how old you are?" When he told her he's 24, she said "good...you beat our minimum by 3 years." So yeah, she was concerned he might be under 21. Hahaha
Another nurse said to me later, "I can't believe you're 43...you look like you're in your 20s." Sounds like she took the sedatives meant for me. But I'll take it.
As they took me into the procedure room and hooked me up to the monitors, the alarm on te heart monitor sounded. My pulse was down around 48 (I later saw it go as low as 42). The nurse asked, "do you work out or something?" I said yeah, I run marathons, and when the alarm would go off every few minutes I'd hear her tell people, "it's ok, he's a marathoner."
I woke up during the procedure, and when the nurse noticed she told me they gave me less of the sedative than last year, but they could give me more and knock me back out. But I was watching it on TV, seeing what I looked like inside, and I told her I'd rather stay awake. They'd found a polyp, and it was in a tricky location, so I watched (and felt) as they removed it. It took a little while, though, and it was starting to get a little painful. Even after the polyp was out I could feel the camera/blowtorch, or whatever is on that tool, bouncing around inside me. I was about to ask them to knock me out again, but it turned out they were removing it from me and were done a few seconds later. At least I didn't get hard.
Stan drove me to lunch and then home, and like last year, he got to hear some stories from my past. Among other things, I told him about each of the people in DC I'd had a crush on at some point.
Karma caught up with me later. I'd decided that, come Friday afternoon, I was going to "feel uncomfortable" as an excuse to leave work, then go hang out with Linh, who had the day off. Anyway, by Thursday night I did indeed have some stomach pain going on, feeling like a bad stomach cramp. That's what I get for planning to fib. But I went into the office Friday morn, did more work in 4 hours than most of my collegues do in three days, then took off. The universe might punish me, but the office still gets its moneys worth out of me.
After last year's cancer scare, which turned out to be just a few polyps, it was time for a 1-year follow up. The procedure itself isn't so bad -- I'm asleep for it mostly, and even when I'm not, I've got some good meds keeping me calm -- but the prep for it the day before is no fun. For the doctor to see what all is inside, the colon has to be empty. Completely empty. I'll spare the details.
Like last year, Stan was there with me, since I can't drive afterwards because of the sedatives. The nurse aked hm, "you look so young...do you mind if I ask how old you are?" When he told her he's 24, she said "good...you beat our minimum by 3 years." So yeah, she was concerned he might be under 21. Hahaha
Another nurse said to me later, "I can't believe you're 43...you look like you're in your 20s." Sounds like she took the sedatives meant for me. But I'll take it.
As they took me into the procedure room and hooked me up to the monitors, the alarm on te heart monitor sounded. My pulse was down around 48 (I later saw it go as low as 42). The nurse asked, "do you work out or something?" I said yeah, I run marathons, and when the alarm would go off every few minutes I'd hear her tell people, "it's ok, he's a marathoner."
I woke up during the procedure, and when the nurse noticed she told me they gave me less of the sedative than last year, but they could give me more and knock me back out. But I was watching it on TV, seeing what I looked like inside, and I told her I'd rather stay awake. They'd found a polyp, and it was in a tricky location, so I watched (and felt) as they removed it. It took a little while, though, and it was starting to get a little painful. Even after the polyp was out I could feel the camera/blowtorch, or whatever is on that tool, bouncing around inside me. I was about to ask them to knock me out again, but it turned out they were removing it from me and were done a few seconds later. At least I didn't get hard.
Stan drove me to lunch and then home, and like last year, he got to hear some stories from my past. Among other things, I told him about each of the people in DC I'd had a crush on at some point.
Karma caught up with me later. I'd decided that, come Friday afternoon, I was going to "feel uncomfortable" as an excuse to leave work, then go hang out with Linh, who had the day off. Anyway, by Thursday night I did indeed have some stomach pain going on, feeling like a bad stomach cramp. That's what I get for planning to fib. But I went into the office Friday morn, did more work in 4 hours than most of my collegues do in three days, then took off. The universe might punish me, but the office still gets its moneys worth out of me.
Labels: Health
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Oh Thank Goodness
My air conditioning has been out for, oh, about a month. The agreement was that Adrian would make the arrangements for it and I would pay for it. He got it checked out last month but then suggested we get his brother-in-law, who does this stuff for a living, to come help us fix it for now rather than getting the whole thing replaced, which the original company wanted to charge us $6600 for. But it's the busy season for his brother-in-law, because it's summer in DC and nasty hot, so he wasn't able to get to us until tonight.
But the temperature is coming down and we can close the windows again, and maybe get a good night's sleep. We still have to get the thing permanently fixed, if not totally replaced, At least it's cooler for now.
I needed this too, because I picked up a bad cough at my folks' house this weekend, possibly just due to bad allergies, and keeping the windows open here didn't help. I stayed home from work most of Monday, and Stan, bless his heart, told me to come over to his place that afternoon to get a decent sleep.
Feeling poopy like this has kept me from running, and out of the gym, for a week. I feel myself getting fat and icky.
Grrrrrrrrrrr
In other news, I just learned that the new season of Real World is filming here in DC. I am so going by there, so watch for me next time.
But the temperature is coming down and we can close the windows again, and maybe get a good night's sleep. We still have to get the thing permanently fixed, if not totally replaced, At least it's cooler for now.
I needed this too, because I picked up a bad cough at my folks' house this weekend, possibly just due to bad allergies, and keeping the windows open here didn't help. I stayed home from work most of Monday, and Stan, bless his heart, told me to come over to his place that afternoon to get a decent sleep.
Feeling poopy like this has kept me from running, and out of the gym, for a week. I feel myself getting fat and icky.
Grrrrrrrrrrr
In other news, I just learned that the new season of Real World is filming here in DC. I am so going by there, so watch for me next time.
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
My Last...
So far, I've been pretty good. No "This is my last Tuesday in Singapore!" or "This is my last trip between Tanjong Pagar and Tiong Bahru!!" or that sort of thing. I've pretty much kept it together while meeting up with folks to say goodbye, though I'm sure I'll be a blubbering idiot at the airport tomorrow (sorry in advance to Ed, who's graciously agreed to take me there at 5am, and Joshua, who will meet us there). As DanielHenry pointed out, it's not like I'm never coming back.
But I did just get back from my last gym workout, and Monday was my last training session, though Mattew did sit down with me today for about an hour to go over the program he's had me working for the last 4 months. In the process of those 4 months (or at least, since Dec 15, when I first did a body scan at the gym) I've gone from 138 pounds to 146 pounds. In the meantime, my fat mass dropped while my muscle mass increased by 8 pounds. So basically, all that increase was muscle. My body fat percentage, meanwhile, dropped from 10.4% to 9.4% during those 2 1/2 months (which did include a marathon, of course).
This is nice, because while I was worrying last year about losing weight, I always said it wasn't the numbers I was concerned about, it was what they represented. When there was too much fat I wanted the weight to go down but with the addition of this muscle I'm more than happy for the numbers to go up. My improved fitness was evident during the Hong Kong marathon and I definitely feel better every day.
There is a strong sense of personal satisfaction coming out of my gym experience. And not only because I was getting cruised more as time went by. :P
But I did just get back from my last gym workout, and Monday was my last training session, though Mattew did sit down with me today for about an hour to go over the program he's had me working for the last 4 months. In the process of those 4 months (or at least, since Dec 15, when I first did a body scan at the gym) I've gone from 138 pounds to 146 pounds. In the meantime, my fat mass dropped while my muscle mass increased by 8 pounds. So basically, all that increase was muscle. My body fat percentage, meanwhile, dropped from 10.4% to 9.4% during those 2 1/2 months (which did include a marathon, of course).
This is nice, because while I was worrying last year about losing weight, I always said it wasn't the numbers I was concerned about, it was what they represented. When there was too much fat I wanted the weight to go down but with the addition of this muscle I'm more than happy for the numbers to go up. My improved fitness was evident during the Hong Kong marathon and I definitely feel better every day.
There is a strong sense of personal satisfaction coming out of my gym experience. And not only because I was getting cruised more as time went by. :P
Labels: Health, Living in SG, Running
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Year's End
Like many people I like to take time at the end of the year to look forward to what comes next, even though I shy away from making resolutions and instead try to make plans But also like most people I like to reflect on the year gone by, focusing on the good stuff but remembering, too, the bad.
The area of relationships includes both good and bad aspects. On the downside, I realized near the beginning of the year that, despite a year of resolving to work on our problems and trying to come back together, Adrian and I just couldn't seem to work things out. There's no need to get into details here, it just seemed we both had different ideas about what it would take to restart our relationship. Sadly, we had been moving in different directions, though fortunately we have been able to remain friends (a good thing, seeing as we still live together in the condo we co-own). He has been dating someone since this summer and I'm happy for him.
On the upside, however, things took a nice turn with Stan. We met at a Halloween party in 2007 and had been getting to know each other over time. In February, when he changed jobs and got a more normal schedule, we had more time to hang out and over a few months seemed to develop into "best friends." That development continued and by the time July came around we added "dating" to our description, and the word "boyfriends" entered our vocabulary this fall. So yes, I have a very nice boyfriend, and I'm very happy about that.
That has made my current work situation a little bittersweet. One of the most unique aspects of this year has been my (temporary) return to teaching. I learned at the end of April that I'd been selected for a prestigious academic exchange program. As a result I now live in Singapore, from November 2008 to March 2009, teaching a graduate school course at a major university here. It's fun, as I love teaching and I've always been interested in living in Asia, so this is great and I'm having a blast. It sucks to leave a boyfriend behind for 4 months, but fortunately he saved up his vacation time and we used a frequent flyer ticket to bring him over for 12 days, so YAY for us having an Asian adventure!!
I'm enjoying my time in Singapore and really feel like I'm fitting into the local landscape. I have some nice friends here and am very happy about that. There are still other people I want to meet, people I've known online for a long time, but I'm having trouble organizing my time well. Since I'm about halfway through my time here, I need to do better with that. I'm going to the gym regularly here and have a trainer and am feeling much better about my body, in terms of both health and appearance.
My time in Singapore has created some opportunties for travel. A couple weeks ago I was in Saigon for the first time and I just returned from a trip to Penang with Stan, my first time there as well. I'm hoping to get to Thailand for a weekend and will also be spending a weekend in Hong Kong in February, followed by four days in Tokyo on my way home in March.
There has been a LOT of travel this year. I worked in a couple trips to New York, both on my own and with Stan, and one of those was a quick hop up to see a play with just an overnight stay (I almost went without staying overnight but realized I needed at least one night in the city). I got reintroduced to Don't Tell Mama and The Web and visited a few other nice restaurants and bars, and much fun was had each time.
Short, domestic trips for work included a weekend in Atlanta and a weekend in Portland, my first time there. I got to see one of my old students, who has turned into a much more mature and interesting young man than he was when I first knew him in Colorado (and he was pretty mature and interesting even then!). Later I spent a few days in San Francisco for an academic conference where I got to see an old friend from SF and also see my friends Carol and Giacomo, who were teaching there at the time. I didn't make it to Hawaii for work this year, which is unusual, but I'm determined to make it there next year, for vacation if nothing else. This was also my first year at Gay Disney in Orlando at the end of May, which was a pretty fun weekend with friends. Not sure if I'll do it again, and if I do it may be a bit different, but it was a fun weekend for sure.
The big trip this year was to Southeast Asia, where I spent 3 weeks for work in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore, with a couple days' stop up in Hong Kong on the way home. In Bangkok I saw Bom for the first time in a couple years, and also had an adventure with Linh from DC, who was there on an internship. In KL I got to spend time with my blogger friends and finally met DanielHenry and got the chance to know David better, and also got to spend some good times with Eddie (and introduce him to the bloggers!) and William, Alex, and Jason as well. The trip was long, and I was ready to get home when it was over. Other than New York and Rehoboth Beach, that was pretty much it for travel until heading to Singapore in November.
One reason I neeeded to get home was the running. I was training for a big race and needed to get into my routine by early July, and once I did I worked my ass off. After some friends ran the Marine Corps Marathon in 2007 they convinced me I should give it a try in 2008, so I committed myself to doing that. I only started running in January (before that, 30 minutes on the elliptical machine was my aerobic workout). By March I ran my first race, a five-miler, and in April I ran the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler, a big race in DC. But I managed to injure my knee and couldn't run for a few weeks, and then my Asia trip came up, so I didn't really start marathon training until July. I was running 3 times per week and mostly designed my own training schedule, with encouragement from Ethan and Vu. I got myself ready for the Army 10-Miler in early October and knocked more than 8 minutes off my previous 10-mile time. 3 weeks later came the Marathon, and I kicked its ass. I was thrilled that I ran the whole way, never slowing down to a walk, and I finished in what I thought was a pretty decent time for a first-timer. It was an amazing feeling to do that, especially going from not running at all to running a marathon in only 10 months. To the surprise of everyone, not the least of whom me, six weeks later I ran the Singapore Marathon, and while my time was slower, I still finished ahead of 79% of the runners, so not too bad. I'm kinda proud of myself for setting this goal and achieving it. Physical fitness has never been my strength (pun intended) so I'm very happy this all went so well.
My other physical activity was dragon boating, which I totally got into. After rowing with AQUA in the DC festival back in May I have given some thought to joining DC's dragonboat team but I'm not sure I can make the time committment right now. I've enjoyed watching dragonboating in Singapore (for all the obvious reasons) and would like to hook up with a team here, just to learn some things from them, but I'm kinda out of time in my daily schedule, so we'll see how that works out.
Thanks to all that physical activity I felt comfortable doing some modeling this year. I got to be a part of Vu's calender (last year it was al Asian men, this year it was pairs of folks) and that was fun. I also did two sessions for a professional who was looking for models, one by myself and one with a second person. That was a lot of fun, I got to exlore some interesting ideas and also learned to feel comfortable in front of a camera -- I'm not the most photogenic person in the world, so that was a nice experience.
This has been a good year for friends. In addition to gettig to know Stan better early in the year I also found my friendship with Ethan strengthening, and that has been nice. Linh and I also bonded a bit, and we may have the Spice Girls to thank for that. I formally joined AQUA in January, as one of the "token white guys," heh heh heh. Along the way I've gotten to know a couple new folks and have seen my friendships with others develop over the year. There have been some fun parties, some trips, but to be honest I'm still trying to find the solid ground underneath my relationships in DC. The situation with Adrian and I has, I think, made other relationships a bit unstable, simply because our lives have been so uncertain. Overseas, I finally got the chance to meet Azhan, whom I've known online for a couple years, as well as Derek in Singapore whom I've also known online for a long time, and I've added Jasen, Alan, Joshua, and KK to the "good friends" list as well.
I've barely mentioned "work" in any of this, and that's because work in DC is just not an important part of my life right now. I do it, and I do it well, but it bores me. My bosses have no idea what to do with me and cannot figure out how to use my skills, so my days at the office seem filled with tasks that really don't matter. That's partly why I applied for the exchange program, and that's partly why I did a research project for another agency (that's who sent me on the 3-week Asia trip this summer). I wish they wanted to use me, but they don't, so I look for other opportunties to be useful and to develop my own skills, and I spend a lot of time planning my exit from this career next year.
My concerns about wasting time in this job became very important this summer when I had a health scare. During a physical exam the doctor told me that I had symptoms of colon cancer. A long three weeks later I finally had a colonoscopy and the results were negative for cancer. That's good, and it also reminded me that things can happen and life can end suddenly, so it's best to get the most out of it now rather than waiting for a day that may never come. I emerged from that experience content with my life, realizing that while there are many things I still WANT to do, I think I have done most if not all of the things I HAVE to do in my life. It's comforting to feel I have not wasted my time on this earth.
One new "work" experience this year has been a professional blog I started. I'm not sure what sparked my interest but I began writing a blog that, if done right, can later be turned into a book and developed into a university course. It was a bit "stop and go" as I started it this spring but by the summer knew I hadn't done it quite right. I stoped, retooled it over a couple months,then restarted it in the fall. It doesn't have a lot of readers but it does give me a chance to express myself, so we'll see where it goes.
It has been an amazing year, full of changes good and bad. I look forward to 2009. What will happen then? Well, there will be a major career change late in the year, and once that happens I'll be a bit more open about some things on this website. I'm going to continue running, and in additon to the races I ran this year (except the Singapore Marathon, I think) I'm planning a couple additional ones. I'm also going to continue the gym routines and the nutrition plans I've been working on in Singapore, so I can finally feel healthy and good about my body. Stan is leaving DC for grad school at the end of the summer, and that will create a hole in my life. I'm going to work harder on my DC friendships, and perhaps cut back on the travel a bit so I can focus more on home. Having said that, I still plan a trip to Vancouver, and at least one trip to San Francisco, and there's a good chance I'll have an extended stay back in Thailand, perhaps for 3 weeks in September to go to massage school and kickboxing camp. Hey, why not? My business blog has been picked up as a column for a newspaper so I'll be writing that this year, and I look forward to doing more with the blog itself.
All in all, a very good year. 2008 reminded me that I'm one of the luckiest people on Earth, with good friends, lots of opportunities for adventures, and interesting career possibilities that are pretty much within my own control rather than someone else's. My goal when moving to DC in 2006 was to use this time to set myself up for all the fascinating things that are set to occur for me in 2009. Despite the ups and downs along the way and the interesting (and usually good) changes to my plans, I think I've succeeded in that. 2008 was good, and I'm ready for 2009.
Bring it on.
The area of relationships includes both good and bad aspects. On the downside, I realized near the beginning of the year that, despite a year of resolving to work on our problems and trying to come back together, Adrian and I just couldn't seem to work things out. There's no need to get into details here, it just seemed we both had different ideas about what it would take to restart our relationship. Sadly, we had been moving in different directions, though fortunately we have been able to remain friends (a good thing, seeing as we still live together in the condo we co-own). He has been dating someone since this summer and I'm happy for him.
On the upside, however, things took a nice turn with Stan. We met at a Halloween party in 2007 and had been getting to know each other over time. In February, when he changed jobs and got a more normal schedule, we had more time to hang out and over a few months seemed to develop into "best friends." That development continued and by the time July came around we added "dating" to our description, and the word "boyfriends" entered our vocabulary this fall. So yes, I have a very nice boyfriend, and I'm very happy about that.
That has made my current work situation a little bittersweet. One of the most unique aspects of this year has been my (temporary) return to teaching. I learned at the end of April that I'd been selected for a prestigious academic exchange program. As a result I now live in Singapore, from November 2008 to March 2009, teaching a graduate school course at a major university here. It's fun, as I love teaching and I've always been interested in living in Asia, so this is great and I'm having a blast. It sucks to leave a boyfriend behind for 4 months, but fortunately he saved up his vacation time and we used a frequent flyer ticket to bring him over for 12 days, so YAY for us having an Asian adventure!!
I'm enjoying my time in Singapore and really feel like I'm fitting into the local landscape. I have some nice friends here and am very happy about that. There are still other people I want to meet, people I've known online for a long time, but I'm having trouble organizing my time well. Since I'm about halfway through my time here, I need to do better with that. I'm going to the gym regularly here and have a trainer and am feeling much better about my body, in terms of both health and appearance.
My time in Singapore has created some opportunties for travel. A couple weeks ago I was in Saigon for the first time and I just returned from a trip to Penang with Stan, my first time there as well. I'm hoping to get to Thailand for a weekend and will also be spending a weekend in Hong Kong in February, followed by four days in Tokyo on my way home in March.
There has been a LOT of travel this year. I worked in a couple trips to New York, both on my own and with Stan, and one of those was a quick hop up to see a play with just an overnight stay (I almost went without staying overnight but realized I needed at least one night in the city). I got reintroduced to Don't Tell Mama and The Web and visited a few other nice restaurants and bars, and much fun was had each time.
Short, domestic trips for work included a weekend in Atlanta and a weekend in Portland, my first time there. I got to see one of my old students, who has turned into a much more mature and interesting young man than he was when I first knew him in Colorado (and he was pretty mature and interesting even then!). Later I spent a few days in San Francisco for an academic conference where I got to see an old friend from SF and also see my friends Carol and Giacomo, who were teaching there at the time. I didn't make it to Hawaii for work this year, which is unusual, but I'm determined to make it there next year, for vacation if nothing else. This was also my first year at Gay Disney in Orlando at the end of May, which was a pretty fun weekend with friends. Not sure if I'll do it again, and if I do it may be a bit different, but it was a fun weekend for sure.
The big trip this year was to Southeast Asia, where I spent 3 weeks for work in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore, with a couple days' stop up in Hong Kong on the way home. In Bangkok I saw Bom for the first time in a couple years, and also had an adventure with Linh from DC, who was there on an internship. In KL I got to spend time with my blogger friends and finally met DanielHenry and got the chance to know David better, and also got to spend some good times with Eddie (and introduce him to the bloggers!) and William, Alex, and Jason as well. The trip was long, and I was ready to get home when it was over. Other than New York and Rehoboth Beach, that was pretty much it for travel until heading to Singapore in November.
One reason I neeeded to get home was the running. I was training for a big race and needed to get into my routine by early July, and once I did I worked my ass off. After some friends ran the Marine Corps Marathon in 2007 they convinced me I should give it a try in 2008, so I committed myself to doing that. I only started running in January (before that, 30 minutes on the elliptical machine was my aerobic workout). By March I ran my first race, a five-miler, and in April I ran the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler, a big race in DC. But I managed to injure my knee and couldn't run for a few weeks, and then my Asia trip came up, so I didn't really start marathon training until July. I was running 3 times per week and mostly designed my own training schedule, with encouragement from Ethan and Vu. I got myself ready for the Army 10-Miler in early October and knocked more than 8 minutes off my previous 10-mile time. 3 weeks later came the Marathon, and I kicked its ass. I was thrilled that I ran the whole way, never slowing down to a walk, and I finished in what I thought was a pretty decent time for a first-timer. It was an amazing feeling to do that, especially going from not running at all to running a marathon in only 10 months. To the surprise of everyone, not the least of whom me, six weeks later I ran the Singapore Marathon, and while my time was slower, I still finished ahead of 79% of the runners, so not too bad. I'm kinda proud of myself for setting this goal and achieving it. Physical fitness has never been my strength (pun intended) so I'm very happy this all went so well.
My other physical activity was dragon boating, which I totally got into. After rowing with AQUA in the DC festival back in May I have given some thought to joining DC's dragonboat team but I'm not sure I can make the time committment right now. I've enjoyed watching dragonboating in Singapore (for all the obvious reasons) and would like to hook up with a team here, just to learn some things from them, but I'm kinda out of time in my daily schedule, so we'll see how that works out.
Thanks to all that physical activity I felt comfortable doing some modeling this year. I got to be a part of Vu's calender (last year it was al Asian men, this year it was pairs of folks) and that was fun. I also did two sessions for a professional who was looking for models, one by myself and one with a second person. That was a lot of fun, I got to exlore some interesting ideas and also learned to feel comfortable in front of a camera -- I'm not the most photogenic person in the world, so that was a nice experience.
This has been a good year for friends. In addition to gettig to know Stan better early in the year I also found my friendship with Ethan strengthening, and that has been nice. Linh and I also bonded a bit, and we may have the Spice Girls to thank for that. I formally joined AQUA in January, as one of the "token white guys," heh heh heh. Along the way I've gotten to know a couple new folks and have seen my friendships with others develop over the year. There have been some fun parties, some trips, but to be honest I'm still trying to find the solid ground underneath my relationships in DC. The situation with Adrian and I has, I think, made other relationships a bit unstable, simply because our lives have been so uncertain. Overseas, I finally got the chance to meet Azhan, whom I've known online for a couple years, as well as Derek in Singapore whom I've also known online for a long time, and I've added Jasen, Alan, Joshua, and KK to the "good friends" list as well.
I've barely mentioned "work" in any of this, and that's because work in DC is just not an important part of my life right now. I do it, and I do it well, but it bores me. My bosses have no idea what to do with me and cannot figure out how to use my skills, so my days at the office seem filled with tasks that really don't matter. That's partly why I applied for the exchange program, and that's partly why I did a research project for another agency (that's who sent me on the 3-week Asia trip this summer). I wish they wanted to use me, but they don't, so I look for other opportunties to be useful and to develop my own skills, and I spend a lot of time planning my exit from this career next year.
My concerns about wasting time in this job became very important this summer when I had a health scare. During a physical exam the doctor told me that I had symptoms of colon cancer. A long three weeks later I finally had a colonoscopy and the results were negative for cancer. That's good, and it also reminded me that things can happen and life can end suddenly, so it's best to get the most out of it now rather than waiting for a day that may never come. I emerged from that experience content with my life, realizing that while there are many things I still WANT to do, I think I have done most if not all of the things I HAVE to do in my life. It's comforting to feel I have not wasted my time on this earth.
One new "work" experience this year has been a professional blog I started. I'm not sure what sparked my interest but I began writing a blog that, if done right, can later be turned into a book and developed into a university course. It was a bit "stop and go" as I started it this spring but by the summer knew I hadn't done it quite right. I stoped, retooled it over a couple months,then restarted it in the fall. It doesn't have a lot of readers but it does give me a chance to express myself, so we'll see where it goes.
It has been an amazing year, full of changes good and bad. I look forward to 2009. What will happen then? Well, there will be a major career change late in the year, and once that happens I'll be a bit more open about some things on this website. I'm going to continue running, and in additon to the races I ran this year (except the Singapore Marathon, I think) I'm planning a couple additional ones. I'm also going to continue the gym routines and the nutrition plans I've been working on in Singapore, so I can finally feel healthy and good about my body. Stan is leaving DC for grad school at the end of the summer, and that will create a hole in my life. I'm going to work harder on my DC friendships, and perhaps cut back on the travel a bit so I can focus more on home. Having said that, I still plan a trip to Vancouver, and at least one trip to San Francisco, and there's a good chance I'll have an extended stay back in Thailand, perhaps for 3 weeks in September to go to massage school and kickboxing camp. Hey, why not? My business blog has been picked up as a column for a newspaper so I'll be writing that this year, and I look forward to doing more with the blog itself.
All in all, a very good year. 2008 reminded me that I'm one of the luckiest people on Earth, with good friends, lots of opportunities for adventures, and interesting career possibilities that are pretty much within my own control rather than someone else's. My goal when moving to DC in 2006 was to use this time to set myself up for all the fascinating things that are set to occur for me in 2009. Despite the ups and downs along the way and the interesting (and usually good) changes to my plans, I think I've succeeded in that. 2008 was good, and I'm ready for 2009.
Bring it on.
Labels: Friends, Health, Living in SG, Relationships, Running, Teaching, Travel, Web, Work
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
A Note About Gymming
I've been going to the gym now for 3 weeks and am really enjoying it. I got lucky and found a very good trainer who is patient with me as I learn how to use the equipment and who is working with me to identify my weaknesses so we can focus on those. I admit, he pushes me harder than I push myself, or maybe I just don't want to look weak in front of him...I know I work harder in our training sessions than I do in my visits there on my own.
We have run through different routines each time, focusing on abs, chest, arms, and shoulders/back. On my own I've been doing legs. I'm not trying to be a huge muscle boy, simply increase my strength and have a little definition (that's not too much to ask, is it?). This is the first time I've ever worked with a trainer and it's money well spent, since I will leave here more knowledgeable, and more confident, in my ability to work out, so I'll be likely to continue when I get home.
He's also getting me started on supplements, as is my friend Jasen. I will be biologically in tune with the universe, or something.
A couple folks here have said "oh, you picked an inconvenient place," "there are others that are nicer,' "you shouldn't spend so much money"...you know, besides the fact they haven't asked what my goals are or what's important to me, I'm also curious why these folks feel compelled to offer advice even when the situation isn't going to change (I have my membership, the sessions are paid for).
I'm still running as well. It's not as convenient as it is at home but I've come to realize that I'm a little spoiled with my running situation back home.
We have run through different routines each time, focusing on abs, chest, arms, and shoulders/back. On my own I've been doing legs. I'm not trying to be a huge muscle boy, simply increase my strength and have a little definition (that's not too much to ask, is it?). This is the first time I've ever worked with a trainer and it's money well spent, since I will leave here more knowledgeable, and more confident, in my ability to work out, so I'll be likely to continue when I get home.
He's also getting me started on supplements, as is my friend Jasen. I will be biologically in tune with the universe, or something.
A couple folks here have said "oh, you picked an inconvenient place," "there are others that are nicer,' "you shouldn't spend so much money"...you know, besides the fact they haven't asked what my goals are or what's important to me, I'm also curious why these folks feel compelled to offer advice even when the situation isn't going to change (I have my membership, the sessions are paid for).
I'm still running as well. It's not as convenient as it is at home but I've come to realize that I'm a little spoiled with my running situation back home.
Labels: Health, Living in SG, Running
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
What Was THAT All About?
By midafternoon today I was feeling pretty poopy at work -- headache so bad I felt nauseous, kinda dizzy, that sort of thing. I ended up leaving a little early. My 45-minute commute home was not a lot of fun. I got home, took Tylenol, and crawled under the covers about 5:15, just to rest a little. Next thing I know, it's 8:30. Most unusual. Anyway, after eating a little something I'm feeling a bit better now. I just hope I'm not sick...the Marathon is in just 5 days.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
What a Great Summer It Was
Hanging out with Stan Monday (we visited the Newseum) I realized just how much had happened over the summer. Sure, according to the calendar we still have some summertime left, but really, the 101 days between Memorial Day and Labor Day are what really count. Thinking back to where I was, where we were, back on Memorial Day, it's wild to think about how much has happened.
In terms of trips alone, it's been busy:
- two beach trips, one to start off the summer and one in July
- Gay Disney
- a New York City weekend with Stan
- and of course, the three weeks running around Asia back in June and July (when, I should add, I finally visited the fabled Babylon in Bangkok for the first time...but only to look around!).
So, overall, about a month was spent somewhere else. But still, some good stuff happened while I was home, like enjoying the Olympics. And I finally got to compete in the dragon boat race. Oh, and before Memorial Day the farthest I'd run was 10 miles, but even after dealing with an injury and not running seriously for about 6 weeks, I'm up to 21 miles as my farthest so far (and 23 miles are scheduled for this weekend, if the hurricane stays away!).
Some scary stuff happened too, like the three weeks of my cancer scare. But that turned out OK, and I've been medically cleared to head off to Singapore in November, so yay that. And I sold my Bug, which was not scary, but felt a little weird.
Obviously, the most important thing for me is time with friends. Some of my local friends were gone for the summer (but I managed to see Linh during my 2 days in Bangkok). But during my travels I got to see my KL friends, and my Singapore friends (and meet some new people, too!), and see Tony in Hong Kong and finally meet his wonderful boyfriend Max. I got to reconnect with Eddie, get to know David better, and meet up with some Fridae friends I hadn't met before. Here at home, of course, Stan and I have seen our friendship grow into something very cool (and it's only getting better!).
So it's been a good summer, and a full one. It still surprises me a bit when I think about all that's happened in only 3 months.
The scary thing is...the next 3 months seem even busier!!
In terms of trips alone, it's been busy:
- two beach trips, one to start off the summer and one in July
- Gay Disney
- a New York City weekend with Stan
- and of course, the three weeks running around Asia back in June and July (when, I should add, I finally visited the fabled Babylon in Bangkok for the first time...but only to look around!).
So, overall, about a month was spent somewhere else. But still, some good stuff happened while I was home, like enjoying the Olympics. And I finally got to compete in the dragon boat race. Oh, and before Memorial Day the farthest I'd run was 10 miles, but even after dealing with an injury and not running seriously for about 6 weeks, I'm up to 21 miles as my farthest so far (and 23 miles are scheduled for this weekend, if the hurricane stays away!).
Some scary stuff happened too, like the three weeks of my cancer scare. But that turned out OK, and I've been medically cleared to head off to Singapore in November, so yay that. And I sold my Bug, which was not scary, but felt a little weird.
Obviously, the most important thing for me is time with friends. Some of my local friends were gone for the summer (but I managed to see Linh during my 2 days in Bangkok). But during my travels I got to see my KL friends, and my Singapore friends (and meet some new people, too!), and see Tony in Hong Kong and finally meet his wonderful boyfriend Max. I got to reconnect with Eddie, get to know David better, and meet up with some Fridae friends I hadn't met before. Here at home, of course, Stan and I have seen our friendship grow into something very cool (and it's only getting better!).
So it's been a good summer, and a full one. It still surprises me a bit when I think about all that's happened in only 3 months.
The scary thing is...the next 3 months seem even busier!!
Labels: Friends, Health, Life, Olympics, Relationships, Running, Travel
Saturday, August 02, 2008
You Want to Put That Where?
Earlier this week I had to get a physical exam. The physician's assistant (I'm not cool enough to get a real doctor) looked at the basics: blood pressure (107/56), sitting pulse (46 beats per minute), my lab results, reflexes, and so on. Then it was time for more "hands on" stuff.
Did I mention this was a woman examining me? A really good looking woman?
Of course, that doesn't do anything for me, but she's looking at me as a regular straight guy, not knowing all my hidden details, and so she's treating me like a nervous straight guy might need to be treated when being felt up by a hot female medical professional, making sure I'm not bothered by anything. First she does the hernia and testicular cancer check ("turn your head and cough") and everything is cool. Then comes the "well, you're over 40, so we really should do a prostate exam" part, what I like to call "the fickle finger of fate."
Yes, she's going to finger me.
This is totally nonsexual, of course, so I don't give it a second thought when she tells me to lean forward on the table on my elbows and just relax. She figures I'm some straight guy who's never been touched "up there." She has no idea who she has in her exam room.
"OK," she says, "you're going to feel a cold glop of something first, just relax." I'm thinking "she's using KY instead of Wet? Hmmm, old school." Then she says, "OK, just relax, I have small fingers." And very quickly, she's in and she's out. I hear her stripping off the glove and it was all I could do to keep from saying "oh, have you already been in there? I didn't feel a thing."
I swear, if she only knew.
I should add that the exam was normal, which was good to hear, as a friend had to deal with prostate cancer and that's no fun. Even though my lab results were normal, she tells me that 25% of prostate cancers don't show up in blood tests. Scary. (I am making this public service announcement about prostate cancer because I think everyone should be aware of it as they get older, and also in the hopes that this will keep my physician friends from giving me crap about not being "out" to her. Yes, I know I should be, but there are reasons not to.)
By the way, later that evening I went out and ran 15 miles/25km as part of my marathon training. Despite having fallen behind during my Asia trip I'm now getting caught up to where I should be. And yay for that.
Did I mention this was a woman examining me? A really good looking woman?
Of course, that doesn't do anything for me, but she's looking at me as a regular straight guy, not knowing all my hidden details, and so she's treating me like a nervous straight guy might need to be treated when being felt up by a hot female medical professional, making sure I'm not bothered by anything. First she does the hernia and testicular cancer check ("turn your head and cough") and everything is cool. Then comes the "well, you're over 40, so we really should do a prostate exam" part, what I like to call "the fickle finger of fate."
Yes, she's going to finger me.
This is totally nonsexual, of course, so I don't give it a second thought when she tells me to lean forward on the table on my elbows and just relax. She figures I'm some straight guy who's never been touched "up there." She has no idea who she has in her exam room.
"OK," she says, "you're going to feel a cold glop of something first, just relax." I'm thinking "she's using KY instead of Wet? Hmmm, old school." Then she says, "OK, just relax, I have small fingers." And very quickly, she's in and she's out. I hear her stripping off the glove and it was all I could do to keep from saying "oh, have you already been in there? I didn't feel a thing."
I swear, if she only knew.
I should add that the exam was normal, which was good to hear, as a friend had to deal with prostate cancer and that's no fun. Even though my lab results were normal, she tells me that 25% of prostate cancers don't show up in blood tests. Scary. (I am making this public service announcement about prostate cancer because I think everyone should be aware of it as they get older, and also in the hopes that this will keep my physician friends from giving me crap about not being "out" to her. Yes, I know I should be, but there are reasons not to.)
By the way, later that evening I went out and ran 15 miles/25km as part of my marathon training. Despite having fallen behind during my Asia trip I'm now getting caught up to where I should be. And yay for that.
