All I Want For Christmas

The spirit of Christmas have missed me again or has yet to come. While I have family and friends already starting to do their shopping, I still haven't even written a single name in my Christmas list or if I ever plan to come up with one. Christmas is not really my favorite time of the year with the year end rush that comes with it and the odds may have been a lot tougher. Oh well, life is not always fair but we just have to take it as it is.

So what is my fervent wish for Christmas? Above all the material things... all the sweet greetings... all the faces and friends to catch up with... I did spend a larger part of the year trying to be fine and in some ways, I've prospered so much... I am now equipped with a goal in mind and is busy than ever to be bothered by the all high and mighty negative forces that threatens to ruin all that I've worked for. I hate to admit that I still have some matters to deal with though opening that can of worms is still an unsolved riddle. I just hope that when the clock has ticked its last second, I'll be at peace with myself and be able to start a year without the baggage of the past.

I guess people like me who get to live by the day hasn't really caught a tomorrow I'd like to aspire for and maybe in time I'd be less bothered by the worries of today and take a hopeful glance at what tomorrow may bring. I don't want to earn my wrinkle in advance but when all the fixing is done, I'd take the smiles for the future to brighten up the dark moments of today. We're never built complete since life is about finding those missing pieces that makes our life picture complete.

I just hope that when Christmas come rushing in, it won't distract my strict training regimen. Hitting the finish line or completing a distance is so exhilarating that you tend to forget the sleep-deprived state, the sweat-infested anatomy and all those sore bones and muscles. I can now say I did finish a vertical marathon (all 10+2K of it). It was fun going up and down, left and right and I'm glad that even if it exceeded the regular 10K distance, I still had enough energy to finish.., Now, I just need to hope that I'd get that energy level to finally finish reading a book.

And I no longer want to live on demotivated and all those that bothers me will past and I know peace of mind is not an ambitious goal and with Christmas just around the corner, who knows... The important part as always is that we never stop trying... and that goes a long long way.

De-motivated

I guess that's how demotivated I am taking me more than a week to just revisit my site. Either I was busy enough to do away with my weekly blogging routine or I am just really clueless on what happened from point A to point B leaving me in a state of demotivation.

The journey towards such phase takes months, if not years of frustration. The short end of the story is that I am tired mending problems after problems after problems and yet there's just no established sense of accountability that goes with that. I now want to take a different course of action but timing would always be an issue. I am now convinced that my skills and my talent would want to partake in more productive endeavors though I just want to have a level of comfort that I'll leave on a good note or maybe even just a devil-may-care attitude that will just take a leap of faith at a moments notice. Now to think of ways to motivate myself going from point B to point C. Life is just so short to be bothered by the things that won't matter in the long run.

I'm just glad that when it comes to running, I've sighed a new breath of life and have recorded a new high in 10K at 1 hour 11 minutes and that's 6-7 minutes improvement from my first 10K run. Still more than 10 minutes away from my goal but at least it does give me some momentum in my training. Every minute gained is really hours and days of preparation. This is something that I am motivated in doing and running has now been a lifestyle and I'm starting to build my life around the training schedule and so far, I'm making it work. The goal has been set, the date has been set and now to deal with the challenging part that comes in between. Preparing for battle has never been this fun and I just can't wait for my next run.

I sense that my life is a bit hectic and at times, I just dozed off from a very tiring day but somehow, the coming Christmas has its ways to reward your effort. For one, there's an amazing light show in Ayala triangle I get see every time I train there. I get to see friends again this early and even if I had to fit this in my schedules I was able to have dinner with the AGSB Gang last week. There's so much long weekend in between. I may not have the luxury of those weekend getaways but I do get to have packed weekends that starts with an early morning run.

I do have some parts of my life are in place though I know that there are some things that require some fixing and that's just how the we take on life. We have to learn to bounce with it so even how low we fall, we'll always find our way up. =>

No Excuses

I'm so enjoying that I get to have a day away from work today!!!

The yearend rush is fast approaching and I don't get much of this away time. Come to think of it, I even go to work even at times when I feel sick. Work is a topic I need to give a real serious thought. Sometimes, I get to feel that my efforts are in vain and the rewards system is skewed towards the inefficient. The results are never fine when there is no established accountability. I just got to take pride that whatever I get, I did work hard for it and then when the time is right, I get to look forward to new beginnings.

I somehow feel that I've brought in hibernation mode with my so-busy schedule. I've been packing the kilometers non-stop and I'm already used to the training lifestyle. Waking up early for training has been an ease already. It's good to be healthy and moving towards a goal though I'm taking such a long time chunking away minutes from my time. I've got a new running buddy though I'm still getting used to running on Garmin time. There are many excuses that can be thought of but when you're training it does work to think that there are NO EXCUSES.

I'm ending hibernation mode towards the weekend meeting AGSB friends at Republiq for our so-early Christmas Party. It's gonna be fun though I can't stay that long nor drink that much as I'll be in a race early the next day. It's been ages since the last time the Group met so it's gonna be legen-wait for it-dary. Party time in a few days.

Speaking of Christmas, it's just a few waking up away and I still haven't gotten the hang of the season. I do have a part of me that hates the yearend rush that goes along with the season. Whoever decided to put Christmas just a few days before yearend??? I guess even with the specter of a difficult year ender, there'll still be a lot of looking forward to... party, friends, family, gifts. Wait, I don't get gift that much though it gives me a reason to buy myself stuff. the perfect excuse to buy myself a Garmin. It's the time of the year when you can pamper yourself without the guilt of feeling extravagant.

So that leaves me one question, "All I want for Christmas is..."

Excess Inkblogs: Oh Wait... I need to hit ADHD mode to be able to have the will to clean the mess called my room...

A Busy Life

It's starting to get hectic with 4 times a week running schedule plus the busy times is slowly creeping in. I'm still loving it though. I'm made for the busy life. I get easily bored in idle times and the endless balancing act is a real challenge. It's such a crazy roller coaster ride. At times, it makes us dizzy but if we let the thrill play its role, we'll end up enjoying the ride.

I've been running uphill... been running in the rain (that explains the cough and colds)... and

ran my 2nd 10K run with slightly better results. It looks like I'm going for sub-60, 1 minute at a time (such a slow pace). I'm a work in progress but I'm so inspired after going over several stories in Chicken Soup for the Soul - Runners, I hope I do get to write my own piece piece someday. The story of our life is written each day and even if some subplots are thrown every now and then but on top of that, it's still our story to write.

I had a quick trip to and from Cambodia in an up and down, twist and turn manner. A lot of things was amiss even on the way... last minute changes... long check-in queues... over animated security check in SG... delayed flight to Phnom Penh... still additional changes... got sick... got really sick (It isn't a board meeting if I was healthy coming in the meeting)... Oh well, life does know how to throw wrenches along the way but I guess, it's just how we dodge the wrenches or how well we recover after getting hit. I did get my presentation done even with minor kinks and had to be such hard head in order just to leave on time and it was the right move all along as I had to do so much to do today.

I do have a lot of training backlog from being away and being sick for a while and the next obstacle now is the rain though I did get to do my run on a treadmill. It's a lot more difficult for me that way as I get bored without the scenic route. I just hope it does stop raining if not can they just give me a treadmill with a scenic hologram. I still have more than 25 kilometers to go. Apart from backlog, I may have a little breather in the next few weeks though I'm still occupied by several issues to resolve.

At the very least, I have started so much already and currently enjoying a busy life. Starting is always a challenge and nothing can really be done without taking the bold first step. It pays to live each day as if it was the last, there are fewer regrets and I can safely say that the bigger strides I took has been great and I no longer would want to live my life with any IFs...