On the Yoga Journey Again

So I decided to get back into my yoga routine, and Living Social's $30 for 10 lesson deal definitely encouraged that decision. It's been three weeks since my last lesson and I was all ready to get fit and get rid of some flab.

Once the class started the muscle memory set to work and I was warming up slowly and steadily, managing the poses pretty well. Too tight on the back of my thighs and calf, but that's ok, we all practice at our own pace. Squat pose. I remember what someone said about Asians being able to squat for extended periods of time. It's true, I'm just chilling. 

Going through our vinyasa.  Sweating a little but still doing alright. My toes start to cramp whenever I'm in upward dog but I always manage to flex into a downward dog before they get into a full blown cramp. That'll be quite a sight. 

At some point where we didn't notice,Marlene put the music on. I realize that's her cue for working us to death. We go through a series of sun salutations that seem to get faster and faster, or maybe I'm not catching up. By the third set I'm hating her. By the fifth set I'm quite convinced this woman is trying to kill me. Sweat is dripping down my face and I constantly had to stop to wipe them away. I was having trouble with my downward dog, my eyes were starting to hurt from the pressure and my hands were slipping from the sweat. 

I start to realize how little muscle I have. My legs were like a million tons, I just couldn't lift them. Even the chair pose was getting hard for me. If I had any suspicions before I can now confirm - I am a certified fatty. It was getting hard for me to breathe, and I was getting light headed. The banana and yogurt I had before the lesson didn't help much in giving me energy. My vinyasa was more like stopping, wiping sweat, getting into the pose for a few seconds, stopping to rest and wiping off more sweat. 

We finally got into some seated poses. As I rested my head on my arm while in pigeon pose my hand got wet with all the perspiration from my face. I need an overnight pad to absorb this. Bridge pose. Good I'll just stay in my little bridge. Nope not going to go into the full bridge. That's it for me. A few feet away from my mat, it tickled me to see Marlene go into her bridge against the wall. Hands spread, moving nimbly and long and lean as she is, it reminded me of a lizard climbing the wall. Focus. 

I swear my face became thin after the session. With all the sweat oozing out of my pores I think I can see my chin again. I have a feeling it's going to burn tomorrow, but Ms Fatty Double Chin will be back. oh yeah. 

The Shark that Swallowed the Plastic Bag

Every once in a while one of us gets stuck in a rut but today M my fellow copywriter and I were feeling the same way. We're viewing our respective newsletters with more hatred than usual. We tried all ways to love it, take breaks and come back to it, coax ourselves into believing that there's is still love between us and the newsletters and we just have to find it.

But today our imaginations have decided to take an early labor day break; our ideas are so dry I swear if you lit a match on them they'll combust in two seconds. M wants to murder her newsletter, burn them. My thoughts are less violent. Maybe I could just put the newsletter in a trash bag, tie it up and surreptitiously let it go by the sea. After all it's only a 20 minute drive to the beach. The tide will just carry it out to the ocean and nobody would know.

I heard there are sharks on Catalina island, maybe they'll make a good meal out of it. Well but the plastic bag will mess up the shark's insides, so maybe that's not such a good idea. The dead shark might wash up to shore and the half developed newsletter wrapped in its plastic coffin would be revealed when its stomach is split open by environmental scientists who are eager to uncover why sharks are dying in this region.

Another loud sigh coming from behind. We're just taking turns to take deep breaths now. Taking another look at my newsletter. Maybe if I use a biodegrable waterproof paperbag....

A Joyful Pot of Curry

I had a chat with a friend today and was surprised that he wasn't joining in the curry cooking event. He was turned off by the negativity projected by some people who are supporting the event out of their distaste for the folks who caused this hoopla.See original story here, and the clarification here.  I knew exactly what he meant. I have a theory that if you do not cook with love, the food won't taste good, so I never cook when I'm unhappy or angry.

When I logged on to the Cook and Share a Pot of Curry  event page, I saw a lot of joy. There are those who couldn't wait till the 21st and made their pot already, those who are looking forward to tomorrow's big curry cooking event, and the most memorable was the group of Malay ladies crowded around a big bubbling pot of curry - in the office! 

The truth is, Singaporeans are a happy lot when we have food. We love to immerse ourselves in the joy of eating more than anything else. I did my national service too and made a pot of my favorite chicken curry! Unfortunately the Asian supermarkets here don't carry my favorite A1 brand curry mix so I had to use curry powder. Well we make the best of what we have!

What I love about curry is that it makes an excellent freezer meal. Instead of consuming the pot over three days like I always do, I froze some of it for lunch or dinner in the next week or two. 

A Pot of Curry Unites a Nation

As of today, over 53,000 Singaporeans (see the current number of responses here) have responded to the call of Cook a Pot of Curry, an event that will take place across the island on August 21 2011.  Singaporeans will cook a pot of curry in their homes in protest of a news report that a local Indian family agreed during a mediation session to cook curry, their staple dish, only when their neighbors are not at home. The neighbors, a Chinese immigrant family, had complained of the smell of the dish.

If there is something we Singaporeans love more than our country, it is our local food. I suspect we will defend it to death if necessary. Though not officially coined as a national dish, curry is a dish that Malays, Indians and Chinese enjoy. We all have our own recipes and versions of this beautiful dish and nobody's ever heard of a curry related complaint till now.

Though I'm thousands of miles away I'll be joining in the spirit of curry cooking, mainly because I cook curry from time to time anyway, and also because of what the event means to me. Many Singaporeans are joining this event in spite and retaliation that immigrants are expecting locals to conform to their ways instead of them assimilating into local culture. I think many more positive things can come out of this movement other than simply wanting to "show em".

The Singaporean government has been trying to instill creativity into its people, but no amount of grants, incentives or campaigns work better than events created from the ground by the people for the people. Singaporeans are starting to come out of their shells and learning that they do not need permissions or permits to do everything.

The organizers have found a harmonious way to embrace our cuisine and culture, and bring the people closer.If there were any concerns of divisiveness, we have shown camaraderie and will speak up for our fellow Singaporeans regardless of race.

Food has always united us, and likewise Singaporeans can take the opportunity to invite their foreign friends and coworkers to try our favorite dish and foster relationships. The sooner locals help them to adjust to the local culture, the less conflicts and discomfort will exist (for those who are willing to learn, can't say much for those who insist their home culture is superior).

Lastly I feel that the response by Singaporeans this time really sends a strong message to some newcomers that they really need to humble themselves and take steps to acculturate themselves. I speak from experience, living in another country myself. If you sincerely make the effort to learn the local culture and norms, people will accept you. We move out of our own comfort zone into foreign territories to broaden our views and learn new things. If we never open ourselves to new things, behaviors and culture, what then is the point of leaving our home country?

Office Chair Reupholstery

Thought I'll write a post after reading my friend Beverly's note on being green. I did this project last summer, right about a year ago. It wasn't a simple green project but gave me a lot of satisfaction after it was completed. Of course, there are those who would question why I don't go out and get a new chair, my husband included. But there is something special about making things with your hands and turning potential trash into something useful. The experience is something that money cannot buy.

I love the website P.S. I made this. The creator really inspires me to look around and see what can be repurposed. I learned to do the upholstery from Apartment Therapy and a few other websites.

It's pretty simple. I went out to Walmart to get a heavy duty staple gun, which is very handy for home and decoration projects, always good to have one handy. For the fabric, I went to Ikea and picked out a fabric that I liked for less than $10. The whole project probably cost me around $20 while a new chair would have been a few times that price, not to mention that it's probably not going to fit in the car and I'll have to get it delivered.

So I simply unscrew the parts, taking care not to lose any screws or small parts. One tip is to stick the screws on a piece of tape. Then I cut the fabric, ensuring it's big enough the cover the original fabric. The next step is to start stapling with the staple gun and make sure the plastic parts cover the edge of the fabric when I assemble it back. Lastly, simply screw the parts back together and there's a brand new customized chair!

And...The Ring Fits!

Standard ring sizes start from size 6 and I’m probably a size 5, so it’s pretty hard for me to find fitting rings. I don’t want to give up on those pretty rings so I went ahead and got them anyway. After all, I’m sure somewhere out there in this universe, someone has to be selling something to adjust ring sizes.

So I started looking online and found several solutions. After combing through the reviews, the ring adjuster seemed to be the best solution; or rather the one with fewer failures.

I was really thinking about ordering it when I came across a reviewer who said it’s just a pvc tube fitted over the ring. Yeah, why would I pay $2.99 for a few pieces of pvc plus shipping? So I checked out the Lowes website and found that vinyl tubes were sold for as little as 20 cents a foot. What a genius. I went to the hardware store and cut out a foot of the vinyl tube I needed. Either 3/16 or 5/16 inch would be good depending on the size of your ring. I took it home, cut a small segment, and looped it over the rings. Works like magic!

Cost: 20 cents and 1 foot can probably work for 7-8 rings.

Saying No Made Me a Happier Person

Some weeks ago I was having a bit of trouble with handling requests from people. It always started with a small harmless request and it started working its way, growing bigger and encroaching my comfort zone. Twisted but it reminded me of the way crime documentaries describe how pedophiles groom their victims.

When asked for a favor, I was always too quick to say yes, or find it hard to turn down the request. In some cases like I said, I had agreed to doing one thing but that one thing quickly multiplied in the form of by-the-way tasks attached to the original request. Because I totally agree with the portion of Kein's post about saying no: "do not say yes and subsequently waste everyone's time by not doing it", and because I've been taught these 20 odd years that we have to deliver what we promise, I ultimately follow through the task, albeit with a lot of unhappiness on my part.

Buddies advised me not to feed the monster by agreeing to things that I'm not comfortable with, because that will only make the requesting party think I'm ok with it and I'll never see the end of it.

Now, I often click on the links posted by Kein on Facebook simply because there is always just a one word instruction - "read" or "watch". That made me realize something basic. People often take action when you instruct them to, and people act the way you want them to. And buddies were right - by not saying no I'm leading the requesting party to think that it's ok to request or demand. While most people have the self realization to not overstep their boundaries and give others space and respect, we certainly can't expect everyone to be the same. In some cases we just have to tell people exactly how we want to be treated.

So I started practicing the art of saying no. Growing up with the notion that we have to do what we are told to, it wasn't so easy at first. But you know what? It's been alright. There's been no nasty drama, no excessive tension, no raging winds and lightning bolts. In some cases it just becomes a negotiating game. And it works. This week I just said no to a ridiculous request. I was glad I took a little bit of time to process it, said no but offered an alternative that solves the problem within my comfort zone. I gave myself a little pat on the back. And that's growth right there.