Monday, October 12, 2020

Completed Harvard's Principles of Biochemistry Course

 



I wanted to be productive during the quarantine so I took this Biochemistry class on EdX by Harvard. Clearly, I didn't know what I was signing up for! I spent 4-6 hours a week, watched over 90 video lectures ranging from 8 to 20 minutes each, and took multiple session and unit assessments. It was definitely much work! I go to the office Mondays to Saturdays so I don't have a lot of free time, but I'm glad that I finished it! It feels so fulfilling knowing that I worked hard for it.

Sunday, August 23, 2020

My Daily Schedule - Quarantine Life

 

A friend of my boyfriend read the book The 5AM Club by Robin Sharma and started applying the learnings from the book to his daily life. He was very happy and satisfied with the results and said that it had a profound impact on his wellbeing. I haven't read the book (but I will, once I finish the books I'm currently reading), but basically, the book suggests the following: waking up early for some peaceful quality "me" time before starting your day; following the 20/20/20 rule, which states that you should spend at least twenty minutes each for exercise, reflection and meditation, and learning; and obtaining balance between one's four interior empires - mindset, healthset, heartset, and soulset.

With this in mind, I came up with a daily schedule that I hope I can maintain.

5:30 am - Wake up
5:45 am - Read the Bible and pray (App: Bible)
6:00 am - Exercise (App: Downdog/Freeletics)
6:45 am - Meditate (App: Calm)
7:00 am - Read (Monocle)
7:30 am - Get ready for work
8:30 am - Work
5:00 pm - Go home and take a snack
5:30 pm - Play the piano
7:00 pm - Watch shows/Leisure
8:00 pm - Dinner
9:00 pm - Read/Relax (Nighttime read: Sapiens)
9:30 pm - Sleep

Sunday, May 17, 2020

Life Updates

Photo taken at the Sydney Opera House, March 2019

Well, 2020, it has been one hell of a ride. We're not even halfway through the year but so many things have happened to the world, and mostly bad

The biggest threat the world is facing this year is controlling the spread of the COVID-19. Countries closed down establishments, disallowed non-essential work and activities, and halted all kinds of travel. This is the first time I experienced this, and it's scary. What's worse is we don't know when it's all going to stop. The next several months seem bleak and uncertain. 

The government implemented an enhanced community quarantine in our area, which means, only those working at companies involved in provision of healthcare, and utilities, and the manufacture, delivery, and sale of food items can go out of the house to work. Aside from that, only one person for each household is allowed to go out to buy the family's necessities. 

My family business is distribution of food items to supermarkets, groceries, and retailers, so we still go to work, but we operate on shortened hours and only with a skeletal workforce. To make the most out of my extra time at home, I made sure I was productive. These were some of the things I worked on during the quarantine. 

Monday, April 20, 2020

Boracay 2020


This is the first time I visited Boracay after the six-month long rehabilitation, and boy, was it amazing! The beach was perfectly clean, no trace of trash anywhere. There's a security personnel stationed every few meters that made me feel absolutely safe to walk at night. And the annoying salespersons who keep pestering you to avail their beach activities? They're gone! They were replaced with licensed ones who are compliant with regulations.

The reason why I came to Boracay in the first place was because Ryan and I was invited to a wedding at The Lind. The wedding was beautifulnice and intimate, just with close friends and family. We spent four days in Boracay and felt that they weren't enough!  

Monday, April 6, 2020

Spartan Race 2019 Alviera



I joined the Spartan Race twice before-- I did the Sprint (6km) in Alviera and the Super (13km) in RD Hill. Training for the race takes a lot of time, patience and dedication, which can sometimes be hard to juggle with work. I decided to join the Spartan Race one last time, the Beast (22km + 30 obstacles) in Alviera last October. 

For my training, I woke up at five to run in the mornings. And on the days that I didn't run, I went to the gym to lift some weights. It was difficult and tiring, but definitely a lot of fun! 

It was incredibly hot on the day of the race, and there were some areas where there was no shade at all. Towards the end of the race, I barely had enough strength to walk. Finishing the Beast was such an achievement for me because I hate running! Also, on this race, I got to convince my brother to join me. Passes for Sprint were sold out so I signed him up for 21km Trail instead.

I'm very thankful for my gym friends who trained and raced with me, and which made the experience much more enjoyable (our group photo at the bottom of this post)!

Monday, March 30, 2020

Japan 2019: Osaka + Kobe


And here we are on the last leg of my Kyoto-Osaka trip! I'm a bit tired writing at this point lol (this is my fourth post today), so I'm just going to list what we did on the last leg of our trip:

- ate ramen at Ichiran
- went to Osaka Castle and rode the Osaka-jo Gozabune boat
- went up the Umeda Sky Building
- had fluffy french toast at Hoshino Coffee
-had yummy unlimited sushi at this random place in Dotonbori 
- took pictures with the Glico man and shopped at Don Quixote
- ate Kobe beef (AMAZING!!- worth a trip to Kobe)
-had lots and lots of Gyudon
- was treated steak because it was my friend's birthday

Now that I think about it, it seemed like we did nothing but eat, eat, and eat! Haha. Until next time!

Monday, March 23, 2020

Japan 2019: Universal Studios


My favorite part in every vacationa visit to a theme park! I'm still a kid at heart and I love love love going to theme parks. This is quite funny but my theme park tradition is ordering a turkey leg for snack. Every time I go to theme parks, I always have to have a turkey leg. It makes my visit complete. Lol.

In USJ, I especially loved the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! I am a Harry Potter fan and I've read all the books immediately after they were published. This place is truly memorable because it was where I got my very first taste of butterbeer! And to add to that, we were lucky that we went on this trip in October, since Halloween was approaching, the park was horror-themed! There were horror houses, and at nighttime, the park staff dressed up as monsters or zombies and they roamed around the park to try and scare you! HARRY POTTER + BUTTER BEER + HORROR HOUSES + TURKEY LEG = HAPPINESS!!

Monday, March 16, 2020

Japan 2019: Himeji Castle


We headed to Himeji Castle on our second day in Kyoto... which was a wrong decision because we would be passing by Osaka on our way there! We stayed during the first half of our trip in Kyoto and the second half in Osaka. Traveling back and forth is so fast and easy so it would've been better if we stayed in Osaka the entire duration of our trip—we could've avoided the hassle of transporting our luggage! 

Himeji Castle was amazing! From the train station, we rented bikes and biked around the castle complex. It was so cool because we got to enter the castle to see the rooms up close. Would you believe that this castle was built more than six centuries ago?

When we felt we have spent enough time at Himeji Castle, we took the train back to Kyoto for a quick visit at Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. Unfortunately, when we got there, it was already closed! Disappointed at our poor time management, we just went to the mall where we met up with a Japanese friend, and ordered katsu for dinner!

Monday, March 9, 2020

Japan 2019: Kyoto



It has been a looooong time since I last visited Japannine years ago, to be exact. Oh but I did go to Okinawa last year as it was a stopover in a cruise, but that doesn't count lol. Anyway, for my annual trip with my high school friends, we decided on Japan!

We visited Kyoto and Osaka, and I was the only one in group who would be visiting these cities for the first time (I visited only Tokyo before)! We went to Fushimi Inari shrine, and joined a walking tour in Kyoto on our first day, where we explored both Gion (where geisha houses are located) and Higashiyama districts. We decided not to finish the tour because some of my friends were tired from all the walking, so instead of making multiple stops had we continued the tour, we headed directly to Kiyomizudera Temple. We didn't enter though because the building was under construction. Sad, it could've looked so beautiful. We ended our tiring first day with an unlimited yakiniku dinner. Yay!

The next day, we headed to the majestic Himeji Castle! But more on that on my next post.

On the third day, we got up early to have a quick look at Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion). It was a remarkable sight! The place looked so peaceful and relaxing, and the entire walk around the property took only around 20 minutes. After that, we were supposed to meet up with the rest of the group at Nishiki Market but we took the wrong bus and got lost on the way! Lol. It took us a long time but we eventually got there. After grabbing some food at the market, we checked out from the hotel and took the train to Osaka.  

Saturday, February 29, 2020

Thailand 2019: Bangkok City Center


The rest of my trip to Bangkok was spent on eating Thai food (pad thai and mango sticky rice, yum!), getting massages, and visiting markets (Chatuchak) and shopping malls (Icon Siam). 

One unique thing we did was try Dialogue in the Dark. It's a one-hour experience where you would be navigating and exploring different places in the dark to give you a glimpe of how it would be like to live without the sense of sight. You would also be given a cane and a blind tour guide to accompany you. At first, it was very difficult to move in the dark since I couldn't see at all--even if you open your eyes, you would only see darkness--but after a while, it somehow became easier. The blind lady who accompanied us was very patient, and even with her disability, she was able to navigate pretty well. After this experience, I got a newfound appreciation for my eyes and realized that I'm blessed to be able to see the things around me. I highly recommend this experience to anyone who's open to try new things!

That's it for my Bangkok trip! Will be posting my Japan trip next!

Thursday, February 27, 2020

Thailand 2019: Suhring


This is definitely one of the best best best meals ever! Suhring is a two-star Michelin restaurant and belongs to the World's Top 50 Restaurants in 2019. We had a wonderful nine-course meal, which took us almost three hours to finish! Each of the dishes were very innovative and perfectly crafted. Every bite was like an explosion of flavors⁠—I loved every bit of the experience! The restaurant is a beautiful glass house surrounded by lush greeneries, which made the meal even more enjoyable.  

Before we had lunch, we joined a yoga class at Trika Yog. The class focused more on deep stretches rather than traditional yoga poses, which I don't see very often, but the instructor was great and guided each student in the class well.

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Thailand 2019: Ayutthaya



Since my first visit to Bangkok last 2018, I have been wanting to visit Ayutthaya because of its historical significance. I booked a day tour and visited Wat Phutthaisawan, Luang Pu Thuat Market (where we had lunch), Wat Ratchaburana, Wat Mahathat, and Wat Phra Ngarm. Most of these sites have Buddha structures, with the one on the tree at Wat Ratchaburana the most popular. We spent an entire day in Ayutthaya, and when we got back in Bangkok, we had a relaxing massage! 

Saturday, February 22, 2020

Thailand 2019: Cooking Class


This is the third time I signed up for a cooking class during my travels. The first one was in Ho Chi Minh, the second one was in Bali, and the third one's here in Bangkok! I noticed that I'm slowly enjoying preparing food in the kitchen! 

On my first day in Bangkok, I booked a class at Silom Thai Cooking School. The preparation area was very nice and clean, and the chef very friendly and approachable. I found the class a bit fast paced thoughwhile I was still slicing and chopping the ingredients, the chef was already explaining the next steps! It was perfectly okay though as I was able to catch up easily. The class had to be fast paced because we had to prepare five dishes under three hours! Not an easy feat for a beginner like me! When the session was over, I felt so proud of myself to have prepared these yummy dishes! The dishes I made were: Tom Yum Soup, Pad Thai, Green Curry Chicken, Red Curry Chicken, and Dessert Rubies in Coconut Milk.