Having "Me" Time

I feel like I've somewhat passed a strenuous physical exam after recovering from a super strong strain of flu that had my brain dizzy, muscles sore and made me just collapse into a sleeping beauty every night.  My immune system is now super charged and ready to take on what come.  Now it's time to get ready for the Bangkok Marathon in November.  This week, I've started doing extra long runs at the gym. (Not really that long for a professional runner, but long for me) I usually run two sets of ten minutes in the mornings, but that is really not far at all.  It takes me only roughly a little over a kilometer.  To make 5km, I'm going to have to keep running and running and running. Running for around 40 minutes non-stop. To do that, this week I've been doing running stretches of 20 minutes.  Knowing that my brain would want to give up after ten minutes, I eased myself into running 20 minutes by lowering the speed slightly, but keeping the incline at 1% (so that t

This morning while running, I thought about the upcoming Bangkok Marathon .  I have to get a little more serious in my running.  In 53 days, the Bangkok Marathon will be held as it has been for the past few years.  On November 20, 2011 tens of thousands of people will be out running in the wee mornings of the day.  I will be there.  Let's all be there.  Let's go out, have some exercise and enjoy the experience. For those of you who have never joined the marathon, let me tell you this.  Once you've experienced it, you will want to keep coming back.  It's fun, it's exciting and its open the everyone.  How often do you get to run on the street by the Grand Palace and watch the sunrise?  You don't have to run the entire 42km marathon.  They have the 10K as well as the 5K for you to choose from.  I will be doing the 5K.  I want to run it all and not run. The first time I joined the marathon was 4 years ago, I was unfit, overweight and yes, I let many MANY peop

I was thinking about growing up the other day and how some skills you acquire along the way depends a lot on where you live.  Living in Thailand, as in any other asian country, life requires one to tip other people every now and then.  A tip for good service, tip for the valet, tip for a good job..etc.. the list is endless.  We live in a country where services abound.  Tipping is not just about how much you give, it is also a lot about how you 'tip' so as not to offend the other person. I remember when I first had to tip.  I had no clue how to do it.  I'd take out a bill, fold it in half and just hand it out right there and then for all the world to see.  The reaction was often a bit of a startled face, a little step back.  I realized because the person receiving it felt offended because here they were being publicly given money.  No matter how grateful you felt for the service, like carrying your heavy luggage up three flights of stairs, or valet your car, the other perso

The other day I wrote about how important it was to fail before you can succeed.  I realized I did not quite emphasize enough how important it is to actually LEARN from your mistakes.  Learning is key. It is what you must do before you can succeed, for if you keep failing over and over and never learn from your mistakes, then that is a failure. That would not result in success. As Einstein said something along the lines of " If you keep running into a wall and expect the same result, then it is the same.  However, if you keep running into a wall and expect different results, then it is a miracle."   Only a miracle can alter the outcome.  No matter how many times you drop the egg to the ground without any protection, it will break.  There will not be a moment that the egg will float on air.  If you keep trying to solve a puzzle, and always use the same techniques to an unwanted outcome, it will not work. The same happens in life.  If you keep trying to talk to approach som

Having just read the New York Times article "What if the Secret to Success is Failure?" I can't help but nod in agreement.  Yes, to have an education, finish school, graduate from highschool or even a college degree does not ensure you will have a successful life.  A degree does not guarantee that you won't jump off the balcony because of a broken heartache, nor does it guarantee you will know how to handle the stresses of life and stop yourself from falling victim to a nervous breakdown.  Traditional schooling paid attention to grades, to achievement tests, to placement exams and all the while, they forgot about focusing on the student's character.  How do they handle stress? How do they interact? Are they a good person?  Do they think of other people? The article mentions how those who succeeded in college were not always necessarily the ones who scored the highest in class and got the best grades.  They were the ones who knew how to get up after they failed. 

The vegetarian festival is coming up soon in Bangkok and so if you are looking for somewhere that serves delicious vegetarian food, I recommend this little restaurant called "Thamna".  This literally translates to "farming" in Thai.   It's a lovely little eatery that opened up roughly two years ago and is very close to my office, so close that I had not written about it.  It is, however, one of my all time favorites and somewhere where you can go have a healthy meal. It's a tiny little shop with a cosy ambiance and soft music playing in the background.  Paintings line the walls and it has a somewhat artistic feel to it.  It has roughly 6 tables so I recommend making a reservation if you plan to go there during the peak hours of noon.  Office workers from nearby go to this shop during the lunch break. What kind of food do they serve?  It's a vegetarian restaurant so no meat is served here, only vegetables and lots and lots of mushrooms.  I lo

"All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts,"                                                                          William Shakespeare I think Shakespeare was really right to compare our world to being a stage and us merely players.  We are all born onto this earth as a child, we play our parts, grow up, and then we depart.  Sometimes it's as if we are taking part in one giant movie.  Each life is a different movie.  Sometimes they interact, sometimes they each take their own path.   Upon each path, we encounter a series of characters, each one brings with it new experiences, new emotions.  Then paths diverge and evolve.  It's a lifelong process that ends when we depart from this world and exit the stage.  I am suddenly reminded of the Truman Show.  A life we thought we had, was simply someone else's show. What happens when we exit the stage?

The world is a great place to live in.  Although it isn't perfect, there are many wonderful initiatives out there created by people who strive to do good for society, for mankind, for this earth.  If only there were more initiatives out there.  On the iPad Alex had downloaded the National Geographic Magazine which has such a wonderful application that I could not stop reading and interacting with it.   One article that really struck me and one that reminded me of a documentary I had watched before, pertained to Svalbard's Global Seed Bank . What is it?  Why do we need a seed bank? What kind of seeds do they hold? You mean seeds, as it those from plants? The Svalbard Global Seed Bank has a mission to be a safety net for the world's accidental lost of diversity in traditional genebanks.  Put simply, it is a place where samples of plant seeds sent from all over the world are stored for safekeeping.  A specially designed vault was built into a sandstone mountain in Norway&#

On the street where I live, the streets are always clean.   Every morning an old man, who lives in a little unimposing house in a corner, gets up and sweeps the streets.  I call him "The Sweeper." He's not paid to sweep the streets.  He is an inhabitant of the street, yet every morning he sweeps the street for everyone.  He gently moves down rows and rows of houses with broom in hand sweeping away trash, leaves and whatever else is left on the street.   He asks not for recognition, he asks not for notice, he asks not for money.  He sweeps the streets because he wants to.  He sweeps the streets because he has a good heart. It's not easy to find a man like him in this modern day where no one wants to do anything for free.  Everything now must be bought, be exchanged, be in response to another good action.  It reminds me of what Thomas Hobbes wrote in the Leviathan about man being innately selfish.  The Sweeper, however, sweeps because he wants to. He is not selfish.

The rain has made my walking trips a bit difficult this rainy season, so I am turning to indoor activities for the moment.  Having a flu is also a big inhibitor of going places.   Anyways, thanks to a dear sister, I had the opportunity to attend an event that was really quite informative and fun at the same time.  It was a spa's anniversary and amongst the many activities they had for customers, one of them taught us how to make our own facial scrub and so I thought I'd share the recipe with you. It's organic, there are no chemicals and its good for your skin.  It left mine feeling all soft and lovely.   it smells good too.  I love things which smell good. It's really quite simple and something to try if you are home and want to just try something new. The ingredients include: black sesame, plain yogurt, and honey.  Yes, it's really as simple as that.  First, roast the black sesame a bit and then grind it up so that the grains are not too big.  The coarser

Finally the weekend is here and what else is there to think about other than good food and good company?  (I, however, will be home resting since the flu has caught up on me and going around with my sore throat and stuffy nose is just not good).    Although my tastebuds are currently tasteless from the flu, I do have some craving for some sphaghetti and hamburgers which reminded me of this place I went to a few weekends ago.  It's called "Wine I Love You" and is located at the CDC also known as Crystal Design Centre.   I have to admit, the last time I went to CDC was when it was just newly opened with few shops and hardly any people.  Now on weekends, it's bustling and full of activity. Absolutely amazing.  With shops, comes restaurants and wanting to try something new, Alex and I decided to try out "Wine I Love You." The decor has a bistro kind of feel to it, and it reminds me of a wonderful hamburger place I went to in D.C.  I felt like I was living

September 7 is a special day for me.  It's special because on this day, one of my best friends was born.  You know who you are.  I've known you for almost fifteen years already and no matter how near or far, we are always the same.  Even though sometimes years have passed before we see another, when we meet it is exactly the same. We know each other inside out.  We know the good and the bad. College was where it all happened.  I loved my time there and of course being with good friend made it all better. Together we explored the city, tried out new eateries and cried on each other's shoulders.  I remember studying together in the library, hanging out in the lab (with me trying to help although I have no clue about robotics.  I did help put together a motor for a robot leg though!), buying lunch at food trucks, late night karaokes, or cooking dinners.   Her room was always where we hung out.  It was where everyone hung out.  People from near and far would come and together

As summer is coming to an end in the northern hemisphere, I thought about summers past.  Then an interesting thought came to mind.  Memories that I remember most vividly from childhood usually occur in the summer or involved something new, something unexpected. Why summer?  Why do memories from these two to three months a year are the ones that remain so vividly in my mind?  What happened with the rest of the year?  Why do new, unexpected events leave marks upon the brain? Of course, memories from the other nine months of the year, which is not summer, also appear now and then, however, I noticed that they are usually memories of time with an "event" to remember.  For a kid, that meant traveling, new experiences, birthday parties or playing with the dog and somethng happens.   I remember seeing Chantilly in France for the first time as we rounded a bend in the road and suddenly before us appeared the magnificant castle.  I remember dropping chocolate on a white sweater wh

Sometimes when you feel that there are a zillion million things that have to be done.  The best way to deal with it is to just have a short rest, take a deep breath, and then plunge yourself into it.  Plan out what needs to be done and set a time deadline.   By this I mean if you have to do your expenses, or have to sort out your pictures, allot a specific amount of time for it.  If not, simple tasks can end up consuming much of your time.  Prioritize what needs to get done first. Of course, remember that life isn't about accomplishing "tasks" and getting things done. Look up and smell the roses every now and then.  Schedule in some relaxation time, some time for yourself.    It'd do wonders. Have you taken a break yet this weekend? Or are you still going through the "To Do" List?