CH219: Saying Is Not Doing

Because I've been meaning to buy these things but never actually doing it, and just postponing...

New running shoes. The ones I've got are 4 years old and you can tell the cushioning has given up on some parts. This time around, to make a better and wiser purchase, I even did those running and walking on treadmill tests to know which shoes are most suitable. I'm quite shocked though how expensive running shoes are. I didn't see their prices skyrocket to 7000+ pesos before. Or maybe I was just not aware. 4 years ago, prices would have just been around 5k+. And I would have thought innovation and mass production would drive prices down.

I haven't drunk whey or anything of it close to a year now. This time around, I got myself back into whey isolate - the first one I drunk before going for the cheaper usual whey protein. The plus factor for my decision was of course - they're okay for those who are lactose intolerant. :) and of course, some creatine. I'm such a sucker for quick hard sell and "discounts". Since I bought 3 products, all 3 were effectively 50% off. If I just bought 2 of the whey isolates, they'd just be 40% off.

So, I really should be planning my routine now. But...or maybe no buts. I'm going to Bangkok this Thursday till Sunday, so I may just work out there as well considering I've seen the temples before. There are other places though I've yet to see. :)

CH218: Europe (Lisboa, Madrid and Barcelona), Prelude

I'm officially back and still a bit jetlagged! I can't wait to write down about all the places I've seen and visited. Although, that may take some time, as I have been mostly on my smartphone during the trip, there's a lot of things to catch up on. In particular, replying to each Facebook post or message I received on my birthday. LOL.

It was quite an exhausting trip especially with all the walking and whatnot. Starting it off in hilly Lisboa may have been a good idea as I can't imagine walking up and down steep hills at the last leg of the trip. Barcelona was kinder to my tired feet.

The trip and all the places I visited were exactly as how I imagined them to be based on the pictures I've seen based on my planning. Or actually, no, they were better, because I got to see them in person!

Anyway, I have a backlog to attend to. Among other things: finances, work, etc. ;)
Sharing a few pictures for now! (I have 2161 all taken from my smartphone pertaining to that trip, so there's a lot of curating effort to be done)

Pictures after the jump!

CH217: Mad Rush

So...for the past 60 hours, I've only had 5-6 hours of sleep. Last Monday, I spent about 20 hours working on a project. Yesterday, I spent close to 22 hours.

Unfortunately [technical mambo jargon], the second phase of the project which was to import a database experienced several issues which I was only able to figure out far too late into the timeline. Apparently, SQL server 2008 R2 was designed to eat up a lot of physical memory in order to cache sh*t it needs. I initially suspected a memory leak because of the presence of java processes and been wondering why the memory used by active processes does not correspond to the memory used. Blah blah. I had to reconfigure the amount of memory my SQL server uses to reduce the impact on other processes - particularly the java and R3load processes that requires storage and memory to perform the import. So...yeah, I missed my target delivery.

But, on the lighter side of things, when I agreed (to try and complete the project before I fly off to Europe), I only had a small buffer of 3 hours. And that's way past blown given the technical issues experienced. I would have completed the delivery with a conservative estimate of 4-5 days though - including troubleshooting buffer.

The project was handed to me Friday afternoon (about 2 hours before work ended). And since I didn't have Internet access at home, I couldn't be bothered using my data plan to perform the downloads and the connection we were tapping on to (freeloading on an unsecured network) was intermittent, I only had Monday to start on the project.

So I may not have finished it, but I believe I made a lot of mileage in terms of delivery given the short notice. It's not my fault the project manager was not made aware of my planned leave haha. 

At the moment, that's my data usage. Inclusive of downloads for amazing race and survivor - 1 episode each that will be less than 600 MB.

It was an exciting race against time. The pressure was exhilirating! :) As I tweeted, it's been over 2 years since I last worked long hours - much less straight 20+ hour days. So, it was a very much welcome distraction I guess before I fly off to Europe. Because of this last minute assignment, I wasn't able to review and plan for anything logistics related for my vacation. I only have the outline and anatomy of how the vacation will be. Maybe I'm just too tired at the moment to worry and be anxious. What's running in my mind is que sera. I may have just the outline of a vacation at the moment, but that's how the story will be formed - with the adventure into the unknown...in the streets of Madrid, in the magnificence of Barcelona and the wonders of Lisboa!

I CANT WAIT! :)

But for now, I need to finish my client visit and later rush back home to complete my packing, shower then finally off to the airport!

CH216: Salad Creations

Update:
I didn't realize I've had more entries on cooking till I actually checked the entries tagged with the label: cooking.
1. Beef Salpicao with onions, sauteed carrots and blanched brocolli
2. Rockets. Cherry tomatoes. Crushed cashew. Pan fried honey mustard chicken. Goat cheese
3. Stuffed bell peppers with tuna and cheese
4. Honey-mustard-BBQ-garlic Beef + Capsicum
5. Citrusy Salmon with Broccoli Side
6. pasta with Sisig, pork sausage (3 meats simmered in white wine), cheese, capsicum, tomatoes and carrots

So now, we have an entry below for 7, 8, 9 and 10! :)

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I decided a couple of days back to try and eat healthier before I go to Europe. Not that it will have any immediate effect with me losing more weight to look my best in pictures, but I did it just for the fun of it. I always thought cooking is a means to be creative.

Since I moved in to a new flat with friends, there's not as much restriction in terms of cooking - actually there's none at all. So, for the past lunches and dinners, I made up the following.

Dinner 1

Chopped chicken fillets over a bed of rockets, carrots and a copious amount of goat cheese (my favorite). I drizzled it lightly with virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar

Lunch 1

I woke up late after sleeping for 12 hours. Since it was way past breakfast I decided to make:

Chicken fillet over a bed of red coral lettuce with diced carrots and apple with creamy Caesar dressing

Lunch 2:

Chicken fillet with a side salad comprised of rockets, carrots and grapes with goat cheese, EVO and balsamic vinegar

Dinner 2:

This one was thought of after watching Hannibal. I initially wanted to get asparagus and wrap it smoked salmon.

Smoked salmon wrap - inside of which is goat cheese and capsicum. I wanted to mix up the texture with something crunch and given fair price didn't have asparagus, I had to find an alternative. It was served over a bed of green lettuce and tomatoes and carrots. There's a dressing of creamy Caesar but the salad was lightly drizzled with EVO and balsamic vinegar.

This is the prelude of course to more complicated dishes haha jk. I'm trying to be creative in as much as I don't want to refer to any cookbook or recipe. I mean, if those people can do it, why can't i? I like experimenting with what's in the fridge. I would have stocked up more but I'll be away for 10 days in Europe and I wouldn't want my ingredients to be ... Not fresh. :)