06th Feb 2022
Haven't updated this in a while, and mood's better now, so let's see what I can think of to type here.
It is always good to shut all my windows and turn on the aircon, not because it's cooler, but because it's so quiet. Sometimes it amazes me how much background noise is actually reflected off multiple walls in my home before they reach my ear, and how much difference leaving a window ajar can make.
But it also proves that noise isn't why I get up early in the morning, it's my body that gets up automatically at 7am.
Ever since I changed my occupation to "nursing student" in all dating apps, things changed significantly. For one, all the previous matches stopped talking to me. Clearly, money is understandably a major factor for most women. That kinda got me down a bit.
Then, the funny thing is, matches kept popping up, particularly in CMB and Bumble, instead of Tinder. The type of women who liked my profiles also changed, with a growing proportion of them coming from the healthcare and education sectors. My conclusion is that it takes a certain level of idealism to want to date someone in my position, and people with that tend to be in a rather small number of lines of work.
Ultimately, the quantity and quality of my matches have not changed significantly, but the type of human beings have, and I actually prefer the new ones. For example, I just met last week a teacher from Taiwan and she is probably one of the nicest people ever, someone who would have been attached long ago if not for her bias against marriage in her youth.
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https://youtu.be/BVLR3jIoNdo
07th Feb 2022
I have five women I'd like to invite to a first date, four of them are still on the dating apps.
How do I deal with this?
Chinese New Year has indeed driven a lot of women to match with guys - Bumble used to give me one or two likes per month but it shot up to five yesterday and another one more today, although 3 simply matched without saying anything, thereby ending the chat/match in 24 hours.
I have asked one of them out last week and will be having a second date tomorrow. Another is up for a date the day after. Will I be too tired after that? Not sure if I want a first date happening this weekend either, since Tuesday will be Vday. The significance aside, the logistics will be a pain too.
08th February 2022
This may be the last time I have such a carefree time (as much as it's possible in my current phase in life) for a very long time. Maybe for five years, maybe decades. Someday I may forget why I chose this path, and hopefully I will find this again and remember.
It isn't that carefree, from my current perspective. Without going through what will happen, the status quo now is not easy. Maybe it's because people are not meant to live an easy life, maybe people will always find their lives hard or easy depending on perspective, but what is going on now is nowhere as carefree as the time between ORD and course commencement in NTU. The hope and bright unknown future could be factors then.
On top of all that, there is the physical aspect. I have to constantly stay aware of how my back is bent, always mindful about keeping the right posture. Similar to what parents used to train their children to do in the old days, probably, except I have to do it to myself, even when I am sitting in the toilet - there may have been once when it shifted slightly when I was simply sitting in the toilet, at night IIRC. It is no fun, I cannot relax as I used to in a chair, merely tolerable. Moreover, it is becoming clear that it is the act of sitting down for hours and hours that is causing this to happen, and on days when I stand up more, my back feels better, hence I try to stand up for an hour or two after dinner. Standing for hours and hours will be fine, as long as my knees are not locked.
And then there is the overtraining, as is happening today. Body Beast is delivering results, but occasionally it leads to overtraining, so I have difficulty staying asleep. Fortunately, the consistent exercise schedule has kept my body fit enough so adrenaline alone keeps me awake, plus I have the luxury of being able to take afternoon naps at around 11am without worries, except for the rare parcel delivery that somehow hits this timing.
I am also lonely, that's no secret and nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, I look forward to working in an environment surrounded by people at times. It is tiring to be by myself all the time, at work and at rest. Hollowing even.
Whatever that I may feel in the future, this is how it feels today, from my current perspective. If I do not go through with this, this will be the only perspective I continue to know. All things pass, good and bad, I have enjoyed this lifestyle for too long, it has become an overdose, and it is time to try living a completely different life.
This is for the best.
9th Feb 2022
Down to 2 ladies now. One turned annoyed just by the suggestion of a date on the day before Vday, another stopped talking, and the third I have to honestly rate 4/10 in appearance and her personality doesn't compensate enough.
The Taiwanese one, made some progress. The other, we'll see on our first date tomorrow. The former, I actually miss now.
Don't think I will consider investing in fine wines anymore. It is good, but it's not as promising as investing in stocks and funds. It's just an excuse for wine lovers to spend more on wines they get to hoard for a couple of decades, an extra justification.
The two bottles of second wine of Chateau Margaux will be my biggest treasure though. 2015, a legendary vintage in itself, combined with the second best wine of one of the best Bordeaux winemakers, the only way to get better than that is to spend more than double the price on their grand vin. Nah, their second wine is fine. In 2015, they used only about 35% of their grapes meant for their flagship wine for their intended purpose, and the next best 35% in the Pavillon Rouge. What I have is only that little bit poorer, and only for $380+ per bottle, a fantastic deal for someone without connections like myself. Could even sell them in the future for probably $400-500 or more, if I want to. Extremely unlikely, but the option is there. These shall be opened for very special occasions within 2030-2040.
10th Feb 2022
So the 2015 vintage at Chateau Margaux, on top of being of a great year, was also the last batch of wine made by their winemaker Paul Pontalier before he passed away in 2016, so their grand vin was named after him. Which kinda makes my bottles all the more interesting.
11th Feb 2022
Met the second match, also another very nice person. But I am distracted, and I don't know for which reasons she was keeping a certain distance from me, as in no physical contact at all. Either way, neither of us will be putting in any effort for this.
A little sad about it because I've tried harder for worse matches in the past, and now two good ones simultaneously, and it seems like a bad idea to pursue both at the same time, even though that's what a friend did in my reservist unit who is marrying his CMB match he met two years ago. He'd pursue his matches as per normal until one became official, and he'd been doing that for almost a decade before getting married. That's good multitasking.
22nd Feb 2022
So it became official by the fourth date last week, kissed on the 5th date yesterday. The order is a bit unusual but that's fine, and the former was a bit faster than expected while the latter was a lot later.
Actually noted down the important points of each date with her this time. Wonder if the effort will bear fruit. In any case, if I don't try I will never know (and forget about these forever like in previous relationships).
24th Feb 2022
不知不觉and it's already the third week of my third cycle of Body Beast, the first of which was not completed. Yesterday I had thought I was recording my numbers in the wrong column, since the initial numbers of the first week was copied from the final week of my second cycle as reference, and the plan was to delete and record accordingly during my first week. I might have accidentally recorded my first week in the second week's column, which did happen for a bit on one of the days.
But it is indeed the third week today! Phase two after next week! This cycle, my Arms day will be switched to Cardio because it feels the least necessary while my cardio was completely trashed by the end of my second cycle. Adding an extra day of cardio into each week was putting too large of a gap between each body part's days, while replacing the rest day was unthinkable.
Shall see how this one goes. Not sure if I will even complete this since there are 2.5months to go, and my course begins in about 1.5 months.
Wanted to bring her to try wa kueh but might not be able to make it :( The stall closes when the kueh is sold out, and sometimes it can close as early as 12pm, but she can't make it till 3pm. I might go a bit earlier to check it out.
06th Mar 2022
Almost slipped in the bathroom today. If not for my leg strength, I probably would have. This is why we have to do lunges. Also, would be good to contact someone daily when I'm old if I live alone, because if I had fallen just now, nobody would check on me for days or even weeks.
07th Mar 2022
In the animal kingdom, we're the glass cannons.
Enrolled. It really begins next month. Awaiting the schedule now.
15th Mar 2022
Started noticing the chlorine smell in my tapwater earlier. It happened in late Feb but noticed it again on the 1st of March, so I tested it with more water from different taps and confirmed it was the water, not the taps. Boiling removed the smell too, so it was definitely the chlorine, not me.
Started boiling water and looked for affordable steel pitchers to cool down the water quickly, but they were all $20 and above for a 2L jug, which is ridiculous since they're all made of just a layer of steel, unlike insulated jugs.
That made me decide to go to the hardware stores in my neighbourhood yesterday, which yielded nothing - they only sold insulated bottles/jugs. Who still uses normal steel pitchers these days when you have fancy glass ones at about the same price range?
So, I gave up, and decided to test myself again. Surprisingly, my sensitivity was gone! I can drink tapwater again! But I'll be keeping a bottle or two of boiled water in my fridge for guests. Myself, just tap water, because I believe in the fluoride.
Back to phase 2 of the Body Beast's Beast schedule but this time, I am replacing the Bulk: Arms day with Beast Cardio. I don't think I need to work on my arms further at this point, although in my priority list, Arms and Chest were on the same level. Honestly, I am torn between the two, but since my brother recommended replacing Arms, that tilted the scale.
Seriously though, how practical are my chest muscles? They're good for pushing stuff only. As for arm muscles? Biceps are good for lifting things in tandem with my shoulders, while my triceps are for pulling things.
Maybe I should be replacing Chest...
16th Mar 2022
Oh wow the Student Laptop Promotion from NYP is such bs. Not only are the laptops not discounted, they're even more expensive than buying directly from the brands themselves, with the price difference being barely justified, if at all, with a ton of freebies I frankly do not give a damn about, like Challenger's Valueclub membership for a year, a laptop lock, a backpack and etc. These guys aren't making laptops more affordable for students at all! Every single item on the list is at least S$1000!
24th Mar 2022
How long as it been since the start of the real attempt at Body Beast?
Since this is the third cycle and I am just done with the second week of the second phase, this is probably the eighth or ninth month. That explains the visible physical differences in my shoulders. They're probably not bigger, just more toned.
The power of marketing is incredible when you consider why people pay ridiculous prices for konjac products despite the existence of the much more affordable edible mushrooms. Mushrooms also have almost no caloric value, eg 100g of king oyster mushrooms only has 8-48 calories depending on which website you're checking, and even has 1-3g of proteins. At 8cal, you could eat a whole kilo of them and only get 80cal, slightly under what you get from 100g of BANANA.
Moreover, mushrooms impart an umami flavour to your dishes, so that's a huge advantage over the completely tasteless konjac.
So, it's marketing, not actual health benefits, that's making konjac sell so well to health-conscious people.
01st April 2022
So she's announcing as a sort of reverse psychological prank, and I might as well do it too, albeit not as a prank despite the occasion: I have found a girlfriend.
Going out to eat with her is definitely more expensive but I eat less while walking more. Over the long term the mode of transportation should be kept to buses and MRTs, while the meal to be kept under $30 per person.
Airplants don't seem to do any better than the previous one at the hanging corner at my balcony. Are fake plants really the only option? Should I try cacti? How can they can hung nicely?
Less than a fortnight before the course begins and they've given us nothing but a date and time for a virtual briefing/orientation, and the online administrative platform, ie the email, personal page and etc. Where's the class schedule? Do we pick our modules/classes? What are the books that we will need?
I hope this is because they're being confused by the changing covid restrictions as the country loosens up.
Anyway my current main concern about the course is really the need to find a completely new routine, and hence possibly messing up my sleep schedule.
