Hola! November is ending so now I’m back here with some updates about my life, which nobody might care about, but I do, so I’m writing it here. But, dang, I shouldn’t be that negative about people in my first paragraph, right? My apologies πππ»ββοΈ
But actually I have been meaning to write this earlier this week, when I just finished reading The Martian. Yes, you read it right. I finished reading a book – after forever! And let me tell you how it came about. The point is I’ve been rebuilding my good habits.
You know I’ve been saying how I’ve been gaining weight, right? It’s not that I mind or am obsessed with losing weight or being slim because I feel like I look the same as I did – and I care more about being healthy. It’s just that I don’t like the fact that some clothes now felt too tight or became “small” ’cause it means I can’t wear them any more, at least not as comfortably as before. And, I don’t like the way my tummy bloated. It feels like I’m getting fat only in that area and I don’t like that. I know that maybe it’s not due to fat, perhaps it’s bloating caused by bad habits, I don’t know. But it’s enough to convince me to do something about it. And this was my initial reason – or excuse – to get to exercise.
But you know I’m “lazy.” I see exercising as a “waste of time.” Yeah, I know it’s a wrong mindset. Exercising, after all, is good investment for health. But really, I cannot do anything else while doing exercise? I want to do something else!
I wanted to buy a new bike, but Mom was a bit against it fearing I wouldn’t really use it especially because we actually had one, but didn’t really use it. But it’s broken, both tires were flat, brakes were broken, the forks, the stem, the spokes, most parts were rusty, i.e. we no longer used it, but Mom was looking to trade it in with a secondhand bike. And that’s when it occurred to me: I could just use it; as long as I could pedal it, it should work, right? It would be like cycling in a gym, except that it cost me nothing? No need for a fancy bike or expensive gym. And no need to leave the house as well. I could stay put pedaling the bike while, I don’t know, scrolling down my phone, watching anime, or reading. And yep, that’s exactly what I did.
Actually I’ve been asking my brother to take out the bike from the warehouse (or wareroom? LoL) so I could use it since long time ago, which he then did. But I really started only in November. I didn’t know how committed I would be, but as long as I made a good start, I believe it’s a progress in itself. At first my butt felt sore because the saddle/seat was really hard, so not comfortable for long-duration biking. So I bought a cushion as a seat cover, and that solved it. γγ£γ±γγ(having) money does solve a problem!
So I biked every day. I aimed for 30 minutes in the morning before work. But sometimes I biked only 15 minutes in a day and biked 45 minutes another day to make up for the difference. And I tried to bike longer, 1 hour, on the weekend. I set my timer, biked while reading/watching anime/scrolled my phone. But I did reading the most. But don’t you think it’s brilliant? Getting a healthier body with biking and a healthier mind with reading. Nourishing the brain while building my physique. (Actually I’m not really building my physique, I just wanted to use a different phrase to make it sound different. LoL) But well, killing two birds with one stone, something to celebrate, no?^^
I decided to pick up where I left with The Martian. I started reading that book on my back from Colombia, but then I didn’t get to continue reading. It’s actually a good read but I always had excuses to do other things. Gosh, things aren’t the same now that we have all these distracting technology shortening our attention spans. See? Bad men blame the tools. I’ve become one of them now. But no, the book is really interesting. In the old days, I knew I would keep reading and forgot about time. (There were not so many distractions I could afford back then!)
So yeah, I read the Martian. I aimed to finish at the end of November but holly, I actually finished a week before the month ends! I know it’s nothing great. The younger me would feel insulted. LoL But it’s been forever since I read consistently so this was a win for me. (Re)building good habits isn’t easy so I really need to use anything to motivate myself, even if I appear as someone with NPD, but hey, I finished the book faster than planned! That’s how great The Martian is. The story is so engaging it makes me want to keep reading, curious about how the story unfolds. It makes me “impatient.” Well, there are two types of “impatient” that happens when we read a book. The first is “impatient” in which you feel bored and decide to skip to the end or stop reading altogether – you just can’t stand how the stories are being dragged on. The second type is “impatient” in which you can’t wait to find out what happens next so that you keep reading until the end. So yeah, during my morning biking routine, I could read 10-30 pages, and sometimes more. It really made feel good. It’s like I got back in touch with what used to excite me in high school. Dang, I could finish 3-4 books in a month or even a week, but now I’m so proud of finishing one book in less than a month! That’s just how bad I’ve become… :'( But, hey, if I could finish one book in a month, I could aim to read at least 12 books in a year, right? A new goal to keep me alive, yay!
But that’s it! I’m glad to have finished reading the book, but I don’t think my tummy got any smaller or flat. Wkwkwk But that’s alright. It’s the sense that my body is moving, that I feel healthier by doing that, because, you see, the nature of my remote work doesn’t give me chances to move that much. And you know I’m a homebody so I don’t really go out. I don’t want my biking routine to be something I did just for a change. I want to keep it as a good habit. Actually, I’m starting to read another book now. Guess what book I’m reading? But I aim to finish it before I set off for my end-year traveling π
Other than that, I restarted my garden; I mean, now I’m trying to plant my veggies and flowers on the front part of my house. That’s because we’re now raising chickens, and my parents to decide to let them out in my backyard “garden” to keep them healthy. I actually have no problems with the chicken, they’re cute too. The problem is, they often messed up my plantations. They ate the sprouts, scratched the soils and scattered the seeds, trampled on the young shoots, etc. So frustrating. Haha But that’s just how life is. I don’t actually hate it. Otherwise I won’t try or restart my garden in the front, right?^^ Even my Mom now made pots of used mineral-water gallons. And it’s actually basic plantations, not expensive kind plants, just some tomatoes, chilis, pak choi, balsamina of various colors, and such. But I love them, and that’s what matters^^
What else? Oh, I still kept in touch with the friend I met while traveling in China (did I talk about this in my China travel post?). We exchanged pictures on WeChat. She asked me to visit her in Italy before she died, and I told her to not die before I made a visit. Oh, if only applying for a Schengen visa wasn’t such a hassle for Indonesian passport holders. If only the tickets to Europe were not as expensive… One could only hope…
Gosh, I just remember. I found this new good sushi restaurant. They opened earlier this year but I found out only recently, so I tried some. I’d been craving for sushi but couldn’t find a good one in this small hometown of mine, so I was glad I now had a good option to go to. The food was good, the service was good. The price wasn’t. LoL I mean, really, it’s expensive. I can afford it, yes, thankfully, but I still think it’s expensive. I knew I wouldn’t be able to afford it when I was younger. It would be crazy to spend 8% of the town’s monthly minimum wage for one-time eating for one person. That’s how expensive it was – mainly because our country sucks, the minimum wage was unbelievable so everything decent feels expensive…unfortunately…
Well, I guess that’s all. There have been many natural hazards – or disasters – in my country now. Fast floods, landslides, volcano eruptions… Many people died. Animals lost their homes. My heart ached every time I read the news. But I don’t want to talk about it here, ’cause otherwise it will be too long. I’ll get angry. My heart will break again. Etc. If you read this, I just hope you can pray for us. For my country. For the animals. Thank you.
