Sleep deprived

What would be ideal is for my new daughter to sleep through the night. But at the moment that is a bit too much to ask. Eia is barely a month old and still settling in. But her sleeping pattern is impacting on us, her parents, negatively.

For the past few weeks my wife and I have been sleep deprived. We are getting a lot less than what’s considered “healthy”. Coincidentally, the results of the study linking the common cold and sleep deprivation came out today (Sleep the Key to Cold Prevention). According to the study 8-hour sleepers are less likely to get sick than those who slept less.

Yesterday, I did not get to bed till 5.30 in the morning. I had to reset my alarm clock to 7.30 to allow me at least two hours of sleep. I still did not get my two hours. And I was also late for work!

My wife is in no better position. Being the mother, she probably slept less (and worked more).

The last thing we want is to get sick! What are we to do?!

I’ve devised a plan that we are trying out for the first time in our career as parents. We’ll be taking shifts in looking after our little angel. The plan is for Cherry to go to bed by 9pm leaving me to look after Eia till about 2am. That’ll give her about 5 hours of rest time. She would then takeover from 2am onwards with the possibility of catching some Z’s during the day. I said possibly because having 3 other children to look after does not normally allow for this.

5 hours is nowhere near ideal but it is still better than 4, or 3, or 2, or 1, or no sleep at all.

To keep me company during these nights I’ve got a line up of DVDs to watch and a laptop for blogging. I am actually writing this while I’m on my first shift.

22 hour long test of endurance

As this was our fourth trip to the delivery room we were quietly confident we knew what to expect.

Personal history tells us that the length of labour was getting shorter and shorter. Our first child took 12 hours, the next one was 8 and the third one was only 6 hours. So naturally, we’ve set ourselves for a shorter labour. 4 hours perhaps. She could even come sooner. I know a friend who almost did not make it to the hospital as hers only lasted 45 minutes.

How wrong were we!

What actually happened was a 22 hour long test of endurance…not for me, but for my dearest wife. I was there the whole time and wished I could somehow take some of the load…but all I could do was just be there.

We never thought we’ll get to the other side but on 16 December 2008, at 6.12am we welcomed our new arrival, Eliyah Cate.

All praises go to God and of course to my lovely wife, who felt it all!

Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: Proverbs 31:28

I ran/walked to work today…in the rain!

I woke up with no sun in sight. But I’ve already made up my mind the night before that I would be walking to work today.

It’s not so bad walking in the rain. Below are three reasons why I don’t mind it:

1. It’s not too hot.
Australian summer can get really intense. It can get to as high as 40°C (104°F) on some days. It’s good to get a reprieve from the heat from time to time. Walking in the rain is actually a welcome break.

2. The walking tracks are less crowded.
There aren’t a lot of people who think the same way I do.

3. And finally…it’s fun!
How many times in ones adult life do you get to play in the rain? In my case, it’s probably once or twice a month!

Better Health, Cleaner Air

My current fitness level is not at its best. I know it and I can feel it! I used to spend my lunch breaks doing some sort of exercise (swimming, running, walking, etc.). But lately you’ll find me mostly at my desk. And at home you’ll find me on the couch a lot.

Days of 1 hour plus lunch breaks are long gone. Midday is now no longer an option. My work load just would not allow for it any more. Evenings would have been good but my home commitments are more important. I have no choice but to exercise in the morning.

I have gone “green” lately by taking public transport to work. To make it on time I have to be on the bus by 7am. If I’m going to get involved in some fitness activity I would have to be up by 5am at the very latest. That is too early! It would not be sustainable.

What is it then that I could do that will save me precious minutes and improve my fitness at the same time? My solution, WALK TO WORK! Every stride improves my fitness and brings me a step closer to my office. And the other bonus, it’s “green”!

I live approximately 11++ kilometres from my workplace which means I still have to be up pretty early. According to whereis.com it should take me almost 4 hours to walk! 4 HOURS! Who’s crazy enough to do that! It’s good I did not consult this website before I decided. Otherwise, I would have been discouraged immediately.

I am happy to report though that it took me less than 2 hours to walk to work. It would have been quicker if I did not stop to take some photos for this blog. Plus, on this first venture I had with me quite a heavy bag (with my work clothes and toiletries) which slowed me down even more. I expect the succeeding ones to be much quicker as they would be planned better.

If you have other fitness suggestions please feel free to comment…

The lost art...of cooking

I’ve read an interesting article (A Fat Society of Able Cooks by Jane Fynes-Clinton) in the Courier Mail a few days ago discussing the lost art (the author calls it a “skill” but I prefer “art”) of cooking. The author also highlighted Jamie Oliver’s crusade to change society’s attitude towards food. Jamie Oliver recently launched a book in conjunction with a new TV series called Ministry of Food. In the show, he laments what he calls “a new form of poverty caused by a generation that lacks the basic life skills to feed their families”.

The other remarkable point the article made (that I totally agree with) is how there are “increasing number of people who don't know how to cook at all - and many are loud and proud of it.” I’m sure all of us have met these people. Lacking the skill to cook is a disability in my book but for some it is a badge of honour.

Please follow the link and do not be shy with your comments.

2008 Bridge to Brisbane

This was my third year to run the Bridge to Brisbane marathon but it did not feel like it was getting easier. Well, it should, as this year’s course was two kilometres shorter than the previous events. But it did not.

I suppose I should blame my lack of training (and age!). I’ve just been really slack this year. I’ve had too many (valid!) excuses not to train. In previous years I was running three times a week at least a couple of months before the big event. But this year I could barely fit one hour of training a week.

But anyway, I had to do it…and I did it!

I was up at 4am today. I had learned in the past not to cut it too close to the starting time so I was up bright and early. The buses that would take the runners to the 10km start line were to begin at 5am and will only continue for half an hour. With a record number of runners this year (approximately 36,000) I was worried about that and also about parking.

So anyway, I did not have much trouble finding parking. There were plenty of free and “parking for a fee” areas. What I was surprised about was how long the queue was for the shuttle buses (it’s probably because there were some “ticket less” runners - one colleague expressed he was one of the guilty parties)! Half an hour did not seem enough to get everybody transported.

the sun just breaking out

I got to the starting line quite early and had over an hour to waste. What to do? Find another queue, of course! There were all sorts of queues available that day. As it was quite a chilly morning (this marathon is always held at the beginning of spring) the queues to the “portaloos” were the logical choice (just as long as you choose the one with a faster turnover, if you know what I mean).




After getting my personal business sorted I had to find where my exact starting line was. The participants were divided into four main categories, namely, elite runners, runners, joggers and walkers. I registered as a jogger (85 minutes or less).




The official start was 6.45am but because of the record number of participants I didn’t get to the starting line (where the timing chip attached to one of my shoes gets activated) till about 7.10am.

what kept me hydrated...thanks Jung!

I huffed and puffed all the way to the finish line. It took me…we’ll have to wait for the official results. That’ll be another blog.

the crowd at the finish line

During the course I did wonder what I got myself into…as you always do when you’re struggling. But when I reached the finish line I understood why.

See you in London in 2012!

Ooopppssss…wrong event. Go Moncredibles! See you all again next year!

Running in Brisbane

I feel quite blessed to have my workplace in an area that is quite conducive to fitness. My office building is located near the Brisbane River. And along the riverside there is a bikeway/walkway that goes for kilometres right through to the various inner city suburbs of Brisbane.

View from the 3rd level parking lot

The track to the city

The gym used to be IT for me when it comes to fitness. My former workplace was flexible enough to allow me to have 2 hour lunch breaks. I used these times to go to the gym. Specifically, to attend group fitness classes. The gym was also only 10 minutes walk from my office building. 2 hours was more than enough for me to do my thing.

My gym bag and gear next to my plastic bamboo plant

But since I moved workplaces I have found it quite difficult to visit the gym. Not only is the gym far from where I work now but also I haven’t got as much spare time as I used to.

You might ask, why not do it early in the morning before work? I am not really a morning person, you see. So getting up too early to visit the gym is never going to happen. I might do it for a week or so but it will not be sustainable.

Why not after work, you ask? All I want to do is go home to my family after work. I spend too much time at work already. To add an hour or so of gym time to that is just not ideal. I prepare dinner most days. I can’t ask my family to wait an extra hour just because…

Lunch time is my only time to exercise. The answer then is to use what I’ve got, where I am! I’ve quit the gym! I have been running regularly since the beginning of this year. Again, thank God for the perfect location for this kind of fitness regime. I run approximately 8 kilometres at least 3 times a week. Being a neophyte, it takes me an hour to complete the course. Last week that was reduced to just 58 minutes. We’ll see how I go this week.

Walkway to the bike/walk track from the other side of the river. I do my stretches here.

My boss has graciously given me his old heart rate monitor to help me programme my running better. My new workplace also has a fitness check programme that regularly monitors the physical fitness of all employees. Some people might view it as a bit intrusive but I think otherwise. This program encourages me even more to do better at work.

Sign on the track showing distance to the two different directions you could take.

Football (soccer) club

My family was never really into sports. Although my dad would probably argue that we are, as he was very much into game hunting. I, personally, do not classify that as a sport. I mean, not in the same league as football, basketball or baseball (if you get my drift). But since we now live in Australia, where sports seem to be everyone’s "religion", we are “forced” to take up some sort of sport. Don’t get me wrong. I am not at all saying that sport is a “bad” thing. On the contrary, I actually think it is very good. Living in an “obese” world, playing a sport is the best thing anyone can take up to combat what we now call an “obesity epidemic.” I actually encourage my children to engage in a lot of physical activities so as not to suffer from this so called epidemic. Me and my wife do our part by regular exercise. This is in the form of extended walks, running, swimming and Pilates (I'll write another post regarding my "running" in the very near future). Sport is something new to me. Something I am not used too. Therefore, it requires a lot of effort on my part to be into it. I have to train myself to like it.


For the third year in a row now my son has been a member of the Grange Thistle Football Club in Brisbane. He practices every Thursday nights. Games are held every Saturday.

My wife has graciously given me the task to be the “soccer dad”. My youngest daughter tags along every practice. Thursday night has become some sort of a bonding session between me, my son and my youngest daughter. I’ve got 3 children. My older daughter though chooses to stay at home with mom. She seems to be quite exhausted tuwing uuwi after school. Pagsakay pa lang sa kotse she immediately falls asleep. Once she gets home she couldn’t be bothered to go anywhere else.

The practice is only for an hour or so. My task is to find some sort of a fun activity that both me and my daughter would enjoy while waiting for “Kuya”. Who could refuse a movie and some junk food? I always bring my laptop with me and play some DVDs. It was Sherk the Third last night. We had some crackers and cheese to enjoy the movie more. To top it all up we had some apple juice.

I hope this doesn’t turn out to be an “obesity” leading activity. I should prepare more and bring healthier snacks!