Dea Guwapa

The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades

Next destination: Baler

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Dea

Abet’s and my travel plan is to visit one new country and one new local beach each year. We have already chosen which country to visit (and a Plan B in case we don’t get approved for a visa) this year, but we are still undecided on where to get some sun and sand. We were torn between Pagudpod (because he’s been there and he liked it and it’s on my list) and Puerto Galera (because it’s more affordable and we’re probably the last two people on earth who haven’t been there yet). That was until we read Chyng‘s blog entry about Baler last week.

You can read her blog entry here, it’s very informative. Her blog post about her recent Baler trip was enough to convince Abet and me to make it our next beach destination. We can go try surfing there, which is also on my list of things to try by 2013. We can also go trekking, something my husband really enjoys doing (I’m hoping we’ll have enough money to buy a pair of Zamberlan Vioz hiking boots for him).

Because Abet is about to finish his Masters, both his schedule and our budget is very tight right now. We won’t be able to go on this trip until he’s done with grad school. I wish the days would just fly by. Abet and I haven’t been to the beach in a long time, and we both deserve a nice vacation.

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My guitar man

Mastercard Moment

So how did my first Bikram yoga session go?

Posted on November 21, 2010 by Dea

Well, I mastered one pose: the savasana, or the corpse-pose. As the name implies, this asana is done by lying on your back in complete relaxation — which was pretty much all I did during that first session.

If I were to describe my first yoga class in one word, it would be humbling.

First of all, I was the chunkiest girl in class. Everyone else was svelte and slim and sexy, even those who were old enough to be my grandmother. Secondly, I felt so frumpy in my fitting shirt and capri leggings. The girls wore these cute, sexy yoga outfits so tiny they were practically baby clothes, I think one girl even wore a bikini (heck, if I had her figure I’d wear a bikini too). And the men? Well, they left very little to the imagination.

As for the yoga class itself, the room was not as hot as I’d imagined it to be, but the class was more difficult than I expected. I could barely bend and stretch to do the poses, while the rest of the class contorted themselves silly (yes, even those who were old enough to be my grandmother). And you know how long I lasted in that 90-minute class? 10 minutes, 15 at the most. I spent the rest of the session sitting down on my mat or in savasana.

I actually can’t wait to do it again. The yoga class, not the sitting/lying down for more than an hour. I can already imagine the benefits I will reap if I do Bikram yoga regularly, and this is something I can see myself doing. It’s probably too early to say, but I love it.

Last Friday’s class was free, but this coming week I’ll sign up for the unlimited monthly package. It’s a bit expensive, but it’s a small price to pay for my health and my wellness. After the holidays, I’ll work on crossing an item off my to-do list: #11 – Do the 30-Day Bikram Yoga challenge. Hopefully, after that, I’ll be able to do all the poses with grace and ease, and slim and confident enough to wear a sexy yoga outfit.

The next 3 & 1/2 years will be exciting

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I will finally attempt to be a yogini!

Posted on November 19, 2010 by Dea

Finally, after much procrastination!

I already got myself a yoga mat and some workout clothes, so out the window go my excuses. Later today, I will attend my first Bikram yoga session. Actually, I was supposed to start working out last Monday, but then my cat was not eating properly, I didn’t want to be away from her for too long. But she’s fine now, so this is it!

I’m a bit nervous. I hope I don’t throw up or faint or get a nosebleed. Bikram yoga is done in a 38°C heated room so I’m not even counting on finishing the full 90-minute session on my first try.

I’m hoping that Bikram yoga and I will get along well, I want to experience all the benefits it has to offer: strength, flexibility, balance, better posture, better overall health, decreased body pain, better sleep, and my number one motivation of all, weight loss. I’m also looking forward to what it can do to my mind and soul. My uncle even said that I may find myself losing interest in cigarettes and maybe even meat once I get into yoga. Let’s see.

For November and December, Bikram Yoga Manila is actually offering a free session for first-timers for their anniversary, which I didn’t know about until today. My timing couldn’t be more perfect. I’ll let y’all know how it goes.

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Pulag Dreaming

Posted on September 30, 2010 by Dea

Climbing Mt. Pulag, the second highest peak in the Philippines after Mt. Apo, is one of the things I want to do before I turn 31 years old. I’ve wanted to climb it for the longest time. My friends who’ve been there describe the experience as amazing, and I can’t wait to experience it myself, with Abet of course.

I’m starting to look into Mt. Pulag package tours and I’m happy to find out that these tours are more affordable than I thought, less than P4,000 per person. Not bad. We already bought a tent and a sleeping bag two years ago from a planned Anawangin trip that fell through, and we already have backpacks from our SEAsian backpacking trip last year. What I wish I had is a battery-operated electric blanket for camping, because if there’s one thing Mt. Pulag is notorious for, even more than the tiring climb, it’s the extreme cold. I guess I’ll have to make do with my personal human blanket to keep me warm.

More than the logistical preparation, Abet and I need to prepare physically. You’d have to be in good shape to be able to tackle 2922 meters above sea level, and Abet and I aren’t exactly in our best physical conditions. I’m thinking of going in January of February next year, I think three or four months is just about enough time to whip our asses into Pulag-worthy shape.

I’m already so excited about this, I can’t wait to cross this item off my list!

*photo from Santigwar.com*

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Meatless for 60 days

Backlog

Posted on September 6, 2010 by Dea

I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t been blogging much, I wasn’t able to announce that I already ticked off one item on my 31 Before 31 list: #10 – Be a vegetarian for 60 days! I’m feeling pretty proud of myself- -going totally meatless wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. I don’t think I’ll be attempting that again, I love my Sr. Pedro lechon manok too much (I’ve had a lot of it since I started eating meat again).

–=-=–

I also haven’t been updating my fitness journal, but that’s because my weight loss plateaued after I lost 4 lbs. *shakes head* Three more weeks or so to go until my brother’s wedding, I hope I can still shed a couple more pounds or so by then. I will definitely be enrolling in Bikram yoga classes on my next payday, I’ve procrastinated way too long already.

–=-=–

Abet and I treated my siblings at Friday’s to celebrate my sister May’s RN-ness. We miss Joe so bad in times like these. Highlight of the night was having my brothers bully their little sister into bottoms-upping a glass of beer (she didn’t). That, and seeing P-Noy and Josh going up the escalator in Robinson’s Manila.

–=-=–

The kitten wants to go to work with me! Sorry, Ums, but until we have a ‘Take Your Pet to Work Day,’ you’re staying home. (Please pardon the uncombed hair.)

–=-=–

Have a good week ahead, everyone!

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Pulag Dreaming

Meet my Dunlop golf clubs

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Dea

Aren’t they purty? I fell in love at first sight with these clubs when I saw them on the display window at a sports shop. Of course I would, they’re baby blue! With plush baby blue club head covers and baby blue shafts! I begged my parents to get these and they said no, but I came home one day to find the clubs sitting on our sala. I was supposed to share with my mom and sister. That was July 2007.

Look closely:

The club heads are still covered in plastic three years later! I have never ever used them, and neither have my mother and my sister. The poor golf clubs are stashed in a corner of our house. The pretty clubs don’t deserve this kind of neglect.

I have a new goal for this year: to take these babies out for a whirl. It’s about time I signed up for some beginner golf lessons at the nearest driving range. My dad will definitely be pleased. Besides, it’s on my 31 Before 31 list to play a full round of golf with my dad, I gotta start somewhere.

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Two weeks more!

Posted on August 12, 2010 by Dea

14 days to go until I cross off the first item on my 31 Before 31 list: (#10) Be a vegetarian for 60 days. And I never cheated, not even when we had food tastings with two different caterers. I didn’t touch the meat dishes.

Believe it or not, I haven’t been craving for pork or beef at all. In fact, I’m craving for just 3 things: Jollibee Chicken Joy, Sr. Pedro roast chicken, and my mom’s squid in ink dish. After the 60 days, I think I’ll continue to lay off the red meat and reincorporate just seafood and chicken into my diet, but only when I’m craving for it. We’ll see.

I’m actually feeling better now than when I first started going vegetarian. Six weeks ago, I felt like a truck in bad need of rv repairs: I felt heavy, I was sluggish, and I was popping and creaking and aching all over. The difference isn’t really dramatic and the weight loss is minimal (just 7 lbs.), but I’m happier, definitely. I don’t feel as heavy or as bloated as before, and the body pains have lessened. And while almost everyone around me at work has the sniffles and coughs, I’m as fit as a fiddle. Must be all that fruit.

I’m so proud of myself already. I can’t wait for August 26, when I’ll finally get to tick off item #10 on my list. I’ll treat myself to a 1-piece Chicken Joy meal then.

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Broke!

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Dea

*image from here

I’m too poor right now! *sniff* Don’t you just hate it when there’s too much month at the end of your money?

My annual membership at the spa has expired, and I can’t afford to renew it right now. Such a bummer ’cause I’m a girl who likes her Swedish massages, jacuzzi tubs and saunas, and God knows I badly need a spa session right now. Same with all the nice things I’m lemming for: a purple Longchamp bag, the Urban Decay Naked eyeshadow palette, Steve Madden sandals, etc. I couldn’t even buy myself anything at Forever21 last weekend! Thankfully my generous boyfriend bought me a wallet there – - and put money inside it, hehe. I’m so kawawa. And here’s the clincher: I probably won’t get to watch CATS. Aray!

I don’t get to enjoy my money much these days, my paycheck now goes straight to the wedding fund/start-up fund and travel fund that there’s not much left for me to spend. I just keep on reminding myself that it’s going to be all worth it when I (#5) take my sister to Hong Kong Disneyland this year, and when I (#27) have that beautiful and awesome wedding.

But I really want to renew my spa membership.

If I ever won the lottery

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One month.

3 weeks down, 5 more to go

Posted on July 17, 2010 by Dea

Of being a vegetarian, that is.

So far, I’ve lost 6 lbs., and that’s without regular exercise, just 20 minutes of Pilates whenever I’m in the mood. I’ll start exercising once my weight loss eventually plateaus, I’ll start with Bikram yoga then. I’m quite pleased with my tummy now, it’s back to looking just two months pregnant instead of four. And while it may just be psychological, I do feel much lighter and less bloated, and my trips to the bathroom have become regular, you’d think I was taking colon cleanse products. All this just by avoiding all meat including seafood.

I haven’t had any serious meat cravings so far, thanks to my favorite meatless food that I indulge in whenever I get tired of vegetables: Sbarro’s baked ziti with tomato sauce, Army Navy’s veggie burrito, and Yellow Cab’s cheese pizza. I think I can maintain this diet long-term. I’ll see how this goes in the next five weeks.

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Meatless for 60 days

Posted on July 8, 2010 by Dea

I had tried going vegetarian for a whole month five years ago. By the time the month was up, I had lost weight, the aches and pains in my body went away, and I generally felt a whole lot better than I did before I went all-veggie.

I’m attempting to do this again, but to challenge myself even more, I’ll go meatless for 60 consecutive days. It’s on my 31 Before 31 list. I need to do this for myself. You all know I desperately need to lose weight, and I’m already aching in places that aren’t supposed to start aching until I’m fifty.

It’s been 10 days since I started being herbivore, and so far, so good. No meat cravings so far. Lunch breaks at work can be a bit of a drag, though. By some cruel twist of fate, my lunchmates are 3 guys who have the most awesome home-cooked baon that they’re always generous to share. I have to decline for now as I settle for the vegemeat Abet and I got in Binondo last weekend.

"Isipin mo na lang ham yan."

I’m taking vitamins now to make sure I get enough nutrients, and I think I’ll give Momon’s protein shake another chance. I’m positive I can sustain this diet for two months. While I know that there’ll probably be some serious cravings for a Brother’s Burger or Sr. Pedro litson manok down the line, I know that it only takes chocolate to satiate them. 50 days to go!

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The next 3 & 1/2 years will be exciting

Posted on July 3, 2010 by Dea

There’s this blog I discovered some weeks ago that I find inspiring: The 30 Before 30 Project,Celine Novenario’s chronicles of her adventures as she ticks off the items on her list of 30 things to accomplish before she turns 30 years old.

As I go through her blog posts, I can’t help but think that this girl’s life right now is just awesome. Granted, she can afford to do all the exciting things she gets to do all over the world, but then how come not all rich people get to do fun stuff? Because they didn’t list down things that they want to do, with a tight timeline to boot.

I have listed down five things I’d like to accomplish in this lifetime, but these are long-term goals. As much as I want to build a house right now, my bank account says not yet. There’s really not much I can do on that particular list at this point.

And so, instead of being envious of Ms. Novenario who is having a blast in her late twenties, I have decided to make a list of things I want to do in the next few years, from the mundane to the exciting. I’m 27 & 1/2 years old right now, which means I have 2.5 years until I turn 30. It’s too little time for me, to be honest. Let’s admit it, some of the cool stuff would cost money, and my money for the next 15 months is allotted for wedding expenses. Plus, I’d like to do some of the more exciting things on my list as a married woman–with my future husband, of course. And so, taking into consideration that goals need to be S.M.A.R.T (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely–with my finances dictating how attainable they would be), I have decided to make a list of 31 things to do before I turn 31 years old. Yep, my very own 31 before 31 project. Not so much for originality, but more of being realistic by adding an extra 365 days, and because ’30 before 31′ does not have a good ring to it.

My dear blog friends, let me present to you THE 31 THINGS I’D LIKE TO DO BEFORE I TURN 31. I hope you can join me for the ride.

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Meatless for 60 days