of measurements

I went back to my gym yesterday and the first thing I did was do a weigh-in. According to the scale I am at 142 lbs. Now I don't know what to think about that since looking at my "records" I previously weighed 141 lbs a few days I arrived in Cyprus and 146 lbs a week before I left. So it would seem like I didn't gain any weight in Cyprus, which is contrary to what people say and what I feel. And simply looking at the numbers would also mean I lost 5 lbs in a week, and that seems highly unlikely.

Going to before I left for Cyprus, I knew my weight to be 137 lbs on the same scale I used before yesterday. This consistency shows that I must have gained around 5 lbs in a span of 2 months, regardless of my pre-departure and current weight. Bottom line is, I gained weight.

Although the gains were not as obvious as before I am glad I am still on the right track... and the fact that I may have lost 3 lbs 2 weeks before coming back due to stress, means that my 150 lbs goal is definitely attainable, especially with the help of my trainer.

Now, I am considering getting up to 160lbs and my trainer even suggested going to 180 lbs. I'm not sure about going 180 lbs but we'll see, one notch in the scale at a time...

dawn of a new day

Written by a sleepless guy at over 30,000 feet above sea level, doing 1,000 km/h... just past the Arabian sea.

I saw my first glimpse of sunrise today… whatever day it is, given the complexities of international travel. The imagery I saw seems befitting what I feel, a streak of soft orange light emerging from the darkness. Dark grays slowly receding from the warmth of the sun.

I can’t seem to remember the last time I have seen and appreciated the sunrise. I usually sleep past it or too groggy to care. But now, despite not having slept in 18 hours I am pondering what lies beyond the horizon. I am captivated by the realization that we are heading straight into the point of sunrise as if trying to reach it but in fact, the final destination is beyond it. Past the horizon, past plains and mountains and the endless sea… to a place where location does not really matter.

Nearly everyone else on the plane is off to dreamland trying to reduce the stress this 8-hour flight will inflict. While I revel on dreams of my own, and damn the jet-lag that may ensue. Even though I will be arriving home just as the sun sets, I feel that my day will just about to start then.

just like that

I've always wanted to dive in Cyprus from the moment I knew I was travelling here. So when I found out that the diving season opens on March 1, 12 days before I leave, I set things in motion to get me 60 feet under water. Even though I knew that the temperature would still be low (lower than what we tropical people are used to), I just had to dive the Mediterranean.

Last sunday, an officemate and I headed to the dive center in Agia Napa. Despite not having my trusty navigator with me, I managed to get to the center without having as much as a wrong turn and we were off preparing our gear in no time. A few minutes drive later we were on our jump off point.

Two things I learned after our first dive... it was cold, even with double 5mm wetsuits and hood. And it was salty, saltier than normal... I around 15lbs of weight to help me get to the bottom. Now 15lbs is not a big deal when you're underwater, the problem was I had to lug that and all my scuba gear from the water up to our car which was a good 20 feet away.

On our next dive site, we again had to lug the same amount of scuba gear down a series of steep steps. But I guess it was well worth it. As we were slowly working our way up to the surface along the walls of the cliff, the sun shone down on our area illuminating it as if we were in a cathedral. It was just wonderful. Clear water, beautiful sunshine, cliffside walls, and the slow carshing of surface waves. I wanted to stay there and relax but we had to surface as I was running out of air.

Now that was the end of the diving experience... but not of the day.

Another thing I wanted to do in Cyprus was jump off a cliff. I didn't care if it was cold and I that would have to swim back to shore, or worry that I might land incorrectly and hurt myself. I had to jump if I could... no questions asked. Fortunately the last dive spot was also a place where you could jump off a 6 meter drop.

The area had a small chapel in it and I said a quick prayer as we passed by. Near the edge I had a fleeting thought, wondering why the hell would I do this. But I didn't entertain it. I let it go as soon as it entered my mind. After a pre-jump picture, I again had thoughts of 'what-if'. Again I just told myself "dude, you're right there", just a step away. So I got on the very edge, my mind focused on each movement and prepared myself. Breathe in, breathe out... counting 1... 2... 3... and thinking jump. But I was still standing there.

Then it hit me. It's actually that simple. So again I breathed 1... 2... 3... and I just jumped. I closed my eyes and jumped. No frills, no thrills... just jumped. For the few seconds I was in mid-air, I didn't feel as if I wasn't falling... I as just there in that "moment". When I hit the water, it was as if I was being cradled... no pain, no shock to the system, not even relief of making it. Surfacing from the water was pure elation. And not of the fleeting kind either, I was bathed in it even as I got out.

I wanted to dive in Cyprus even though I knew it was cold, and that it would be twice as expensive as back home, and that I would have to drive an hour to get there. I wanted to jump off a cliff, even though I knew I would've been scared to shit when I stepped on the edge. But I wanted to do it... and so I did.

I guess what makes life great is to go out there and do what you want. Despite the fears and the worries and all the variables that concern it... to just take a leap of faith. And damn the consequences.

teaser

inspired

People say they write better when they are inspired. Or when they are depressed. Or whenever that specific feeling pushes their mind into overdrive and the words just start to flow.

Recently, I have not updated my blog as much. And some might think that I lack the environmental stimuli that promotes new blog entries or that I am uninspired. I would say the former is true, but the latter is definitely not.

I am inspired, I have a wave of emotions swirling and crashing within me. But no blog entry. Perhaps it is because I have been swept away and now I float in an endless sea of contentment where no amount of words, mine or otherwise, would express that.