Running bookworm

From the Condura Run 2009

Running has given me much more than I expected.

I started running in September/October 2009 to lose weight. I didn’t realize that I’d not only lose weight, but find a sport I love, a stress release tool, and a me-time activity.

Lose weight. You definitely lose weight with running–but you have to do it regularly, and pair it with health-conscious eating. Losing weight is just a product of loving the sport. And eating healthy starts to make sense when you look at it as fuelling your body efficiently for a better run.

Love the sport. I love running because it’s cheap, anyone can do it, and it triggers my endorphins. And I love being part of a community. Running with a horde at UP, ULTRA, The Fort, etc. And blogging with bloggers like The Bull Runner, Takbo.ph, etc. Great motivation!

Stress release. Best feeling: the wind in my face after a whole day cooped up in the office. I love looking into the horizon after staring endlessly at a computer screen, sweating out all the sedimentation of the day.

More quality me-time. Running is the most ‘me’ you can get. Even when you’re with a group of people, you’re literally alone when you run. It’s just you, your mind, your will, and your body. You hear your body groan and strain, you hear your brain calculating what’s logical and what’s not, you hear your heart pushing you beyond what your mind and body say is reasonable. I’ve never felt more one with my body than when I run.

Best of all, when I conquer a challenge, I find myself bursting into praise. I can’t help it! I can’t help saying out loud, “Hallelujah!” or “Glory to God!” (which makes other runners within hearing distance smile and look at me a bit oddly).

I can’t help clenching my fist with a big grin and a big “Yeah!” and praising the God who crafted such a harmonious creation: the human body. I feel like I just test-drove a priceless Ferrari to its limits. What awesomeness! It’s just mind-blowing!

So I’m absolutely stoked (part-excitement, part-nervous breakdown) for tomorrow’s Condura run. It’s my first race! I’m running the 5k. Who else is going? All week I’ve been behaving like it’s the first day of school, rattling everyone in the house about it day and night! Can’t believe it’s finally just less than 24 hours away!

Filed under: Running Ramblings

Morning stuffing

Egg-in-a-basket

It seems every Saturday morning, I go on a mission to stuff our household tummy. Today it’s eggs in a basket, basically the recipe from the Yummy magazine website.

I’m such a fan of French toast! So glad to discover this variation. I drizzled some cinnamon and honey on it for extra yummyness.

Note to self: use 1-inch thick slices of loaf bread next time. For this one, I used French’s Baker’s dark multigrain bread; it might have been a tad too soft for French toast purposes. I think their thick, crusty loaves might work better. Let’s see next week!

For lunch: bulanglang with mixed vegetables, lentils, and Japanese silken tofu!

For dinner: wheat tortilla with grilled zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, cheese, basil, and (cross-fingers experimental) homemade hummus.

But for now: I’d better post some book reviews before this site turns into a food blog.

Filed under: Coffee, Tea, and Food

I live for breakfasts!

Oat bran pancakes with strawberries and mango

I love breakfasts, especially on weekends. I get to make whatever I want, with no hurry. Today it’s oat bran pancakes, with strawberries and mangoes mashed in, and honey for syrup. Great start to my Saturday!

Got the oat bran pancake mix from Healthy Options at Trinoma for P250, a bit pricey but it makes a lot of batches. I now realize the wisdom of it: by the nth batch you kind of get the hang of it!

For this batch, I used strawberry flavored soy milk (I’ve been using skim or low-fat milk or water in previous mixes). The best, so far! (at least when they aren’t burned) The flavor is subtle and doesn’t get in the way, and the pancakes are fluffier. Next inspiration: chocolate flavored soy milk with white and dark chocolate bits (leftover from some pasalubong big bars).

Shared the pancakes with my mom and ate N, who comes in on weekends to help keep us sane around the house. My dad and sister will have to taste the reprise tomorrow; they were out too early today. Thank God for wonderful weekends and equally wonderful families

Filed under: Coffee, Tea, and Food

Book Thoughts and Movie Musings: Fight Club

Stitch reads Fight Club

Title: Fight Club
Author (Novel): Chuck Palahniuk
Director (Film): David Fincher

I was a fan of this movie for its treatment and storytelling. I read the book for a paper in college, not really expecting too much. But reading the book actually got me more impressed–the movie adaptation wasn’t a mere transliteration from one medium to another.

The director had the good sense to take the book’s message, the feel, the punch, and made a film achieved the same point, created the same atmosphere. It didn’t matter that some scenes were changed–even changing the ending didn’t feel like a sacrilege. That’s a successful adaptation, if you ask me.

Chuck Palaniuk’s novel is satirical, poking fun at middle class America. The humor is irreverent, the plot twists inventive. The characters are interesting. Narrative is fast-paced and punchy, which translates well in the film’s action-packed scenes.

But, really, what I enjoyed about Fight Club is the thick cream of sarcasm from an American about America’s daily grind. Ordinarily, I’m bored with bland white writing, but here I was amused.

Sadly, Chuck’s other books (at least the one I’ve read other than Fight Club and the others I’ve browsed) are more of the typical lackluster kind.

Filed under: Book Buzz, Movie Musings , chuck palahniuk, david fincher, fight club

Good weekend beginnings

Molly's English Muffins

A weekend, for me, begins particularly well when breakfast is shared by the family, served in our cheery sun-streaked dining room (with place mats!), warm and fresh, with strong drink-your-heart-out-Starbucks Barako brew.

This weekend is undeniably one of those.

We had English muffins (Village Gourmet brand, just off the shelves at SM Hypermart–no doubt the French Baker variety is better, if you chance upon it) with poached egg, Dutch Babybel cheese, ripe tomatoes, and basil leaves.

Grilled on our pan-griller for a few minutes to give the muffins that sumptuous char stripe and crispy warm oven-fresh feel, and to melt the cheese and egg together, and semi-cook the tomatoes; added the basil leaves just after the stove has been turned off, to make them droop a tad.

Good breakfast! Even better family time.

Filed under: Coffee, Tea, and Food

MRT morning

MRT rush hour (before they installed those fences to keep the herd in)

I appreciate the morning rush hour on the MRT because of the cultural enlightenment it affords me. Not to mention the glimpse I get into the psyche of my own gender. Believe me, if women mystify you and you want to get to the bottom of what makes them tick, ride the ladies-only MRT cab at rush hour for a week. You’ll be a guru in no time.

Filed under: Rush hour Rants , MRT, females

Book Thoughts: Mere Christianity

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Title: Mere Christianity
Author: C.S. Lewis

I hesitate to write about this classic because what else can I add to the praises that have been given it? Except maybe to say that all the high regard for it is well deserved, and you should believe everyone else’s five-star ratings and put it on your must-read-yesterday list.

If you don’t read theology and apologetics, like me, start with this one. It’s easier to read because it’s a collection of essays that are transcriptions of C.S. Lewis’ radio talks. Reading it, I could swear Anthony Hopkins was speaking the words out loud!

Finely written, evocative. Most of the ideas awakened a response in me. With Mere Christianity, I wasn’t reading C.S. Lewis’ book. I was conversing with him over a cup of coffee. By the end of the book, I wanted to buy him another cup.

Filed under: Book Buzz , cs lewis, mere christianity, apologetics, theology, christian literature

Halfway book review: Deception Point

Deception Point by Dan Brown

On page 313, end of chapter 73:

Gabrielle wondered what she could have done differently.

Nothing, she told herself. You did everything right.

It had simply backfired.

Dan Brown, like Michael Crichton and John Grisham, is one of my default authors for easy-reading fast-paced thrillers. Deception Point doesn’t disappoint: it reads like a Hollywood movie, the kind you want to watch for the special effects and not necessarily for the artistry of the auteur.

But drawing a reader in, hooking him from chapter to chapter, giving him a world he can slip into, is artistry in itself. And besides, like these Hollywood blockbusters, writers like Dan Brown get the point of fiction: it’s a make-believe world, so make me believe in it.

That’s one way I tell good fiction by feel. As I read, I find myself anticipating the next time I open the book because every time I do, I enter another world. I get so acquainted with the surroundings, the characters, that I feel like I have my own character in the storyline, and each return to the book is like catching up with friends.

How the author does this, I don’t know. Some do it through beautiful language and imagery, like Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Some do it through powerful characters, like Arundhati Roy, or unforgettably lovable ones, like Alexander McCall Smith.

And some do it by exploding a lot of bombs, lining up death-defying scenes, and mixing in a little mystery and romance.

To me, it’s still fiction that gets it.

Filed under: Book Buzz , Dan Brown, Deception Point, fiction, thriller

Fake whole wheat

Whole wheat pandesal that really isn't

I don’t think false advertising is cute.

My mom went home all excited from SM Hypermart, showing me her new discovery: whole wheat pan de sal from the grocery. The packaging says it’s whole wheat pandesal, but the ingredient listed is “Enriched Flour” (red print, right side).

Liberty Food Mart Old Fashion Pandesal, whoever you are, you’re either not playing fair or just not too bright.

Filed under: Coffee, Tea, and Food , false advertising, whole wheat bread

Book Thoughts: Blessed are the Meddlers

Blessed are the Meddlers by Christa Ann Banister

This is chicklit fiction about romance, matchmaking, and God’s will. It’s light and easy reading, but I have to admit I just skipped to the end. It wasn’t interesting storywise and the characters didn’t engage me.

Maybe the premise is all wrong? The main character, Sydney Alexander, is already married, so that doused the romantic thrill from the start. Either way, I don’t think Sydney is the type of heroine that readers can relate to from book to book in a series. She lacks a sort of quirky quality, a lovable uniqueness that usually marks chicklit main characters.

I also felt that it was preachy, with plot twists set up so as to prove a point. That makes the story feel a little stilted and manipulated, and interrupts a good story’s natural flow. By the last chapter, you already know the “big lesson” the main character will learn, and you can almost spot the big turning point in her life up ahead.

But what’s good about the book, I think, is the nicely done cover. Tasteful and attractive layout, just right for the genre but not as predictable as the usual. It got me interested enough to pick up the book and browse the first chapter.

- – -
Blessed are the Meddlers: Confessions of a Serial Matchmaker is written by Christa Ann Banister, published by NavPress. More about the book, downloadable sample chapter, over here.

This is the second book in the series; the first one was a bit better (at least I can say I actually read through it). Here’s my review.

Filed under: Book Buzz , chicklit, christian, fiction