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Author: Rochkirstin Santos-Sioco

Slimming Treatment at Marie France Bodyline (Part 1)

You have 27% body fat.

That was how the doctor casually said it. My heart jumped. I could not believe it! Although I was not expecting anything, the fact that I have 27% body fat makes me feel sad. Aww…Hahaha. It’s hard for it to sink in.

Today I attended a free consultation with Marie France Bodyline in Orchard and had myself pampered with a body wrap sample for 25 minutes. I saw the ad last week and thought to give it a try. I want to know more about myself and the trial was free of charge so I took the “bait” and prepared a strong mindset as not to be pushed by the usual forceful consultants to purchase their sets of high-priced treatments whatsoever.

I arrived at their place early. Upon reaching, the receptionist handed me an information sheet for me to fill out. Then she offered me a cup of green tea while waiting for the doctor who will analyze how much body fat I need to lose, how many sessions I will have to take and the type of slimming therapy I need to go through.

After around 10 minutes, the doctor greeted me, introduced herself, quickly measured my height manually and had me step into an electronic weighing scale which measured the amount of excess body fat I need to drop.

Height: 158cm
Weight: 47kg
BMI: 18.8

With these, I fall under the category Normal, however the doctor said that I need to lose 3kg more. She said the normal percentage of body fat I need to maintain is only 17% while I have 27%. Actually my weight varies in a rather consistent manner in a range from 45kg to 47kg. She asked about my eating habits.

Well, I’m a vegetarian; I don’t eat fatty stuff, I take boiled vegetables every day, I don’t consume much carbo and I don’t eat too much sweets. She asked if I exercise.

Yes, I do regularly. I swim, perform several kinds of dances, yoga stretches and cardiovascular activities in the gym. I do about 100 situps and crunches every day plus jumping jacks which I cannot count. I hate sitting around in a long period of time. My housemates, friends and relatives can all testify to this. : ))

In return, my questions to her were: How can you confirm that your machine got accurate results in terms of knowing the amount of body fat? How was it able to calculate the body fat I have when it only took the value of my weight against my height?

If the other body measurements (e.g. wrist, thigh, waist, hips, chest, etc.) were not put into the equation, then can we assume that every person who has this combination of weight-height has the same percentage of body fat?

She could not reply. *rolls eyes* Oh my God. What an awkward moment. Instead, she recommended the packaged treatments tailored to my body needs which cost S$3000 inclusive of 30 sessions of cold body wrap that burns fats, slimming massage and fat mobilization with the use of their machine. Additionally, she said that these treatments do not require exercise and dieting. And because they are running a promotion now, I can get to have all these at a discounted price of S$1000.

Still, No, thanks, Doctor. Even if the prices were cut down by half, I won’t go for it. I’d prefer my natural way of slimming down.

And maybe, if I had just let out the honest evil in me, I’d turn the table and ask her if she wants to follow my program—because the doctor was fat herself. Oh my God +1. Amen to that.

October 29, 2011
Nouns and Verbs

名詞 > 動詞

I don’t why but nowadays (or even in the past?), nouns have more value than verbs. I mean people are in constant melee to have nouns: family, friends, material possessions, events, money, love, happiness–all things you can think of–and then judge others on the size of their “collections.”

A is better off because she has a bigger and shinier diamond ring than B.

A is envious of B just because the latter has a more spacious house.

It’s like we have neglected the fact that verbs (or gerunds) are the mother of all nouns.

Being happy brings happiness.
We go around looking for that person, the love of our life, forgetting to actually be in love.

We strive for knowledge, but the act of learning is something we do grudgingly.
We want peace but getting along doesn’t creep in.

Are actions too common that they are better off to be hidden under the rug? Or, are they so “shy” that they wanted to be pushed into the shadows of the trophy we put onto display?

Verbs are only accepted if we have the nouns to back it up.

A person who sings is not a singer without an album that is recorded.
A person who writes is not a writer unless a book is published to prove it.
A person who cooks is not considered a chef without a restaurant to cook in.
A person who finishes the race needs a ribbon to validate that the track is crossed and finished.

Why can’t we just be contented with verbs? In other translation, why does the end have to justify the means to make the journey worthwhile, or just enjoy the journey itself? When we value life more than living, it’s easy to fear death and forget that every minute we are dying.

Just saying. 🙂

“Life is a game played on us while we are playing other games.” ~ Evan Esar

P.S. I like metaphors, not because of their artistic and figurative way of expressing themselves; not because of the creative outlet it can be as a means of expression; not because it somehow gets you more to see the point; and not because it makes me sound like a clever brash (haha). I like using metaphors because I’m tired of having to repeat the same words all the time.

October 21, 2011
Lion King Musical (Marina Bay Sands Theater, Singapore)

Picture credit: http://thelionking.com.sg/

I was hoping to get a free ticket to the Lion King Musical last two Thursdays ago. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get one, so I found my own way and got discounted tickets at least.

I searched via GumTree and bought four tickets from Max, who sold us S$55/pax instead of the original price of S$65/pax. The show opened last March 2011 and was supposed to close last June. But maybe because of great public demand, it got extended to the end of this month.

My housemate, Aby, is so much of a big fan of the Lion King production that if given a chance, she said, she’d watch it for the second time. She was one of the first in the first batch of people who reserved and bought ticket for the show. She even bought a book-memorabilia as a lovely keepsake, because audiences are not allowed to take photos and videos while the play is on.

Yesterday, I’ve finally experienced and witnessed this “astonishing triumph of theatrical imagination” (quoted from London Evening Standard). It was a grand show filled with colorful and incredible costumes, artistic changing of backgrounds and wonderful songs that made me relish my childhood escapades much.

The venue was at the Marina Bay Sands Theater. The atmosphere was trembling. The characters, I could see, were truly dipped in zeal and drenched in devotion as their voices and dance moves sparkled with eminent gracefulness. Every bit was just so…hauntingly beautiful that even before I went to sleep last night, the melodies were still in me.

Aside from the cute and funny Timon and Pumbaa, my favorite character was Rafiki whose voice echoed in the whole of the theater and astounded the audiences. Her performance was so captivating that you could almost feel the emotion running through her veins, transcending her own body, filling up yours and covering you in goosebumps. It was hypnotizing (perhaps adding to this was that she sang in Swahili, a foreign language we all couldn’t understand).

I’m also proud to say that the kid who played as the young Simba is a Filipino! Here’s a stolen shot of him and Mufasa:

It was my first time to ever watch a live musical. I was so moved!

As said, the show is still playing until end of October. You still have two weeks to make that purchase while tickets are still available. So quickly now, book. : )

Sample Videos Taken From YouTube:

October 16, 2011
[in]Completely Complete: Relationship Plans by Jessica Kwan
Last Friday after work, I attended this seminar called “Incompletely Complete” which talked about relationship plans—how individuals and couples find completion in their search for a life partner.

The guest speaker was Jessica Kwan who five years ago had answered God’s call to serve in full-time ministry because of her love for Him and an immense passion in mentoring young adults.

With extensive pastoral and mentoring experience with young adults in her church and integrated creative approaches and open dialogue, she motivates young people to reflect on who they are; identify their passions, potential and principles; and help them negotiate personal and professional challenges.

Here are my top three key takeaways from the talk:
1. Every one of us is already complete (even if we’re still single), with God as the center of our lives as he had surrendered to cast our sins away. If we practice and uplift our good relationship with Him, then we have already met this criterion of having a well, absolute life.
2. However, we will be further complete or completely complete if we’re to be with a man or woman as partner in marriage. Since He created every being to be in the likeness of Himself, then if we experience “the other” of us through our relationship with the opposite sex by love and submission, we become fully united with the Creator.
3. We cannot super confirm or double confirm if he or she is the ONE for us (by God’s rightful plan) unless we get to know the other person better through time, and nothing prepares us in correctly answering the question before the after-marriage events.
4. We will have problems regardless we’re single or married.For singles, external and internal pressures come in the way often. Examples are those from family members, attached friends, media and the social culture who would push singles especially in the late twenties to early thirties and ask them whenever they meet the million-dollar question: “Why are you still single?” And then, they’d try to introduce and match-make him/her with whom they think is suitable.
  Oftentimes, these don’t work, and the problems arise over and over again. Tip: If you feel irritated and bothered of people asking you the big question repeatedly, you can ask in return, “Why are you so ugly?” (I couldn’t stop laughing when Nalinee, the host, cracked the joke.) Why? I think it’s effective! Both wouldn’t have straight answers. And both parties would feel appalled! (Hey, at least you have your retribution next time, you know.)
  
  For married couples, we know that every bit of decisions and perceptions are different so understanding each other and having a give-and-take relationship are really important.
  
  Marriage is a wonderful thing designed by God, but it’s not perfect and it’s certainly no fairy tale; it is one of the greatest blessings and deepest joys, but it also takes work and sacrifice.
  
  The best way we can prepare for it is to run after God with everything we have. He will bring the togetherness in us so that we can do more than we ever could apart–and no classic fairy tale can pull this off.
The Don’ts:

“Do not marry the person you think you can live with but the one you can’t live without.”

This person should not complete us but complement us.

“Do not marry someone who has characteristics you feel are intolerable.”

You may plan to change him or her in the future, but that probably won’t happen.

“Do not marry impulsively.”

Marriage is a critical decision we should not leap into without careful thought and prayer.

I hope you’ve learned something from this post. Thanks for reading! Also, thanks to Lynn and company for having us taste her baked potatoes before the talk began. It was delicious!

Hello to MommyLou, my faithful cute rabbit, who I was thinking about during the entire talk. Who loves you? Me. ღ♥ღ See you soon! : )
October 16, 2011
The Trekker—How Living Life is Like Riding a Bicycle

“Life is like riding a bicycle.

To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”

Albert Einstein wrote this quote in a letter to his son, Eduard, on February 5, 1930. I wonder what the son thought about it. Regardless, there are only two ways: one is to accept and another is to differ.

There are so many quotes by Einstein that I lovelovelove. But when I read this one, I kinda went…ick.

I mean–okay, we are given the opportunity to choose to just keep moving. But there are also times in life when the “just keep moving” mantra is not applicable. If we keep on going without knowing if we’re heading towards the right direction, we might be getting off a worse track.

I want to live a life in which I can jump off that bicycle (that might just as well be heading in circles) and sit and savor a sunset, a laugh, a moment of perfection found in everything…because life is meant to be savored, absorbed, adored and experienced.

This is true even for the parts that stretch me and those that rub uncomfortably against me. Yup, these can be sat with, experienced and better yet, learned from.

In every opportunity presented, I ask myself what I’ve got to lose. If it’s something really dangerous/risky, I’ll avoid it. Else, I’ll have to try. But nope, I don’t want to move in circles or keep heading in the same atrocious direction. I want to hop out of the madness and listen deeper to the very thing I’m tempted to rush through.

October 12, 2011
Where Everyone Walks As Fast (SMRT Circle Line, Singapore)
Dotted Yellow Lines = Solid Yellow Lines

The Circle Line is now complete.

These are the routes I can follow to get to work:
- For days when I feel I’m going to be late in “my definition of late”: Transfer from Red to Green and back to Red again: Newton -> Raffles Place Interchange -> Jurong East Interchange -> Bukit Batok (about 65 minutes including bus travel)
Looking forward to having shorter travel time with newly opened circle line stations, this morning I tried the new trail on my way to the office:
- New: Newton Station -> Bishan Interchange -> Buona Vista Interchange -> Jurong East Interchange -> Bukit Batok (same as the second one: about 65 minutes including bus travel)
Just to be clear, the Circle Line was opened in stages with the first being Bartley to Marymount; second, the Eastern end of the loop from Tai Seng to Dhoby Ghaut; and now, the final portion in the West which runs from Caldecott to Harbourfront (rolled out last Saturday at 5:30am). Overall, the 28-station Circle Line took an entire decade to be built.

Yes, third route did save me 10 minutes; however, I don’t consider changing my travel pattern because…have you seen how many times the word “Interchange” appeared in the third bulleted item above?

That’s how many times I need to get off the train, walk fast (or run) to the lift/escalator/platform of the different line of the next train, say “Excuse me” about 10 times, submerge myself with the crowded trains‘ standing passengers and keep track of the next station (else I might be required to take return trips) which is tantamount to saying that I need to stay wider awake—in the end goal of saving 10 minutes. Whoa, I’d rather not.

My everyday commuting journey offers me comfort, from the time I enter the train (I can sit down and relax as there’s not much passengers going to North) to when “Bukit Batok” is called.

Through searching and searching for unique news about the SMRT, I’ve found this image from a forum:

The picture is truly an epitome of SMRT’s tagline: Moving People, Enriching Lives.

I’d end this post with three big questions:
1. When will this ever happen?
2. Will there still be cabbies and private cars by that time?
3. When will this ever happen…in the Philippines?
October 10, 2011
WIN Sh!okDeal H&M Singapore Shopping Voucher

How would you pronounce a word which has an exclamation point in between? Wah, don’t know leh.

Try this: Sh!ok.

At first glance, I thought I’d pronounce it as “shhh” (as if to tell people to be quiet or keep a secret) and “okay” altogether. But then, as I looked through it closer, the word is “shiok,” which is used commonly used here in Singapore and Malaysia to convey happiness or feeling of sheer pleasure.

Sh!okDeal

It is a deal-of-the-day website that features discounted gift certificates usable at local or national companies in Singapore. So Shiok+Deal means that the deals they’re offering will bring you sheer happiness. Exactly, if you win it. : )

The site now offers a giveaway: SGD 100 worth of H&M Shopping voucher!

Participation was easy. I just clicked on the “BUY” button and checked out. I paid S$0 and won a chance to take home the prize. I was then issued with a voucher containing a voucher number which I posted in their Facebook page (as part of their instructions).

To triple my chances of winning, I’m publicizing this deal even more to everyone present online.

Follow Sh!okDeal’s Facebook page here.

October 7, 2011
Updated with Facebook’s New Leap: Facebook Timeline

I gave an unconscious nod when I saw this tweet:

Facebook is turning into a bigger and bigger giant day in and out. It is always evolving into a platform for sharing more of your life, never less. It’s one online scrapbook that interconnects you with everybody else who has online presence in the web.

Updated with Facebook’s New Leap: Facebook Timeline

According to many sources, the new format, Facebook Timeline, should be available to all Facebook users within the next two weeks. So keen, I had found a way to be one of the first users of the change release. And excited much, last Monday, I have activated the Facebook Timeline and changed the layout of my profile with the help of tips from TechCrunch. My page now looks like this:

Better Data Visualization

As compared to the old design, the change is quite a massive one. If you noticed, as shown above, aside from your profile photo which is the only thing customizable in Facebook (and nothing else like layout of widgets, background design, other personalization and CSS stuff), now you can have a cover which is a banner picture that goes across the front of your page.

Then on the right side, you can scroll your profile’s timeline by month or by year. One click allows you to scan through old memories you can heartily reminisce with–the pictures you’ve uploaded, the funny funny links and snippets of stories you’ve shared, your emo and cheesy status messages and your friends’ comments and reactions all over again.

It tracked me back and helped me remember my first encounter with the site. It was on May 26, 2008. My first friends were Henshel, Gianne and my sister, Leigh.

It was only on December that year when Louie and I became friends in Facebook. I remember I was the one who pushed him to create an account. Oh oh oh. 3:)

The timeline also offers assigning of a photo to your previous and current jobs.

Inadvertent Over-sharing?

What I’m just concerned about is the privacy this social network holds. In this new format, there is more “self-expression,” which means your friends will know a lot more about what you read, what music you listen to and videos you watch.

The term that fits in the scenario is “passive sharing.” Also be careful when authorizing apps because once you add it onto your timeline, it will automatically be permitted to add posts to your feed that your friends and subscribers will see.

There’s also the fact that Facebook tracks your data even if you’ve already logged out. You can read more about it here.

My Say

This move by Facebook will result in more diversity. Friends (and subscribers) can view your interests in a more granular aspect. Your life will be more presented to the public and project slices of your life translated to Facebook’s version of reality.

I think one of the main reasons Facebook did this is that the personal updates, settings and preferences shared by individuals online will be much more “targetable,” from a marketing perspective.

The negative thing as I see rightly state is that Facebook is pulling more partners in, which is the opposite of what I personally believe the web should become (i.e. more about you and less about the advertisers). I believe that data should be something centered on the individual and in the individual’s control and benefit.

The best way to summarize the change is that users are no longer sharing what they’re doing. Your Internet history is sharing what you’re consuming. However, like it or not, Facebook will go on without you. So better move on with it, else stay ignorant, resistant to change and hide—under a boulder in the hinterlands.

October 1, 2011