1211 -- Fitness 2026

I'm still targeting improving my healthspan. Something I started with last year when I saw some videos and heard some podcasts about it. Basically staying independent until the day you die, that's my end goal.

This year though I'm going to try to be a bit more disciplined and come up with some routines that I can hopefully stick with. Of course if I don't feel like doing the exercise, no judgement and no hate. I will give myself the space to not exercise. I do prefer following the routine as much as possible. So here's my rough plan.

Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays I will jog. 3 laps (around 3 km or so) for the work days, and for Sundays at least 3 km, hopefully farther. I started this earlier today by doing a 5 lap jog, which surprisingly was done with a sub 8-minute per km pace.

Weekday 3 lap jogs is just so I have my doses of cardio for the week. This also makes sure I'm not too tired in case I need to suddenly drive people around. We don't normally go anywhere on Sundays so I can tire myself out in the morning and have the whole day to recover.

Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays will be for my "functional kettlebell workout." A friend of mine sent me a kettlebell routine I adapted, basically you set your workout timer for 1 minute workouts, non-stop, twenty times. You do a workout within that one minute and whatever time is left is your rest. When the timer beeps, move on to the next exercise.

My new routine will be still be what I call functional. Functional because most of the exercises I'll do are workouts that are connected to stuff I do everyday. So to start, it will be a goblet squat to two-hand overhead press. This is for sitting down and standing up, as well as lifting household stuff above my head. Next up is a deadlift to kettlebell upright row. This will be for bending over to lift stuff up as well as pulling stuff upwards. Then single arm bent over rows for the left and right arm. This will also be for picking stuff up. Finally I've decided to include some good, old fashioned kettlebell swings. I don't know if this will help strengthen my lower back, but I do need to work on my back as lately I've been getting my lower back sore due to different causes.

So that's my plan to start the year. I hope I can at least continue with this for the first quarter. If I can feel improvements either I'll add more reps, more distance, or hopefully more weight to my workouts. But again, my goal is still to have a great healthspan.

Happy new year again.

Out.

1210 -- 2026 Musings

It's January 2, 2026 as I write this. Two things.

I've been seeing a lot of reels on IG where the "running gag" regarding resolutions is to "stop being a lil bitch." Usually seen in running related reels, but I've decided to adapt this joke in a positive way, not just in exercise but life overall.

Life can be challenging, and oftentimes I do default to taking either the easy way out or avoiding/forgetting the problem. I guess this isn't a good thing to do, so rather than be "a lil bitch" as the reels say, I should just tackle the challenge head on.

The second set of reels I've seen on IG is from a guy who's giving driving advice, and his overall message is usually to choose happiness over righteousness. I will also try to adapt this to my daily living, choosing happiness over righteousness.

This does not mean keeping my silence for things I believe in. This just means picking my battles but still standing up for my principles. Do I really need to prove that I am right if it means it will cause unhappiness mostly for me, but also for others? Unless it's something I deeply stand for, the usual case is to not choose righteousness.

Happy new year, may we all continue our journeys into becoming better human beings.

Out.

1209 - Farewell 2025

2025 will be over in a few hours, at least in our neck of the time zone.

It's been a year of ups and downs, as usual. And try as I might to minimize the amplitudes of the highs and lows, there will always be certain instances when I cannot do that.

It has also been a year of growth for me as a person. I feel like I'm heading towards this type of person that I want to be. A kinder, calmer, more rational human being. Of course it's a challenge getting there since my current/old self is still around and trying to get out of the comfort zone is a giant challenge.

So I guess looking back at 2025 all I can say is thanks for the experiences. Everything I've experienced has helped me get to where I want to be, one way or another.

Moving forward there were a few reels I saw on IG that was speaking about choosing happiness over righteousness. At least for driving. I think I'd like to try to adapt this way of thinking in life. Not totally choosing happiness over righteousness but basically picking my battles.

It's been one heck of a 2025, and hopefully I can continue my positive growth into 2026.

Out.

1208 - Holidays

As each year goes by the Christmas holidays keep losing meaning for me. The only reason for me to get "excited" for these one to two weeks is the fact that there is a great chance I'll be having a one-to-two week vacation since normally game dev studios shut down for about two weeks.

This shutdown gives me a chance to take a deep breath and relax, and hopefully get my mind ready for work for the coming new year. It also will hopefully make me "miss" doing my daily tasks at work so that I can hit the ground running come the new year.

Now some of you may be wondering why I'm so jaded with regards to the holiday, ignoring the birth of Jesus Christ or what not. Well the fact of the matter is I stopped believing years ago. This religion I was born and baptized in isn't something I can understand nor do I want to continue believing.

Basically I'm jaded and things I've seen have really soured me on Catholicism. Sure there are good Catholics out there and if I'm letting a few bad apples spoil the bunch then so be it.

Happy holidays.

Out.

1207 - Car Accessories/Mods

I'll be writing about car accessories I think will be useful for current times. Nothing outrageous like "stage 1 tuning kit" or whatever, just stuff I think would help for daily use. In no particular order.

• Dash cam with rear camera. I've heard great things about the DDPAI brand though I have yet to try it. Fortunately the Wigo had a dash cam installed when we got it, unfortunately it does not have a rear camera.
• Android Auto / Apple Car Play ready head unit. It doesn't even have to be wireless, though that would be useful. I've been convinced about the usefulness of Android Auto the times I've gone out and used Google Maps to help me figure out the best route to go to places. Sure I don't always listen to it, but it helps to get some real time info on traffic conditions. It also helps having Spotify so I can listen to either my choice of music or podcasts.
• Good sound system. I'm just basing this off of experience with the Wigo, but I think better sounds will help improve the quality of the audio I'm listening to. A decent amplifier and a few co-axial speakers should be enough to meet my simple needs.
• A decent horn. I still haven't gotten a set to replace the Wigo's single, weak horn. Does it get the job done? Personally no, I think the Wigo's horn is too weak and sounds like a motorcycle horn that it gives other motorists the wrong idea. Horn upgrades usually come in pairs and that's exactly the right amount of horns I'd need to let other motorists know I'm there. Bonus points for having a deeper sound.

Basically that's it. Some practical accessories or mods that would improve quality of life while driving a car at this very current era.

Out.