Suspend-It

I’ve often heard people say that watching TV too much or sitting close to the tube can damage your eyesight. This is not true and is even considered as an eyesight myth.

According to my ophthalmologist (I’m myopic or nearsighted, if you must know), at the moment, there is no evidence that sitting close to the television will damage your eyes. What’s important is that you sit wherever your eyes are most comfortable and make sure that there is proper lighting in the area. Purchasing tv stands with height suitable to your relaxed eyesight state may help as well.

In general, he said that when watching TV or even reading, you should “give your eyes a rest” by looking away every fifteen minutes or at regular intervals. This is because our eyes are designed to focus at a great variety of distances, and the short breaks away from the tv or book will allow your eyes to focus on something far away. This in turn, will also help us avoid eyestrain or eye fatigue.

Remember, your eyes are a pair you’ll need for the rest of your lifetime. Once your vision is damaged, it will be hard to put into 100% functionality again. So the next time you watch tv or get engrossed in a book, do integrate regular breaks.

For me, one of the biggest problems I encountered since we moved in to our house was the transportation to and from my office. Our house is located more than ten times farther from my office than our previous house, which is why I get really harassed with just the thought of going to work.

Imagine commuting with all the pollution in the morning and then going home in the evening with drivers everywhere who think they graduated from a truck driving school - as if they own the road. Those people should be banned from driving! Seriously. I mean, FYI, the stress I get from just traveling to and from work comprises almost 30% of my everyday stress (not to mention 10% off my salary, thank you very much).

I’m quite lucky though because our CEO decided to have our team work from home for two months while the new office is being constructed. However, the party is almost over. Starting Tuesday, we’ll be reporting back to work in the new building. Tsk tsk. Hello pollution. People should really do something about the pollution. More trees on the road perhaps.

Anyhow, I’m so glad my best friend Mark and I will be going back to the water therapy spa soon. I’ll definitely need to de-stress.

Our thanksgiving party turned out to be the best one yet. We kinda miss everyone because most of my cousins work in different cities already. It is so fun because we were the ones who cooked for the oldies. Ha-ha.

We still had the traditional roasted turkey, which by the way was perfectly done by muah, but we revised the decade old dinner course to a modern, healthy, guilt-free menu. Instead of deep fried nuggets, buttered tenderloin, and the ever famous grilled burger, we made tofu-lettuce salad, sautéed seafood, and mixed vegetables in oyster. Everyone loved it. As for desert, banana-mango crepe and coffee frappe brewed from our coffee makers!

Although it’s a special occasion, we must not forget to have a balanced diet. Better to have more greens and less grease. Fatty foods will make our body feel heavy after the holiday, whereas fruits and veggies will definitely re-energize us when vacation is over. Hope you enjoyed the holidays as much as I did!

I have always found traditional Japanese interior design and architecture fascinating. They design their houses like they are part of nature. The typical house, which is usually made up of wood, is cool and ventilated. Windows are decorated with bamboo shades, and the floor are covered up with tatami mats. On the outside, the garden occupies the remaining lot space.

Most people nowadays have modern houses, most of which are aesthetically beautiful but not very ideal for health. Modern houses are air conditioned and have sliding glass windows; the outcome: poor ventilation. Without proper ventilation, the air inside the house will have less oxygen and more carbon dioxide. Also airborne viruses which cause illnesses will most likely be present.

Studies already proved that a good supply of oxygen in the body strengthens the immune system and keeps us looking and feeling young. It also increases our energy levels; improves detoxification; aid restful sleep; and contribute to the overall feeling of wellness. High carbon dioxide, on the other hand, causes memory loss, weak immune system, and mental retardation. So try to keep your house as ventilated as possible.

I’m in the mall now. I’ll just rest here in a café for a while. Almost everything is on sale today that’s why it’s so crowded in the department store section. It’s a good thing I already got the t shirt gift for my friend.

Earlier as I looked around, I saw great travel deals on big discounts! It has been my greatest dream to travel in a cruise with my boyfriend, so I inquired if they have cruise packages available.

For those of you interested in having such tour, read on. The travel agent I talked with showed me some of their promo packages. She also gave me an orientation regarding their tours. She said the best months to travel in a cruise are the “ber” months (September to December). The oceans then are calm and rains are not that heavy, therefore it’s much safer to tour in those months. She also added that the sky is clear on those times so you can have a clear view of the stars at night.

I was already very excited upon having the orientation; I got her contact number in case I decide to get a package. My only problem now is my working schedule since the “ber” months are the busiest months in the office. Good luck to me then.

Yesterday was so much fun at Ja’s party. Most of my friends were there too. He did a new paint job with his house and it looked great. In case you don’t know, painting walls can be really fun if you know what you are doing. It can also be hazardous to health because of the chemicals in the paint. Consequently, he gave me some tips when doing the painting…

When panting walls, it is better to use quality paints. You can buy these in malls at reasonable prices. The sales reps can even mix custom colors for you in their paint booth. There are different types for every application such as the latex paints which are great for indoor walls, enamel paints for wood and ceiling, lacquer paints for spray painting, elastomeric paints for the roof, and many more. Latex paints are waterbased and are generally safe to use. Enamel and lacquer paints however have strong fumes which when inhaled can cause allergies, asthma, or even suffocation.

When using these paints, make sure that you have enough ventilation. Also, use gas masks and goggles to protect your face from dripping paint. Better to use gloves too because paints can really irritate the skin. Moreover, enamel and lacquer paints are highly inflammable, so never smoke while painting.

These are some of the tips Ja shared with me. Hope you learned something.

These days, it seems like men are even more conscious than women about their figure. I’ve noticed this in the office because I always hear the guys in the office talking about their abs and figure.

I had a chance to get to talk to some of the engineers in the office who were taking diet pills. Evan, one of the engineers, told me that he already tried several products like herbal supplements, alli diet pill, and injectibles. According to him, the products do work provided that you discipline yourself in getting proper exercise and eating low fat healthy food - which was his weakness. He couldn’t resist eating so much and he is too lazy to do exercise. He also said that sometimes there are side-effects from the diet medications so always be careful when taking drugs. So guys, better consult your doctor first just to be sure.

I just received a text message from my friend Ja inviting me and the gang to his birthday tomorrow! Nyah! I’m supposed to do my laundry today! I forgot that his birthday is already tomorrow and I still have no gift for him. Hahaha. I guess I’ll just have to bring this foul-smelling laundry to the laundry shop, otherwise CSI agents might come knocking in my door with a search warrant for a missing body. Lol.

Now, what could be a good gift for Ja… *think* I got it! I’ll just get him those funny t shirts on sale in the malls. I was supposed to get one last time but it was too large for my size. Oh well, I just hope he appreciates it, even though he wished for an ipod as a gift. Hahah.

It’s another weekend at last. Goodbye work and hello to my dirty clothes! My laundry hamper is already overflowing and already has that stinky smell; I did not have time to wash my clothes last weekend, so today I have to finish them all. The stinky smell is caused by bacteria in the dirty clothes. It was my fault because I let my wet and dry clothes mix in the hamper.

Well, just a bit of advice, don’t do what I just did! Hahah. That stinky smell is bad for your health. If you have wet dirty clothes, better dry them out first before stashing them in the hamper. Wet clothes are ideal breeding grounds for bacteria. This is hazardous especially to younger children.

Also, upon emptying the hamper, be sure to clean and sanitize it before reusing. You can use those sanitizing sprays or even just plain soap and water. You can also try making your own sanitizer spray. Just mix a glass of water with 5 tablespoons of baking soda in a spray bottle, and voila! Now enough with the blogging and begin with the dirty business.

Hello there. Since we’re all talking about health, let’s not concentrate on the health of us humans. We should also be concerned with the health of our environment, specifically our pets. They’re around us most of the time, and of course, we love them dearly. So I guess we have to show our affection to them by taking care of them well.

There are various supplements out there in the market to help your pets stay healthy. There are horse supplements out there for well.. horses. You get the drift, right?

So let’s also think about others, not only ourselves. Ha ha.