My Bitter Relationship with Lactose

photo from: www.dailyvowelmovements.com

I hate milk! I mean my tummy hates it I think. It goes bananas everytime I drink it. And going bananas mean a frequent and 'fruitful' trip to the bathroom. Also, the taste does not have an appeal to me- at all. 

 And yet, I don't have a choice but chug it all in my throat. Why? Because of a freaking medical condition called 'Osteopenia' which I just found out after I had a bone scan (I availed it because it was for free courtesy of office HR). Osteopenia is a like mild Osteoporosis. It is also a condition of thinning bones (got it from Google) but it is somehow correctible by changing lifestyles, drinking/eating calcium-rich foods and drinks (so there goes the milk)and taking supplements. I am doing those three things the doctor advised me to except that the 'milk time before bedtime' is taking a toll on me.

 Honestly, I'm quite bothered (actually, it's more like, freaking out) by this Osteopenia thing. Who wouldn't? I am only 30 for christ sake. I can't be having this condition associated with older people right?Right?!

Ha, wrong. As per doctor's opinion and my own thorough research, this condition is now common to affect younger people. The rising popularity of coffee shops, tea shops or even drinking too much softdrinks that attract young people could be one of the reasons why this condition develops. Further, according to WebMD, women are far more likely to develop osteopenia and osteoporosis than men. This is because women have a lower peak BMD and because the loss of bone mass speeds up as hormonal changes take place at the time of menopause. 

Now, I chose not to worry and instead focus on the positive. This is afterall, a positivity blog- at least, that's how I expect it to be. Thus:

1.  Lifestyle change-no more trip to coffee shops limit the coffee intake to just 1 cup a day and no more softdrinks and exercise - Check.
2.  Take supplements rich in calcium and vitamin D - Check. 
3.  Eat and drink calcium rich foods and drinks - Check to all except Milk equals  failing work in progress.

I think it makes it harder for me to adjust because I'm a coffee person. This transition somehow makes my mind and body bemuse. Boy,I missed those times when I had the liberty to drink coffee anytime on my liking. So anyway, I am still chugging milk while thinking of 'happy thoughts'. =)

Good Things Happen for those Who Wait

When I decided to pursue my law degree, I knew that I was taking a big risk. It was a risk because I cannot guarantee that I would be able to survive law school. I knew from the start that there were several groups of law students/graduates: those who did not even attend classes nor tried to, those who attended but still failed and those who graduated but never took the Bar exam and those who took but failed. Roughly around a quarter of class made it to fourth year and around 10% became lawyers.

If I looked at the numbers, the chance of achieving my dream was low. I realized I should be part of the ten percent if I wanted to get a chance. Already being a college graduate and eligible to enter the labor sector, and probably start earning and building my egg nest -just like my friends did, I still decided to take the longer road and realized my childhood dream.

While in law school, I relied almost 100% for my parents' support. Given that my parents are not well-off, the term "support" only covers the basics - books, tuition fees, food. Imagine my insecurity and embarrassment when my friends from both college and high school who were working (and earning) that time, showed off their latest gadgets, gizmos and what nots. The fact that they can afford eating in some fancied restaurants also prompted me to invent excuses (mostly lame) for my inattendance.

For almost 5 years, I relied too much on this 'delayed gratification' thingy. Okay, I just first heard about this about 3 years ago when I was listening to a radio show one morning  and the Disc Jockey (ies) were on this topic. My attention was caught since it was quite a more relatable topic and I end up almost calling the show to tell them "Yeah you got it right! Delayed gratification rocks." I have been doing that same practice for several years before less the actual term or nomenclature.

Over a year ago, that delayed gratification finally paid off. I did become a lawyer and currently working for a government agency and practicing law at the same time. I can say that I am now reaping the 'what I sow' so to speak. I get to buy things if I have to (though, I still don't buy things which are considered as 'wants'), eat in a fancy restaurant if I need to- things that I could not do before. But ultimately, aside from those tangible things, its really having self-fulfillment and self-esteem that are worth all the wait and sacrifices.

Patience as they say is a virtue. Agree. We may never understand things from the beginning but we should have faith and trust that things will be better in the end. Meanwhile, work your ass off in achieving and reaching those dreams-those are the only options. =)

Intro to this Blog

I have been blogging though not professionally but out of a hobby for the past years. I would say that it (blogging) really helped in creating avenue to release stress and pour out any thoughts and emotions that I personally experienced.

I have made several blogs with several themes before but unfortunately, I was not able to maintain it and the topics were quite random not to mention some grammatical errors in it. In creating/writing my previous blogs, I did not really care about the grammatical lapses since proofreading and editing were quite not my favorite tasks to do. In fact, even after publishing the blog and I saw the grammatical errors and the thoughts were in chaos, I was simply not bothered to not correct it.

However, despite me being a terrible blogger/writer, that did not stop me from reading, liking and at some point getting inspired by other people's blogs. Though certainly, I started this blog not because I wanted to compete with them (because obviously, I would fail big time) but I also wanted to create something that could inspire other readers just like I had with the blogs I read.

Thus, Better Life, Better You is not really a "I am going to fix you" blog but a quest to having a better life and eventually a better self out of ordinary and sometimes extraordinary life events that happen and might happen in the future.

This is also based on the author's point of view, thus, you are very much welcome to pitch in some of your POV's as well. =)