De Stress # 1: Lovin' the Holidays

a collection of photos from jaclynworksitout.wordpress.com/valpld.info

Today is the fist official holiday of the month. I say first because there will be atleast two more holidays in this month of August. Today is  a Friday and it means long weekend. Yipee! (I almost roll on the floor for being elated).

I've been mentioning how lazy I am right? Not that I am proud of it but for purposes of this topic, I'd say that people like me are so looking forward and loving this long weekends and holidays. Well in my case, I need it to de-stress since I'm a bit beat up in the office lately for some 'working environment' reasons. So, I came up with a very obvious and no-brainer reasons why I'm lovin' the holidays:

1. I can exercise longer. Lately, for health reasons, I am now shifting albeit gradually to healthy lifestyles. Being that, I prefer exercising in the morning. However since I am an 8-5 corporate slave, doing this is quite daunting if not impossible (not really a morning person, a late "riser"). So, during workdays I end up working out in the evening after work and since I am tired already, I only stayed for roughly 1 1/2 hours thrice a week. Thus, holidays are such an enthusiastically welcome development. I can exercise longer in the morning and I sweat a lot and feeling better all day long.

2. Catching up with my reading. Holidays are the best time to give my books their purpose-to read them. During workdays or even on weekends (I teach in weekends,ergo, still a work day), these books are just saved on my tablet and sometimes being taken for granted by their reader (that's me,btw) and most of the time forgotten (sorry guys, I need to live and reading will not give me some moolah) but quickly reminded of their presence during this 'lull' days.

3. Yes, that long and late shower. Maybe it's just me, but during workdays, I don't enjoy shower as much as I enjoyed it on 'off' days. Plus, here in the Philippines, the arguably hottest country (with hottest people, too! LOL-just lovin' my own) you might want to take a shower in the morning or atleast before going out for work or else you just be disliked for smelling uhmm "sweaty" by someone sitting beside you in the Jeepney or office. However, during holidays, I can be in the shower as long as I want and whenever I want it.

Thus, by doing things that I enjoy very much, I releases my stresses and whatever negative thoughts or vibes I had in the previous days. I love holidays, don't we all?

E-books vs. Old School Reading

photos: openbooktoronto.com/amazon.com

I am a book lover. Reading is like writing, eating, exercising, saving- things that I am addicted into. It is another stress-reliever for me. 

During my teenage years, I was addicted to pocketbooks (I guess my love for books started here!). I would set aside some of my allowances for its rental (back in the days pocketbook rental was the craze). I also fell in love with english pocketbooks (hello,harlequin?) and since during that time social media was nonexistent, reading with books in my hand was a favorite past time. I've had several books collected. Some got lost and some managed to hang on to their pieces (literally speaking).

Fast forward to years before the present, social media notwithstanding, I was introduced to electronic book also known as e-book. Several years ago, an e-book can just be read or accessed through a computer. Reading on a laptop was convenient if you own the thin and pricey one. On my case, I have to deal with my bulky personal computer since I still don't have a laptop then (poor me). That's why at that time, my choice of reading remained "old school" like go to a bookstore and buy a book so I can bring it where ever I want. Also, I was (or still?) a lazy person so I like reading on my bed lying. Obviously, I cannot do that with my PC right?

Fast forward to present, e-book reading becomes more convenient upon the advent of 'tablets' such as Ipad, Nook, Kindle, Kobo, etc. I am not defining what a tablet is since all of you had seen one (or own one). By having the tablet, I can read anywhere and however I want to. Plus, it saves space. I live in a rented room so saving spaces is like saving money- it's that damn important. On the other hand, economic interventions made the books quite pricey and it requires a lot of shelves/space requirement both in my bag and room. Also, through tablets, buying books need not be an exhausting trip to National Bookstore or Fully-booked anymore. A few clicks to Amazon.com are enough for me to have interesting books be delivered on my tab.

However, despite me feeling 'techie' just bringing my tab, the feel of an actual book in my hand when flipping is just different than swiping it on the screen. I mean, the book has a smell that I just love. In fact, I appreciate it a lot when someone gift me a book, more so if it is hard-bound.

Thus, e-books vs. old school books (or simply books,duh!) is like choosing between two gorgeous guys to date. I think, I'll just settle for both. =)