sleeping-awake.net

Last year I wrote about getting myself into shape this year… And I must admit, I’m not doing so well. It’s just easier to become lazy. Then pause. Then eventually stop altogether. Especially when you’re just exercising at home, which was what I was doing.

So I decided to adopt a sport/activity outside the house. I wanted to join a yoga class, but all the studios are so far from home. I love table tennis and can play at the nearby YMCA, but I don’t really have anyone to play with me regularly. And forget signing up for a gym - gym memberships are pretty costly (the good ones). And they’re also far from home.

And then it dawned on me - swimming! It’s a good workout, I can do it by myself, and the local YMCA’s just a few minutes away. And it’s summer now, so it’s perfect. I already started last week. I’m no swimmer though - I haven’t swam “properly” in about a year, so naturally I’m rusty. But that won’t deter me, I know I just need practice. Then I’ll be as good as Beibei here! =P

Photo source: Beijing 2008 Official Site

The day was September 10, 2007, and Switchfoot had come to town to play. Being a fan of the band, I of course went to the gig, along with two friends whom I’ve known since grade school. While I expected to have a good time and enjoy myself, little did I know that I would be leaving the venue a changed person.

No, I wasn’t overcome with an urge to pick up a new instrument or to start writing songs or anything. Though I must say that Switchfoot’s songs are inspiring and thought-provoking. But it wasn’t like that. You know how being exposed to loud sounds for a while leaves your ears ringing? Well that’s what happened to me after the show. And I expected it too, because I’ve been to other concerts before. But it was nothing to worry about. The ringing always went away the next day.

Except it didn’t this time. Uh-oh. I had developed tinnitus. I went to my ENT and an audio test revealed that I had already lost some of my hearing. I was told to lay off headphones and avoid loud sounds, so I had to miss a couple of other concerts that I would’ve otherwise gone to. Of course I felt bad. I even felt depressed for a while. I can’t imagine losing my hearing completely, I love love love listening to music.

Naturally I pointed the finger at the Switchfoot gig for damaging my hearing. I didn’t listen to their songs for a while because I didn’t want to be reminded of my condition. But no, after some thinking I realized that if I had anything or anyone to blame, it was myself.

For a long time, my headphones had been pretty much glued to my ears. I listened to music all the time - at home, at work, in the car, before going to bed - and I admit, sometimes I had the volume up a little too loud. It was a stupid thing to do, especially since I’d read about the damaging effects of loud music in the newspaper once. But you never really think that something can happen to you until it actually does.

Just for the record, I can still hear. I’m not deaf. Well not yet, anyway, and I’m doing what I can to prevent that from happening. I’ve been taking extra care of my ears ever since the incident - my headphones have been collecting dust, and I have a pair of earplugs that I bring along with me almost everywhere. My tinnitus isn’t so bad anymore, I just hear the ringing when it’s really quiet. I know other tinnitus sufferers have it worse. So no, I’m not sad or bitter or angry anymore. And oh, I’ve started listening to Switchfoot again. How could I not? They make awesome music. Right now I can’t stop playing Burn Out Bright and Awakening - the lyrics of these two songs really speak to me.

If anything, I should be thankful for the experience, because it taught me to not take my hearing for granted. And had this not happened, I’d probably be sporting hearing aids by the time I reach 30.

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Switchfoot Official Site
Switchfoot Official MySpace
Awakening Lyrics
Burn Out Bright Lyrics
Tinnitus Wikipedia Entry
American Tinnitus Association

I’m starting off the new year with a runny nose and sore throat. Oh joy. I have also cleaned out my closet a bit and threw out a lot of old, useless, mostly teen-y magazines. Well not really threw them out, I put them in our “to recycle” box. Happy new year everyone!

I never really made new year’s resolutions. Except last year, I think that was my first time to do so. Well, as mentioned in my previous post, my new year’s resolutions for 2007 are still unresolved. Eheh.

Well whatever. I’m already starting on my sole new year’s resolution for 2008. Except it’s not really one, since I’m already working on it, is it? Whatevs. I don’t really care. Alls I care about is getting into shape and being as healthy as I can be. This is not my first time to work out, but back then I was exercising on and off. Not very effective. This time I’m determined to stick to my routine for good.

I didn’t go to work for two days. I was pretty sick yesterday. I don’t know what I ate that made me sick. I went to bed feeling fine - a bit drowsy, but fine. Or so I thought. I woke up at around 1 am with my insides feeling funny - like something was trapped. Indigestion. Some hot water will help, I told myself. I’ve had this feeling before, and except for the discomfort, it really wasn’t much of a problem - it usually went away pretty soon.

Wrong. Not this time. I ended up hurling on two separate occasions - lost my dinner, and probably my breakfast and lunch, too. I threw up a lot. It wasn’t a nice feeling at all. I also had diarrhea. Ugh. Anyway. My body felt like a fricking sack of potatoes all day. I pretty much had zero energy. I just slept plenty, watched some cartoons and got through the day on rice congee, vegetarian meat floss and pickled cucumbers.

I felt better today, but still decided to stay at home as I wasn’t feeling a hundred percent. Just rested and finished two books.