Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Light up your nights
There was this wonderful shop I passed by in Adliya road that reminded me of Egypt's Khan el Khalily and I'd like to share it.
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Creative art
This is a really nice picture I came across a few years ago and I managed to see it on an old blog I had before.
By Duncan Roberts
Friday, February 28, 2014
Bahrain's Tree of Life
If you're going to the tree of life in the summer, then you might want to take heat or sun protection. Going there was tricky at first, just because I haven't been there in forever!So I tried going through Skhere, which apparently is the more complicated route. I asked around and my friend told me to drive towards Askar. This is the easiest way to get there. From Manama, Isa Town, Sitra, Riffa, there is one easy way that you could go through, and it's from the last roundabout closest to "The Centre" in Sanad. Some people call it the roundabout of death ... but anyway. The sign to Askar is not hard to miss. This was the first time I was looking for the tree.
From there, you simply go straight ahead, passing Alba, until you cross the last traffic lights. You will find yourself in this isolated and lonely highway that you might wanna take your date if you wanted to be alone for a long drive.
Keep yourself in the right lane and take the right at the third bridge. You'll even see a sign that says tree of life. You take the right and go all the way straight. From here it's simple, once you've passed the military base (I think its a base) you'll have to look at your left then figure out the way to the tree. It's not hard to miss if you're coming in during the day. If it's late night then you might have a problem, a big one. Night time is very difficult and I once got lost with my friends, we literally came out from the Skhere side, which took us longer than usual.
As of today, they built a sort of fence or barricade around the tree, no idea why but it looks more like a heritage site, which I guess is what they're going for. There are tents of people on both sides, which was never there before. Or perhaps it could be because of the weather?
What is the tree of life? It's a large tree that is said to be around 400-years old in the middle of the desert. It's very thing and not as tall as you'd think but will make for a great picture. I think most of the wonders revolves around the idea that there is no water available and yet the tree survives.
It's a great spot to hang out at, given you're looking for calm and I encourage you not to disturb as we were annoyed by hooligans. The best time to go would be now before summer gets you.
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Insanity making me go cray cray! Week 4 - Week 7 (including recovery) Part 1
So
I kinda forgot to post a LOT of things all over this site, but I did
however continue with Insanity. It was not easy. I had maybe three days
where I felt like skipping. Here are journal entries for days 22 to 35.
Day 22: So
this is week 4 huh. Crazy thing about the gym was that the ACs were
on full air cool blast. Not cool. I don't know if this is okay but it
interferes with my breathing sometimes. I was surprised to find myself
able to complete some push up routines *pat pat*. However, I noticed
some pain in the left abdominal area and my right lower back side. A
little later the backs of my shoulders were sore. My knees are shot! I
think Cardio Abs is my favorite workout!
Day 23: Today was not bad but what I noticed is my knees are badly shot. They made it harder for me to lift my legs but I managed to dig deeper in some of the workouts.
Day 24: I put in only half the effort I usually put. I'm getting worried because of my knees, it made things very difficult. And to add to it, I could barely do any form of jumps since my chest hurt as well. This is nerve-wrecking because I could sustain injury and at the same time I don't want to stop the workout. I was about to stop today but I kept on going despite all that. I youtubed some stuff online where people have modified moves for beginners, it wasn't much of a sweat but if you do it vigorously you kind of feel it. I mostly did that to avoid jumps. I need to look for a brace and better chest support .. if that helps.
Day 25: Though it was only cardio recovery, my knees burned like hell fire. I bought voltaren or something at the advice of the gym instructor, I only used it twice before today's workout and it helped a bit. I was hoping that if this cream works then I wont need to buy a brace. Tomorrow is cardio abs and all that so I'm very worried. I'll have to eat well and sleep enough. I can't help but feel like I gained a lot and I feel more tired.
Day 26: Definitely a better day. I reduced my pace but try to remain ongoing with the exercises. I substituted the power moves with modifications but made sure it got me sweating. Some jumps fast moves were slower because I made sure I had my knees slightly bent when I touched ground. Prior to this, I used the cream on my knees twice, once last night after work out, and another one before today's workout. And my friend gave me a tip about drinking coffee 30 - 60 minutes before exercise. I'm not sure what it is that helped me today. My knees did not feel any burning sensation but rather tightness. I also experienced some sort of tightness if I pressed my fingers above my abdomen (through my fat ofcourse). I noticed some wincing pain in my left knee, both outer and inner.The stretch are not that good but that's not something I can't work on. I will be done with my meds on Saturday, which is the end of week4 and kind of month 1. My plan is to start head on on Sunday with one intake of protein shakes a day, control of my food intake, lunch boxes to work. I gained an inch or more on my waist and tummy. I'm not sure what's going on with my body but I'm not letting myself explode again. Another thing to note, which I am embarassed to admit is that, I did not research this program thoroughly. There are some terms that I did not understand such as "keep core tight" and "land softly", which probably added to my aches. Yes, apparently I am 4 weeks too late and this is part of the reason why I want to get things right in month 2. Wish me luck.
Day 27: Today's workout definitely mirrored yesterday's efforts. I did avoid many jump moves but substituted it with modified moves. I gave half the effort in the last routine set because it just killed me. I don't necessarily feel much pain like I did in the infamous 3 days of shot knees. My onlly problem remains to be my chest. By the end of the stretch, I felt like I could pass out. The stretch felt good with my eyes closed. It was very tough. I didn't feel pain or fatigue necessarily, but a sense of heaviness like I couldn't lift myself any longer despite the energy. Once I get good chest support, and perhaps new shoes (if budget permits) then I could take my body on a test run and determine whether these things really do make a difference. Week 4 over, "recovery" week is next. I can only imagine what Month 2 has in store. The weird thing is my weight today shot up 2 kgs. Very weird, I am very worried.
Day 28: I wait every week for Saturdays. Really feels good.
Day 29: I really like recovery week. I thought it was all name but there's a lot of space to breath. My body feels better but then again it's recovery week. Jumps are still stuff but I managed through. Strange thing I noticed is with my left leg, I could feel some disturbance with the ligaments. It feels like a knot just snapped behind my knee and travelled fast toward the downside of my feet. I'm not sure what to make of this. And oh, I had a chicken tortila wrap today, teehee.
Day 30: It was an exhausting day. I felt like postponing today's workout to midnight but I really did not want to do it at home so after I got back home from work, I laid down for maybe an hour and forced myself to the gym. Exhausting but I felt better after the workout. Good effort today.
Day 31: All I can say is it was a good day. I forgot to use the cream which I will once I get back home. I did feel some sort of burn while walking but not during the exercise. Another thing to note is I felt a pinch again at the back of my left knee which traveled down my foot.
Day 32: It was another good day, same efforts as yesterday. I didn't feel any pinch behind my left knee but I did feel like an ache in the front part between my knee and my ankle. I'm not sure what they called that but yay, another thing to worry about. And I forgot to use the cream yesterday. I hope I remember tonight. Another side note, work was frustrating, not work itself but dealing with students.
Day 33: I definitely may have injured my right knee. I wasn't aware of it until I made a light bend and felt it. It's not that bad but there are chances of it getting more painful tomorrow. Anyway, today's effort was more or less like yesterdays, it was good. I can definitely sense some changes in my body though I feel very doubtful. One mistake I made was not taking pictures of my body prior to the exercise. Though I don't see it on the scale (coz I bought a cheap ass non functional one), I can compare my measures to the ones the gym took back in September. I'm gonna get results on my birthday!
Day 34: So today I went to Pf Chang's and finished around 3 pm. I worked out around 7:30 so I'm assuming all the heaviness was because of that. However, it was not bad. I just am pissed off from teh shitty AC they put on high blasts in the gym. I also drank last night and will tonight. Just to note.
Day 35: Not as good as yesterdays at all but well considering I woke up drunk. Not a good idea and very irresponsible. I however managed to do this.
Day 23: Today was not bad but what I noticed is my knees are badly shot. They made it harder for me to lift my legs but I managed to dig deeper in some of the workouts.
Day 24: I put in only half the effort I usually put. I'm getting worried because of my knees, it made things very difficult. And to add to it, I could barely do any form of jumps since my chest hurt as well. This is nerve-wrecking because I could sustain injury and at the same time I don't want to stop the workout. I was about to stop today but I kept on going despite all that. I youtubed some stuff online where people have modified moves for beginners, it wasn't much of a sweat but if you do it vigorously you kind of feel it. I mostly did that to avoid jumps. I need to look for a brace and better chest support .. if that helps.
Day 25: Though it was only cardio recovery, my knees burned like hell fire. I bought voltaren or something at the advice of the gym instructor, I only used it twice before today's workout and it helped a bit. I was hoping that if this cream works then I wont need to buy a brace. Tomorrow is cardio abs and all that so I'm very worried. I'll have to eat well and sleep enough. I can't help but feel like I gained a lot and I feel more tired.
Day 26: Definitely a better day. I reduced my pace but try to remain ongoing with the exercises. I substituted the power moves with modifications but made sure it got me sweating. Some jumps fast moves were slower because I made sure I had my knees slightly bent when I touched ground. Prior to this, I used the cream on my knees twice, once last night after work out, and another one before today's workout. And my friend gave me a tip about drinking coffee 30 - 60 minutes before exercise. I'm not sure what it is that helped me today. My knees did not feel any burning sensation but rather tightness. I also experienced some sort of tightness if I pressed my fingers above my abdomen (through my fat ofcourse). I noticed some wincing pain in my left knee, both outer and inner.The stretch are not that good but that's not something I can't work on. I will be done with my meds on Saturday, which is the end of week4 and kind of month 1. My plan is to start head on on Sunday with one intake of protein shakes a day, control of my food intake, lunch boxes to work. I gained an inch or more on my waist and tummy. I'm not sure what's going on with my body but I'm not letting myself explode again. Another thing to note, which I am embarassed to admit is that, I did not research this program thoroughly. There are some terms that I did not understand such as "keep core tight" and "land softly", which probably added to my aches. Yes, apparently I am 4 weeks too late and this is part of the reason why I want to get things right in month 2. Wish me luck.
Day 27: Today's workout definitely mirrored yesterday's efforts. I did avoid many jump moves but substituted it with modified moves. I gave half the effort in the last routine set because it just killed me. I don't necessarily feel much pain like I did in the infamous 3 days of shot knees. My onlly problem remains to be my chest. By the end of the stretch, I felt like I could pass out. The stretch felt good with my eyes closed. It was very tough. I didn't feel pain or fatigue necessarily, but a sense of heaviness like I couldn't lift myself any longer despite the energy. Once I get good chest support, and perhaps new shoes (if budget permits) then I could take my body on a test run and determine whether these things really do make a difference. Week 4 over, "recovery" week is next. I can only imagine what Month 2 has in store. The weird thing is my weight today shot up 2 kgs. Very weird, I am very worried.
Day 28: I wait every week for Saturdays. Really feels good.
Day 29: I really like recovery week. I thought it was all name but there's a lot of space to breath. My body feels better but then again it's recovery week. Jumps are still stuff but I managed through. Strange thing I noticed is with my left leg, I could feel some disturbance with the ligaments. It feels like a knot just snapped behind my knee and travelled fast toward the downside of my feet. I'm not sure what to make of this. And oh, I had a chicken tortila wrap today, teehee.
Day 30: It was an exhausting day. I felt like postponing today's workout to midnight but I really did not want to do it at home so after I got back home from work, I laid down for maybe an hour and forced myself to the gym. Exhausting but I felt better after the workout. Good effort today.
Day 31: All I can say is it was a good day. I forgot to use the cream which I will once I get back home. I did feel some sort of burn while walking but not during the exercise. Another thing to note is I felt a pinch again at the back of my left knee which traveled down my foot.
Day 32: It was another good day, same efforts as yesterday. I didn't feel any pinch behind my left knee but I did feel like an ache in the front part between my knee and my ankle. I'm not sure what they called that but yay, another thing to worry about. And I forgot to use the cream yesterday. I hope I remember tonight. Another side note, work was frustrating, not work itself but dealing with students.
Day 33: I definitely may have injured my right knee. I wasn't aware of it until I made a light bend and felt it. It's not that bad but there are chances of it getting more painful tomorrow. Anyway, today's effort was more or less like yesterdays, it was good. I can definitely sense some changes in my body though I feel very doubtful. One mistake I made was not taking pictures of my body prior to the exercise. Though I don't see it on the scale (coz I bought a cheap ass non functional one), I can compare my measures to the ones the gym took back in September. I'm gonna get results on my birthday!
Day 34: So today I went to Pf Chang's and finished around 3 pm. I worked out around 7:30 so I'm assuming all the heaviness was because of that. However, it was not bad. I just am pissed off from teh shitty AC they put on high blasts in the gym. I also drank last night and will tonight. Just to note.
Day 35: Not as good as yesterdays at all but well considering I woke up drunk. Not a good idea and very irresponsible. I however managed to do this.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Get your Art displayed: Ministry of Culture competition, deadline in December
For those interested, there's this really cool Arts competition, held by the Ministry of Culture in Bahrain. It's called the 40th Fine Arts Exhibition, where winning participants get their works displayed in January.What's cool about it is that it's very flexible in terms of work submitted as long as dimensions, mode of delivery etc etc, simple stuff like that are in accordance to requirements. It's open theme and encourages various art forms. However, only Bahrainis are eligible.
Hurry up because the deadlines on December 5th, 2013.
This is the email I found on their website for submitting and/or inquiries: fineart@moc.gov.bh
On a different note, non-Bahrainis also have a chance to participate in another competition, which I think is also pretty cool. It's the Sail Design Competition, where you basically visualize something on an A4-sized paper, and if you win, you get to paint it on a sail! Crazy right!
Here is another email I found: sailart@moc.gov.bh.
Aw, snap. Deadline's on November 15th, 2013. You guys better hurry up!
So I've linked both competitions in this blog. If you're an up and coming artist, this is a great way to get recognized and get some of your works published. Good luck!
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Week 3 of insanity, booyah!
It seems like everyday is a bad day. No sleep, too much food, no rest. Exhausted. I was about to leave this till early morning but I thought that was crazy and moved my ass at 11 PM to complete this 30 minute routine! And so I did. I was so close to not doing today's "on time". However, in the measurements, I didn't see any changes at all. Weird thing is my belly reduced by a cm or two and my waist grew. Anyway, the fit test was not much of a difference in the last few. While doing pushups, my shoulders gave out. And I can feel some pain or ache on the front outer part of my underarms - shoulder area.
Note to self: Get enough sleep
Day 16: This is the first time I write something that is result-positive oriented. Today was a good day. Not because of food, as I sure as hell didn't eat well. But I felt I performed much better than the other days. Just when I thought things were getting harder, today took the other route. However, there is a weird stretch pain behind my left ankle, I'm not sure what's causing it. I felt it right after the first stretch exercise. Oh and today I bought whey protein, all natural or so it would seem. The try outs with flavors will begin soon.
Day 17:I could feel my ab areas BURN! This was good because before I started today's workout I took pictures of my belly front and side, and did not like it at all. I'm in week 3 and it feels like I made no progress at all, like the workouts are not working on my body. However, once I felt the burn in Cardio Abs, it felt a bit satisfying. The weird thing is I Was not tired in the first workout (there were 2 today) but I felt like steel, as though my body was really heavy. I still do not heavy upper body strengh because I am still unable to move from low to high plank without falling on my knees.
Day 18: Again, another bad day. I've been having UTI problems for a week now and finally decided to go to a private doctor, and it turns out I had a very bad infection and they took another sample. I'll have to be back in three days. I also went to the dentist in the same hospital and maaaaan, lots of things to do with my teeth. However, because of this exercise, I'm holding out on a procedure until the next two months. Jeez. I went there right after work and I spent around 3 hours. I finally went home, changed and got to the gym. I thought Cardio Recovery wont be a big deal but there is one routine that I can't do at all. It's where you lunge into a squat and hold it for a while, then pulse. Difficult. It made the balance exercises later even more difficult. Sigh.
Day 19: What's sad is I'm back on meds so I don't know how much it may affect my nutrition. I havent tried the protein I bought yet just to be on the side of caution. This has nothing to do with my health but I don't think I put in much effort into the work out today. I think it's because of food. I need to time it 4 hours before I start gymming. I noticed I always do little when I eat around 2.5 - 3 hours before. However, I noted today that jumps are really tough to do no matter how easy and fluid they look.
Day 20: I'm on meds now and I don't know why I felt fatigue today. I had plyometric cardio circuit and almost died after the first set of warm ups, but I managed to complete it ... on my own pace of course. Though today was drowsy and tiring, I did manage to pull in more pushups than usual, which I found weird. This program is just confusing me. When I feel failure at onne routine, I excel in something else.
Day 21: I ate a chicken cheese philly sandwich from Johnny Rockets. That's all I have to say.
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Insanity workout; Week 2 done
Day 8: Today
morning I felt weird as I flexed my muscles. It felt as if everything
was tight and cracked with every flexed move. However I feel fine and
I'm still tryin to work on my eating.
Fuck. Workout was crazy. I feel like the workouts become heavier day by day. I really think it's my eating. Once I've settled a better eating pattern, I'll be able to determine whether the heaviness is just a side effect as a result of collected exhaustion, or simply the food in my tummy. There were some routines that were just hell today.
Day 9: I didn't wear any shoes today. I can't make out the difference. I started using my fitness pal so that I finally monitor my calorie intake and perhaps adhere to the 40-40-20 recommended nutrition consumption. This way I can avoid bulking up and perhaps I would lose a few kilos. I still couldn't go through entire routines and I hope it will get better as I start taking more care of myself; if this doesn't help, I don't know what will. I will also start protein shakes as soon as I lay my hands on it.
Day 10: Crazy day today. It's been raining since Sunday so everywhere's a mess. I decided to wear long leggings to cope with the cold but when I got to the gym, the ventilation and Acs were not working. Yup, puddles of sweat all over the place haha. Today felt like any other day. I could keep up the same amount as usual. I did not feel more tired but more flexible and much smaller than before. I still am however looking for the protein bars and perhaps some energy to keep myself active.
Day 11: I wish there was a way I can compare performance to previous exercises because I can't tell how I'm doing but what I can tell is that I don't feel like I can't do it. Today's was only cardio recovery and I sweat like a jug. It was pouring all over the workspace, and probably why one of the gym members left lol. Anyway, the stretching burnt me and killed my knees, this exercise, though I already tired it in week1, made me feel all the fat around my joints.
Day 12: Haha, the sweat all around the workout space is repelling people from entering the room, which is great because I get my privacy. This exercise, I think, is the hardest so far. Pure Cardio is tough but I find it fun. Plyometric is definitely crazy. But what sucks about today is that I didn't eat anything at all, except for a bowl of cereal in the morning. I did not plan to do this but I got caught up in work, and had no time to eat and went straight to the gym. I felt a burn but managed to complete it in my usual pace. I also managed to get some protein bars but I may use shakes soon as the protein bars have the same amount of carbs as well. Not to mention, expensive.
Day 13: PURE CARDIO AND CARDIO ABS!! I went to a water park today so that kind of kept me in an active mood. However, today was not as bad as I thought it would be. I just needed to find more power somwehere because I can keep going however, it's very tough to lift myself up. I'm proud because I managed to finish an entire ski down count. And Cardio Abs though crazy, actually felt good. Plus I found protein bars that has 16 g however it also gives 16 g of carbs.
Day 14: Today is a good day. However I need to recover from last night because I overdozed my calorie intake with drinks, it's not like I go out a lot, so sometimes I go overboard.
Fuck. Workout was crazy. I feel like the workouts become heavier day by day. I really think it's my eating. Once I've settled a better eating pattern, I'll be able to determine whether the heaviness is just a side effect as a result of collected exhaustion, or simply the food in my tummy. There were some routines that were just hell today.
Day 9: I didn't wear any shoes today. I can't make out the difference. I started using my fitness pal so that I finally monitor my calorie intake and perhaps adhere to the 40-40-20 recommended nutrition consumption. This way I can avoid bulking up and perhaps I would lose a few kilos. I still couldn't go through entire routines and I hope it will get better as I start taking more care of myself; if this doesn't help, I don't know what will. I will also start protein shakes as soon as I lay my hands on it.
Day 10: Crazy day today. It's been raining since Sunday so everywhere's a mess. I decided to wear long leggings to cope with the cold but when I got to the gym, the ventilation and Acs were not working. Yup, puddles of sweat all over the place haha. Today felt like any other day. I could keep up the same amount as usual. I did not feel more tired but more flexible and much smaller than before. I still am however looking for the protein bars and perhaps some energy to keep myself active.
Day 11: I wish there was a way I can compare performance to previous exercises because I can't tell how I'm doing but what I can tell is that I don't feel like I can't do it. Today's was only cardio recovery and I sweat like a jug. It was pouring all over the workspace, and probably why one of the gym members left lol. Anyway, the stretching burnt me and killed my knees, this exercise, though I already tired it in week1, made me feel all the fat around my joints.
Day 12: Haha, the sweat all around the workout space is repelling people from entering the room, which is great because I get my privacy. This exercise, I think, is the hardest so far. Pure Cardio is tough but I find it fun. Plyometric is definitely crazy. But what sucks about today is that I didn't eat anything at all, except for a bowl of cereal in the morning. I did not plan to do this but I got caught up in work, and had no time to eat and went straight to the gym. I felt a burn but managed to complete it in my usual pace. I also managed to get some protein bars but I may use shakes soon as the protein bars have the same amount of carbs as well. Not to mention, expensive.
Day 13: PURE CARDIO AND CARDIO ABS!! I went to a water park today so that kind of kept me in an active mood. However, today was not as bad as I thought it would be. I just needed to find more power somwehere because I can keep going however, it's very tough to lift myself up. I'm proud because I managed to finish an entire ski down count. And Cardio Abs though crazy, actually felt good. Plus I found protein bars that has 16 g however it also gives 16 g of carbs.
Day 14: Today is a good day. However I need to recover from last night because I overdozed my calorie intake with drinks, it's not like I go out a lot, so sometimes I go overboard.
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