Scott Dinsmore and his wife

I was flicking through some TEDx videos to find some inspiration when I found this video of Scott Dinsmore, founder of Live Your Legend. The 33-year-old gave a very important and inspiring talk about how to find work you love - something I've personally been struggling with for a few years now.

I find the Central Coast to be a little bit more conservative than Sydney. It's more family-oriented. It reminds me of Vancouver. Their activities are weekend picnics at the beach, family bonding at the park, etc. What I absolutely love about it is the fact that the roads are wide open. What they call traffic is the light traffic in the Philippines. These guys have no idea what real traffic looks like.

This year, I was no longer afraid to admit that I'm at my heaviest so far. It was an eye opener: minor health issues are starting to show. Pants are tighter than ever. Climbing the stairs is starting to seem like a challenge on 'Survivor'. I decided to do something about it. My friend told me about these very affordable vouchers for Golds Gym. Call it an impulse purchase, I bought 2 vouchers hoping to get me started on this weight loss journey this year.

Another thing I tried recently is this food delivery service called Diet Diva. They prepare 1200-calorie per day meals at a more affordable price. (This is in comparison to that other obscenely expensive food delivery service.)  They deliver your food between 5 and 8 in the morning, just before I leave for work. I have to say, the experience was great so far!








I thought that bringing down my calorie intake drastically would f*ck up my body. I experience a terrible headache on my first day. On the second and third, I felt weak. When I finally got the hang of it, I felt really... normal.

One of the struggles I had with this diet is saying no to free food. There were a couple of times when my boss called for a lunch meeting so I didn't eat what Diet Diva prepared for me. However, I made sure my portions were really small because I still want to follow the 1200-calorie rule.

And I think I did well! On my first week, I lost 6 lbs! I am looking forward to losing more weight. My target is to lose as much as 50 lbs this year. Hey, it's only the first month of the year. That's pretty realistic!

In the past few years, our neighbors have been victims of theft and home invasion. The neighbors in the apartment next door were sleeping peacefully when the thieves broke into their home. Items lost include a PSP, a laptop and some other gadgets.

Last year, my childhood friend's house was also broken into while her husband was sleeping upstairs. They took their Macbook, iPad and an expensive bag.

Life is tough. People are desperate. And we don't exactly live in a gated community. The Barangay Tanods (community security officers) are proven worthless since they haven't really done a lot to prevent these incidents from happening especially on our street.

Imagine my surprise when my mom told me, as I was just walking into our home, that a very daring thief entered our home while my sister was upstairs and our helper is in the kitchen. It took only seconds for him (or her) to grab my 15" Samsung laptop (almost 2-years old) and my sister's Coach purse with 300 pesos in it.

All I could say was Thank God nobody got hurt. Thank God he didn't steal anything else. Thank God I didn't leave my freaking iPad at home!

Lesson learned: beef up our security. We need to be more mindful of our surroundings. These criminals are obviously watching over us, waiting for an opportunity to commit a crime.

I'm thinking of getting a bat. We need a weapon in the house. God knows I can't protect my family at all times. I pray that these thieves stay away from our home and my family.

So my mom was depressed again. It made her think about my father and how he would react to this. We all lost our sense of security when my father died. Even I don't feel comfortable with the thought that I am now the only man in this house.

It's a tough position to be in. Not only am I compelled to provide a good life for my mom and sister. I now need to protect them from physical harm.

Anyway, the laptop is gone. We still got a spare netbook. I just need to get a charger for it.

And get that bat. I'm serious. I'm really gonna get one.

Tangina. Buti na kang I backed up my porn vids.

Our last day in Vancouver was quite eventful. Where do I begin.

An old friend of mine was nice enough to show me around. We haven't seen each other for more than a decade so it was kind of awkward at first. She and her husband showed me around. First stop was the store of one of the ladies on 'The Real Housewives of Vancouver'. (Yep, it's a shame but I do watch every housewives show from the US and Canada.) It was so surreal seeing Jody Claman's store after seeing it in several episodes of the show. The store was closed and it looked like they changed the name too. I took one photo then we took off.













Our next stop was the Vancouver Lookout, a restaurant with a revolving floor that gives you awesome views of the city. Their freaking salmon was good.

Then we walked around downtown Vancouver. We went to Gastown which is the old Vancouver. The   buildings do look very old. I took a picture with the iconic steam-powered clock and a few other stuff.

They also showed me the sketchy places in the city. I cannot believe that we found a weed cafe on the street. I also found out that the government funds the needles of drug addicts. They are also asked to stay in only a specific part of the city. The reason? It's better to have them inject themselves with clean needles rather than go around the city and spread diseases like HIV. Wow. I was stunned when I heard this. Can someone please confirm if this is true?

I was extremely fortunate to be a part of business trip to Vancouver, Canada. It was very short yet very memorable. I'll tell you why in a separate post. First, I have to say, I love the weather in Vancouver! The temperature was quite okay (16-18 degrees Celcius during the day, up to 9 degrees at night). I mean, it's bearable for someone who lives in a tropical country.

We flew with Philippine Airlines. The plane was packed and for a 12-hour flight, that was terrible. I was a bit disappointed because I was expecting more legroom but hey, we flew on economy class so I can't complain. I didn't get to sleep. I had a few catnaps though. I was so uncomfortable the entire flight and I was kinda pissed because I got the aisle instead of the window. Bummer. Thank God for my iPad. It managed to keep me insane for 12 freaking hours. It's my first time to fly out of Asia so I am not used to this type of long haul flight.

As soon as we landed, our very gracious tour guide and friend took us to Granville Island. It's funny because a few weeks before our trip, I was watching a group of drunken women on 'The Real Housewives of Vancouver'. The episode featured someone's birthday at Granville Island. It was pretty surreal seeing the actual place.

Then we went to the massive Stanley Park. It's one of THE biggest parks I've seen in my life. The Vancouver Aquarium was there and so were the popular Totem Poles. I gasped at the sight of shirtless men jogging as if the temperature was in the 30's (Celsius). And they were complaining that it's too hot!

We also went to another part of the park which is Prospect Point. I was so amazed by the colorful flowers. Like a little child in the candy store, my eyes were wide open and my camera was clicking for almost an hour until my battery gave up.

It was a great first day. Our hotel was okay. Food was great. Vancouver, I am in love with you.

*** More photos on WikiPika.com