Chinese New Year Paradox in the Year of the Tiger

As a person born in the Year of the Tiger, I naturally wanted to know what the Year of the Tiger holds for us, the Tigers. After all it's supposed to be "our" year, right? And by that, it should mean a good year.

Well, not exactly.

Imagine my surprise when I read over the internet about Tigers being "in conflict" in the Year of the Tiger. Here's one:

Since this year is the same as yours. You are in some kind of conflict. Your money and health signs tend to be weaker. There would be pressure from work. The only recommendation for you is to be conservative.

And that's the paradox. How can you be in conflict when it's YOUR year?


Here's another one, although not as bad.

Junkyard Basketball in the Philippines

You've seen makeshift basketball courts in the Philippines. Full courts or half courts, they're practically everywhere. With any improvised board, hoop and a pole, one can make streets and most vacant lots instant basketball courts.

These makeshift basketball backboards and hoops are often mounted on coconut trees, mango trees, or any tree with a rigid trunk. On paved concrete streets, you'd see the the basketball boards mounted with an assembly of large pieces of wood.

The base of the whole assembly is then pinned to the concrete ground by a heavy weight, usually a concrete-filled metal drum.

But speaking of a makeshift basketball board and hoop, here's something out of the ordinary.

Walking for Exercise

For many weeks now, my wife and I had a liking for long walks in the morning. After three of our kids have gone to school, we'd lock the front gate and head on to the streets. We pretty much have toured our own subdivision (or village) and have become very familiar with its nook and crannies.

So last week, we ventured out to explore our neighboring subdivisions. These subdivisions are similar to ours. We know a couple of friends who live in these subdivisions but we don't really visit anyone on a regular basis.

The walk is a bit longer since we have to step out of our own village first. But that's okay as our subdivision isn't that big to start with.

72-Hour Survival Kit

My eldest daughter, Che, who is in first year college, announced she needed to prepare a 72-hour survival kit. This is for her subject Natural Science, or NatSci.

She needed to gather up all the items for the kit, make up a list of the items, take a photo of the kit and submit it to the professor. That's about much I know about the project.

The first thing she did was to search the web for survival items that constitute a 72-Hour Survival Kit. Why 72 hours? Well, supposedly, that means 3 days of waiting before a rescue happens.

The items that turned up on her search were the usual: bottled water, food, first aid kit, flash light, pocket knife, matches, candles, etc. I asked her what situation was the survival setting in? Floods? Hurricanes? Earthquake? Fire?

Exercise for Instant Relief from Tennis Elbow Pain

In a recent entry, I've written a couple of wrist and forearm exercises that stretched and strengthened the affected muscles. These are the muscles outside of the forearm near the elbow.

However, I've recently discovered an exercise that more quickly alleviated my tennis elbow problem. The pain relief is easily discernible. I only did this easy-to-do exercise for three consecutive days and the relief from the pain was dramatic.

Cruelty to Animals on New Year's Eve

Slumped on the dirty kitchen floor, our dog Poochie looks dead tired.

She's been listless in the past couple of days especially today. I'd attribute that to the incessant barking she does whenever she hears firecrackers. The occasional firecracker explosion day and night keeps her awake.

She doesn't usually sleep this way. She'd always lie on her side which is a more comfortable position for her to sleep soundly. Here though, it's like she just dropped on the floor and closed her eyes.

Exercise with Wrist Weights

Happy New Year!

Here's a present I gave myself last Christmas - a pair of wrist weights.

I've been using the balance stepper for quite some time now. I've switched to this exercise mostly because it's been too cold to swim. In the past few weeks, it has been windy especially in the afternoons.