Mar
24
Wow what a month..! Everytime we decide to do anything it all seems to happen at once! Over the past month I’ve been busy with the relocation of my office which meant major network infrastructure changes and implementations in addition to all the furniture fit outs and renovations. Once that move was all over, it was time for us to move into our own apartment in Yaletown. To make a long story short, since leaving Australia this would be our FIFTH move as far as living arrangements… so you can imagine that we’re just a little bit over the whole concept…
Finally two years after we picked up the keys to our apartment we are finally living in a place that we own. The tower that it was built in was completed about 2 years ago and we had been renting it out during that time. Since we’re going to be based here ior the time being, it made sense for us to move in. Not only do we save a lot more money, there’s definitely a warm fuzzy feeling that you get living in your own place.
In addition that we get to make the place our own and we definitely didn’t wait around to do that. Prior to moving in we bought some new furniture for the apartment, did some minor renovations such as wall mounting the LCD TV, doing light installations and also painting the place. We did two feature walls; chocolate brown in the lounge room and we painted the bedroom Nappa Valley green with a darker green feature wall. Our friend Rodrigo did the painting for us and we’re so impressed with the finished product. He definitely makes it look a lot easier than it is! Believe me, I’ve had my fair share of painting experience. It usually starts out with a giant ball of enthusiasm and excitement until the paint is bought and we’re halfway through painting the first wall and my sister turns around and says “I’m bored… why do you finish it?” Oh and let’s not forget the impromptu painting of my brother in law’s place… 3500 sq feet in 2 days… I think I’m done with painting (and moving) for a very long time.
Now for the grand tour… This is the kitchen with black appliances and granite counter top:
This is the bathroom:
This is the bedroom which leads out to the balcony. The LCD TV is wall mounted and connected to all the components in the lounge room so we can have a clean space in the room without anything showing:
This is the lounge room with out new couch (I think it looks like a giant inverted Oreo) and the home theatre setup. The abstract flowers on the wall are magnetic and can be moved around and I’m definitely liking the new floor standing retro chrome lamp that we bought:
Finally this is the view from out balcony and out of the main windows of the lounge. The large dome you see is BC Place Stadium and the sphere with lights is Science World. One thing you can’t complain about in downtown Vancouver are the views:
Click on the panoramic photo to enlarge it
Let me know what you think of it! More photos in the gallery.
Mar
07
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As part of my gym training regime I decided to try and do something different to break out of the monotony of weight training and cardio work outs. A model that I photographed in the past had told me about hot yoga and I was curious to try it out. Most people have a very biased misconception of yoga. Other than it being made trendy by celebrities, most people perceive it as a “tree huggers” work out where you sit with your legs crossed and chant “ohm” while you meditate. So for those of you that have this opinion, below is the definition from dictionary.com:
YOGA yo-ga Pronunciation [yoh-guh]
– noun (sometimes initial capital letter)
1. a school of Hindu philosophy advocating and prescribing a course of physical and mental disciplines for attaining liberation from the material world and union of the self with the Supreme Being or ultimate principle.
2. any of the methods or disciplines prescribed, esp. a series of postures and breathing exercises practiced to achieve control of the body and mind, tranquillity, etc.
3. union of the self with the Supreme Being or ultimate principle.
Saj’s Definition:
– Pain…
Now let me explain. Hot yoga is done in a room that has the temperature raised to 40 degrees and you do the class for 90 minutes non stop! The class goes through 26 different poses that you hold and believe me some of the poses are impossible to maintain! You feel like you’re a human pretzel!! In some of the moves you thread your arms and legs into such convoluted knots that you feel like you won’t be able to untie your body. I’m sure that over time my flexibility and balance will improve, but when you see other students in the class perform the same moves they definitely make it look easier than it is. These positions work out the core of your body and with the raised temperature your body improves blood flow to all parts of your body and you flush out all of the toxins.
What I liked about the class is that there are so many people at different levels of “skill” and the instructor will encourage you to do a pose as far as you can go within your range, rather than give up and not try at all. My conception of this style of exercise has definitely been changed for the better and I definitely get a lot of enjoyment out of the workout. It definitely breaks up the monotony of going to a regular gym and the results are great.
Until next time… Namaste…