Captivate

Beautiful ending of another day.  Tomorrow, another set of phenomena awaits.

sunset, view from our lounge

sunset, zoomed

Stay Focused!

cheetah, Wellington Zoo

Stay focused!  Yeah, I know, there are always trials in life.  But, focus on the positive.  As the Monty Python song goes, "Always, look on the bright side of life..."

The importance of staying positive is NOT JUST about feelings, but an issue of mental performance and potentially mental health.  Staying calm and relaxed puts our brain in the state of optimal performance, with a good flow of electrical impulses throughout the cortex, allowing faster and easier use of both left and right brain.

When we are stressed, we release the hormone cortisol as part of a stress response.  Cells sensitive to cortisol stop the uptake of glucose, in a bid to boost its supply in the bloodstream to our muscles for the notorious fight-or-flight stress response.  Neurons are cells and require glucose for energy.  Unfortunately, this type of cortisol-sensitive cells accounts for a vast number of neurons in the part of our brain called hippocampus, which governs memory storage and retrieval, plus other functions.  If stress occurs for a prolonged period of time, these neurons will starve and die, thus shrinking the hippocampus, i.e. brain damage.

Therefore, if you want to realize your full mental potential, which in turn helps realize your external endeavors, be it getting good grades in classes, problem solving in your job or building business strategies, you ought to get a handle on your stress.  Not to mention, stress also tips other hormones, reduces blood flow to your skin and the effectiveness of your immune system, thus can give you a break out of acne, if not worse health problems.

So, stay positive - preserve your intelligence, protect your complexion !

Anyway, gorgeous cat, isn't it?!  Why not spend some time at the zoo or observe your (neighborhood) pets as a way to de-stress?

Some ways to de-stress:

• breathing
• meditation
• exercise / play a sport
• listening to soothing music
• short walks in the sun
• aromatherapy

Cheetah facts:

• fastest mammal on land; can reach speeds of 60 to 70 miles an hour over short distances
• the cheetah stalks its prey; its spots help make it difficult to be seen among tall dry grass
• the cheetah eat small to medium size animals, from hares to gazelles
• There are usually 3 to 5 cubs in a litter of cheetah
• Cheetah cubs stay with their mothers until they are 12 to 20 months old
• A fully grown cheetah may be up to 53” (112 to 135cm) in length including head and body
• A fully grown cheetah's tail may measure up to 33” (84cm) long
• A king cheetah is a rare mutation of a cheetah, with black stripes running down its back.

Updated: 25 September 2011

A few online resources:  
http://www.fi.edu/learn/brain/stress.html | http://www.umich.edu/~psycours/531/becker.chapter10.htm | http://developingchild.harvard.edu/topics/science_of_early_childhood/toxic_stress_response/

Wow! What? Oh!

Rushing around like a lunatic in the kitchen... So, I was a little disorganized and started the cooking steps of the different dishes in the craziest order.  My brain malfunctioned that day!

The oven timer went off, the food needed to be turned, and before I could shut the oven door, the microwave beeped, time to stir in the next ingredient which I hadn't finished the chopping for.  Shoot! The zucchinis!  They're still simmering on stove top.  Hubby walked in that moment.  "Can I help you with anything?", he said.  Just in time!  "Can you check the zucchinis for me, please?", I said brusquely, pointing to the pot.  He lifted up the lid, looked and replied, "Yup! They're zucchini." My eyes widened. My lungs instantly involuntarily drew in a deep breath. Everything froze for a long second, except for the steam continuing to ascend from the pot vanishing towards his face, his body arched slightly over the pot.

A grin broke across his face.  What was I fretting about, anyway?  It's just dinner.

I bet you have someone or something that reminds you to smile, too.

Moody Inspirations

Do you look towards the sky for inspirations sometimes?

Although this is the Land of the Long White Clouds, it offers endless shows of other cloud formations. Below are a few snaps I took while travelling in May.

Angry clouds; a petulant sky

Painters' Sky

I wonder if the inhabitants of these dwellings were aware they were under the moody clouds that inspired many oil paintings.

Mothera

Not really, but it could be.

(moth) I'm looking at you!

moth; Subtle tones and pattern

This little thing looked like a small leave stuck on the wall outside, until we moved in to investigate further.

Fury head of the moth

Fury, tassely wing edges of the moth

Sticking to My Guns

Do you sometimes feel uncertain about yourself?

How much should you reveal about yourself?  And, how much is too little or too much?  Where do you draw your boundary?  What makes one an intrigue or an eccentric?

Do you sometimes wonder whether you are on the right path? 

I can only be myself.  I may not write in a popular style.  I may not have the most popular material, or the popular perspectives.  But, I can only be myself.

Where do the books go, the ones that don't fit snugly in a known category for the ease of selling?  Should they be rewritten?  Should the author be changed?  Which book is this?

What is my category?

Oh, well!  I can only be myself.

Frozen Fluffy

Kitty on the Block - one of the adorable cats in my neighborhood

A picture paints a thousand words, right?

If only this one tells you that kitty has been standing in this 'suspended animation' for ... I don't even know how long.  Hubby and I came round the corner on our morning walk, and there kitty was, completely engrossed...  So, we stalked kitty stalking whatever it was, for at least minutes, but the world was too far away, until we 'meow'-ed at it.  Then, we get the nonchalant...

Whaaat?!

See what you can find just on a walk round the neighbourhood?  So cute!  Perhaps, I'm easily pleased.  Oh, well.

Statements

It's hot!

Scarlet Ibis cooling off, sharing a pond - Jurong Bird Park in Singapore

Air conditioning units cooling off one factory floor - Hong Kong S.A.R.

Great Timing

Cute time up/down timer

What has this little thing got to do with anything?  Not much, but it IS great.

I have always wanted a kitchen timer that can also count up, like a stop watch, as well as count down.  It's functionally quite a nifty design.  Setting a time, pushing start/stop counts down.  Resetting to 0(zero), pushing start/stop works as a stopwatch.  Now, I can time my culinary Frankensteins.  Plus, it's cute.

Isn't it still a happy thing?
 

Tall tales: Avatar yourself and jaz up your profile pic!

Have a look at this, everybody! Lisa over at tall tales has another really fun post:

Tall tales: Avatar yourself and jaz up your profile pic!

If you are curious about how something works, never let fear stand in your way to find out.  I think Lisa is pretty inspirational that way.