Recently, when the weather permits, I have begun to walk around the Kuching waterfront, Padungan, and Carpenter Street areas. Initial motivation was the Xiaomi 15 Ultra I bought, which is touted as the mobile photography camera phone to have. With the photography kit, which is sold separately, some say it comes close to mimicking a true camera. I got the photography kit free as part of the preorder, and in fact, one of the major reasons I signed up for the preorder was to get the kit, which would otherwise sell for around RM700-800. I also received a pair of Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo earphones. But the primary motivator was, without a doubt, the photography kit. I’ll talk more about the Xiaomi and the photography kit in another post.
I received my preorder on the Saturday of March, and the following day, I drove down to Padungan, parked my car, and walked around, taking photos. Then I drove down to Wayang Street, parked there, and walked around the waterfront and Carpenter Street. In hindsight, I should’ve walked there from Padungan, but today, I did just that, so I don’t feel bad.
There is a lot to learn about photography, and I am a beginner, but I’m having fun doing it. It gives my mind something else to focus on instead of work, finances, family, and the future. As I walk around taking snaps, I am living in the now. I am constantly looking around, not for threats this time (although I always am aware of potentials, but for potential good subjects to take a photo of. Previous daytime walkabouts were done during the fasting month, so I couldn’t eat or drink, but today, I was able to stop and check out a cool cat-friendly café on Carpenter Street called Pawfect Vibes.
This café is about two weeks old, and I learned about it on social media. I really wanted to check it out. It was started by an English couple and a friend, who had lived here for two years. They quit their previous jobs and opened up a café. As you do. The iced Americano was pretty good, and I did order kaya toast, which isn’t exactly good for me. I did bump into another customer there who I happened to have met almost 30 years ago! He is a professional saxophonist, and I’ve seen him play. He knows my family.
I also bumped into one of the boys who sells satay near my house. I was crossing the main bazaar road when a guy in a mohican, riding a bicycle, smiled and waved at me, so I waved back. I’m pretty sure he is one of the guys that sells satay. I’m 80% certain. Anyway, long story short, I took photos, stopped for another coffee, then drove to the reservoir park, where I took a quick stroll before I headed home, pleased with the 7.1k steps I netted so far.
Two years ago, I was discovered to be diabetic and put on meds by the doctor. My doctor’s logic is either you are diabetic or you’re not. So I am diabetic. I take meds to keep my glucose down. If I am truthful, the last six to eight months, I fell off the wagon in terms of controlling my sugar intake, but recently that has changed.
About two weeks ago, during the fasting month, I took a home blood glucose test with the standard finger pricking method and found that my glucose was still high. About 8.6 mmol/L. To be honest, I wasn’t 100% sure as the test strips I had were expired. That motivated me to do some online research and buy a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) kit, which isn’t cheap, over RM500. I was hoping to get one which uses an app you download to your phone, but apparently, they are not available in Malaysia, at least not for the more known CGM brands, Abbott Laboratories Lifestyle Libre. Instead, you use a small monitoring device that you wave over the sensor that you attach to your arm. The sensor is good for two weeks.
They say information is power, and in this case, it certainly is. I was able to tell which foods caused a spike in my blood glucose levels and monitor it 24/7. I learnt that some foods were stealth glucose bombers. In fact, I have to say the CGM made me borderline obsessed with my blood glucose levels, and this too provided further incentive for me to go on my walkabouts. If the weather was not agreeable, I would go to a big mall and walk up and down for hours until I hit the 10k steps goal I set myself. I haven’t eaten a Bueno chocolate finger in two as I eke out my glucose allowance. When my glucose spikes over 10, I feel an immense sense of guilt and failure, and this spurs me to be stricter with my diet the next day.
I’m proud to say, in combination with the fasting month and my tighter glucose monitoring, I have lost about 5.3kg during the fasting month. The CGM also means that even during the Raya festivities, I monitored my intake, and on the 2nd day, I resumed my one meal a day (OMAD) fasting, albeit not strict. On some days, it was more intermittent fasting (IF) for between 18-23 hours of fasting.
I have to add that during the actual fasting month, I did not bother with the pre-sunrise feeding ritual. I value my sleep more than eating, and this is my SOP till now. I am 92.85kg this morning, and I would like to drop below the 90kg mark. I don’t think I have been below 90kg since maybe I was in college, thirty years ago!
I’m pleased that buying the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, which spurred me to walkabout and take photos, and purchasing the CGM have led me to be stricter about health in general and my blood glucose in particular. It gives me a daily goal and a distraction from the countless other things on my mind. I believe this will be a long-term positive change in my life. Small positive changes, if in large enough quantities, will bring a wave of benefits. At least that’s the plan.
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