April : 2023 : Kelake

Data

This chart indicates my weight gain since 2016, with the big jump representing when we moved to Canada. In total it represents about 12kg.

Unfortunately I don’t have as convenient a chart for activity level and amount of calories burned, but that data shows unsurprisingly a drastic decrease in activity levels. I went from a daily average of 12km of running a day to 5 – sometimes less than 5.

I have no convenient way to track what I eat, but when we lived in Taiwan, for the sake of expediency we would plan our our meals for the week. So I have that data in my calendar. We ate far more fish, green leafy vegetables and fresh fruit than we do now. Partially because they were far more readily available and affordable. We don’t plan our meals now, as the cost of food here is much much higher than we imagined possible, and variable. It was pretty much consistently cheap before, though there might be the odd sale on imported goods.

Data is a wonderful way to understand the changes in your body, and a great tool to change behaviour. I would love to eat like my son, it’s a lot of fun to continuously eat, but my body just doesn’t require it. One of the pleasant side effects of being really active, is you get to eat more. And eating is one of the greatest pleasures.

Calmness

I should stand and look at this scene more often or scenes like it. Spending as much time inside in front of a computer screen as I do is anything but healthy.

April will be better

March felt like a difficult month. Perhaps because I was out of my groove due to all kinds of distractions, it may have also had to do with the lousy virus I suffered through and the then lack of any kind of meaningful exercise. Or perhaps I am just tired of winter. While my March sucked, it certainly doesn’t compare to Catriona’s.

One of the factors influencing our decision to move back home was to provide better educational opportunities for the kids. COVID ruined that for a time, and now the UPEI faculty strike is having much the same effect.

I haven’t been generally impressed with the classes that Catriona has been taking at UPEI. Some were online only, others were “just read the PowerPoint,” and others seemed like a complete waste of money. Catriona’s very introverted, so it goes against her nature to continually chase her professors for answers to her questions. Her introversion also makes for a sub-par social experience, though I’m not sure what opportunities there are for that anyway.

With the strike, I’ve tried to convince her to seek education elsewhere, but she’s not ready to leave home yet. She doesn’t also share my views towards the classes she is taking and generally supports the faculty’s efforts towards better treatment from the administration. The emails she receives from the administration about the strike are so asinine. I can’t imagine why they bother sending them.

While I can’t convince her to seek a better education elsewhere, there is no doubt that Camren won’t attend UPEI in the fall. He sees the experience she is having and will go abroad to experience something more.