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Bobbles celebrates Katy’s birthday

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We walked into town to have a bit of quiet adult time. We met up with the oldies and youngun just before the movie – we’d booked to see the latest Star Wars and then we went to Wagamama’s for dinner. I got tots emosh with the movie. Now my belly is full and I’m enjoying coffee and a timbit because, random, a Tim Horton opened in Leicester. I just realized that between having found a source of poutine cheese in Switzerland and timbits in the UK, there’s no longer a need for me to go back to Canada!

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

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Or not. These past couple of years, the holidays have become less and less a time of joy and more and more a source of anxiety, frustration and honesty… depression.

Don’t get me wrong. There are moments I still treasure. They just seem to be more difficult to achieve and it involve more drama to get to.

I found a good article recently that had some advice I thought I’d share, just in case it can help someone.

Make a flexible plan: Make plans and then communicate them clearly with your family. Don’t overbook. Build time in, so you don’t have to rush, and leave time for yourself.

Set realistic expectations: You can’t do everything, so focus on what matters. Where do you want to put your energy? The holidays have a lot of “shoulds.” Don’t be afraid to say no.

Be open to new traditions: “But we always …” is not a reason to do something you don’t enjoy. If a tradition doesn’t work for you, make a new one.

Be aware of what you need: Get outside in the sunlight when possible. Get some physical exercise. Make sure you get the proper amount of sleep.

Stop it before it starts: Pay attention and self-diagnose. Are you experiencing a change in your eating or sleep patterns? Do you find yourself declining invitations you would normally accept because it seems like too much effort to go? Don’t ignore self-care and be mindful about how you are navigating the holidays.

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Swissmas, with friends

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It was loud, chaotic, funny, foodie, boozy. It was lovely. We were 30 people and a dog, which is probably about the maximum amount that will fit in the flat.

Our friends and neighbours:
Paul and Lam
Colin, Karen, Meg and Davey
Jennifer, Jonathan, Milla and James
Mary-Jane
Mira, Emmanuel and Eliza

My co-workers:
Damian and Gillian
Roko, Rudger and Suttipong

Katy’s clients:
Ewalina
Melody
Christina, Mark and Zoe
Guillaume, Françoise, Raphael and Lily

It kind of went by in a blur! You try and see and talk to everyone. You hope everyone has a good time, and enough to eat and drink. On that last note, I think it was a frank success, as we were actively pushing people to take food with them because there was no way we’d be able to eat everything.

What’s really cool is that people knew each other without us knowing. Emmanuel goes to the same school as Davey. Eliza does ballet with Milla. Paul and Colin both teach at the EPFL. Melody and Mira both work for PMI. What’s also very comforting is the fact that we feel… integrated. We have a community of friends, colleagues, parents, clients that we’re happy to share food, drink and time with – to invite into our home and to invite to get to know each other. It’s a good feeling.

And there was a dog. And the cats were actually around (and being social and not hiding).

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[gallery] Peter Walters

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“Between the pages of a book is a lovely place to be”… and for artist Peter it is so much more.

Binding his creative talent and love of literature, Peter has established a literary inspired portfolio shared with book lovers and art fans across the globe.

With a background in portraiture, Peter spent his formative years in America and The Netherlands, before a return to the UK coincided with a transition to digital art. This merging of traditional illustration with digital art has seen Peter hone a style whose mix of textures adds an eye-catching dimension to his vibrant collages.

Through his work as an illustrator and children’s author, Peter is continuously reminded of the lasting impression works of literature can have on people of all ages.

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[gallery] Slasky

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In defending the significance of digital art, Slasky has become one of the most influential artists in this genre. Extremely reserved, he works from Rome, Italy, where he creates most of his pieces. His work is a fusion of urban influences and contemporary pop art, in which he represents the icons of this century and those that make up significant moments in history.

His portfolio of works includes a wide range of contemporary styles: graffiti, street art, pop, contemporary digital art and mixed media collages. Working on some of the world’s most recognisable images gives his pieces an instant sense of familiarity, but because they are presented with an explosion of colour and life they gain a unique richness and modernity. By merging classic art works with contemporary digital art techniques, Slasky transports the art into our present time. By placing the original artwork’s protagonists into contemporary social and artistic environments, he created a number of pieces that send new messages and require a level of collaboration from the viewer in order to be understood.

His reinterpretations of classic art, as well as modern photography, are collected all over the world.

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Mostly good news, bit of meh news

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I had my 9-month surgery follow-up this morning. I’ve lost 5kg in the last 3 months. This is good news. My BMI is no longer in the “obese” range but more in the “overweight” range. This is good news. My visceral fat levels have gone down again. This is good news. The meh news is that I’ve lost a bit of the muscle mass I’d put on at 6 months. This is probably due to the fact that I had the gall bladder op and I’ve borked my shoulder, so that means I did less resistance workouts. Hopefully I can turn that around.

Another bit of meh news is that I’m above the “expected average” line of my predicted weight loss. Ideally, I’d be at around 90kg but I’m more around 94kg. This one isn’t a big deal from the doctor’s perspective, it’s more a numbers thing for me. My rate of weight loss is mirroring the average curve, I’m just a bit above it. He’s happy that I’m still within the general range that is considered a positive outcome. He also points out that they measure overall success on a 4-axis basis:

– how you score the weight you’ve lost
– how you score the physical benefits/complications (i.e. post-surgery pain, dumpings, cramps, etc)
– how you score the mental benefits/complications (i.e. food frustration, cravings, etc)
– how you score the nutritional benefits/complications (i.e. the supplements you need to take, etc)

Each should get a score from 1 (worst) to 7 (best). I gave a score of 23 out of a possible 28, which is very good.

I can live with that :) I just need to get my shoulder fixed so I can restart doing more weights at the gym.

One thing I didn’t expect though was that the nurse who normally takes the blood samples for micro-nutrient analysis was out sick that day so I had to go to the main clinic. Instead of taking 5 minutes at the CMCO, it took an hour. That played havoc on my schedule because I had to get to the EPFL for a project review meeting with the NIHS LT.

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