Have I told you about the many times I pretend to be pregnant so I could get my way? Whether I’m on the bus or train or when I want dibs on a taxi, I always use my belly as an excuse by saying “Kuya, dalawa po kami.” My belly hagods have made life easier as I always get priority in cues for government IDs. This story has been told so many times and has resulted to friends literally falling off their seats while I tell them.

Aside from this story being a lie (I do not have baby in my tummy), it also made me too comfortable about how things are were. I have a huge belly and it has its benefits. When kids ask, i just say I ate too much (cant lie to kids about being pregnant), and when adults ask, I just go ahead and tell them about Arjan. This started as a code for going to the toilet and taking a number two (code within a code) I got it from a really good movie called Pamilya Ordinaryo which I could go on and on about but that’s for a different blog entry.

I recently went back to the gym which is what I do when Im really really really sad. It was my sad place. At the gym, I don’t talk to anyone. I go straight to the treadmill and become really sad about doing a number 3 speed because years ago number 5 was my cool down speed. On that particularly sad gym day, a smiley face approached me to ask if I was new. Then I asked for where the water is and we had a friendly chat. Surprisingly, this face is the face of their admin. (sorry admins, you usually look scary but this guy really wasn’t) He wanted to help me lose weight and because he is a nutritionist, he said we can work on it if I was willing (not trying to sell anything to me. He was really just nice). I told Chester I wanted to avail the personal trainer package because I really have no clue what to do in the gym aside from running walking on the treadmill. Looking at the wall of trainers I saw a familiar face, a schoolmate from La Salle. So it was a no brainer.

I delayed the first session for about two weeks and when we finally scheduled it, we did an assessment of what my body can already do. There was also the InBody machine which measures your body fat and muscle mass and a bunch of other complicated stuff I still don’t understand (we’ll get there) but what struck me the most is how much I need to lose. turns out Arjan is no longer a baby but a full grown adult!!! Yes friends, I need to lose an adult person to be healthy. Seems like an impossible push which is why I’m grateful that Im not pushing alone.

So this post is really about Arjan. How I have stories about him.It was good while it lasted but Arjan, you are not real. You’ve been over staying, and you need to go.