Out & About #810 | Weekly Roundup Feat. Cycling to Port Credit + Coffee Castella

​As with the most stubborn of adrenaline junkies, I find myself constantly testing the physical limitations of time in order to achieve more. For workplace duties, I am often provided more tasks than physically capable (and reasonably reimbursed for), thus strive to automate processes in order to earn back some breathing space. The plan backfires again and again, for upper management cares not of the wellbeing of their junior employees, but the milestones attained at a corporate level. Greed and pride are the dark drivers of ambition, leading countless to exploit both living and inanimate resources to rise along the social and economic ladder.
​
There is little to be negotiated in the corporate environment, for endurance is a matter of survival of the fittest, supplemented by underhanded compliments to establish shallow working relationships. In what remains of my personal time, I make steadfast attempts to portion it out with the aim of achieving the most. The habit, while rational in its conception, is dangerous over extended periods of time. It involves pushing oneself to the brink of death, and quite possibly into a somber territory of lifelessness before retreating a few steps, then doing it all over again. Burnout lies at the end of this all-too-familiar path to exhaustion. Yet, despite knowing the consequences, I unconsciously default to it anyway. And now, my calendar is filled till mid-summer.

​Having earned a throbbing headache and burning eyeballs at the end of each work day, I began to push away those seeking sympathy. It was never my strong suit to start, but a further reduction in sanity hours only worsened my reactions.
Schedule regulation was an act I had kept at the back of my mind, occasionally dabbling in it as needed. My routine had stayed relatively consistent over the past few years, especially given the dreadful, health-wrecking work-from-home situation, but the introduction of new priorities (needs?) demand a change. Frequently do I preach the importance of taking matters into one's own hands to yield the preferred result; I shall not be the hypocrite this time, nor any other time.

The week starts with unofficial meetings: Teams call after Teams call to address various issues. A mid-day boost is crafted from Paragon's Oolong tea powder and a few drops of ube extract mixed with sweetened condensed milk. The result was a two-toned Oolong Ube Latte with stronger notes of smokiness than sweet purple yam.

​Meals of the week comprise of takeout from Magic BBQ, Pork with Onions in Tomato Sauce over Rice, Baked Salmon and Choy Sum, and mini frozen pizzas for convenience.

​Constructed in the latter half of the week was a Coffee Castella with Chantilly Cream.

​Desires for a fluffy cake matched with airy whipped cream sent me in the direction of Sunday Baking's Taiwanese Castella recipe. Its texture was advertised similar to sponge, though the procedure was more forgiving. The low-and-slow baking process entailed minimal effort from my part and, furthermore, enabled dashes to the computer and unexpected requests. Swapping oil for melted butter and incorporating several tablespoons of Nescafe Gold into the batter at the egg yolk stage, the cake resulted a little denser than I would have liked. Nonetheless, it was delicious. Although a bit firm at first touch, the texture had not been comprised: air pockets were largely uniform in size and the cake emitted a light bounce when subject to pressure.

​Spread across the top was a Chantilly Cream - heavy cream whipped to stiff peaks, enhanced by vanilla extract, vanilla bean paste, and a few specs of Himalayan pink salt, and stabilized by gelatin. The cream was far too soft to pipe immediately after compilation, thus was placed in the freezer for a few minutes to stiffen. Alas, due to other commitments, I could not wait until the cream had hardened completely. The speckled formula was poured atop the cake and smoothed to the edges, allowing for soft, scalloped edges. Consumed fresh, the pairing was aromatic yet substantial, with the Chantilly Cream bearing an "ice cream-like profile".

I had feared rigidity after refrigeration, but thankfully witnessed none. Excess chantilly cream had hardened to a smooth, mousse-like profile, while the castella was still decently soft.

​Having executed this recipe with melted butter (scrumptious), melted butter and black sesame paste (positively flavourful), and peanut butter (too damp), it can be deduced that finding balance in the egg-fat-milk ratio is the key to successful substitutions/add-ins. The flour content is incredibly minimal to start, thus affects the composition to a lesser degree, unless more liquid is added.

By the time Friday afternoon had rolled into perspective, I silently expressed amazement at my survival. For a brief moment, I gazed at the world beyond my window. The skies were blue, the weather warm, and the sun shining away. Resisting the urge to plop onto my bed for some much-needed TLC, I opted to instead escape the seemingly endless hell to a world beyond the screen: the great outdoors - The Real World.

​Temperatures were mild enough to warrant a trip for ice cream, so I hesitated not to embark on the lengthy journey to Scoops.
My path would adopt a small portion of shaded trails, then switch to on-street bike lanes for speed. In hindsight, I ought to have adjusted my seat height for road biking; my thighs were strained tremendously.

​Mississauga Road is an interesting choice for cyclists. Some sections offer dedicated bike lanes, while others merely support vehicular traffic, one way in each direction. The width of the corridor is likely too narrow to comply with bike lane standards, though their sudden disappearance (and reappearance) is odd nevertheless.

The uphill portion was steep, dusty, and generally unpleasant due to private construction and loose aggregate deposits in the dedicated lane. These rocks would be gripped and tossed upwards into the air with every rotation of the tires, sometimes in the direction of my face.
​An abrupt lane closure for the QEW/Credit River Improvement Project was another noteworthy surprise, for it forced cyclists from a dedicated pathway into live traffic. This experience was far from enjoyable amidst rush hour volumes.

​Eventually, I arrived in Port Credit. The neighbourhood offered wide sidewalks and boasted heavy pedestrian foot traffic. Clouds of mosquitoes gathered, prompting swift navigation to avoid barrage by the bloodsucking mini monsters

A shockingly quiet scene was witnessed at Scoops. There was no wait, nor any customers in the dessert parlour for that matter. An Espresso Caramel Latte (with pecan bits!) in a Red Velvet Waffle Cone was acquired and demolished within a matter of minutes.

The return trip estimated forty-eight minutes. I opted to avoid Mississauga Road west of the QEW ramp, peacefully traversing along North Sheridan Way until reading Sheridan Centre.

A multi-use path offered delineation from traffic along Erin Mills Parkway. As I sped across the crosswalk, I peered over to the right turn lane, checking for incoming traffic. In my haste, I hadn't looked in the direction of travel. The route was curved about a pedestrian crossing sign, and by the time I came to realize the placement of the tactile plate, I had arrived too close to the aluminum pole. Swerving quickly, I managed to avoid head-on collision, though suffered a hard hit to the shoulder and unseemly scrape to the shin as it met the concrete platform. I bruised horribly the next day, with the subsequent days revealing a noticeable blue-black imprint.

​I braved through Treetop Trekking with the injury, earning one more red-blue streak from cable burn. After a fitful Saturday night, I awoke sleep deprived, exhausted, and sore. Within 90 minutes though, I was slated to start the commute for pilates class.

Distinctly greyer and chillier than the previous day, I incorporated a winter scarf into my ensemble.

​We commenced with a Bosu warm-up series of marches (20x on each side) and running (20x on each side). The routine was augmented with single leg lifts, in which one foot would be placed on the Bosu ball and the other knee bent to a tabletop position. Simultaneously, the arms would shift from a V-position about the ears to being outstretched perpendicular to the body at shoulder height. The format would be similar to a hundreds crunch with one leg in tabletop position, except standing with one foot on the Bosu for stability control. Rotating the body, we would perform oblique twists with the arms in "genie" position and side crunches with the hands gently placed by the ears. Flipping over the Bosu, we stood atop and shifted weight from one foot to another, as if steering on skis. Squats would ensue, with the instructor encouraging a greater range of motion on my part - "You can go lower".

A foam roller was placed between the shoulder rests on the Carriage. Two red springs and one blue spring were hung onto the Reformer to keep the Carriage in a fixed position. We laid on top of the foam roller, with the pelvis assumed an imprint position and arms were placed in a "W-shape". Chest and pectoral muscles stretches were executed, combatting the extreme contraction of the upper back muscles from the previous day (and leading to much grief). With toning balls in one hand, we would raise the opposite leg to tabletop position and extend both limbs outward at a 45-degree angle for a foam roller-assisted Dead Bug. The other arm-leg pair would rest on the Carriage in the meantime, before completing the same routine. Finishing off the segment was a double leg extension. With both hands gently hovering about the toning balls instead of pressing into the Carriage, I began trembling tremendously. In spite of repetitive practice with my own foam roller and stability cushion, I was barely able to keep the legs extended with the hands away from the mat.

We shifted the foam roller off the Carriage, on top of tension cables. The edge of hands were placed on the foam roller such that thumbs would be directed towards the ceiling. In a kneeling position with an imprint pelvis, we would slide the hands forward to find a child's pose, hold it for a few seconds, then roll up without shifting the hips back. This core/upper back stretch was performed several times before moving onto upper body exercises.

​Maintaining the kneeling position with an imprint pelvis, the hands would find their way onto the tension straps. With palms flat and facing the wall before us, a W-shape would be formed with the elbows angled closer to body than the hands. We would then extend the arms outward before returning to the starting position once more. The final count would be held for 5 seconds before releasing.

Crossing the tension straps and gripping them with bent elbows, we would pull the straps towards the hips, then extend back for tricep engagement. Similarly, the final count would be held for 5 seconds before releasing.

Our grand finale consisted of side planks. The Reformer Box would be placed in the Short Box position above the gear bar. The bottom arm would rest on the Box with the hand touching its edge and elbow aligned with shoulder. The soles of the feet were arranged against the shoulder rest. Three variations of the side plank were executed:

1. Extending the legs to push out the Carriage, upper hand placed on hip; hold for 5 seconds
2. Extending the legs to push out the Carriage, upper hand raised towards the ceiling; hold for 5 seconds
3. Extending the legs to push out the Carraige, upper hand raised towards the ceiling, and folding towards the Box for seven counts; hold final count for 5 seconds with upper arm raised.

​Acting as both a stretch and a lower body-targeting exercise, we were guided through a series of lunges on the Carriage. The footbar was placed in the second lowest position. With one foot placed on the platform extender underneath the Reformer frame, front of calf in contact with the gear bar, and the other foot resting on the Carriage, we were told to bend and extend the standing leg while keeping the hips square. Using only the hip to execute this movement isolated the glute and thigh muscles of the standing leg; the glute of the resting leg was still to be engaged to resist rotation of the pelvis. Hands were placed gently on the footbar for several reps before switching to a genie pose to challenge balance and core control.

A rolldown and forward/backward shoulder rolls were conducted at the conclusion of class.

​Having not seen the sleepy polar bear all week, I contemplated the inclusion of a detour into the day's schedule. En route was Lazio Bakery, the source of the fabulous plain cannoli and forgettable eclair.

​I took to six cannolis: two plain, two chocolate, and two edged with hazelnuts. The selection would be portioned into two boxes - grudgingly, if I may add - for sharing. The lady behind the counter had been unapologetically impatient, cutting me off before I finished my inquiry of price. My request for the "peanut" cannoli had been met with the grouchy correction of "hazelnut". Hazelnut it may have been, though she hadn't hesitated to commit the same error when asking for my choices to be thrice repeated.
I shall admit my indecisiveness to be frustrating, though her attitude didn't offer much help in narrowing down the vast assortment either.

​My preference lies with the original cannoli, which is enjoyed best alongside coffee - iced or hot. The chocolate version was quite decent, but more reminiscent of adolescent-adored chocolate milk than sophisticated, velvety chocolate mousse. Remarks were heard across the table within my own household of the filling being "too sweet" and "lacking in body".  The hazelnut were neither nutty in fragrance nor contributed much of a texture or flavour enhancement. The shells were crisp and crunchy, just as before, emitting none of the greasy fumes that I gravely dislike.