Posterous theme by Cory Watilo

Filed under: exercise

Changfeng Park, TEFL certification, and hiking

Yesterday was the warmest day in Shanghai yet, 27C! Still a lot of smog, but nice. I walked around Changfeng Park with my friend honghong who lives nearby. I was going to jog around the park, but there were so many people! Will have to go on a weekday, not a Sunday morning.
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The last few days I've been studying and taking English teaching tests. Learning grammar rules feels like middle school again. Soon I'll have the TEFL certification, which allows me to teach.
This weekend I'm planning to go on a hike in the mountains near Wenzhou, China with a group of friends. Maybe I can put my tent to use for the first time? Should be fun and I'm happy to get out of the city.

 

Stand Up While You Read This! - NYTimes.com

Well, it's been about four months since I switched to a standing desk, and I must say, I'm really loving it! Of course, that wasn't the case for the first two months. My back hurt, my legs were constantly sore, and my feet hurt until I started wearing slippers or shoes without arch support, sometimes described as arch immobilizers (but that's a different story).

I no longer have terrible pain in my right leg from what might have been the beginnings of thrombosis, and I feel good at the end of the day when I do get to sit for a little while to watch TV or read, though even then, I still prefer a rocking chair.

Finally climbing into bed to sleep after a day spent moving about, I don't feel restless and typically fall asleep easily. It's become a nice daily pattern for me and I know I'm at much lower risk for the health conditions described in the following Times commentary.

It doesn’t matter if you go running every morning, or you’re a regular at the gym. If you spend most of the rest of the day sitting — in your car, your office chair, on your sofa at home — you are putting yourself at increased risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, a variety of cancers and an early death. In other words, irrespective of whether you exercise vigorously, sitting for long periods is bad for you.
via opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com
Further reading:

More scenic walking Lucy pics

Until something interesting tech related happens, here are some more scenic pictures from my daily walks with Lucy (dog). She's been a motivating partner, because she waits patiently for me to take her on a walk each day and I don't want to dissapoint her! :)

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Keegoid's ghetto standing desk

I've been sitting in front of my computer for too many years, and have started noticing negative health effects. So now it's time for a change! I went to the Salvation Army and picked up another two drawer filing cabnet for $7.50 on their half off sale.

Being 6'5" means I was able to just set my entire desk right on top of the filing cabinets to achieve the perfect standing height! Plus now I have tons of drawers. Sweet! A couple phone books under the monitors and I'm ready to rock this standing desk thing. I'll probably have sore feet for a while, but I do have a tall stool if I need it. Wish me luck!

Perfect Oregon-loving Weather

A typical rainy and gloomy day, then suddenly the Sun bursts through the clouds and rain creating a double rainbow with beautiful streaks of light and shadows through the sky and on the ground. Unfortunately, my camera didn't capture all that brilliance, but it was still awesome for about ten minutes during my walk.

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Am I walking Lucy, or is she walking me?

It was a nice day in the Portland area today! When the Sun comes out in Oregon, you've got to take advantage. I'm glad Lucy decided to walk me to the park. There were many more people out than on my rainy day walks. It was good to see little kids playing organized soccer instead of just empty fields for a change...more vibrant, more energy, more bustling, more alive.

http://goo.gl/maps/4VW2

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