I've worked in South Korea since 2007. I took a six month break between my first contract and my second contract to go home and apply for a new visa. I've really enjoyed most of my time here. I've met many people from all over the world. I've learned so many things about myself by seeing myself and my culture through their eyes.
At the beginning of the year I had already decided that I wasn't going to stay at my current job.
The above is a partial draft started 5/25/2014. I am really bad at actually writing things in blogs. I only came back to my blog for an assignment in one of my library science classes.
Well, since 2014...I finished my teaching certification, moved back to the US, started working on an AA in Library Infromation Science, become married, and survived Hurricane Irma.
Monday, October 9, 2017
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
My how time does fly...and intentions are not seen through
It's now 2014. I haven't written anything since 2011. I'm not surprised in the least. Yet, I can't pinpoint why. I suppose it's because I've been busy...With what you ask? A million little things that added up to a desire to not write despite my desperate inner war to do so. A hundred tiny things every day that inspire words in my mind, screaming to be put to paper but never are for lack of...something...an indefinable something...
I suppose for the last two and half years it's been because of my job and the fact that I've allowed it to erode my personal life away into almost nothing. In addition to that, I've been working on my teaching certification. However, ultimately, it's simply that I didn't. I didn't take the time...make the time...bother to do so, etc. and so on. The reason why is most probably not relevant. The relevant part is that I am writing something now. Right this moment...tapping at keys and putting thoughts to digital space.
This time, I don't promise more, that way my three subscribers won't be disappointed if it takes another few years.
I suppose for the last two and half years it's been because of my job and the fact that I've allowed it to erode my personal life away into almost nothing. In addition to that, I've been working on my teaching certification. However, ultimately, it's simply that I didn't. I didn't take the time...make the time...bother to do so, etc. and so on. The reason why is most probably not relevant. The relevant part is that I am writing something now. Right this moment...tapping at keys and putting thoughts to digital space.
This time, I don't promise more, that way my three subscribers won't be disappointed if it takes another few years.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Exercise Baby Steps 2 BMR
BMR, no it's not a short way of writing beemer. It means basal metabolic rate. Your BMR is how many calories you need to keep your body plugging along. These calories keep the basics, like breathing, heartbeat and heart rate, going. Please remember that everyone's BMR is different.
I haven't checked mine in a while and have decided to do so tonight. I use the Harris-Benedict formula.
For Adult men the formula = 66+(6.3 x body weight in pounds) + (12.9 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)
For Adult women the formula = 655+(4.3 x body weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)
For example my formula would look like this:
655 + 670.37 + 285.525 - 145.7= 1465.195
I'll go ahead and round that to a BMR of 1465. That means that in order to maintain my status quo, I need to eat 1465 calories a day. However, I do physical activities so I need more calories than that or my body will be unhappy with me.
Now, you may be asking yourself why this is important. If you know how many calories you take in, how many calories you burn, and your BMR, you have an idea of how many pounds you could be gaining/losing.
3,500 calories=1 lb.
That means that if you A. cut back on 500 calories a day or B. burn 500 extra calories a day, you can lose a pound a week. DO NOT go crazy with this idea. Cutting back on too many calories can be detrimental to your health goals. Losing more than 1-2 pounds a week (after shedding water weight), isn't generally good for you either.
Don't make being thin your goal. You can be thin and not be healthy. Make being healthy, being strong and/or having strong, dense bones your goal. The size your body is capable of being is determined by genetics, not your dreams.
If you are short and stocky, don't expect to lose a ton of weight and suddenly look like a tall, thin fitness model. It isn't going to happen. Just like fashion models, fitness models don't even look like fitness models. Do some research so you know what realistic expectations should be.
I haven't checked mine in a while and have decided to do so tonight. I use the Harris-Benedict formula.
For Adult men the formula = 66+(6.3 x body weight in pounds) + (12.9 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)
For Adult women the formula = 655+(4.3 x body weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)
For example my formula would look like this:
655 + 670.37 + 285.525 - 145.7= 1465.195
I'll go ahead and round that to a BMR of 1465. That means that in order to maintain my status quo, I need to eat 1465 calories a day. However, I do physical activities so I need more calories than that or my body will be unhappy with me.
Now, you may be asking yourself why this is important. If you know how many calories you take in, how many calories you burn, and your BMR, you have an idea of how many pounds you could be gaining/losing.
3,500 calories=1 lb.
That means that if you A. cut back on 500 calories a day or B. burn 500 extra calories a day, you can lose a pound a week. DO NOT go crazy with this idea. Cutting back on too many calories can be detrimental to your health goals. Losing more than 1-2 pounds a week (after shedding water weight), isn't generally good for you either.
Don't make being thin your goal. You can be thin and not be healthy. Make being healthy, being strong and/or having strong, dense bones your goal. The size your body is capable of being is determined by genetics, not your dreams.
If you are short and stocky, don't expect to lose a ton of weight and suddenly look like a tall, thin fitness model. It isn't going to happen. Just like fashion models, fitness models don't even look like fitness models. Do some research so you know what realistic expectations should be.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Deskwarming: An Introduction
I am deskwarming today. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you've never worked as an English teacher in South Korea. Deskwarming basically means that you must be at work, even if no one else is there and/or you have no actual work to do. It's in my contract that I be at work Monday through Friday; unless it is a national holiday, a day off for staff, I'm using my contractual paid vacation days, or I'm using my paid sick leave, which is heavily discouraged.
Deskwarming can actually be fun. I use the time to do a wide variety of things, especially if I'm alone in my office. Here are a few.
Things to do when I'm not alone in the office
If I've found a new subject to fascinate me, I do tons of online research on the subject. Recently, I've been looking at ways to publish my writing online and for guidelines for new writing I might like to do.
I keep up on Facebook, doing what I call tabbing. Tabbing is when you go through a list of links, in this case all of my wall posts on FB, and open all of the links in other tabs, allowing for the pages/videos/etc. to load. Then, I go through the tabs, look at everything and then re-post to FB and/or Google+.
Learning something new is always fun and there are so may ways to do so online. Recently, I've been watching videos and doing the exercises for math online at Khan Academy. Math has never been my strong suit and I decided to stop making excuses for why that is and work on it. Khan Academy
Write out postcards. I belong to a site called Postcrossing, where you are given another Postcrosser's address and you send them a postcard. You also receive postcards. It's really cool and I've received postcards from all over the world. Some of them were even from expats studying or working outside of their own country, like me. Postcrossing
Things to do when I'm alone in the office
I also exercise. There's no one here to see me so I get up, stretch and throw in some body weight exercises, like elevated push-ups or high knees. Every little bit of exercise helps.
Turn on the air conditioning and set it to a temperature that is actually cold, as opposed to the same temperature, or HOTTER than the temperature, outside.
Deskwarming can actually be fun. I use the time to do a wide variety of things, especially if I'm alone in my office. Here are a few.
Things to do when I'm not alone in the office
If I've found a new subject to fascinate me, I do tons of online research on the subject. Recently, I've been looking at ways to publish my writing online and for guidelines for new writing I might like to do.
I keep up on Facebook, doing what I call tabbing. Tabbing is when you go through a list of links, in this case all of my wall posts on FB, and open all of the links in other tabs, allowing for the pages/videos/etc. to load. Then, I go through the tabs, look at everything and then re-post to FB and/or Google+.
Learning something new is always fun and there are so may ways to do so online. Recently, I've been watching videos and doing the exercises for math online at Khan Academy. Math has never been my strong suit and I decided to stop making excuses for why that is and work on it. Khan Academy
Write out postcards. I belong to a site called Postcrossing, where you are given another Postcrosser's address and you send them a postcard. You also receive postcards. It's really cool and I've received postcards from all over the world. Some of them were even from expats studying or working outside of their own country, like me. Postcrossing
Things to do when I'm alone in the office
I also exercise. There's no one here to see me so I get up, stretch and throw in some body weight exercises, like elevated push-ups or high knees. Every little bit of exercise helps.
Turn on the air conditioning and set it to a temperature that is actually cold, as opposed to the same temperature, or HOTTER than the temperature, outside.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Exercise Baby Steps 1
Exercise. Yes, I know...it's a dreaded word for many people. I'll be the first to admit that for many years I lived in terror of it. I went from being a relatively physically active child to a quasi-hermit bookworm. This change in behavior had a negative impact on my physical health.
I had problems breathing after just a short run, I couldn't lift heavy things and, as I became more more out of shape, I avoided all of the things that made me feel "bad". Hilariously, if I had done those things in baby steps, all of the bad health problems would have gone away.
When I was a freshman in high school, my PE teacher, Coach Cherry Robards, took me under her wing and helped me see how good exercise could make me feel and that I could be good at it. In four years, I went from weighing about 170lbs (77kg), wearing a size 14, to about 125lbs (56.6kg), wearing a size 8.
Over those years, I learned great things about my body's ability to do a wide variety of physical activities. It was wonderful and it helped me grow a lot as a person.
Fast forward a year after graduation...I weighed 95lbs (43kg) and looked like a concentration camp survivor. No, this wasn't because of exercise, although some people do exercise to this extreme. It was because I was severely depressed and had no appetite. I wasn't eating or exercising.
Luckily, I came out of it and started gaining weight. I looked healthy and I felt a lot better but, between a fear of being chopstick thin again, a lack of exercise and a medication I was taking, I eventually got back up to my original high school freshman weight. Only this time, my doctor was telling me that, due to the medication I was taking at the time, I could continue gaining weight until I died. I don't know about what you would do but, when my doctor basically said, "Exercise or die," I started exercising.
My skills were rusty and I had forgotten most of the things I had learned in Coach R's long ago classes and team practices. I basically started over from level 1. I did what I've always done best, I gathered information. I read magazine articles, I collected and watched videos, I asked my more exercise oriented friends for tips, etc.
I lost weight and gained some of it back, when I got lazy about my exercise habits and/or too processed food happy. Now, I know that weight is only a general indicator of health and that, while I need to exercise and eat well, it's more important to be able to do certain things than it is to be a certain weight/shape/size.
I've reached another of those starting over moments. This one is following a several month junk food/exercise laziness binge. There is no way I can do the level of exercise intensity or hours I was doing just 6-9 months ago. I was working out 15-20 hours a week and that doesn't include any of my normal walking to the store or hiking with friends time.
I'm starting out at level 1, again. I'm taking my first baby step of the get healthier process. I challenge you to take it with me.
I've challenged myself to do 15 minutes of cardio a day and 10 minutes of strength training 3 days a week. As this gets easier, I'll add more time and exercises until I'm at my goal result level. = )
If you can't do 15 minutes, do 5. It only matters that you start and continue, not that you do an arbitrary number or length of time. Eventually, you will work your way up. I know you can do it because I've been there.
If you take the baby step exercise challenge, please post and let me know how/what you are doing.
You can do it!!
I had problems breathing after just a short run, I couldn't lift heavy things and, as I became more more out of shape, I avoided all of the things that made me feel "bad". Hilariously, if I had done those things in baby steps, all of the bad health problems would have gone away.
When I was a freshman in high school, my PE teacher, Coach Cherry Robards, took me under her wing and helped me see how good exercise could make me feel and that I could be good at it. In four years, I went from weighing about 170lbs (77kg), wearing a size 14, to about 125lbs (56.6kg), wearing a size 8.
Over those years, I learned great things about my body's ability to do a wide variety of physical activities. It was wonderful and it helped me grow a lot as a person.
Fast forward a year after graduation...I weighed 95lbs (43kg) and looked like a concentration camp survivor. No, this wasn't because of exercise, although some people do exercise to this extreme. It was because I was severely depressed and had no appetite. I wasn't eating or exercising.
Luckily, I came out of it and started gaining weight. I looked healthy and I felt a lot better but, between a fear of being chopstick thin again, a lack of exercise and a medication I was taking, I eventually got back up to my original high school freshman weight. Only this time, my doctor was telling me that, due to the medication I was taking at the time, I could continue gaining weight until I died. I don't know about what you would do but, when my doctor basically said, "Exercise or die," I started exercising.
My skills were rusty and I had forgotten most of the things I had learned in Coach R's long ago classes and team practices. I basically started over from level 1. I did what I've always done best, I gathered information. I read magazine articles, I collected and watched videos, I asked my more exercise oriented friends for tips, etc.
I lost weight and gained some of it back, when I got lazy about my exercise habits and/or too processed food happy. Now, I know that weight is only a general indicator of health and that, while I need to exercise and eat well, it's more important to be able to do certain things than it is to be a certain weight/shape/size.
I've reached another of those starting over moments. This one is following a several month junk food/exercise laziness binge. There is no way I can do the level of exercise intensity or hours I was doing just 6-9 months ago. I was working out 15-20 hours a week and that doesn't include any of my normal walking to the store or hiking with friends time.
I'm starting out at level 1, again. I'm taking my first baby step of the get healthier process. I challenge you to take it with me.
I've challenged myself to do 15 minutes of cardio a day and 10 minutes of strength training 3 days a week. As this gets easier, I'll add more time and exercises until I'm at my goal result level. = )
If you can't do 15 minutes, do 5. It only matters that you start and continue, not that you do an arbitrary number or length of time. Eventually, you will work your way up. I know you can do it because I've been there.
If you take the baby step exercise challenge, please post and let me know how/what you are doing.
You can do it!!
Howdy
Some of you know me as Denise, some as D, and some as Deirdre. My mom has been working on several (4ish?) blogs recently. Yes, MY MOM!! She's epically awesome and win.
After reading her blogs for a while, I've decided to start writing...again...about anything that strikes my fancy, which all you know is pretty eclectic. Expect to see posts on a wide variety of topics and several posts at a time about the same thing. I'll probably be doing book reviews, writing about diet and exercise, about crocheting, (insert a bajillion other topics here) and, if the mood strikes, share some of my own fiction/poetry/creations.
Let the fun begin.
After reading her blogs for a while, I've decided to start writing...again...about anything that strikes my fancy, which all you know is pretty eclectic. Expect to see posts on a wide variety of topics and several posts at a time about the same thing. I'll probably be doing book reviews, writing about diet and exercise, about crocheting, (insert a bajillion other topics here) and, if the mood strikes, share some of my own fiction/poetry/creations.
Let the fun begin.
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