I remember pottery class in High School. It wasn't fun.
Saturday 25 April 2020
Tuesday 21 April 2020
Yoga Teacher's Training
Signed up for my Yoga Teacher's Training back in January; 200 hours of yoga training. At the time, I had decided to start the course in April, as it was scheduled to be immediately after my Singapore, Sydney and US trips in April. Since then, those three trips have been canceled and it's the first time I've had no trips lined up. I do remember saying I wanted to spend more time in Hong Kong, so I definitely got that request. So here we are, end of April and the course is going ahead, all online, all on zoom.
I'm slightly concerned because since this whole pandemic broke out and yoga studios closed their doors back in March, I've done one yoga class online, there really isn't the same level of interest in yoga at home. Some suspect this has to do with the dearth of Lululemon clad women in my apartment compared to the yoga studios (by dearth, I mean none).
In any case, let's see how this all goes. To my surprised the class is very full, with over 30 plus students still enrolled for the virtual certification.
Makeshift yoga studio - Fingers crossed this isn't for the entire 200 hour journey.
Breakdown of course 200 hours at $25,000 HKD (~3,200 USD)
I'm slightly concerned because since this whole pandemic broke out and yoga studios closed their doors back in March, I've done one yoga class online, there really isn't the same level of interest in yoga at home. Some suspect this has to do with the dearth of Lululemon clad women in my apartment compared to the yoga studios (by dearth, I mean none).
In any case, let's see how this all goes. To my surprised the class is very full, with over 30 plus students still enrolled for the virtual certification.
Makeshift yoga studio - Fingers crossed this isn't for the entire 200 hour journey.
Breakdown of course 200 hours at $25,000 HKD (~3,200 USD)
- 25 classes x 3hr Theory/Practical = 75 hours
- 40 classes x 1hr Yoga Studio Practice = 40 hours
- 30 classes x 2hr Andiappan Yoga Practice = 60 hours
- Assignment/Self Study = 20 hours
- YTT Group practice class = 5 hours
Saturday 18 April 2020
Adventure day
Short drive down to the south side of the island. Picnic out at the beach. Nice to get away from the city. Plenty of laughs.
Sunday 12 April 2020
Hitting the pavement
Gyms and fitness studios have been instructed by the Hong Kong government to remain closed for another 2 weeks. For some reason, I cannot for the life of me get into online fitness or yoga sessions. It's similar to being in a hotel gym, I just can replicate the same intensity or motivation. I suspect it has something to do with familiarity but also the subtle motivation of having other people.
With that being said, I have purchased a yoga mat, a skipping rope and some resistance bands. This has eventuated to 15-20 minute "workouts" at home. When I say workouts, the term is loose, i break a sweat, but my heart rate isn't racing, but it still feels good to get the blood moving. My primary form of exercise has shifted to running. I no longer have the luxury of Bowen Road, however I've found an equally amazing running route near to home. 10 minutes away down by the harbour is Sun Yat Sen (SYS) Memorial park. On weekends, you can find plenty of people working out and casually lounging (well, at least before what happened).
Lately this park has become a surrogate fitness studio. I challenge you to go there during the week where there's not somebody running, boxing, using a TRX, doing yoga, HIIT. It's pretty cool and thankfully it's not summer in Hong Kong, yet.
So back to running, I have been running two to three times a week down by the harbour front along Victoria Harbour. My route, takes me from SYS along the harbour, through to Sheung Wan, up to Central along the CBD and the ferry piers, around past Admiralty over to the Golden Bauhinia. As far as runs go, it's a pretty epic 7 km roundtrip. Sometimes if I'm feeling ballsy I'll keep the run going past SYS and continue west towards Kennedy town and that tops the run up at approximately 10 km. The great thing about this run is that you get to see the entire harbour and all of the iconic buildings of Hong Kong. I sometimes have to pinch myself that the two regular running tracks that I have had are Bowen Road and the harbour front.
I am enjoying running, I do see my pace improving, not drastically, but enough to give me motivation. I do notice the difference between running when there's a headwind, or when I'm running in a fasted state. Admittedly I have become a little obsessed as I'll run now even if it's raining.
I don't usually run with my phone so haven't had the opportunity to take a photo, but I'll try to get something up soon.
With that being said, I have purchased a yoga mat, a skipping rope and some resistance bands. This has eventuated to 15-20 minute "workouts" at home. When I say workouts, the term is loose, i break a sweat, but my heart rate isn't racing, but it still feels good to get the blood moving. My primary form of exercise has shifted to running. I no longer have the luxury of Bowen Road, however I've found an equally amazing running route near to home. 10 minutes away down by the harbour is Sun Yat Sen (SYS) Memorial park. On weekends, you can find plenty of people working out and casually lounging (well, at least before what happened).
Lately this park has become a surrogate fitness studio. I challenge you to go there during the week where there's not somebody running, boxing, using a TRX, doing yoga, HIIT. It's pretty cool and thankfully it's not summer in Hong Kong, yet.
So back to running, I have been running two to three times a week down by the harbour front along Victoria Harbour. My route, takes me from SYS along the harbour, through to Sheung Wan, up to Central along the CBD and the ferry piers, around past Admiralty over to the Golden Bauhinia. As far as runs go, it's a pretty epic 7 km roundtrip. Sometimes if I'm feeling ballsy I'll keep the run going past SYS and continue west towards Kennedy town and that tops the run up at approximately 10 km. The great thing about this run is that you get to see the entire harbour and all of the iconic buildings of Hong Kong. I sometimes have to pinch myself that the two regular running tracks that I have had are Bowen Road and the harbour front.
I am enjoying running, I do see my pace improving, not drastically, but enough to give me motivation. I do notice the difference between running when there's a headwind, or when I'm running in a fasted state. Admittedly I have become a little obsessed as I'll run now even if it's raining.
I don't usually run with my phone so haven't had the opportunity to take a photo, but I'll try to get something up soon.
Sunday 5 April 2020
Working From Home
Working from home, or WFH, is my hot pick for acronym of the year (although, technically Covid19 is also an acronym, and well that basically owns that title). Work has split us into two teams, Team A and well no surprises with the second team name, Team B. What does this mean? Well, Team A members are forbidden from fraternising with Team B members. So work has arranged a rotation schedule where one team can be in the office while the other team has to work from home, or remotely.
I will say, there are benefits to working from home. My productivity on tasks is a lot more focused, probably attributable to the fact that people aren't stopping by the desk asking questions or having a general chat. The other thing is, meetings are a lot more structured and planned so the days ultimately revolve around meetings, I can segment my day in to things that need to be finished; although I should be doing this anyway. I still spend time going to the kitchen and the bathroom but given the size of my apartment these necessities barely dent the time away from the desk.
My day is usually as follows: Wake up at 7 am (same time if I needed to get to work by 8 am), Boil Water, brush teeth, meditate for 10 minutes, drink warm water with apple cider vinegar, listening to the news. However, here's where things deviate, instead of changing clothes, doing hair, packing bag and running to the bus stop. I do thirty minute of breathing exercises and light stretching, (sometimes) I will change out of my PJs. At around 7:50 am I'll log into computer. I'll scan emails, and make a breakfast smoothie before dialling in for the 8:30 am morning call.
I make an effort to get out of the apartment, either going downstairs to pick up some groceries, grab some Vitamin D (if weather permits), after work I'll either go for a run, or wander around the neighbourhood just to mark up my step count for the day. I have been enjoying cooking lunch and breakfast and these chores provide a good break from the continuity of being apartment bound for the entire day.
My setup for work isn't perfect - But, that being said, I am fortunate enough to have space and a dining table where I can setup a half decent work station. I have an extra monitor and do miss the extra real estate but humans adapt and it's become very manageable. In hindsight, moving apartments was a a genius stroke because I couldn't imagine working from home at my old apartment. I'm also aware that not every person in Hong Kong has the luxury to work from home so my setup is definitely more on the desirable side than the non-desirable.
In other news, I finally have a sofa. However, I still haven't signed up for Netflix. I have switched from Spotify to YouTube Music, though. Currently watching a YouTube video about how to prepare Korean instant noodles.
I will say, there are benefits to working from home. My productivity on tasks is a lot more focused, probably attributable to the fact that people aren't stopping by the desk asking questions or having a general chat. The other thing is, meetings are a lot more structured and planned so the days ultimately revolve around meetings, I can segment my day in to things that need to be finished; although I should be doing this anyway. I still spend time going to the kitchen and the bathroom but given the size of my apartment these necessities barely dent the time away from the desk.
My day is usually as follows: Wake up at 7 am (same time if I needed to get to work by 8 am), Boil Water, brush teeth, meditate for 10 minutes, drink warm water with apple cider vinegar, listening to the news. However, here's where things deviate, instead of changing clothes, doing hair, packing bag and running to the bus stop. I do thirty minute of breathing exercises and light stretching, (sometimes) I will change out of my PJs. At around 7:50 am I'll log into computer. I'll scan emails, and make a breakfast smoothie before dialling in for the 8:30 am morning call.
I make an effort to get out of the apartment, either going downstairs to pick up some groceries, grab some Vitamin D (if weather permits), after work I'll either go for a run, or wander around the neighbourhood just to mark up my step count for the day. I have been enjoying cooking lunch and breakfast and these chores provide a good break from the continuity of being apartment bound for the entire day.
My setup for work isn't perfect - But, that being said, I am fortunate enough to have space and a dining table where I can setup a half decent work station. I have an extra monitor and do miss the extra real estate but humans adapt and it's become very manageable. In hindsight, moving apartments was a a genius stroke because I couldn't imagine working from home at my old apartment. I'm also aware that not every person in Hong Kong has the luxury to work from home so my setup is definitely more on the desirable side than the non-desirable.
In other news, I finally have a sofa. However, I still haven't signed up for Netflix. I have switched from Spotify to YouTube Music, though. Currently watching a YouTube video about how to prepare Korean instant noodles.
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