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Glenn Reyes
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2019: Year in Review

2019 was full of exciting things. Since I haven't done a review like this before nor have I written any blog posts (duh!), I wanted to take the opportunity and sum up the most important things I have done this year.

Traveling

Traveling

I visited 8 different countries:

  • 馃嚭馃嚫 USA
  • 馃嚥馃嚱 Mexico
  • 馃嚨馃嚟 Philippines
  • 馃嚜馃嚫 Spain
  • 馃嚛馃嚜 Germany
  • 馃嚨馃嚤 Poland
  • 馃嚟馃嚪 Croatia
  • 馃嚭馃嚘 Ukraine
Sunset in Philippines

Where as the ones overseas were mostly for leisure and the closer ones for business. Vacation was mostly spent for quality time reasons with the family and relatives. Besides, I got to do some fun things like...

Courtside NBA

... Watching an (my first!) NBA game from a court side seat in OKC or...

Diving in Bohol, Philippines

... Getting a PADI Open Water Scuba Diving license.

Warsaw metropole

During my travels to Spain, Germany, Poland, Croatia and Ukraine I attended to dozens of developer conferences to share my experiences about React & GraphQL.

Giving workshops about GraphQL

This year I started something that I always wanted to do: Teaching. I gave workshops to help people working with GraphQL. Back in April, React Finland gave me the opportunity to host my first workshop. From there I was able to continue giving workshops at other events and places. Here's the full list:

Workshop in Alicante, Spain

Giving workshops is something which I'm totally passionate about which I'm definitely looking forward to continuing in the upcoming years. So keep updated and check out my workshops.

Public speaking

Speaking at JSFest Autumn

This year I was able to share my thoughts and experiences at 11 conferences and events. I met super nice people and friends along the way. I'm super grateful for all event organizers for giving me the opportunity. I'm looking forward for further collabs in the future.

Speaking at WebCamp Zagreb

Focusing health

In December 2018, I was diagnosed with a lipid disorder so I decided to take serious actions in 2019.

Basically, I was recommended to doing this:

  • Eat skinless poultry with no visible fat
  • Eat lean meats, in moderate portions
  • Eat low-fat or fat-free dairy products
  • Consume polyunsaturated fats and mono-unsaturated fat instead of saturated fats and trans fats
  • Exercise for at least 30 minutes per day, 4 days per week
  • Avoid fast food, junk food, and processed meats
  • Eating grilled and roasted foods instead of fried foods
  • Drink less alcohol (triglyceride)

tl;dr I had to lose some body weight and stay in shape.

Pescatarian diet

I decided to switch to a pescatarian diet which allowed me to eat healthier while consuming valuable Omega-3 fatty acids to lower my triglycerides and LDL levels.

Shaka bowls in Bohol, Philippines

Pescatarian is fairly easy to follow and I got used to it in just a few months. Cutting meat was for sure not an easy task but overall, I feel noticably better having them replaced by vegetables and fruits.

In the future I will definitely continue pescatarian and focus more towards plantbased products.

Sports

I started to dedicate around 3-4 hours per week in actively doing sports. In the first months it was mostly running and strength workouts. Now, I'm trying to go regularly for a swim, ride and run at least once each per week.

Cycling in Vienna

I track all my activities on Strava, feel free to follow along.

Losing body weight

I dropped 14kg body weight in one year. Ideally, I lose another 6kg and keep at ideal BMI range. It's worth mentioning that I care about healthy nutrition and activities more than losing weight. But it's nice to have it as another metric for measuring purposes.

What to expect in 2020

In the upcoming year I will help two companies build products in React and React Native.

Teaching and speaking

As of today, I have only confirmed to speak at AgentConf 2020 in January. In 2020, I will be reducing submitting talks to conference so I can focus more on actual work and things I'm also passionate about.

Speaking at JSFest Autumn

I will be continuing giving workshops and do company trainings about GraphQL & React. So if you're a conference/community/event organizer or intested in an on-site company training, feel free to reach out and check out my workshops.

Creating music

I used to do music and play guitar often during the years when I was studying and have completely neglected it since I started to work. I want to change that. I will dedicate some time in creating music and relearning the basics.

Health

As in 2019, I will try to stay pescatarian but focus more on consuming plantbased products. I will also do my best to keep exercising regularly.