Stand-up desk

Finally, I have a stand-up desk!  There has been a lot of buzz about this again.  I've actually felt strongly about this idea for a while. Like many people, this idea really rattled home for me over 5 years ago with discovering Donald Rumsfeld uses one. And say what you want about his politics - MAN HAS GRIT - and I respect that.

Recently, Dana (who I should also thank for the above links) decided she was going to make it happen, and above is the result.  (I've since moved it closer to the body edge, but height is perfect.)

First week reaction:
+ I love it.
+ I find myself moving much more.  I've always needed to move - I move my legs when I sit. I toss a baseball around (sometimes a cabbage patch doll head) when I lecture or converse. I spin pens in conference meetings. I pace when I'm on my phone.  I move to think. Yes, this is a partial reason (but small role) for my failure to succeed academically pre-failing 10th grade. Classrooms and school schedules don't allow for continuous movement, just bursts. (Which is silly because we aren't pack animals - we're herd animals)
+ I'm fortunate to have a job that allows for lots of movement: classroom lecturing/playing. However, like many, I still spend lots of time on the computer. This week, there were times when I was working on the computer and wanted to sit down and rest a bit.  So what do I do?? ... I sat down and rested.  Took 5-15 minutes to chill. Today's phones allow for more than sufficient connection to the workspace. Or I read, or thought about things, or had a snack. And then got back up to work.  This meant that sitting was for resting and not the default position.
+ I'm more present in conversations.  I recently moved the desk against a wall, so that there stopped being a screen between me and my office visitor (this is as bad as a Cubs game playing on TV behind a date).  But now I don't even have the option of sitting to chat with someone and being within arms reach of the computer. Be Present. Be Present. Be Present. My mantra moving into year 37...

BTW, I'm turning 36 - but that is all bullshit - you get that badge AFTER you've earned your 36 years - which is freaking me out a bit, because I just thought about that - so I quickly went from presently being 35 to heading into my 37th year next week over the course of a few seconds.  I think I just lost 36.

UPDATE:
Mary just noted that the NYT piece mentions research from Pennington Biomedical Research Center, where I worked while in undergrad. Somehow I kept reading over that - PBRC references tend to pass right by my consciousness. I've been meaning to write a post about all the stuff I learned at PBRC - so glad I worked there rather than interning at an ad agency or something like that.