Insert Witty Title Here

I don't remember how long it's been since the last time I posted. It feels like it was long ago, yet every time I sit down to do this, I feel like there hasn't been that much that's happened to report. Well, I'll try.

I'm rather on top of things with school. I mean, it's still a lot of work, and I always seem to have something to grade or plan...the planning especially can get lengthy when I realize what I want to do and what I have to create to do it can lead to some very late, time-consuming nights at the school. I don't like to be at the school late; it's creepy when it's dark, I'm not gonna lie. The other night I heard someone humming in the dark stairwell...don't really want to relive that again, ha ha. Of course, part of my ingenious plan to be on top of things included not trying to squeeze everything I collected first quarter into first quarter report card grades...now, however, I'm discovering that in order to put those assignments on 2nd quarter, I'll have to change their due dates, because otherwise the system won't allow them to be added. Fabulous. The best laid plans of mice and men, right?

Soccer's been up and down. It goes from being my fun stress relief to a frustration and back again almost daily. Today was the faculty vs. varsity game; we lost 1-0. I didn't really care if we won or not, since the girls usually beat the teachers, and I knew it would be good if the girls could get up to play this game...however, I really wanted to put a ball in the back of the net and I missed about 10 shots trying to get one there. Blah. Major source of disappointment, as usual, comes from myself. The girls really enjoyed themselves and played well against the old fogey teachers...one of my players has nicknamed me "Long Legs," which does fit and almost has a Native American ring to it - cracks me up every time I hear it.

Add to this the ongoing saga with the book issue, and I really need this vacation coming up in about a week. We have a meeting tomorrow that I'm dreading. Looking forward to the Philippines and Japan, though:)

On the bright side, the unexpected happened yesterday. One of my seniors asked me to write her a letter of recommendation for her college, something I've never done before. As a first year teacher, I wasn't really expecting to be asked either. Of course, I agreed, and the more I thought about it, the more I thought that it wouldn't be that hard to recommend this girl. She's a hard worker and extremely persevering. She's really impressed me since last year when I was student teaching with the way she goes after understanding and overcomes all the obstacles that she's had. So, that was an honor.

Last Saturday, I got out and went to immigration with a few other girls to get my re-entry permit. Afterwards, Krista and I went to the Central mall, got some coffee, did some shopping, and just chilled. Even though it was earlier than I wanted to wake up, I realized later that the outing had relaxed me. I'd gotten away from school and did some small, fun things. I need to find time to do that more often...and not let my overactive creativity keep me locked in my classroom.

Anyway, Adam's supposed to graduate from basic a week from today. Please keep praying for him as he finishes and pray about the job he'll get. It'll be so nice to talk to him again. I've really missed him....never want to do 2 months like this again, that's for sure.

Stop the Madness!

Ok, well, obviously I've been busy since it's now October. Thought I would let you all know I'm still alive and my head's still above water, at least for now. But in the ongoing saga of work to be done, I'm going to keep this short and snappy.

1. Teaching is good. I really enjoy my students. The seniors are starting some Greek literature, and after last year, I finally have some background and experience there. They seem to be enjoying it. The sophomores are going to make Medieval newspapers. Woohoo!

2. Soccer is good-ish. I feel bad that the girls are mostly having a losing season, but they are playing some really hard schools with mostly European girls. Rather intimidating. The Varsity got their first win today, but it was in a tournament, so there were losses at the same time...which was sad. But I do enjoy playing with them. Turns out I will be going with them to the tournament in Phuket the first weekend in November. JV has a winning record, so that's nice. One of the girls got injured kind of badly again today, but she's fine now.

3. Today, Lissa and I took moto-taxis to meet up with Andrew's family to get to the tournament, and my moto ended up crossing behind a truck that was stuck in the mud. It spun its wheels and sent chunks of muddy rocks flying, one of which hit me in the foot and bruised it pretty good. It's sore. I guess I should be thankful that it hit me in the foot, though.

4. Other things at school are still hard.

5. For fall break, I'm going to spend a few days in Manila (the first place I ever went in Asia) and then go to Kyoto, Japan for the rest of the week with a couple friends from here. Very excited for a fun vacation away, especially to Japan, where I've never been before.

6. Adam is 3 weeks from the end of basic. Please keep praying for him, especially that he would get one of the jobs he's interested in. I think he's getting nervous about that, and so am I. He just finished gas chamber training and is moving on to something called the Beast. Anyway, I'm really looking forward to being able to talk to him again. I miss him a lot. As of this Monday, we will have been together officially for a year.

Okay, I think that should last a while. Happy October:) Man, I miss fall!