Hey Sarah!
Happy birthday; it was so nice to talk to you.
Ian
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
I ain't got time to bleed!
Man oh man, Jesse Ventura had it right. Whether you are fighting crazy cloaking aliens in a Columbian style jungle or you are woking your first teaching job, you just don't have time to think or do anything else. I have kept my head above water for the last week and a half as I try to teach, plan, adjust, make appointments, and maintain some kind of social life (the latter is important to overall sanity).
School is going well and I really can't say that I am not enjoying myself, but I am busy and I am tired. My class is small, but prepping for four completly different subjects, two of which I have never taught and have no training in, takes it's toll on my mental capabilities. My customary schedule has resumed from last year; I wake up at 6:30, leave for school at 7:30, teaching by 8:30, back home at around 5, nap from 6-8 (doctors say that these are the ony naps that actually hav any effect as they allow for a full rem cycle), eat at 8:30 and work from 9 until 2 a.m., and repeat. I know that this sounds kind of absurd but it is the only schedule that allows me to work productivly and maintain some kind of conscious state. Once a week, towards the middle, I try to get a normal nights sleep and then it is friday before I know it.
Friday nights and Saturdays are mine; I have made them so. The last couple of Friday nights I have taken to hanging out with Helena. She is the girl on the left in the last pictures of Thessaloniki from last spring. It has been super cool hanging out with someone other than teachers as then I don't feel like I have to talk shop (it helps that she is super cool, shares some of my interest, is cute, and is patient as I attempt to butcher her language). Last Friday we met a couple of our friends at a cafe and relaxed in the center for the evening. Yesterday we went and saw a movie, that most recent Adam Sandler movie, not my pick, and not great but good for a few laughs, then we went to a very nice restaurant. I usually get home late on fridays as the normal Greek night has ended early if you are home by 3. Saturdays I sleep in late, usually go into the center to have coffee with Roxanne, Demitri, or Helena and to do some window shopping and then it is home in the evening to get a good nights sleep and relax. I wake up around 9 on Sunday go for a walk and then get right to work and work until I finish, usually around 11 p.m. or 12; The next week starts again and I have just caught my breath to go back under.
This is life as I know it.
Updates to come: I am buying a new bike, my bathtub leaks, I have to get a tax number, and I have to go to the hospital this week. Stay tuned for the next installment.
peace love and happiness
ian
School is going well and I really can't say that I am not enjoying myself, but I am busy and I am tired. My class is small, but prepping for four completly different subjects, two of which I have never taught and have no training in, takes it's toll on my mental capabilities. My customary schedule has resumed from last year; I wake up at 6:30, leave for school at 7:30, teaching by 8:30, back home at around 5, nap from 6-8 (doctors say that these are the ony naps that actually hav any effect as they allow for a full rem cycle), eat at 8:30 and work from 9 until 2 a.m., and repeat. I know that this sounds kind of absurd but it is the only schedule that allows me to work productivly and maintain some kind of conscious state. Once a week, towards the middle, I try to get a normal nights sleep and then it is friday before I know it.
Friday nights and Saturdays are mine; I have made them so. The last couple of Friday nights I have taken to hanging out with Helena. She is the girl on the left in the last pictures of Thessaloniki from last spring. It has been super cool hanging out with someone other than teachers as then I don't feel like I have to talk shop (it helps that she is super cool, shares some of my interest, is cute, and is patient as I attempt to butcher her language). Last Friday we met a couple of our friends at a cafe and relaxed in the center for the evening. Yesterday we went and saw a movie, that most recent Adam Sandler movie, not my pick, and not great but good for a few laughs, then we went to a very nice restaurant. I usually get home late on fridays as the normal Greek night has ended early if you are home by 3. Saturdays I sleep in late, usually go into the center to have coffee with Roxanne, Demitri, or Helena and to do some window shopping and then it is home in the evening to get a good nights sleep and relax. I wake up around 9 on Sunday go for a walk and then get right to work and work until I finish, usually around 11 p.m. or 12; The next week starts again and I have just caught my breath to go back under.
This is life as I know it.
Updates to come: I am buying a new bike, my bathtub leaks, I have to get a tax number, and I have to go to the hospital this week. Stay tuned for the next installment.
peace love and happiness
ian
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Happy B-Day Keith
Yamas!
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sunshine warm upon your face,
and may you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows you're dead.
Someone once gave me such a blessing and now I carry it with me wherever I go on a note card and, so far, it has worked.
Happy B-Day Bro
Peace, love, and happiness
Ian
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sunshine warm upon your face,
and may you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows you're dead.
Someone once gave me such a blessing and now I carry it with me wherever I go on a note card and, so far, it has worked.
Happy B-Day Bro
Peace, love, and happiness
Ian
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Friday, September 5, 2008
Thoughts of a Traveler
8:00 a.m. 9.4.08
Well, it is officially four hours till I need to be at the airport. I cannot tell you that I am not nervous, and I think I am a bit more sad this time; in fact I don't think that I was sad at all last January when I left home. Perhaps I am sadder because my parents are sadder; that changes things. I will say though that I am very excited and look forward to seeing everyone who I left in Greece.
5:00 p.m. 9.4.08
Sitting in Dulles International Airport. It is kind of like being home. I have not flown as much as some people, but I have the process down to a science. Shoes, belt, sunglasses, wallet, watch, iPod in tub one; computer in tub two; rucksack (that is what they call backpacks in Europe; I like it) next; boarding pass and passport in hand. Be pleasant. Don’t pack anything you are not supposed to. Look inspectors in the eyes. Repack quickly and neatly. Get to your gate then go to the bathroom. Board the plane quietly. Help other passengers when possible (good juju for rest of flight). Don’t lean the seat back; deal with the discomfort (especially on smaller planes, anything below a 747). Be ready to disembark before the plane lands, but do not rush. Stay seated until your turn comes. Let someone into the isle who is stuck behind the constant stream of passengers (good juju for the next flight). Read and follow the signs in the new airport and realize that most airports work the same way. Stay calm at customs. Repeat at next stop.
9:10 a.m. 9.5.08
Sitting in Munich’s Franz Josef Strauss International Airport. The flights have been non eventful; I would propose that they were even good. Flying across the Atlantic is an incredible experience; everyone should try it once. While wearing my Medina Swimming shirt; met swimmer from Akron who graduated in 76’; met a woman who grew up in Medina, she lived on Wadsworth Road; had a discussion regarding possible reasons for the excessive amount of broken records at the Summer Olympics. I watched Monty Python: Search for the Holy Grail and a movie about George Hogg (true story) that was amazing; the movie was decent, the story was downright marvelous. I daresay I am calm. I have gained control. I am no longer sad. I am getting excited. I have begun to tackle the challenges that lay ahead. I cannot control things that are out of my control; the things that are within my control are things that I am sure I can handle or will learn to handle.
1:30 p.m. 9.5.08
18 hours is an ungodly long time to be traveling. There is a difference between drained and tired. The trick now is not to sleep until the locals sleep.
Well, it is officially four hours till I need to be at the airport. I cannot tell you that I am not nervous, and I think I am a bit more sad this time; in fact I don't think that I was sad at all last January when I left home. Perhaps I am sadder because my parents are sadder; that changes things. I will say though that I am very excited and look forward to seeing everyone who I left in Greece.
5:00 p.m. 9.4.08
Sitting in Dulles International Airport. It is kind of like being home. I have not flown as much as some people, but I have the process down to a science. Shoes, belt, sunglasses, wallet, watch, iPod in tub one; computer in tub two; rucksack (that is what they call backpacks in Europe; I like it) next; boarding pass and passport in hand. Be pleasant. Don’t pack anything you are not supposed to. Look inspectors in the eyes. Repack quickly and neatly. Get to your gate then go to the bathroom. Board the plane quietly. Help other passengers when possible (good juju for rest of flight). Don’t lean the seat back; deal with the discomfort (especially on smaller planes, anything below a 747). Be ready to disembark before the plane lands, but do not rush. Stay seated until your turn comes. Let someone into the isle who is stuck behind the constant stream of passengers (good juju for the next flight). Read and follow the signs in the new airport and realize that most airports work the same way. Stay calm at customs. Repeat at next stop.
9:10 a.m. 9.5.08
Sitting in Munich’s Franz Josef Strauss International Airport. The flights have been non eventful; I would propose that they were even good. Flying across the Atlantic is an incredible experience; everyone should try it once. While wearing my Medina Swimming shirt; met swimmer from Akron who graduated in 76’; met a woman who grew up in Medina, she lived on Wadsworth Road; had a discussion regarding possible reasons for the excessive amount of broken records at the Summer Olympics. I watched Monty Python: Search for the Holy Grail and a movie about George Hogg (true story) that was amazing; the movie was decent, the story was downright marvelous. I daresay I am calm. I have gained control. I am no longer sad. I am getting excited. I have begun to tackle the challenges that lay ahead. I cannot control things that are out of my control; the things that are within my control are things that I am sure I can handle or will learn to handle.
1:30 p.m. 9.5.08
18 hours is an ungodly long time to be traveling. There is a difference between drained and tired. The trick now is not to sleep until the locals sleep.
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