Back Into The Swing of Things

I guess it has once again been a while since I've written on this blog.  Being back in town doing normal day to day things has made it tough for me to keep this personal blog up.  I have started two new blogs this summer - a professional one, and a class one.  If you're interested in the links to those just ask. In the mean time, one of these days I'll give you an update on my life.

Karen

Where does the time go?

It's funny,  I'm not really sure what happened to me and this blog.  Things have changed in my life and this blog has been painfully neglected.  After my trip to Australia in March I started to focus on my one triathlon for 2011 - the Oliver Half Ironman.  In addition I had a teacher candidate from UBC in my classroom full time and the Vancouver Canucks went on a very long run in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.  I'd be lying if I said that none of that impacted my time.  Once I realized that I actually had to get on a bike to do a Half Ironman I rode my road bike every weekend, and even made sure to attend spin classes on a regular basis.  My running was still some what neglected but I did swim regularly too.  I spent time supporting/guiding my student teacher as I dove deeper into my quest for meeting all the needs of the children in my classroom at their own personalized level.  And those Canucks what a ride that was.  It's really too bad they lost the final game of the season but the better team won.  We (the Canucks) were too broken and beaten up to win.  It's sad really as I'm not sure if we will make it back to that level anytime soon.

Unfortunately, personally I'm in a bit of a funk.  I'm  highly unmotivated to exercise and my eating habits haven't been great either. This has led to me feeling like a far less fit person, and fatter too.  I'm searching for a new challenge or goal that will keep me smiling, and keep me fit. So far little has peaked my curiosity though.  I'm also tired of doing so many things on my own.  I have a great group of friends but they are all busy with their lives/boyfriends/husbands/children/schooling.  What's happening now is that instead of doing things on my own, I'm sitting home and doing little else but playing on my computer or watching bad tv.  This isn't me at all and it's sad that I'm in this place right now.  Things will improve, the have to don't they?  I'm still keen to meet a guy, and get a boyfriend who likes to do some of the things that I like to do.  I'm interested in getting out there more because if I'm not careful I'll get old.  I've never thought of myself as someone old so I really do hope I'm not going down that path.

Okay, I still have the rest of July and August off from work.  Time to snap out of the funk and enjoy this unstructured time a little more.

 Karen

On a positive note.... look after several months I HAVE written a blog!!

Spring Break 2011

This year I was very lucky to have two weeks off at Spring Break instead of the usual one week.  With two weeks off I packed my bags and headed to Australia.  Back to Australia you may ask? But why?

When I left Melbourne in December 2009 I was in a pretty bad state.  The experience I had at the Aussie school I was in was nothing short of awful.  Yes, the people and my students were great, but the extremely poor communication, and lack of so many things made 2009 my absolute worst teaching year of my career.  So why go back to the place that was so awful?

While I lived and worked in Melbourne I made a lot of good friends, and had a really good time outside of the work environment.  This trip back was to remind me of how great the city is, and how many wonderful people I know that live there.  It was about getting rid of the bad memories once and for all and focusing all that was positive about 2009.

I am happy to report the trip was a success!  After spending the first few days with a good friend (and her family) in Wellington Point, Queensland I arrived in Melbourne to be greeted by my friend Julie.  Julie and her family are truly my Melbourne family so it was so nice to be back with them.

My time in Melbourne was spent visiting old stomping grounds, and catching up with friends.  Almost every moment of my trip was booked with visits, and each visit was special.  I did visit my former Aus school and as much as things have changed with stable administration it is still a school that I would never want to work at.  While it hits the mark in many areas, there are still far too many areas I have serious professional issues with.  Teaching kids how to read, write, and do math is important, but in my opinion it’s just a part of what’s important for a school to do.

While visiting my former school I did not get the chance to meet my exchange partner as she was away at a sports event.  I did e-mail, and bring letters and cards for her from her former Canadian students, but she did not reply or attempt to contact me.  I’ve washed my hands of her now and I’ll just chalk it up to the fact that it takes all types of people to make this world run.  She and I are obviously different people.

While visiting my former school I was able to catch up with staff members, students, and even some of their parents.  That part of the visit was really wonderful and helped me remember some of the good times I had while I worked there.  As much as I WILL keep in contact with my former students and friends at the school I doubt if I’ll ever visit it again.

I want to thank Julie, Valerie, Jodie, Kate, and Andrea for allowing me to spend time in their classrooms and schools (and quick visits in Vesna, Monica, and Lee-Anne's rooms visiting my former students).  Those classroom/school visits helped confirm that I’m on the right track with my class here in Canada.

It was great to spend quality time with Samantha, Tim, Chris, Monica, Kay, Kylie, Tracey (and her family), Jodie (in Bendigo), Ruth, Mary, Valerie, Naomi, Seir, Di, and the Jetson, Margaris, Stevens, and Arvanitis families.  But most of all I owe a huge thank you to Julie, Steve, and Ella for hosting me the entire time.  It’s a bit weird to be back in my own home and not surrounded by your love and craziness. 

Thanks everyone in Melbourne for helping me get rid of the awful memories by replacing them with positive ones.  Onwards and upwards they say….

Autumn 2010 - A Very Quick Overview

In September I headed back to work teaching grade one and coaching cross country.  Coaching went well and as usual I love my class.

In October I decided to replace my first road bike with a new one.  Yes, I could have replaced parts on my old bike but it would be like putting a new engine on a beater car.  Below is the newest member of my family.

In November I was lucky enough to have a four day weekend which I took full advantage of.  I headed to San Francisco with friends from work (even one retired friend).  You see, I really do work in a great place.  How many of you would head away for four days with people from work because you WANT to not because you have to!  Needless to say the weekend was filled with shopping, food and drink, and plenty of laughs.  Here's a few pictures from the fun.

Dinner with the gang (less photographer Nancy)

Napa Valley - need I say more - it was a stunning day!

 Me and Erica at a Napa Winery

The Entire Gang

Two weekends after my trip to San Francisco I headed to Seattle with my good friend Tammy (where we met up with my good friend Elaine and her hubby).  Tammy and I managed to get into a little shopping trouble before completing (with Elaine) the Seattle Marathon on Sunday, Nov 28.  It wasn't one of my better marathons (heck it ranks with the worst of them).  I'm just really slow these days despite running very consistently with Elaine and Michele on the weekends,  Erica and Megan during the week. But it was what it was.  If this link still works here are the pictures the official photographer took from my race.  Official Seattle Marathon Photos

Oh the weekend between San Fran and Seattle my good friend Mona from Calgary snuck through Vancouver International Airport.  I was able to spend athe morning at the airport with her which was really wonderful.  It was a reminder that I need to get back to cowtown more often.  I have two good friends living there.

In December I was busy with Christmas parties and open houses.  I over ate and over drank and had a wonderful time doing both.  It was such a change from December 2009 when I was socializing with such few people (some great people but not too many people).  It was nice to get back to my "annual" Christmas parties with some friends I only see once or twice a year.  Unfortunately the scale is a clear reminder of how wonderful of a time I had.  

A great visit with my friends Kathy, Josie, and Ana (from Calgary)

So that's the sum up of the autumn 2010.  Now that the new year is upon us I have some new and exciting things in store.  Hopefully I'll get better at keeping this blog up to date but of course you can always e-mail or call me if you're curious.

Happy New Year!  K

Happy New Year!!

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy new year.  Enjoy the life that you are living and if you're not happy don't complain, make the change.  Hopefully I'll post pictures soon.  Lots of love, Karen