Day 1

Today was the 1st of many days. Many days in which hallways will be full of students talking and laughing, classrooms full of learning, teachers running to and fro teaching, growth and new experiences. Today was a good day.

This year is different than the rest. Today my homeroom was a homeroom of seniors. Where has time gone? They started a tiny freshman, quiet and unassuming (or plotting as many still are...) and today, they were in tennis shoes and sperrys. Long gone are the days of reminding them to be in the correct shoes. Soon will come senior sweaters and cap and gown order forms. Now, before I go getting all nostalgic, we first have to make it there... Throughout any given day, 100 students plus 25 homeroom students and I will cross paths. At least 80 of them are seniors... Now those of you who are not teachers may not understand, but these kids, while many are sweet and kind, funny and challenging, are already mentally gone. At least mine are. I do not teach the honors students, but they are all gifted in other ways; some great musicians, others amazing athletes, but math is not their specialty. So, for the next 38ish weeks, we must survive each other. Pray! Pray! Pray! Love them lots!!!!!

Back to Work

So, I arrived back to Maryland a week ago. Spent quality time at work seeing friends and of course working. Things are pretty much ready to go and that first day buzz can be felt through the hallways. Time to get rolling. It's been good to catch up with people, hear about summers and laugh... there has been lots of laughing. Our office is now officially a box. The window, which was blocked before, is now bricked over. The new brick area is the typical gray color, where as the remaining walls are all pepto bismal pink. Put a deposit on an apt today. We'll see where that goes.

But in other news, do you ever do something, not realize it was a problem, find out you shouldn't have done it, and then have that pit in your stomach from then on? Yeah.... current situation. Hopefully nothing will come of it. But then you never know do you? Sheer ignorance of the situation no longer applies as an excuse; adults know this. But either way, that pit remains.

Kudu Coffee

I've been sitting in Kudu for almost 2 hours now. Working. Yes, that's right people, working. Created seating charts for all 5 classes, planned a route to get from room 108 to 209 in approx the time we have between classes. Gotta love still being a floating teacher... I might not make it on time! Haha Oh well. Discovered that 85% of the students this year I have taught before, which is nice bc I hate that first month of trying to know their names! Least this year I have a leg up on everyone else. This year I have 3 Advanced Topics courses (4th time teaching this class) and because I mentioned that my brain was going to mush, I am now teaching pre-calc. The irony, is that I liked teaching Geometry! haha Oh well. It's a new experience, new trial and will bolster my resume! :)

It's been a rainy day here in Charleston, one of the few that we've had all summer - even more glad to have been here rather than in the Mid-Atlantic. Side Note "I used to be commander and chief of my pimp ship flying high..." Does anyone know why the word "ship" is bleeped on the radio? Can't figure it out. Back - So, since it was raining, I framed more photography and really do need to put together a portfolio and start selling them. They are really getting pretty great, many peole have said so. Besides that, I rented 17 Again from redbox. It seemed really weird to watch that type of movie without Jenn, might have to rent it again! Oh my gosh, I was cracking up the whole time. Probably doesnt say much about my maturity level in that I still LOVE those movies, but hey, everyone needs to loosen up and experience the lighter side sometimes. Anyway, time to go move the car.

Time Flies when...

...you're having fun. Sure does! This summer was even extended by a week on either end, giving us a glorious extra two weeks. Thus making vacation last from the last day of work June 4 until Aug 24. That's almost 12 weeks folks! Paid! Spend a few days hanging out with friends in Annapolis, then came to Charleston. Had a few friends (Kenny and Curtis) come to visit. Went to San Francisco to see Annapolis friends, came back to Charleston, went on a cruise to the Bahamas and am now relishing the last just-over-a-week in Charleston then it's back to Annapolis and back to the work grind. Fun! Relaxing! And more importantly revival. The better part of the Spring was spent lost. Not so much directional lost as I tend to feel but spiritually lost and drowning. The church I attended was less and less home. There was no connection. No growth. No desire and yearning for the grace of the Cross. More time this summer has been spent in the Word growing and learning. More so being broken apart and forgiven for the selfishness and lack of focus. The prayer for the school year is that the desire to learn more, trust more, and talk more about the Lord will continue...

I'm on a boat...

Friday 31 July Jennifer and I got in the car and drove 400+ miles south to Cape Canaveral Florida. As we pulled up to the cruise ship (blaring I'M ON A BOAT) the excitement was uncontainable. We boarded the Monarch of the Sea and were off...


After our emergency drill, we showered and took off exploring the ship. We found food, walked all around and then... the casino. I was loosing quarters like it was my job for a while, but ended up in the long run loosing only about $5. It's easy to see how that could become quite addicting. Dinner was interesting as well. The family we sat with was a family of 3, Mike - the older fiance who was always searching for conversation and who used to pay 2 cents for milk when he went to school, Debbie - Mike's fiance who most enjoyed her day floating on a raft, and Ryan - Momma's Boy aka ladies man.

Saturday morning we docked in Nassau. Before disembarking, Jenn and I hit up the pool, only to discover that they were selling Bahama Mamas in Pineapples. So, of course we had to get them!!

After Bahama Mama's, we disembarked only to get on another smaller boat and go snorkeling. The fish were an assortment of colors. There were some that looked like Dori from finding Nemo. When headed back to the shore, the tour guides pointed out celebrity houses all along the coast. It was an incredible list including but not limited to Oprah, Elvis, and Tiger Woods.... These houses do not belong to the Celebs but they are colorful!
The snorkeling was followed by shopping. So, somehow, I am not the proud owner of a burnt orange colored purse. On the outside the bag says D&G, ok it's the wrong font and appears to be snapped on, but its ok.... On the inside, it says Prada. So its the Prada Gabbana bag. Love it! Anyway, the next stop was Senior Frogs for food and drinks. Their drinks were amazing and there was even a bit of dancing to the Macarana!

Sunday was spent in Coco Cay, which is an island privately owned by the Royal Caribbean cruise line. It was fully of vibrant colors and white sandy beaches. Hot.... It was Hot! This had to have been my favorite day. Jenn and I had booked a parasailing adventure. The boat was rocking out to Outkast and others. The first group goes up into the air and as the 2nd gets ready to go, one of the men decides he doesn't want to go. So, Omar (the guy running the boat) asks me to go with the gentleman who still wanted to go. So, of course, I'm up for adventure and say yes. Into the air I go with my new friend. We chatted... a lot. Turns out he's a poultry farmer from India who's on a 14 week vacation with his friend and their wives while his son runs the family business at home. They are going all around the U.S. on a tour, ironically called, "see all of America tour" :) After he and I land, Jenn takes his spot and up I go again. The view was breathtaking. The ocean a brilliant shade of greens and blues; the island far below and two cruise ships out in the water. Once finished, it was time to lay out on the beach with our Coco Loco drinks and soak up the sun!!! Glorious!

Dinner the last night on the boat presented lots of wonderful facts, such as.... you can order as many deserts (or apps or main meals) that you would like. Almost all of us had multiple deserts that night. YUM! Great vacation with a great friend and part of a GREAT summer!