A Little Farther East Than I Anticipated

I ended 2013 talking about new changes that would be ahead. At the time I definitely knew some of what I would be experiencing but I definitely didn't know all of it. I had an inkling last fall that I would not be returning to my teaching job but I had no idea what I would do instead. In typical fashion, I made the very safe, practical decision to live with my sister for a year while subbing, reffing, and writing my thesis.

I should have known better.

Every time I have planned to take a "rebuilding" year in my life, God turns everything upside down and I end up doing something that is the complete opposite of what I had in mind. (The semester I ended up moving home was the semester I was going to just live and work in Grand Forks and just chill. Instead I ended up moving home... The last place I ever wanted to be.) As such, I will not be living with my sister next year as I originally anticipated. 

Instead, I will be moving to Bangkok, Thailand. Instead of moving a mere five hours east, I will be moving multiple countries and an ocean to the west.

Not exactly what I had planned, but I should know by now that my plans rarely work out.

I have accepted a job teaching three sections of AP Language & Composition and two sections of World Literature at a smaller international school in Bangkok. My initial contract will be for two years. I really have no idea what teaching AP Language and Composition entails, but I am willing to learn. Instead of trying to figure out how to write a thesis whilst working 55 hours per week stateside, I will be writing a thesis whilst juggling a brand new courseload and living overseas.

I really not scared at all about living overseas... I already got a taste of it when I visited Amy last summer. I've seen the school, met the administration and such, so I have a pretty good idea of what I will be experiencing. I'm going from a school of 60 and a town of 21,000 to a school of 800 and a city of 11,000,000. But I'm ready for an adventure. If not now, when?

I fly out on July 15, report for New Teacher Orientation on July 19, and begin classes on August 5.

The "Be.Do.Say.Go." saga continues. I have been and did and said and went where God has asked me to these last three years. Now He has granted me the opportunity to be and do and say and go in a new place. 

May His name be glorified!

To My 18 Year Old Self

As many colleges and high schools are holding graduation ceremonies in the next couple of weekends, I've become a little reminiscent. Or a lot reminiscent. I've also been going through my keepsake boxes from when I was younger and earlier this week I went through all of my graduation cards from high school. I graduated high school with big dreams and high hopes. The next five years didn't exactly go as planned but I wouldn't change them for the world. As such, a note to my 18 year old self.

I wish I could go back and tell my naive 18 year old self that, in all reality, her college education would be a bust, but it would be the life lessons and friendships made during college that will count the most.

I wish I could tell her to just start off in education, but to be prepared for the joke that will be her English degree. I wish I could tell her that her education won't lead to the Master's degree she planned, to the accomplishment she assumed, or even the satisfaction she thought would come with finishing college- just like both of her parents have... multiple times.

I wish I could tell her that she may feel like she ended up becoming a teacher because she wasn't smart enough to do anything else, but she, as a pre-service teacher, had a better understanding of what it means to be an effective educator than do many veteran teachers because she has a special gift in working with adolescents.

I wish I could tell her that college will not nearly be the experience she thought it would be but it will draw her deeper into a faith that she didn't really think possible... that she will fall more in love with a God who cares so deeply for her, who has such a crazy awesome plan for her life, who made her in His perfect image and wants so badly for her to love herself, who doesn't intend for college to be the climax of her life because He has so much more in store for her.



I wish I could tell her that despite the struggles and the tears and the doubts...

It will all be okay in the end.

Fargo Half Marathon By the Numbers

As I promised, today is the last of my half marathon posts. Please join Kelly and I for a fun little link up. :)

3:27:15... My overall time for the race.

1:34:55... My 10K split.

15:50... My average mile.

5057 out of 5173... My overall place.

Again, I know these numbers aren't the best at all. Part of me doesn't want to be proud of them, but I am. I finished this race and didn't quit. It was hard, I wasn't ready, but I did it. The best part? I know I can do better and I will. I'm not ready to be done yet.

Two Down, One More to Go?

This is the third of four segments for my impromptu half marathon series. I promise that tomorrow will be last of it all. I'm trying to help myself that I don't have to be the best at something to make it worthwhile. I have now run three half marathons and I feel like that's something I can (and should) take pride in. I don't mean to rub it in anybody else's face, but I moreso want to remind myself that I have done things worthy of pride as well!

I ran the Bismarck Half Marathon this weekend (September 18, 2010). I can truthfully say I ran it, too, because I made it the whole 13.1 miles. It was painful towards the end, I'm not gonna lie, but I'm glad I did it. Now, because I have to have at least one excuse for everything I do, I would like to point out that I did not run for 2.5 weeks prior to the race because I got sick. Like coughing, no voice, sleeping all of the time, good old-fashioned sick. I actually had planned to not run at all, but I got a good workout in Tuesday morning and decided to just go for it. Anyhow, I feel much better about this race than I did the one in Fargo. My goal for this race was 2:30, but I didn't make it. By alot. My official race time was 2:53:07. Yes, this is only marginally better than my first Half, but I raced so much better this time around. In fact, my first 6 miles were so strong that I was on pace to finish well under 2:30 (more like 2:00-2:15)... Too bad I still had another 7 miles to go. So yes, one could argue that I should have paced myself better, but I was just proud that my front six were so solid. I wasn't surprised when my split started to slip like it did and I am a little disappointed that it got as large as it did, but I am learning how to race- how to be an independent runner and those other things will come with time. The only thing that really killed was my glutes (as opposed to my calves and knees from the last time) although I was more sore this time around than the last. I'm okay with being sore, though, because it means I did something and with the kind of race I felt like I ran, I was stoked to be sore! Call me a sadist, but I love feeling a workout the next day. I like knowing I pushed my body and I'm whipping it into shape.

In additionally exciting news, I was one of three Nylen cousins to run on Saturday. I ran the Half Marathon as did Brock and Kylie ran in the 5K. I was hoping to get a picture, but our schedules didn't pan out at the end to capture us in our sweaty, semi-nasty bliss. Never fear, however, because Rachel and Ryne came out to see me huff and puff across the finish line.


Rachel made this super sweet sign for me and it was totally worth of a picture, even if I was wearing my ridiculous tie dye and every ounce of Neoprene I own. It was a brisk day on Saturday, but I was tightly covered and conserving body heat with the best of them! I'm glad to have another Half under my belt, but I know this still isn't my last one. That darn 2:30 mark still eludes me. I will get it some day, be aware.

That 2:30 mark does still elude me. I'll get it some day. I don't know when, but I know I will. :)

Fargo Half, 2.0

This weekend I ran the Fargo Half Marathon.

Well, I didn't really run it. I definitely walked most of it.
p

And my feet hurt so bad by the end of it too. All day Sunday, I looked like I had just finished riding a horse. #WhydoIgetupsoearlyforthisstuff? #Lookfamiliar?

But I finished the race and I'm not ashamed to say it.

A couple of months ago, I would have really tried to avoid the subject of this weekend's half marathon and I probably wouldn't have blogged about it either. But after my 17:40 incident and really working to make long lasting life changes, I'm proud to say I finished a half marathon this weekend.

My official time was 3:27:15. Although this is by far the slowest race I have ever done, I'm more than okay with it. I did the first 11 miles with Sam and then broke away for the last two on my own. Sam came in about ten minutes later. Brooke had arrived an hour and a half previous. #Collegeathlete #Overachiever
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Even though I was able to start the year strong fitness-wise, I did not train well coming up to the race. Again, I bit off more than I could chew between teaching, coaching, and training, but I finished and I enjoyed myself when all was said and done.

Like I find myself saying every time, this is not my last race. But this is my last race for the immediate future. I just want to concentrate on getting in shape and dropping weight. Plus, big changes are in my future and I want to make sure I am able to do the things I am doing well.

So in summary, I finished a half marathon this weekend. I ran maybe six miles of it, but I finished. I'm proud of the person I ran it with and I'm proud of myself for getting out there and doing it. I've done three half marathons now and I feel like that's a pretty nifty thing to be able to say!

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I'm Not One and Done

This weekend's Fargo recap will be coming tomorrow. I thought a lot about this first weekend as I ran this past weekend and I just want to remember it all! I've worked hard for these races and I'm proud of what I have done! I ran my first half marathon on Saturday, May 24, 2010. I wrote this update immediately following that race and am resurrecting it from the archives for my own personal benefit.  

I ran my first half marathon this weekend. Barring Mile 11 when my calves decided to cramp up like there was no tomorrow, I basically enjoyed my time out on the course.  Not knowing what to expect or how things would go down, I feel like I made it through about the best that I could.  Of course, in my mind, I can name things that I would have done differently, but I have no reason to think that those things would have actually improved my race time or benefited me in any way at the end.

This was my reaction when I looked at my clock and saw it was 4:43 in the morning.  I have dubbed it my "What the heck were we thinking?!" picture.  After all, if there is two things I know about myself, they are that I am not a morning person or a runner... So there is nothing more I like to do than to get up at the buttcrack of dawn and go running. Obviously. 

My official race time was 2:57:56.  My very first goal was to finish the race in under 2:30.  The further I got into training, the more I realized that 2:45 would be a more realistic goal.  At the end of the semester, when I realized that my training had been seriously compromised by a full and then some class load, I decided I wanted to finish in under 3:00.  I obviously met my last goal, but the time doesn't feel good to me.  I need to remember that there were many weeks where I was able to get in only one or two good runs because of my demanding class load.  I finished, which I guess is what counts, but I want to do better.  So I will run another race.

I wore my FiveFingers the entire race.  My feet were tired at the end, but my hips and knees felt good when I finished.  We encountered some rain at the beginning of the race (as in we started the race soaked) and met various puddles throughout the course.  At the end of the race, my feet were quite dirty and my nail polish left a lot to be desired.  I'm sorry I'm making you look at my feet, but I thought I'd show you anyhow.  The pre-race rains made the temperatures glorious.  I don't think we could have asked for better weather in which to run.

 

In all, I am glad to have this first race under my belt, but I am looking forward to running another one and seeing if I can't do better.  Sometimes I wish I could be happy with myself, but I am glad that I enjoyed myself like I did and still have the desire to do better.  Bismarck-Mandan, here I come!

PS- I was right when I said I wasn't one and done! I've run two more since (including this past weekend) and I know I still have more in me. This half business is actually pretty fun!

Hooky, Inventory, Correcting, GPA's, and Summer... School in One Form or Another

As has become my fairly new usual, I am linking up with the ladies of The Good Life, A. Liz Adventures, Carolina Charm, and Hello Happiness for "5 on Friday." Please join us!

One. I'm playing hooky from work today. Not really, but I kinda feel like it! I'm using a personal day and making my way down to the Fargo Marathon. It's half marathon weekend and I am so. not. ready. More about that one on Monday.

Two. Yesterday I pulled out all of my grammar books for the big ol' inventory. (I inherited the worst of inventories when I started this job.) I also made my end of the year cleaning list. It's so hard to believe we have only 11 days of school left, and I have only 9 left to teach!

Three. I also have to finish up my correcting. The good news is that I am not nearly as far behind in my correcting has I have been at this point in other quarters, but neither am I in as good of a place as I have been in other quarters. I know what my weekend project is... and I have a lot of car time in which to finish it!

Four.I have one paper remaining for this semester's graduate work. I had every intention of finishing it last night, but I ran out of brain power. It feels so good to be finishing up with this semester's coursework. I may be kissing my 4.0 goodbye, but that's not the end of the world. #ThatiswhatIkeeptellingmyself #IreallywantmyA

Five. School in one form or another is clearly dominating my life right now. Hopefully a solid weekend's worth of work will allow me to start next week in a much better place. And if nothing else, it will all be over in two weeks anyhow! I'm going to spend the first three days of summer sleeping and then I'll probably be bored by the second week in... That's usually what happens to me. Good thing I have a whole list of things to keep me busy!

My Summer by the Numbers

I'm joining Kelly for another round of "By the Numbers!" I'm a list maker by nature. If I don't see something in writing, it doesn't exist for me. Here is my "Top 10 List for Summer 2014."

1. Read The Divergent trilogy. I read the first book a couple of months ago and 

    loved it. But, I made myself wait to finish the series because I knew I'd never 
    get anything done if I let myself read the rest of them. And we already know 
   how on top of things I haven't been this semester.

2. Finish the remainder of my grad school class work. After this summer 
    semester, my goal is to have only my thesis left to complete for my degree!

3. Read Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. I've been working the 
    program for the last two and a half years but have yet to read the book. I've 
    listened to all of the CD's though so I've not be working completely blind.

4. Visit Medora on our family's 17th annual summer excursion. My brother and his 
    girlfriend are coming to visit again so it will be nice to have everybody 
    together again.

5. Read Khaled Hosseini's And the Mountains Echoed. I meant to read this last 
    summer and it never happened. 

6. Sew my sister's T-shirt quilt. It is her high school graduation present. From 
    2011. She graduates from college next May. #Iwillstarthercollegequiltsooner

7. Read Harry Wong's First Days of School. It's a title that's been recommended 
    to me by multiple people and it's time I just buckle down and make it happen.

8. Finish my own jean quilt from high school. It started as an Advanced Sewing 
    project my senior year of high school. In 2006. Clearly I finish my sewing 
    projects in a reasonable amount of time. #Jk

9. Clean, organize, and purge my current belongings. I've made an itemized list 
     (again, if it's not in writing, it doesn't exist for me...) and I'm working my way through one 
    room at a time. I'm already cleaned out of the living room, so I have something 
    like 10 more rooms to go. I've made myself  far too comfortable in my 
    "temporary" living arrangements.

10. Watch the entire series of "Boy Meets World" with my sister. She gave me the 
      DVD's for my birthday in February and we haven't had time to sit down and 
      watch them yet! #Collegewilldothattoyou #IwanttogetcaughtuponGrey'sAnatomytoo
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Maybe Someday

Sometimes I just dream. I can honestly say I’m happy with where I am in life right now, although it’s never where I would have placed myself. As I daydream (or plan where I think I’d like my life to end up), these are some of the ideas that come to mind.

Maybe someday…

I will have a job in formal, full-time ministry.
p

I will be working in full-time academia as a college professor.
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I will finally have this teaching thing figured out and I will be a competent, confident high school teacher.
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I will have finished law school and be a practicing lawyer.
p

I will be a stay-at-home mom with my own mess of children to look after.
p

I will be putting dinner on the table as my husband gets home from work.
p

I will be sitting in a gym watching my own children in their athletic endeavors.
p

I will be sitting in an auditorium watching my own children in their musical endeavors.
p

I will be on the sidelines coaching my own children in their sport of choice.
p

I will be homeschooling my children and we’ll have all sorts of crazy projects going on throughout the house.
p

I will be meeting with my children’s teachers for parent-teacher conferences instead of being the one leading the conferences.
p

I will have completely packed up and left the United States behind to live in a one-room shack somewhere across the ocean.
p

I will have another Master’s or a Ph.D. or may have gone to law school… I wouldn’t mind being a professional student. (And I just outed myself for the nerd that I really am.)

I feel I would be just as happy for any of these things to happen and maybe none of them will ever happen. But I have found that a good pondering session always does my heart some good…

These are my wonderings for today. :)

My Days By the Numbers

PS- I've edited this post to add Kelly's button for her new link-up. Woo hoo!

23... The number of calendar days until the school year is over.

17... The number of acutal days of school left.

15... The number of days I have left to teach in the school year.

13.1... The number of miles I definitely am not ready for.

10... The number of days until the half marathon.

6... The number of graduate credits I will have earned in the next three weeks.

3... The number of years of teaching experience I will have upon the completion 
       of this school year.

2... The number of trips to Fargo I will be making this month.

1... The number of weddings I have to attend this month and I am super stoked 
       for it all!

I have been looking forward to this month for quite awhile now, for quite a number of reasons. I'm excited to see how everything unfolds!

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens..." (Ecc. 3:1)

Happy May Day!