55 and Counting

It has been over a month since I last posted something. I’m awful at this blog stuff! Truly… a friend asked me the other day if I’ve blogged anything new. Oh yeah, I have a blog about my journey to Thailand, it has more holes and stench than a slice of Swiss!

So much has happened I don’t even know where to start, so I’ll try for a sequentially recap.

October 11^th I had a presentation at the Rotary Club meeting, which was amazing. I was interviewed and gave a short Muay Thai demonstration both were nerve wrecking but extremely successful . I also took the survival bracelets I’m selling to help raise money, which were sold out in under 5 minutes!

October 18^th I got to be part of a Bully Awareness presentation in front of 600 elementary students. This particular event was very near and dear to my heart since one of the students is a young (7 yrs) Muay Thai student at the gym. He was born with a rare disease that does not allowed his bones to grow properly. At first doctors were not sure he would survive. However, this young man has a true warrior spirit and continues to make a mockery medical science. He just recently underwent a limb lengthen surgery on his femur, this procedure is very cumbersome and painful.  Five days later….he’s already jumping on the bed with his little brother, love those boys : )

October 20^th I ran a half marathon. WOW, 13.1 miles is a lot of running!! My dear friend Tess helped me train and prepare, of course in typical Regina fashion I fell off the wagon about 32 times but we got it done! Did I mention 13.1 miles is a lot of running? Those full marathon folks are either extraordinary or crazy…or just the right mixture of both.

So today is the 55 day mark. I leave January 6^th. Each day brings some new challenge, question, or second guess of what the heck I’m doing. Most of my students at the high school are in a full blown guilt trip. The crowd of students that waits for me by my office in the morning is increasing daily. The number of visits I get throughout the day could be compared to the numbers seen at the DMV. Questions ranging from, “aren’t you going to miss me?” to “what if you die?”.  I love how candid and forthcoming students are, especially when discussing safe subjects. Safe subjects include anything that does not require information about the student. Teenagers really do have it rough, particularly my teens. They are the first generation said to not outlive their parents. They have the fast growing obesity and diabetes rate. Not to mention the self mutilation, drug abuse and poverty levels that paralyze any hope of normalcy, but normal is relative anyway. I sure am going to miss them. When I find myself getting irritated by my lack of productivity due to all the interruptions, I smile and I ask them how their day is going.

Examples

Examples can be good or bad, a pattern to be imitated or not to be imitated. Working at a high school has its bittersweet moments. Students are brutally honest about what they think. For example, “Miss you look tired, you look rough, you look mad…”. I try to set an example for my students, not necessarily a good example, but an example that it’s possible to work, have fun and be a real person. On a good day, students are happy and say hello and usually have some kind of compliment, “Miss you’re funny, I like your shirt…”. Small victories, the fact that they notice something besides themselves and show kindness to someone without expecting some kind of return or reward is a victory. A recent study showed that raising children is more stressful then a full time job….DUH! What if your job is spending 8+ hours with kids, let alone teenagers….YIKES! When I first started working at a school the students would make me so nervous. Groups of five or more would come into the office and I’d ask them to leave and come back one at a time. Seven years later, I’m acclimated and able to walk down the hall during passing period without having a mini panic attack. All I have to say is thank goodness my school is small and I have the ability to know the students. It really does make all the difference. Truthfully, I believe they have taught me more than I have taught them. They are my example. Every day they show up, they represent how education can make all the difference in a person’s life. Whether it’s what you learn academically inside a classroom, situations you encounter with peers, or managing a crappy home life. The difference between school and life is this, in school you’re taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you’re given a test that teaches you a lesson. Sometimes I forget that I am just as much an example to the students as they are me. Come January, my new adventure will remind me of the example I am to students and teachers alike.

Clouds

“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky”.  Rabindranath Tagore

This is a lovely quote that describes my circumstance perfectly! I have been hard at it trying to get out of my house and have it ready for rental by September 30^th! Three garage sales later, a large donation to Family Thrift Store of Athmar, 50 trips to my new dwelling, 45 storage runs…I still have stuff in the house. Safe to say I have way too much stuff! However, things are finally starting to fall into place. I have the house staged for pictures to be advertised to renters and even a potential renter already!! Of course with all the rain fall, my maintenance guy is behind in work and needs some more time to finish a few more projects but I am feeling slightly relieved and accomplished for the moment so I’m just going to ride that wave as long as I can! This wave will be at least a week longer….as I am headed to Syracuse, NY today to visit old friends, new friends and make friends! One of the instructors I have previously trained with has an incredible wife that started an online fitness group of 20 women. I was lucky enough to be invited to join the group. The ultimate goal is to increase everyone’s fitness by educating everyone and building up the group. This has been a bit difficult for myself since I live in Colorado and not New York, but today I fly out to join the group in the finale…the Finger Lakes Mud Run! I’m very excited to be a part of this event as well as get out of town for a few days!

Garage Sale/Moving Sale, It’s all for sale!

In my 29 years on the planet and 8 years of being a home owner, I’ve never had a garage sale. This past weekend changed all that. We garage saled like maniacs! I’m so fortunate to have the most marvelous friends and family. I was told by one of them that they’ve never seen so many people come and help out at a garage sale. Boy am I glad they did, I was overwhelmed and underprepared!

My 86 year young grandmother moved from a 2 bedroom condo, to a one bedroom apartment. Needless to say, she did not have enough room for all her precious things. When I say precious, I mean 10 million glassware pieces! Holy cow batman! So not only do I need to downsize all my belongings to prepare for my departure in January, I am also responsible for selling the excess that my grandmother had. Excess might be an understatement…. How about overload, overkill, surplus, excessive, superfluous….you get the point. I mean seriously, I counted 15 candy dishes at one point. This from the woman that does not love candy! She does however love wine, so can you imagine how many sets of wine glasses there were for something she did love? Yea…

All in all the garage sale was a success thanks to all that helped me. I might have been suckered a few times into some low ball prices, but hey…that is the name of the game and if you want things gone, then sometimes you just need to go with it.

I have enough stuff left to do another sale next weekend. This time I’ll be slightly more prepared for all that is in store for me, like fast talking prices, wheels and deals!

Anxiety

This is definitely a self induced illness I give myself! By definition it is an unpleasant state of inner turmoil, often accompanied by nervous behavior. It’s also a Black Eyed Peas song! Nervous behavior, check, I have them. Nail biting, hair twirling, teeth clenching, foot taping, knuckle cracking, pen chewing, face rubbing, procrastinating, fidgeting, overspending, overeating…. Yea, good times.  So how do I deal with my anxiety? I try not to let it consume me, sometimes I fail miserably at that. Other times I do ok. I tend to take on way more then I can handle because I’m really bad about saying no to people. I don’t want to let them down. Then I become overstretched and over committed and the anxiety sets in! This is why I work 7 days a week and have 3 jobs. So instead of doing a few things really well, I do a lot of things poorly, at least that’s my opinion. One of my goals is to overcome this. Learn from my mistakes and continue to grow. I want to find enlightenment.  I want to have new health ways to deal with these unpleasant feelings that come to the surface. Hopefully, I can gain self control and reverse the behavioral pattern that I have set for myself.

Precious

One experience that has changed my life happened May 16^th 2013. The school year was winding down and can get a little chaotic. It was a day that started like any other work day. I was at work getting ready to watch our Freshman present their Passages. This is a presentation they have to do at the end of the year to show all the changes, growth and challenges they have experienced in their first year of high school. For most of the freshman, it’s pretty nerve racking. The morning was spent doing lots of final touches to presentations and last minute request for things that might be needed. Copying papers for guests and making sure everyone knew the schedule of events. I work with some really cool people, of course there are some I like more than others. One of my best friends works at my school. He is a great guy, terrific dad and fantastic husband. He is very articulate and thoughtful. He is also very playful and that saved me big time when I first started working at school. He would crack a joke or two just to make me smile and realize, things here are not meant to be taken too seriously. We have always had a very open friendship and share lots of special moments. He has two wonderful kids that I love and a magnificent wife. His family is amazing and welcoming towards me. He was lucky enough to fall in love with a brilliant women that was just the right match for him. She does not take any of his $h!t, in fact she challenges him by serving it right back. He needs this. I, unfortunately, did not get to attend the wedding of these two  majestic people and it really hurt our friendship. They felt like I was unsupportive of their relationship and our friendship became strained and aloof. Things remained cordial between us, but the loving friendship had been bruised. Years passed and time does heal but something else happened on May 16^th. My friend was sick. I saw it in his face right away. He was pale, sweaty and confused. I asked him if he was ok and he told me no. That was a HUGE sign that he needed help. He is definitely not the type of person to openly express his need for help if there is not an immediate necessitate. I got him help as soon as I could, working at a school comes with this great amenity called a Nurse! Hey….I’ll take her over my health insurance any day of the year! Immediately the nurse told him he needed to go to the hospital, the catch was she wanted to call the ambulance. My friend is prideful like most people and did not want to accept a ride in an ambulance. Our nurse stayed firm in her decision and made the call. Four strong life responders came and took my  friend away on a gurney. Within 15 minutes he had a heart attack. Thankfully he was exactly where he needed to be and had incredible caring people throughout the whole ordeal! I’m very lucky to have my friend as he is like no other and is irreplaceable in my heart and life. Several times he has made mention to me, what will he do when I leave for Thailand. I smile and know that he will be just fine at school without me. I also think to myself, what would I have done if I lost him? Denis Waitley said, “Time and health are two precious assets that we don’t recognize and appreciate until they have been depleted.” I’m so proud of my friend for making changes in his life to keep him around longer for those of us that love him to enjoy him a little longer. Or maybe it’s to keep those that are annoyed by him more frustrated? He can be a bit of a nuisance too…it’s part of his charm. God forbid he ever read this blog because he is an English teacher and I will get a full report back on all my mistakes, that is also part of his charm. I learned to keep those irreplaceable friends and family members close, because when they do have to leave, I want to know they left knowing how much I loved them.

Leaps and Bounds!!

They were made. Finally, my parents got to meet Len. Len is my Rotary father. He is my mentor, teacher and guru of the Thailand trip. Thankfully, he took about 4 hours out of his day to come to the school BBQ and meet with my parents. I debriefed with my parents afterwards and it things seemed to be genuinely pleasant. My parents got some re-assurance that I will be ok….I mean really, does such a thing exist? I do live in a city that has had two horrendous mass shootings so far, no that is not a challenge to re-create a more horrific one. I drive to work every day, isn’t that scary enough? It is to me, especially since I saw two accidents on the way to work this morning! I work at a school. I’m sure some student could be disgruntled and come back fuming with vengeance, I’ll be sitting in the main office like a duck on the pond ripe for the picking. Lucky for me, my school is more about character building and modeling rather than character molding. Our students are pretty darn cool.  

So now my conversations with my dad have changed from, “what can I do to make you stay?” to “hey, I might come visit you!”. Like I said….Leaps and Bounds!! My dad is pretty stubborn, ok that might be a slight understatement. My dad is notoriously obstinate! I learned it from somewhere right? All in all the day was pretty fantastic. After debriefing with the folks, I ran with my buddy Tess. She’s a B.E.A.S.T! She would totally deny it and down play it if approached on it, but the woman is pretty incredible. She ran a half marathon last Saturday with her daughter, ran a half marathon this weekend with her son, and ran 7.11 miles with me last night! She runs more miles than most people drive!  That’s why she’s my partner : )

Minus a little chub rub from my unfriendly running shorts, I’m feeling pretty good today.  

Unconventional

So I am an unconventional teacher at an unconventional school. We do things with our students because we are small and we want to impact students in ways that bigger schools can’t, don’t and won’t.  We take students on overnight trips, camping in the wilderness, rafting down rivers, rock climbing strenuous cliffs, cycling downtown, mountain biking Moab….I mean how cool right!? I love working here because I feel like we give students opportunities to experience things they might never do on their own. We build relationships. We empower thinking. We nurture thoughtfulness and self-awareness.

This week I spent 3 nights with students rafting the Colorado River and camping. It was tough. Not my favorite trip this year. 

Most of the students were amazing and I really enjoyed getting to know them.  There is just something about spending 72 hours with students in the wilderness that breaks down the barriers that most teenagers put up. Maybe its fear? Maybe its boredom? However, there were just a few students that made the trip more challenging than any other trip I’ve been on in the past. As someone mentioned to me already, it’s not just suppose to be challenging for the students right? Hmmmm…I guess so! Unfortunately, I watched the attitude of one individual plague the entire group. Entitlement and laziness has become a disease that affects lots of teens these days. It’s the natural byproduct of our instant society. Everything can be delivered and produced on a whim and discarded just as fast and easy, if not more so. Importance is put on owning the newest coolest gadget or gizmo rather than connecting with the actual heart and soul of people. HELLO! People cannot take things with them when they die! What they can do is make the most of the time spent with people that come into their life and take away the lessons learned from being around them.  All in all, the trip was good. I’m really going to miss the students here.

Muay Thai

Muay Thai. Thailand’s national sport! Muay Thai is to Thailand what baseball and football is to the United States.

So what is Muay Thai? Muay Thai is like kickboxing. It’s called the art of eight limbs because it uses hands, elbows, knees and feet for combat. Combat?

So who exactly am I fighting? Well mostly myself! Everyday it’s a fight to be better than I was the day before. To push myself harder than I did before.

The sport has truly saved my life. I was always an athlete. Since the age of 4 I’ve been climbing on kitchen countertops, trees, and drain spouts. After my parents caught me hanging on the refrigerator door, they knew I had to get into something to keep me busy. No, they didn’t put me in Muay Thai at the age of 4! However, in Thailand, that is not uncommon. I played softball. I played it so much, I eventually became a collegiate athlete in the sport and received scholarship money! Isn’t that every athletes dream? YES!! So what happens when it’s all over? What does a collegiate athlete do with themselves after they have reached that level and graduated? I entered the workforce. I worked 8-10 hour days. I stopped at the fast food restaurant on the way home and sat on the couch watching the boob-tube. Depressing uh? Yep, the sedentary American lifestyle is not all it’s cracked up to be. After a few months of this routine, my clothes didn’t fit anymore. I had gained 50 pounds! I was miserable and something had to be done. I hate going to the gym. I need something progressive, something with accountability and camaraderie. So I joined a martial arts school that offered Muay Thai. Little did I know at that time, it was going to change my life forever! Not only did I feel better about myself working out and noticed myself getting stronger, I also had this re-assured feeling. I felt confident in my abilities to protect myself. I looked people in the eye and no longer stared at the ground when people talked to me.

Here I am 4 years later, teaching it to teenagers in high school. Hoping to give the same gift to young minds that I have found for myself in this wonderful sport. Come January, I’ll be fully immersed in the great country that the sport originated, grew and flourished. I…..CAN’T……WAIT!  

Rotary Meetings

Dare this be, two days in a row? Shhhh.....

I got to attend the Rotary meeting yesterday...great stuff. Good presentations. Heard about the 3D printer. I've only heard about them once on the news. I don't have cable so its very rare that I watch TV. However, I got to see the machine, the process, and the finished product! Pretty hi-tech, maybe a little too much for me but cool nonetheless. Check them out... Also heard about Comitis Crisis Center. They provide shelter and food to homeless families, they are seeing 7 times the amount of people that they did last year, pretty necessary service they provide. The demand is growing and they provide 1300 meals in a night to families. That's a lot of dishes! They are talking with the City Council and Mayor because of their exponential growth and demand! About Comitis The member from Comitis that presented to the club gave a generous donation towards my trip. Thank you! I'm sure I'll be volunteering soon to help with food prep or story telling. Last but not least, there was a new member inducted. He represents InnovAge. A great geriatrics organization, I was particularly interested in this service since my grandmother is 87 and could use a little help! InnovAge Info

After that, I was off to work. School starts next week...yay! 5 months until Thailand...I think a timeline/countdown is in order!

My First Official Fundraiser

Brain dump time! That’s what happens when you don’t take the time to actually write every day. It all gets stored and saved up and then EXPLODES!

I had my first fundraiser for my trip a week ago today. All in all it was good. We had a workout, dinner and a movie at the gym. Not as many people showed as I anticipated but the ones that did show were my closest friends and I’m very thankful for that. I also had a TON of help from everyone getting it all pulled together. Without them I would have been a wreck! I got to pilot a simultaneous workout with my sparring partner. It’s never been done in our gym and since we just expanded, it was fun to see how we could make that work. It went really well, and by well I mean everyone was sweating and got a good workout! We had a guest speaker who did a great job talking about the Rotary and Thailand project. Folks were interested and asking questions, but we did go over time and the food got cold and people started to get HANGRY! (hungry+angry) I also did not provide a vegetarian option….hello, how did I forget that? I knew full well some of my guests were vegetarians! Oppps! We had a bunch of food left over since I thought more people were going to show. So we did send food home with a lot of our hangry friends. I think we started the movie at about 8:30pm. So after the movie and clean up, it was 1am when I got home. After expenses I made $250. I had a lot of very generous donations, thank you for that! Fundraisers are a lot of work! You have to plan, prepare and repeat!

My favorite is the follow up, the thank you afterwards. I always have this very gracious feeling toward mankind after I have been shown a great deal of gratitude, I love that feeling. So what’s next on the fundraiser front?? Well I have survival bracelets for sale. They come in a variety of colors and are hand made by a very smart 16 year old. He needs the money and so do I, so buy some ok? They’re $10. Maybe a karaoke night next?

RYLA/Rotary/Lynda's Legacy

Wow, its been a minute since my last post! Give the people what they want already : )

I had the most amazing day yesterday visiting RYLA. (http://www.rmryla.org/) Truly amazing stuff, watching young minds be enriched, nourished, stretched and grow beyond the original state. RYLA is part of Rotary and Rotary is the group that is sending my butt to Thailand! They do really cool stuff, like send American's to Thailand and send young students to leadership camps! The more I learn about them the more I smile and nod my head that this is something I should be involved with. During my visit at RYLA I heard an amazing speaker, Charlene Moser. Wonderful women telling the story of her best friend. (http://www.lyndaslegacy.com/) Ok, lunch break is over and I have work to do! Cheers : )

So What's the Deal

Why is this blog called Thailand Bound if there is nothing mentioned about Thailand yet!

Well here it goes. I am on a six month road to Thailand. I have committed to a year of service to teach English and work with a women's prison! I'm very excited and nervous. Its something I've always wanted to do but I've never been gone for that long from my family and friends. I have a lot of work to do before I get there. I have a home and a job, both of which I will be leaving behind. I also have an extensive amount of money to fund-raise for my trip. This is especially difficult because I'm not the best at asking people for help, but a good lesson in humility. I hope to keep those interested in my journey to Thailand updated as well as share my experiences as they come!

Cup In Your Hands

From the book The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh:

"........I have a close friend named Jim Forest.....Last winter, Jim came to visit. I usually wash the dishes after we've finished the evening meal, before sitting down and drinking tea with everyone else. One night, Jim asked if he might do the dishes. I said, "Go ahead, but if you wash the dishes you must know the way to wash them." Jim replied, "Come on, you think I don't know how to wash the dishes?"

I answered, "There are two ways to wash the dishes. The first is to wash the dishes in order to have clean dishes and the second is to wash the dishes in order to wash the dishes." Jim was delighted and said, "I choose the second way-to wash the dishes." From then on, Jim knew how to wash the dishes. I transferred the "responsibility" to him for an entire week. If while washing dishes, we think only of the cup of tea that awaits us, thus hurrying to get the dishes out of the way as if they were a nuisance, then we are not "washing the dishes to wash the dishes." What's more, we are not alive during the time we are washing the dishes. In fact we are completely incapable of realizing the miracle of life while standing at the sink. If we can't wash the dishes, the chances are we won't be able to drink our tea either. While drinking the cup of tea, we will only be thinking of other things, barely aware of the cup in our hands. Thus we are sucked away into the future and we are incapable of actually living one minute of life."

"The way you see people is the way you treat them. And the way you treat them is the way they often become." John C. Maxwell - Leadership author, speaker

How is your viewing filter? Do you see others as: Arrogant, aloof, ignorant, incapable, weak, poor thing, lazy, unworthy, limited, mean or, on the other hand, do you see others as: kind, thoughtful, patient, trusting, capable, worthy, wise, and friendly? As a parent, teacher or person in authority, it becomes imperative to see children, employees, and even family members at a level greater than they see themselves; with integrity and qualities they have not yet achieved. The mental filter through which we see others becomes the lens by which we respond and behave toward them. Could we be getting from others just what we expect? Our expectations are built around those thoughts. Does your lens need adjusting?