Nothing but you and the ground beneath your feet!!!!!!!!:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-7Vu7cqB20

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN8kAjbuCIA

"And so........you just ran!"

Friday night it was exhaustion city over here!!! It has been a full week, 2 weeks, 3 MONTHS, of constant sports practices and preparations for Cross Country Inter House, Inter School, Sports Day Inter House, Inter School and it has either been practices up at the Chakkar or practices down at Hanson Field!! Either way it's an extreme UP or an extreme DOWN!!!! Plus prepping for Health and PE classes!!! Now this blog is not to moan or complain of all the work, in fact I love it, because it keeps me busy and motivated!!! Back to this weekend and my plans going in to it!!! It was basically going to be a relaxing, lazy, nothing but couch laying and a little work for Sports Day weekend!!! It really turned out to be the EXACT opposite of that!! Friday night was 4 loads of laundry, Saturday was running 12 miles in the morning, followed by a hike to Flag Hill with some sunset Yoga, Sunday was running 11 miles in the morning, followed by singing at church for staff choir and then lunch at Chardhukan!!!!!! But you know what, it WAS a relaxing weekend!! Why? Because I got to run, and I ran, and I ran far!!!!! There really are no words to describe the feeling you have when you run for so long except possibly peaceful, reflective, and at one with yourself!!! Those 2 links up above relate to a deep deep down dream and passion I have!!! One day, be in 5 years or 10 years I would love to just stop everything, run out the door and not stop for however long I feel like running!!! Granted if I have a family when I do it, they could come with and be my pit crew!!! But the feeling to have nothing but running on the mind and the sites and sceneries to be seen while running would be AMAZING!!!!!!!:) I keep coming back to my bigger years in 5th-10th grade and I'm fairly positive that's where the passion to run such long distances come from!!! I could NEVER run more than 1/2 a mile without stopping or getting completely winded!! And now any run under 5 miles feels like failure or not a good run!!!

"I just felt like running"

Another thing I love to combine with running is charity!!! And it would be such an added bonus if whilst running for such a long time it would be for charity!!! Like every mile I complete a person would donate $1 or something!!!! Of course ALL proceeds would go towards EDUCATION!!!!! Seeing around the world is a struggle for school funding!!!! Maybe its just crazy talk and could never happen, but what is life if deep deep down we don't have a passion or ambition to do something that one day could possibly come true!!!! If you have nothing to aim for, to strive for, then what are we???? Monkeys??? Its those crazy dreams and ambitions that keeps someone going!! Without them life would be lost and have no purpose!!!! Also running for me is equal to that of someone going to therapy!!!! Having such clarity in thinking while running is the best feeling ever!!! Your endorphines are pumping and your brain is working with precision!!!!! Who knows maybe one day I'll open the door, start running, and find myself 4000 miles away home after 2 years!!!!!:) Then again my life could be feeling complete and the need to run will be a little laid back and not so extreme!!!! Life is a journey so you may make the best out of it!!! BEST RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:) Have a fantastic rest of the weekend everyone!!!!!!!!!!!! HAPPY SMILING AND HAPPY RUNNING ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!;)

6 WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IN 6 WEEKS THE NEW DELHI HALF MARATHON WILL BE SOUNDING THE STARTING PISTOL!!!!!!!! It's been 5 1/2 freakin years since I've ran a half and COULD NOT BE MORE EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!! It'll be very weird, just like the Paavo Nurmi Marathon to not have family there cheering me on!!!!! That's one thing that I found very special to me, is having those loved ones, even if you saw them for a couple of seconds maybe 3 or 4 times along the way, standing on the sidelines cheering their hearts out for you!!!!! Finishing the race is the a great memory, but the greatest of all is looking for family and finding them with a big smile on their faces because they are so proud of you!!!!!!:) Those looks will last a lifetime!!!!!!! For all those out there who have family come and watch you run, you know exactly what I'm talking about!!!! For all of those who still have that chance, live every second of that moment, because you don't know what you're missing until you move HALF WAY ACROSS THE WORLD and lose that opportunity!!!!!! I think that is one of the reasons I'm so pumped to run the Jolly 5k in December, not only to run it WITH MY DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But to see my family once again, on the route, cheering and showing me the love they have!!!!!!! It's truly special and I am so blessed to have such an amazing and loving family!!!!!!!! I miss you guys and I cannot WAIT to see you December 16th, 2010!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As for now, my Woodstock family and I have a HALF MARATHON TO RUN/CHEER FOR ON NOVEMBER 21st!!!!!!!!!!!!:) BRING IT ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Goal time for Half: 1 hour 20 minutes!!!

We learn and grow from failure. What happened in Finland will never happen again. Its time to take what has been growing inside of me (determination) and let it ERUPT at the New Delhi Half Marathon!! I fear for all those running, because come November 21st, they will see a Flying Finn........determined.......fearless........and with that EYE OF THE TIGER that has been missing for so long!!!!! IT'S GO TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NO PAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NO PAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NO PAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


LET'S DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYt6ZQ70FTw

!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):!!)!:!)!:!)!:!)!!:!)!:!)!:!)!:!)!:!)!:!)!:!)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:)

And we'll see you........tomorrow night!!!!!!!!!!!

Ask any Minnesotan about this phrase and they will tell you EXACTLY what this means!!!!! For all you non-Twins fans please watch/even if you're a Twins fan PLEASE watch!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGktd6ymICA

"Into deep left center....for Mitchell......annnnnnnd we'll see you......tomorrow night" - Joe Buck

Now all your Kirby fanatics out there, I dare you to watch this the first time without shedding some tears/flowing some tears!!!!!:) Being in India the past 16 months has been fantastic!!! But for some reason, in the past month there has just been days like this where not being home in Minnesota right now is killing me!!! Like even watching this I have been balling my eyes out!!!! Mainly because Kirby was my childhood hero, like a lot of Minnesota kids!! Everyone wanted to be just like Kiiiiiiiiiirby Puckett!!! The way he played the game was inspirational and with heart and determination!!!!!! I think one of the saddest days of my childhood was hearing the retirement of Kirby Puckett!!! I know it sounds lame and stupid, but to look up to a guy so much and too see him in tears because he's being forced to leave the game that he loves for his entire life was so emotional!!!! This is a guy who went out every single game and played his heart out, "like it was his last game," and it was such an inspiration to watch!!!! For all that don't know Kirby died March 6th, 2006 and I can still remember that memorial service like it was yesterday.  I was up at UMD during it, otherwise I would have definitely been there to pay my respects to the GREATEST Minnesota athlete of all time!!!! Thousands of Minnesotans and Twins were packed into the Dome to pay respect.  They played this wonderful video with the song "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong (Kirby's favorite song)!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXr5XZt5Arg

It's really tough being in India right now, with the Twins in the playoffs and not being able to watch it!!! I remember going to the games with my dad, keeping score on the scorecard, at the Dome!!! Or going to the games with friends in the $4 seats with $1 dome dog Wednesdays!!!!! Its those moments in life that you treasure for the rest of your life!! No matter what, memories like those last a life time!!! Which is why its so hard right now, so close to being home, so close to seeing friends and family again, so close to hugging the ones I've loved for my entire life and haven't been able to in the past 16 months, so close to flat out being a TRUE MINN-E-FREAKIN-SOTAN AGAIN!!!!!!!:) 2 MONTHS AND 10 DAYS!!!!! But I am so blessed to have my Woodstock family and friends who are there for me to help me realize home is where you make it, and without them what would this experience be!?!? Having a loving/amazing girlfriend, caring friends, wonderful students that make me smile every single day......it cannot get better than this!!! It definitely helps me through the tough times that will be the next 2 months!!! So wherever you are right now Kirby, probably at Heaven's stadium hitting some homeruns for the crowd, thank you for not only inspiring me to have the energy like you had every single game, but to do it with the BIGGEST smile around!!!!!:) To all those you touched when you were alive, we appreciate and miss the heck out of you!!! Rest in Peace Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiirby Puckett!!!!!! And for old times sake: TOUCH 'EM ALL KIRBY PUCKETT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:)

GOOD LUCK TWINKIES IN THE POSTSEASON!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MAKE KIRBY AND ALL OF US MINNESOTANS PROUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!:):!)!:!)!:!)!:!)!:!)!:!)!!:):):):)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!;):):)!!:!)!:!)!!:!)!:!)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

p.s. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE BEAT THOSE FREAKIN YANKEES TO THE GROUND!!!!!!!!!!!!

The MUCH anticipated Quarter Break is now complete!!!!!! A 7 out of 10 experience!!!!!:)

1:14 pm!!!!! 1 minute before the final bell of a quarter rings and quarter break officially starts!!!!!! 3..........2..........1............QUARTER BREAK (we all yell)!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HECK YES TO QUARTER BREAK STARTING AT 1:15pm Friday October 1st, 2010!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:) And the first thing I do on quarter break....... YELL AT ALL THE STUDENTS TO GO HOME AND GO ON BREAK!!!!! GYM CLOSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:) It was a joking type of a yell, cool out!!!!!!!!!!;) First thing after getting out of the school grounds was run home real quickly and get prepared for the weekend ahead!!! Packed up some minor clothes and other livable accessories and was back out the door to meet S and head for the buz!!!!!:) We head off and split our ways at the Clock Tower, because I had to start my run down to Rajpur to get some fresh OVEN BAKED PIZZA and she had to get some things in the bazaar!!!!! I made it down to Rajpur's Chaya in 1 hour 1 minute and 24 seconds!!!! Not too shabby with the MASSIVE amount of shrubbery and prickly bushes I had to chop through when I got to the nature trail!!! There were times when the path was LITERALLY covered and impossible to see!!! My legs are an unfortunate victim of the slashing and cutting that occurred!!!! Seriously they were burning and red all over!!!!:) But pain aside, arrived to Chaya, ordered a DELICIOUS chicken pizza and was back on my way within the hour!!!! Left Mussoorie at 3:05, arrived at Chaya at 4:06, and was on my stomach stuffed way by 5:06pm!!!! THANKFULLY S had to go to the bazaar, which pushed me to leave earlier, for the trip back up was, AGAIN, another cud climbing adventure and I needed all the light I could use!!!!:) Now there are 2 ways to get back up the path to civilization!! A right way and wrong way!! As you may guess what is coming, otherwise why would I go into detail about it, I accidentally missed my turn for the immediate up and correct path, and kept on going straight which of course is the WRONG and LOWER path!! My first red light should have been the lack of stone and gravel, because if I was on the right path I would have had a severe incline with plenty of loose gravel!! NOPE didn't see that, but assumed it was coming!!! Secondly, on the correct path there are these old cement steps in the ground when the British used to use this as their "highway"!!! NOPE didn't see that on this path!! Thirdly, and this was the final tell there is a left bend in the path that cuts through the hillside to go off to the right and up!!! If I was on the correct path, this bend that I saw would be cutting through the hillside.......NOPE no cut!! Just a CRAP load more of bushes and pricklies!!! Oh and another OBVIOUS give-away I should have realized back then is I went over 4 rock slides!! On my way down I went over 1 easy one!! 3 of these rock slides I came a foot away from sliding down the rocks and falling a pleasant 50 feet to probably a broken leg!! DON'T WORRY DIDN'T FALL!!! Expert hiker when getting lost!! Have lots of experience in this field!!!! So I get to this bend that should have cut through the hillside if I was on the right path and thought, crapola definitely on the lower path!! Luckily I knew EXACTLY where I needed to go: UP..............UP.................UP and away!!!!!! I had to cud climb!!!!! Now this may sound dangerous, but in reality you're going up a hill through bushes!! Not that hard!! Until you get to parts that freakin bushes are surrounding you and the only option is to army crawl on the ground up the hill, then it turns fun!! Which I only had to do 3 times!!!! So I climb up the cud (hillside) which takes about 6-7 minutes!!! Branches are poking me every which way, leaves are slapping my face around, and I'm pretty sure the prickly bushes saw me coming and uprooted and moved to my path because I was COVERED in the them!! SO comfortable when you're going commando and the friction of the legs are ever so frictiony!!!! I make it to the exact point I thought I would come out at, and climbed up the brick wall to VICTORY AND ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL DETOUR OF BUSHWHACKING!!!!!! GO TEAM TALISMAN!!!!!!!!!;) Meanwhile my goal of getting back to Mussoorie in 2 hours has now been put on sidetrack and my goal at this point was to make it to road before dark!!! I make it to civilization/cement just before the sun sets (which was covered with FOG AND CLOUDS)!!! The rest of the walk home was a piece of cake!! It was very peaceful and nice!!! These walks, stressful at points, are so nice to have in life!!! Think about anything and everything!!! Certain people, certain moments, or even the future!!! Whatever it is, it is your thoughts, the world, and quietness!!!!:) I stop over and hang out with S for a little bit to tell her my pleasant story/adventure!!!!! The next day we (S and I) planned for a nice RELAXING day!!! Basically lounging around, talking all day, ate some lunch, and did nothing!!! It was AWESOME!!!! From being on a schedule for 3 straight months (including weekends) having a Saturday of nothingness makes all that hard work pay off for that one day of relaxation!!!!!;) Also, BONUS, it was with S which you cannot go wrong there!!!!!:) We had some amazing talks all the way up to dinner time!!! Which we decided to go out to Rokeby for a lovely dinner!!! The walk up and back down was freakin spectacular!!!!! Talked about this, that, and others!!!!!! Sunday was another relaxing day!!!! Layed out in the sun having an ice cream picnic with S, R, and M!!!! With J in the chair being on "duty"!!!!!!!! And yes if I used their full names that would give away who I am dating, SO, again NOT going to mention any names!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!!! Hey I already gave you the first initial to either her first or last name!!! Go from there!!!!!!!!!!!:) Pretty soon it may be 2 letters!!!!!!! Then Monday came and this was Dehradun Monday, not only for S and I, but ALL OF WOODSTOCK it seemed!!!!! Everyone was down at Dehradun when we went!!! We were supposed to be mystery guests and critique FabIndia and how they helped us, knew their stuff, and the overall layout!! Needless to say it was a blast!!!! Got some Nehru jackets which one will be worn TOMORROW at Parent/Teacher conferences!!!!:) Along with some other things!!!! Then after Fab we headed to McD's for some lunch and then Nerula's for ICE CREAM!!!!!!! We were up in the air if we should go back up or do something else in Dehradun!!! Luckily S knew of this Tibetan temple (the largest Shupta in the world) and we decided to go there!! It was AWESOME!!!!! Very peaceful and had this beautiful banyan tree!!! Which I'm looking forward to seeing plenty of those this winter break!!!!!!;) We walked around and went inside the Shupta!! It was AMAZING!!!! So many intricate paintings along the walls and so many stories being told!!! There were two levels to it, bottom and top!! The bottom God looked very evil and angry, not very peaceful at all!! But the top floor had a more soothing and peaceful God!!!! An excellent place to relax and pray!!!!! After that we headed back up to Mussoorie to relax and talk some more!!!!!!!!:) Even on the ride up we told some really fun childhood stories!!!!! I think the coolest thing about dating someone is really getting to know everything about them, past, present and their future ambitions/goals!!!!! Today was laundry day and had some major dirty clothes pile-up in my room!!!! So did that, lounged around the house instead of going for a run!!! Hey it was still quarter break give ME a break dang it!!!!!!:) And then tonight went to the Opening Ceremonies of the Mussoorie Writer's Conference!!!! The GOVERNATOR OF UTTARKHAND was even here to begin the ceremonies!!! Except I must say, her entrance was very classy but dull!!! Kinda expecting her to ZIP LINE from the top balcony, whilst strobe lights and spotlights are going back and forth, all while Eye of the Tiger (our school song) is playing in the background!!!! And then her bodyguards would come via trampolines on stage doing all sorts of flips and log rolls!!!! Again though, she didn't and just walked in on a red carpet!!! Very 1945!!!!!! Oh AND there wasn't even a passing of a torch or a big gong to ring to open the festival!!!:( All this hype, build up, and talk around school of this GRAND opening ceremony involving lights, zip lines and 80's music was nothing but rumors!!!! Granted I may or may not started a few, but that is here nor there!!! IT COULD HAVE HAPPENED!!!! Anyways, all in all, it was a freakin AMAZING, STUPENDOUS, AWESOME, AND RELAXING quarter break!!!!!! Best one yet!!!!!!!:) And of course all thanks to S and being that special someone to join me for the ride!!!!!!!! HA ending the blog corny style!! IT'S HOW US MINNESOTANS DO IT!!! We love the corn!!!! Take that Nebraska!!!!!!!!!!!!:P So that is all in a nut shell Fall Quarter Break 2010!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There may or may not be more details to what was told, but you got the gist of it!!!!!!!!!!!;) Hope everyone's weekend was FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC and remember all: HAPPY SMILING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):)!:!)!:!)!:!)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:)!:!)!:!)!:):):):):)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):)

September troubles!!!!!!!!!:)

What the heck is it with Mussoorie, September, and hikes going not as planned!!!!!:) Let's recap a certain hike from last year with Matt and myself!!!! We hike down to Thatyur in the early morning, get there around noon and decide we're big boys and can hike back up by ourselves!!!!! Long story short, we take a new way back, get completely lost, get stuck in the monsoon, stay at a nice couples place until monsoon is over, then see the lights of Mussoorie and return home around 9:45pm!!!! All in all an AWESOME hike now that's it is over with!!!!! Fast forward to yesterday!!!!!! Which is kind of a oximoron (I don't know what that means but it sounds good)!!! How do you fastFORWARD to a day that already happened previous to this day?!?!?! THINK ABOUT IT!!!!!!!!:) Anyways fast forwarding to yesterday, girlfriend (yes she will remain NAMELESS until I am positive everyone at Woodstock knows who, until that happens KEEP ON GUESSING) and I decided to go on a hike!! I picked out our destination and we left around 11am!!!! Had an amazing time heading towards our trailhead!! Trail head being a point where it goes from cement to NATURE!!!! Well we reach our trailhead after about 3 hours of walking!! Now you're wondering, holy crap how far did you go?!?! We went about 18.4 miles!!!! Okay not really, our destination could have been reached walking in about an hour!! BUT that is not our hiking style!! Which I love!!! We take our time and walk a wonderful strolling pace!! Let life slow down, take our time, and enjoy each others company!!!! No rushing here!!! Well we reach the trailhead, start walking through the forest and head for the ridgeline!!! All in all from trailhead to destination on the ridge is about a 20 minute walk mostly uphill!!! REMEMBER that!!!;) So we set up lunch, eat and then sit and talk for about 4 hours!!!!! Now we're heading into sunset and still talking away!!! It was a perfect night! Cold but perfect!!!! We talked about all sorts of stuff!!! Well now the sun was setting even more, but we were still talking away, when finally the sun has almost completely set and we decide to head out!!! Of course this being the night the moon decides to come out LATE!!! So now here we are with no flashlight and pitch black sky with a plethora of stars!!!! Now I've done this decent before, always daylight however and with contacts in!!! COMPLETELY different with no light and blind as a bat (no contacts)!!!!!! We start off, I'm leading the way and she's close behind!!! This is almost crawling speed, cause literally I was crawling to see the stupid path!!! We make it down the ridgeline in about 20 minutes!! In normal daylight would have taken probably 5!!! Now we get to a part where it looks to me like a dark yellow blur!! I ask "can you see a path??" She says Yes and takes lead!! THANKFULLY!!!:) Cause honestly I was struggling!! So she takes the lead, I'm holding her hand here cause I have no freakin clue what's ahead!! It's literally blind as a bat vision for me!!!! She does an amazing job finding the paths and giving me heads up about holes, rocks, and other various obstacles!!! Even though I was blind as a bat I still knew the general direction we had to go, that wasn't being affected!! So I kept pointing in that direction and she would find the best path to go!!! We're walking slow and safely but on the right path!!! Now there were 2 points of the walk that was really cool!! Both with the same occurance!!! There was one time when we were unsure of which path to take and at that EXACT moment a jeep would drive by on the road below and light up our options!!! THEN the same exact thing happened another time when we were stuck on a decision!! So that was really cool!! Oh might I mention too, taking a hike FULL of freakin stinging nettles in daylight turns into a BAD idea on the way back!!! Obviously every plant looks the same with no contacts and in pitch black!!! Wearing shorts on the way back, lets just say OUCH!!!! At least 4-5 different occasions got stung!!! And if you've never encountered a stinging nettle before, it does NOT take much when rubbing against it!! It could be a little brush of the tiniest part of the plant and BAM!! OOOOOOOOOUCH!!!! IT BURNS!!!!!!!!:) Anyways we're at a point now that we can CLEARLY see where we started and happy to be almost done and back on road!!! This after butt sliding down so many freakin mini hills to get to new paths!!! And let me tell you, butt sliding in dirt = dirt in the pants!!!! Continuing, not 50 feet before we reach the ending of the trail I step on an imaginary path (path not there) and FREAKIN FALL 30 FEET DOWN THE SIDE OF THE HILL!!! I go head over heels like 6 times!!! My face is all bloody, my arm is broken/shattered, and both ankles are mildy sprained!!!! Okay not really, we make it back to the road safe and sound and give a nice big hug of RELIEF!!!!!!!!!!!!!:) A hug similar to the hug Matt and I shared after we were lost, but obviously this one being WAY more special!!! Sorry Matt!!:) So after an HOUR of crawling speed down the ridgeline, which in daylight would have taken 15 minutes, we were headed back home via CEMENT road!!! Lesson to be learned?!?!?? Always remember to shower the night before a hike!! Cause if you do get lost or really slowed down, at least you'll smell good!!!!!;) Oh and probably also bring a torch (flashlight) no matter the time you leave for a hike and expect to be back around 4pm!!!!!!!!!!:) Sometimes time itself gets away from you!!! OKAY THAT'S ALL!! HAPPY SMILING EVERYONE!!!!!!! AND HAPPY SEEING!!!!!!

MINNESOTA COUNTDOWN: 2 MONTHS 20 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):)!:!)!:!)!:!)!:!)!!!!!:):):)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!;):)!:)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):)

Such a difference a year makes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:)

I was looking and reading some of my older blog titles and its so weird to see the transition in the blogs from this year to last!!!!!! Last year at this time it was all about adjusting to the monsoon and being like a baby seeing the world for the first time!! Every and any new experience I would blog within a day!!!! Which, in India, there was SENSORY overload that first month or two!!!!! So there was a lot to blog about!!! Now I'm noticing a shift in blog content!!! It's gone from new experiences to a more personal life/settling in basis!!!! I think I'm finally settled in and ready to go for the long haul in India!!!!!!:) What were new experiences are now everyday life!!!! What was once a goal to do my 3 years single and loving life, has now changed to being in a relationship and loving life EVEN MORE!!! YES I SAID IT!!!!! I'M IN A RELATIONSHIP!!!!!!:) That last blog was true!!!!! Life is SOOOOOOO much more amazing when you have someone special to share it with!!!!! Someone who makes your already ginormous smile increase to a magnitude unheard of, for the sake of words though let's use VInormous!!!! I'm literally scared my jaw muscle will be able to eat metal because the strength it is at now with all the smiling!!!!  Who it is though will still stay confidential because I know some of my students/coworkers read my blog from time to time and they're trying to figure out who!! So all you students and teachers out there, IN YOUR FACE!!!!!!!:) But getting back to the difference a year makes!!! It's amazing how you have these goals and thoughts in your mind when taking a new path/journey in life!!! When I signed the contract I thought, okay 3 years at Woodstock, single the entire time, come back retire in Shako teaching and coaching summer tennis of course!!! NOW, it's 6-7 years at Woodstock, not single, who the crap KNOWS where life will lead!!!!! However, that what makes life SOOOOOOOOOO awesome and interesting!!! One year ago I would never have dreamed this is where life would take me!!!! But on so many levels I am ECSTATIC to be at this point in life!!!!!! I am also very happy the USE OF !!!! HAS INCREASED 10-fold!!!!!!!!!:) I'm very nervous though I'm getting to a point where I'm going to need so many ! that it'll be like math and using a squared ! in my sentences!!!!!!! For now I'm hoping it doesn't break!!!!! ALSO its so nice to have a solid group of friends here!!! People you can feel comfortable with and know will probably be here in the long run!!!! I can see why the veteran teachers stay so close to one another, because its so hard to, every year, make new friends and then say goodbye a couple years later!!! Its exhausting!!! And this is only my second year!! I couldn't even imagine doing this for 5-6 years!!!! Of course it doesn't help HALF of the staff you arrived with left after a year!!!! Lame!!!! ON THE BRIGHT SIDE 3 MONTHS OF MONSOON IS DEFINITELY OVER WITH TOMORROW!!!! Looked at the forecast and I do believe it has SUN FOR FRIDAY!!! SUN FOR SATURDAY!!! SUN FOR SUNDAY!!!! SUN FOR MONDAY!!! SUN FOR TUESDAY!!! SUN FOR WEDNESDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After 90 straight days of rain, IT IS OVER!!!! I'm predicting a sudden SHIFT in moods starting next Monday!!!!!!:) Good ol' Vitamin D is BACK and taking over!!!!!!!!!!! I'm not sure if my smile can get any bigger, or what will happen to it if it tries, but LOOK OUT WORLD WE HAVE A 150% CHANCE INCREASE IN SMILES!!!!!!!!!!!!!:) Did I mention I'm loving life right now!?!??!?!? If not, LOVING IT AND THE PEOPLE IN MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAPPY SMILING TO ALL AND TO ALL A FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC NIGHT AND WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:)

p.s. SECOND BEST STAFF TALENT SHOW I'VE EVER SEEN TONIGHT!!!!!!:) And yes this is my second one!!!!!!!!!!;) We'll see how we do TOMORROW NIGHT when the Senior School is attending!!!!! GOOOOOOOOOOOO TALENT!!!!!!!!!!!!:)

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):)!:!)!:!)!:!)!:!)!:):):):)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!;);):))!!)!:!)!:!)!:!)!:):):):):)

What I never thought was missing.........was!!!!!!:)

End of August and 2 weeks into September will be a time I will NEVER forget!!!!! Possibly because the future may be effected because of it!!!! The feelings you have when you're alone (single) in a place can be good and depressing at the same time!!! Good because you can do whatever you want, go wherever you want, fart whenever you want to, and not have anyone around that cares where you are!!! I mean obviously people care, but not in the relationship type of way!!! Well here's the catch side to being single!!! You don't have that one person that really cares about you at all times, to talk to whenever you're feeling down in the dumps, to look at across the room or hallway and feel a special bond!!! So yeah, of course being single would seem awesome and care free, but that's only because you are forgetting about the one true need every single human being needs: to feel cared about!!!! I believe that is one of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, in fact one of the necessary ones!!!! And once you get those feelings in side of you, those "care for someone" feelings, it feels like you're on top of the world again!!!!! I wouldn't trade that for anything, even if that means being single the rest of my life and being able to do anything whenever, without any objections!!!!!!! Because having feelings for someone, and I mean really having feelings for someone, is the greatest part of life!!!! When I arrived at Woodstock, I was so bent on living my years here single and free to do anything that I wanted to do, that I forgot one can do the same thing single or in a relationship!!!! However, in a relationship, while you have the freedom to do whatever, you also have someone that cares about you and you care about them!!!! That right there is one freakin spectacular feeling!!!:) And should NEVER be forgotten!!!! Being single for a long time makes you forget real quickly!!!! However, once you get it back it's like the sun is shining every single day, EVEN during monsoon!!!!! The way your eyes meet in the hallway makes the day 10,000 times better!!! Or their smile when looking across the room, lights up everything inside of you!!! Including your gallbladder!!! Yeah it's pretty much the most AMAZING feeling ever!!!!! Well there is a billion things more to be said, but I think that is a decent start for now!!!!!!:) Now you have to ask yourself, am I still single and reminiscing on the times of relationships OR have I found that special someone?!?!?! You can always ask me!!!!!!;) For now HAPPY SMILING AND NEVER FORGET TO FLOSS!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!:)!;)!!!!!!!!!!:):):)!!!!!!!!!!!!!;)!!!!!!!:):)!!!!!!!!!!!!;):):):)!!!!!!!:)!:)!:)!:!)!:!)!:!)!:!):):):):)